Fall 2025: More than Enrollment

A message from the Vice President of Instruction.

In these first few weeks I’ve noticed a common theme and I have to admit, at times it has made me a little uncomfortable.

What I’ve heard in the halls across campus is a recurring theme of more. We’ve welcomed more students this semester than in the last 10 years, staff and faculty are providing more services and resources than ever, Welcome Week was evidence that there are more student engagement events and more outreach into the community than we have seen since I have been at the college, and despite those incredible successes I sit in meetings where I hear you, my co-workers and friends, asking “Are we doing enough for students?”  

Alongside those record-breaking accomplishments, I also hear the need for more people, more time, and more funding.  More isn’t limited to our work lives either.  To face the world around us these days, we need more resilience, more social acuity, more nuanced understanding and communication. More leaves us in a perpetual state of pursuit.  Where do we find relief when the mentality of more is everywhere: more at work, more at home, more interpersonally?

When I encounter more here at MJC, it used to bring me some discomfort in the moment because I’m usually not able to instantly produce what is being requested, and knowing all of these pressures facing us, I want to alleviate them anywhere I can.  But when I consider the concept of more, at a deeper level, I find that its origin is hope. Our hope is to do better for students, achieve our goals, and accomplish our tasks at the highest level, and oftentimes that high level of hope for the future reveals a need for more.

This hope shows that MJC is able to imagine beyond today's limitations. There is a desire and determination to serve students that’s above and beyond what I’ve experienced in the past. It makes me hopeful that we can remain dedicated to consistently and considerately working toward continued achievement for students and meaningful appreciation of each other.

As I review enrollment figures from this semester, it’s easy to understand the hope.  MJC is serving more students than ever.   

Number of sections, number of full-time equivalent students, and number of students enrolled, Fall ’24 compared to Fall ’25 at census.

The 2023 and 2024 employee climate surveys tell us that MJC is open to sharing ideas openly, open to sharing issues of concern, and that leaders are listening:

• 50.2% of respondents felt MJC encourages employees to have a public voice and share their ideas openly, a 6.5 percentage point increase from the 2023 results.
• 49.8% of respondents felt MJC provides the campus community with opportunities to share feelings about issues of concern, a 5.3 percentage point increase from the 2023 results.
• 45.1% of respondents felt that MJC’s leadership is making effective changes to help the institution be successful, a 15-percentage point increase from the 2022-23 baseline of 30.3%.

I hope you’ll continue to share your ideas, needs, and concerns.  I look forward to serving with you this semester. As one of my friends and mentors says, “If this work weren’t hard, they wouldn’t need us to do it.”  

Onward!