Step 1: Apply for Admission

To apply to attend MECC, you must complete the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) online application, located at www.mecc.edu/apply. After completing and submitting your application, you will receive a student ID number and username on your confirmation page. Print this page or write down this information for your records. For non-credit class enrollment, visit the Workforce Solutions web page at www.mecc.edu/workforce.

Admission Requirements

Individuals are eligible for admission to the community college if they are high school graduates or the equivalent, or if they are eighteen years of age or older and able to benefit academically from study at the community college, as demonstrated by assessment in reading, writing, and mathematics. Minimum scores are noted in the chart below. Colleges may allow students who are in their final semester of high school or home school to enroll in summer courses. These students must provide documentation of graduation in order to enroll in subsequent semesters.

Exceptions to this policy may be made by the college president only for documented reasons.

MECC reserves the right to evaluate and document special cases and to refuse or revoke admission if the college determines that the applicant or student poses a threat, is a potential danger, is significantly disruptive to the college community, or if such refusal or revocation is considered to be in the best interest of the college. MECC also reserves the right to refuse admission for applicants that have been expelled or suspended from, or determined to be a threat, potential danger or significantly disruptive, by another college. Students whose admission is revoked after enrollment must be given due process.

Individuals may be admitted to MECC as curricular or non-curricular students. Curricular students are those placed in degree, certificate or career studies certificate programs. All other students are considered non-curricular.

For all curricular students, the following items are required:

• A completed official application for admission.
• Unless otherwise specified by the College, official transcripts from all high schools, colleges, and universities attended. Graduates who complete secondary school in a home school setting must provide a graduation date and may be required to provide documentation of coursework. The VCCS Student Information System academic records will be sufficient for colleges within the Virginia Community College System.
• Additional information as stated by the college for admission to specific programs or curricula.

For all non-curricular students, a completed official application for admission is required.

The VCCS shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors.

Special Admission Procedures

Dual Enrollment Student Admissions

The major purpose of community colleges is to serve students who have graduated from high school or are beyond the compulsory age limit of the public school and have left public school. However, a qualified high school student may enroll at a community college subject to the following conditions:

Dual Enrollment Partnerships
Dual enrollment partnerships are governed by an annually renewable contractual agreement between the school or district and the community college to allow academically qualified high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college courses that are applicable to degree, diploma, certificate, or career studies certificate programs offered at the college. Students from school divisions with whom the college has a current dual enrollment contractual agreement may enroll in college classes at the community college for dual enrollment credit. Courses taken for dual enrollment credit shall be transcripted on both the student’s college and high school transcripts.

High School Based Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses
Colleges and school divisions may develop contractual agreements to offer dual enrollment program pathways, academies, and courses at the high school. Such offerings may be taught by approved high school teachers who meet Virginia Community College System faculty credential requirements and are qualified by the college to teach course(s) in the program of study. College faculty and administrators are responsible for identifying high school dual enrollment offerings; selecting and qualifying high school faculty to teach college courses; professional development of dual enrollment faculty; and oversight and evaluation of program standards, including assessment of student learning outcomes, program learning outcomes and instructional effectiveness.

Early College, Dual Enrollment Programs and Academies
Colleges and school divisions may develop contractual agreements to offer dual enrollment program pathways and academies on the college campus. Such courses are taught by full-time or adjunct community college faculty.

Independent Dual Enrollment
Independent dual enrollment allows individual high school students to enroll in courses at the community college. A qualified high school junior or senior may be admitted to any college-level credit-bearing course, with permission of the high school principal or designee and the parent. Participation in independent dual enrollment does not require a contractual agreement between the college and the school division. However, a high school student must meet dual enrollment admissions standards. Courses taken as independent dual enrollment shall be transcripted on the student’s college transcript.

Private, Public, and Homeschooljuniors and seniors who meet each of the following criteria may register in collegelevel credit-bearing courses:

1. The student submits an Application for Admission.
2. The student is a rising public or private high school junior or senior, or homeschool student studying at the high school junior or senior level.
   1. The high school student has permission of the principal or designee, and the parent.
   2. The homeschool student has permission of the parent.
3. The student demonstrates readiness for each collegelevel credit-bearing course in which they want to enroll. High school and homeschool students are not eligible to enroll in developmental or direct placement co-requisite English and Math courses. In demonstrating readiness, a student must meet one of the criteria established for each type of course in which they want to be registered:

4. In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria above, a dual enrollment student must meet all course pre/corequisites as listed in the VCCS Master Course File and established by the college at which the student is enrolled in the course.

