360 communication - for honesty & performance

Faculty get evaluated by students, peers, administrators, and even advisory committees. This forms the basis for a complete 360 evaluation and helps ensure top performance. Unfortunately, this approach does not apply to the MCC Board of Trustees or the MCC administration. In the majority of cases, this is not a problem. However, there are a few cases where this lack of evaluation has lead to intolerable situations.

This site will focus, early on, on those situations having significant impact on a large audience. The entire Student Services area and the administrators responsible, for example, need a complete third-party assessment. We will look first at the MCC bookstore. The posts listed below offer opportunites for comment. We hope that this opportunity for safe and secure communication will then lead to positive action.

NOTE: To make a comment, simply move your cursor to the word "comments" in green at the bottom of each post and click.

MCC checks and balances-Who is in charge?

The posts recorded below concerning the operation of the MCC bookstore provide an excellent example of the limited to non-existent checks and balances on the behavior and decisions of several key administrators. The Board of Trustees and the top administrators either don't know or don't care. Both are unacceptable. Do you have other examples? Do you know anyone else who does? If so, ask them to share.

MCC bookstore-conflict of interest?

When the bookstore was outsourced MCC was paid well over $1 million. In addition, MCC receives $200,000 plus a % for a total of between $225,000 and 250,000 annually. Bookstores generally have a high markup, so when all of these factors are added together, the cost of a book at the MCC bookstore is going to be high. Who, then, questions prices? Who do we call when the service is terrible? This administration is busy counting the money. They are not going to do anything unless the community/taxpayer complains and complains loudly. This where you come in. Are you in a position to do anything? Do you know anyone who might take an interest in this situation? Please respond.

MCC college bookstore

Faculty, staff, and students continue to complain about the prices, service, and in some cases fraudulent practices by bookstore staff. ( It should be noted that the operation of the bookstore has been outsourced to Follett Booksellers.) Several examples are listed below.

We are interested in hearing about your experiences. The results will be summarized and shared with the administration. Their action/inaction will then be shared with you. This process will continue until all parties are satisfied with bookstore operation.

1. Fraudulent practices: Packaging used books ($15 value) as new and charging $115 or more. When students open the package and find writing or highlighting, they return to the bookstore and are accused of defacing the book themselves. No refunds or at best $15. The bookstore keeps the $100.

2. Students do not pick their books off the shelf. They are selected by bookstore staff. When a student is sold the wrong book and attempts to return it, they may be offered the used book price or not be able to return it at all.

3. Whole classes have been sold the wrong book and even with faculty and/or the appropriate academic Dean involved, the bookstore would not accept responsibility, replace the books, or refund any money to the affected students.

Please share your experiences. We need them if changes are to be made. ( Action will only be taken if it can be demonstrated that we are not talking about a few isolated cases.)

NOTE: To comment you must move your cursor to the word "comments" in green at the bottom of each post.