2011

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From.humble beginnings to services unending: ECCC East Central Commu– nity College in Decatur was established in 1928 as an extension of the Newton County Agricul– tural High School offer– ing basic college courses to a class of 18 fresh– men. During the early years of the College, most students were from the Newton Coun– ty area or were resident students living in dormi– tories on campus. neering, pre-med, etc. As with most of our sis– ter community colleges, we fully serve our five– county district. An unusually high percent– age of students from our in-district schools attending East Central is proof that we serve them well." manage." Students in all classes, not just online, are able to use the Blackboard Learriing Management System, which was introduced in 2007. "Using the system, instructors are able to convey information via Blackboard, which

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To make room for the ever-increasing student population, the college has begun construction on the Davis Science Building, located adja– cent to Founders' Gym– nasium and Cross Hall Science -Building. Named after long-time science instructor the late Ron Davis of Decatur, the building will include state-of-the– art laboratory facilities. Future plans also include the renovation of Cross Hall to . obtain additional science class– room areas. Another way East Central is keeping up with the needs of its stu– dents is in the areas of technology and eLearn– ing. Gone are the days of students having to bal– ance their class sched– ule with their work schedule. Now students have the option to take many classes completely online from the comfort of home. During the past five years the increase in the number ofEast Central students taking online classes has increased 174 per– cent, according to Dr. Chris Jenkins, ECCC Dean of el.earning. Dr. Jenkins said, ''This allows students to do the work for the class at the time they are available malcing work schedules easier to have and families easier to

makes it accessible 24 hours a-day. Blackboard also allows for improved communication between the instructor and stu– dent, as well as, student to student communica– tion," Jenkins added. Because East Central understands the grow– ing need to continually advance their online program for students' convenience, the College is planning a major expansion in the tech– nology area this year. "East Central Com– munity College is going live in April, 2011, with a major rollout of a new Student Information System that will allow students to employ social web-networking technology to interface with instructors, college administrative offices, campus organizations, and more," said David Case, Assistant to the President for Planning,

Today the college offers more than 20 Associate Degree pro– grams in career, techni– cal and health-related fields and numerous academic courses of study to more than 2,900 area students who are preparing for imme– diate careers or univer– sity transfer. Many thousands of patrons from throughout the current five-county dis– trict-Leake, Scott, Neshoba, Newton and Winston counties- are also served through the College's Workforce Development Center and Office of Adult and Continuing Education. To round out a stu– dent's college experi– ence, East Central also sponsors 10 intercolle– giate athletic teams, various intramural activities, and more than 30 student organi– zations and clubs for varied interests! Randall Lee, Vice President for Student Services, said, "ECCC is a quality academic transfer institution that attracts students from throughout the state to its unique programs. Students can attend our college and get their full complement of courses for such majors as engi-

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Institutional Research and Technology and Director for Technology Management. ''This sys- IBA DEMOCRAT - - - -– tern will make register- ing for classes onli,ne COUNTY TIMES - - - -r- and receiving up to the \/ minute college informa- ON COUNTY JOURNAL _V;,___ tion much simpler and more personalized for )N-LEDGER------– individualstudent needs."

The College also is planning on significant wireless networking enhancements during the summer break of