Dual enrollment is restricted to rising high school juniors and seniors and home school students studying at the high school junior or senior levels. Admitting high school or home school students below the junior or senior level is considered exceptional. The college-ready status of each prospective student below the junior or senior high school level shall be assessed on a case by-case basis. Such students must meet the above eligibility criteria and any other criteria as may be established by the college for participation of students below the junior or senior level in dual enrollment. Colleges shall have criteria and procedures for the case-by-case assessment of such students. Formal approval by the college president, or designee, is required for applicants who are below the junior or senior high school level to participate in dual enrollment.

*Cumulative GPA may be weighted or unweighted and may be self-reported.
**A transfer course is any course that a college offers and will transcript in fulfillment of the requirements for a Degree or Certificate that is designed to transfer ( e.g., AA, AS, AA&S, AFA, Uniform Certificate of General Studies).
*** A career and technical course is any course that the college offers and will transcript in fulfillment of the requirements for degrees and certificates that are not designed for transfer (e.g., AAS, Certificate, Career Studies Certificates).

Transfer Students

Normally, transfer students who are eligible for reentrance at the last college of attendance are also eligible for admission to Mountain Empire Community College.

Transfer students who are ineligible to return to a particular curriculum in a previous college generally may not be allowed to enroll in the same curriculum in the community college until one semester elapses or until an approved preparatory program at the College is completed. Upon appeal from an ineligible student, the Student Affairs Committee of the College will decide on each case and can impose special conditions for the admittance of transfer students. If a transcript is received after class enrollment has begun, which indicates that the student is ineligible to return to the previous college, the student may be withdrawn from classes and offered the opportunity to appeal to the Student Affairs Committee.

It is the role of the community college to help each student succeed in a program from which he/she can benefit. Early application and submission of all transcripts will facilitate this effort. The document required for acceptance of transfer credit from other institutions is an official transcript of all postsecondary credits previously earned.

Each student transferring from another college should consult Enrollment Services/Registrar at MECC for an assessment of credits. No credit shall be given for courses with grades lower than ‘C’. A transfer student may be advised to repeat courses if it is clearly advantageous to their curriculum advancement. The College will provide transfer students an evaluation of credits that will transfer from other institutions prior to enrollment when possible, but at least no later than the end of the first academic term of enrollment. When the course contains similar or like content and credit, the course will transfer as the equivalent of this institution’s course. When the content is unlike any course offered at MECC, elective credit may be granted. Credit from non-regionally accredited colleges and universities is evaluated based upon recommendations in Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Any VCCS course in which a student received a grade of “C” or better (excluding general usage courses) will transfer as the same course at any other college in the VCCS.

The academic division dean in which the student is enrolled will determine how the evaluated transfer credit may be applied toward the student’s program of study.

Senior Citizens - Citizens 60 Years of Age or Older

Senior citizens are encouraged to take advantage of free tuition provided for by the Senior Citizens Higher Education Act of 1974, As Amended 1976, 1977, 1982, 1988, 1999, 2003 and 2015.

Subject to SCHEV regulations and any legislative revisions, the Act gives senior citizens certain rights.

1. “Senior citizen” shall mean any person who, before the beginning of any semester in which such person claims entitlement to senior citizen benefits, (1) has reached sixty years of age, and (2) has had legal domicile in Virginia for one year.
2. A senior citizen shall be entitled:
   1. To register for and enroll in courses as a full-time or parttime student for academic credit if such senior citizen had a taxable individual income not exceeding $23,850 for Virginia income tax purposes for the year preceding the year in which enrollment is sought;
   2. To register for and audit courses offered for academic credit regardless of income level; and
   3. To register for and enroll in courses not offered for academic credit regardless of income level.
3. Such senior citizen shall pay no tuition or fees for courses offered for academic credit or for courses not offered for academic credit, except fees established for the purpose of paying for course materials, such as laboratory fees, subject to determination by the institution of its ability to offer the course or courses for which the senior citizen registers. The Council of Higher Education shall establish procedures to ensure that tuition-paying students are accommodated in courses before senior citizens participating in this program are enrolled. However, the state institutions of higher education may make individual exceptions to these procedures when the senior citizen has completed seventy-five percent of the requirements for a degree.

