Meridian Community College learned this week that it had been ranked No. 3 among more than 1,600 community colleges in a national poll, College Choice.net.

The poll marked the third time in the last two years that MCC made the top 10 in national rankings of two-year colleges. Formerly, MCC had been ranked No. 3 in the Value Colleges.com survey and No. 7 by Smart Assets.com.

According to the College Choice website, its poll correlated with the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program. MCC was a nominee for the prestigious Aspen Award last year. Only two large metropolitan institutions – Santa Barbara City College of California and Broward College of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – were ranked above MCC.

The website summarized the poll’s criteria: “Several factors in developing an institutional performance score were considered, including first year retention rates, three-year graduation rates, credentials awarded, etc. We also factored percentage of non-traditional and minority students, percentage of Pell grants, and minority graduation rates in order to create a diversity score. Finally, we compared in-district tuition rates and potential salary to give us a sense of the return on investment. Since much of the focus at College Choice is on helping students choose a college, we did not consider schools that did not offer an associate degree, and we eliminated those schools where associate degrees were an exceptionally low percentage of their annual awards. In the end, we believe the top fifty schools represent the best of what can be a wise decision for many prospective college students.”

“I was alerted to MCC’s ranking by a member of the executive committee of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges,” MCC President Scott Elliott said in a statement. “In all honesty, I wasn’t aware that MCC had been ranked because this is an independent poll. It’s not something a college pays a fee to enter, like a contest or some kind of advertising gimmick. The fact that the poll correlates with data evaluated by the Aspen Institute is about as good a validation as can be achieved.”

Three Magnolia State community colleges were ranked in the Top 50. Besides MCC at No. 3, Northeast Mississippi Community College (Booneville) came in at No. 23 and East Mississippi (Scooba/Mayhew) stood at No. 27. Out of a score of a possible 100 points, Meridian posted 92.37.

“I think Mississippi should take great pride in one-fifth of its 15 community colleges being ranked in the Top 50,” Elliott said. “Congratulations to Dr. Ricky Ford and his team at Northeast and Dr. Tom Huebner and his faculty and staff at EMCC.”

Elliott said he was “especially proud” that in the College Choice.net narrative about MCC that the Phil Hardin Foundation Honors College, headed by Barbara Jones, Cathy Parker and Deanna Smith, had been recognized as a particular strength of the institution. He also attributed some of MCC’s metrics, such as its graduation rate, to its high ranking in all three national polls.

“To my knowledge,” Elliott said, “MCC has recorded the highest graduation rate in our state every year since the inception of the White House’s College Scorecard, which came into being during the Obama Administration. Also, MCC has traditionally been at or near the top of the state in terms of how our transfer students perform at universities. Traditionally, our average student who matriculates to a university performs at a B grade level. That’s not bad for an average – not your best or your worst, rather, an average.”

Elliott, MCC’s president for 19 years, said the college’s ranking is a testimony to the “quality of instruction and support services delivered by our faculty and staff.”

“MCC has been blessed for many generations with great teachers who genuinely care about each student’s success,” Elliott said in a statement. “Moreover, the classroom environment is well supported by staffers like counselors, tutors, financial aid and admissions specialists, coaches, business office personnel and the list goes on. They all work together in pursuit of a common goal – that each student will achieve his or her maximum potential and be well-equipped to advance to the next stage of their life’s journey, whether that’s in the workplace or at a university.”

AMERICA’S TOP 10 COMMUNITY COLLEGES

According to College Choice. Net

Rank College Score

1. Santa Barbara City College, Calif. 100.00

2. Broward State College, Fla. 92.88

3. Meridian Community College 92.37

4. Santa Fe State College, Fla. 91.87

5. Flint Hills Technical College, Kan. 90.07

6. Los Medanos College, Calif. 90.03

7. San Jacinto Community College, Texas 89.40

8. Kilgore College, Texas 88.82

9. Palm Beach State College, Fla. 88.77

10. Valencia State College, Fla. 87.54

Source: www.collegechoice.net/rankings/best-community-colleges/