Meridian Community College will award more than 140 students with their associate degrees and certificates at its summer commencement services at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, in the Temple Theater.

MCC holds three commencements each school year in December, May and August. For the full year, MCC will have graduated 851 students, Dean of Students Soraya Welden said.

“We actually exceeded our total number of graduates over last year by five students,” Welden said in a statement. “We are happy to see any increase, even if it’s a small number because MCC is already graduating a relatively high number of students for a small college.”

MCC’s graduation rate was one reason the college has been ranked in the top 10 of two national polls on community colleges – Smart Assests.com and Value Colleges.com, said MCC President Scott Elliott, starting his 19th year.

Smart Assets.com recently released a new poll and MCC repeated as the nation’s seventh-ranked two-year college, having Mississippi’s highest graduation rate as well as one of its lowest costs of tuition, according to the college.

“All of our community colleges in the state are making progress on producing more graduates,” Elliott said, “because it’s something on which we are all focusing. We are encouraging our students to finish what they started. That’s a trait that serves a person well all the days of their life, whether it’s an educational goal, a workplace goal or a family goal.”

MCC’s “Circle of Excellence” honorees, eight students who have distinguished themselves in the classroom and in community service activities, will be recognized at the commencement.

Another highlight will be a singing solo, “It’s the Heart that Matters Most,” by Abby Jackson, a former member of the MCC Dimensions show choir.

“Earning a college degree on any level is a special, even elite accomplishment when you consider all of the millions of people in America who don’t have one,” Elliott said in a statement. “Some of our graduates are the first in their families to reach that milestone. That makes commencement a time of great pride not only for the student, but also for his or her loved ones.”

Before the commencement program, MCC will also hold pinning ceremonies for its Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) and Associate Degree nursing (RN) programs at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.