For more information, visit the Office of Enrollment Services or www.mecc.edu/senior-citizens.

International Applicants for Admission

Mountain Empire Community College is authorized under federal law to enroll international students. The College welcomes applications from international students who meet the qualifications set forth in these guidelines. All stated requirements are subject to change based upon federal regulations or a determination by the College that a policy change is in the best interests of the student and/or the College community.

International applicants will be admitted only if they fulfill all general and special requirements for admission. International students are considered out-of-state residents for purposes of determining tuition rates and admission to programs with limited enrollment.

Students who acquired a student visa through acceptance by another school or college will not be considered until they have secured a written release from the original institution. F-1 transfer students must begin classes within five months of the date of last attendance OR program completion date at their current school (whichever date is earlier). If the next available term does not begin within five months of your date of last attendance or program completion date at your current school, you may be required to depart the U.S. and re-enter the country in initial status to begin your new program. When your admission to MECC pursuant to an I-20 is complete and your SEVIS record is released to MECC, you must report to Enrollment Services within 15 days of the program start date indicated on your I-20 to complete your transfer.

Application Deadlines
All documentation must be received by June 1 for fall admission or October 1 for spring admission.

Financial Responsibility of International Students
No financial aid is available for international students.

All international applicants must review and submit all required documentation included in the Mountain Empire Community College International Student Admission Packet. The packet includes information concerning enrollment and tuition/fee payments; MECC Admission Checklist; Application deadlines; MECC I-20 Application; F-1 Transfer Application; Financial Requirements; English Proficiency requirements; Emergency Contact Information; Health Insurance Requirements; Degree Programs available for international applicants; Sponsor’s Affidavit of Support; and Financial Application (Bank Verification of Deposit). You can access this packet via www.mecc.edu/international.

If the applicant is under eighteen, the parent or legal guardian must submit the notarized statement of financial support.

English Proficiency of International Students
International students must document proficiency in the English language by submitting a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score. Official copies of the TOEFL scores must be submitted to Enrollment Services/Admission. The TOEFL test is required of all applicants. A minimum international TOEFL score of 61 iBT is required, although achieving that score is no guarantee of admission. The applicant is responsible for making early arrangements for taking the TOEFL. The website is https://www.ets.org. On the application for the test, the student should specify that the scores be sent to Enrollment Services/ Admission at MECC. The official results of the TOEFL must be received at MECC by the application deadline.

Applicants who are in the United States and who have not taken the TOEFL or achieved the minimum cut score, may petition the College to evaluate them for admission during a visit to the campus. Transfer applicants who have completed two semesters or terms of a non-ESL English composition course with above-average grades at an American college or university are not required to submit TOEFL scores.

Academic Transcripts of International Students
Non-English transcripts and documents must be submitted in their original form, accompanied by a certified English translation. Unofficial documents and documents without accompanying English translations are not acceptable.

International transfer students must submit a syllabus of university study. This description of each course or subject studied must be submitted in English or accompanied by a certified English translation of the syllabus. Applications without this information cannot be considered. It is recommended that transfer students seeking admission from international educational systems have a professional evaluation service review their transcripts and other educational credentials. Students currently enrolled in a U.S. system must still have their international transcripts evaluated.

International Applicant Contact
For additional information about the process for international applicants please contact the Enrollment Services Office at 276.523.9028.

Out-of-State Students

Students who do not reside in the state of Virginia should contact the Office of Enrollment Services for information regarding admission as an out-of-state student.

Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Admission Policy

Section 23.1-407 of the Code of Virginia requires that the VCCS send enrollment information to the Virginia State Police concerning applicants to institutions of higher education. This information is transmitted electronically and compared against the Virginia Criminal Information Network and National Crime Information Center Convicted Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.