Professional Licensure Disclosure Policy

Meridian Community College (MCC) offers several programs leading to professional licensure within the State of Mississippi. States vary in what professions they require to be licensed and how licensure functions. Some states require an individual to graduate from an approved program. Others require an individual to “meet [the] certification requirements of a national organization”. A specific amount of training can also be required as well as passage of an exam based on a state requisite exam score. Often, licensed professionals must complete continuing education on an annual basis (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2018).

MCC is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA) which allows us to provide distance learning programs (both online and in the form of supervised field experiences) and coursework to residents of states other than Mississippi. NC-SARA membership, however, does not grant reciprocity or exempt us from state professional licensing requirements. As a result, licensing requirements in Mississippi may not be recognized as sufficient to obtain a license in any other state.

Per 34 CFR 668.43(c)(3)(ii), institutions must provide the Department of Education with the institutional determination of where the student is located upon request. To achieve this, an institution must establish policies or procedures to consistently determine where students are located. Institutions must determine where a student is located both at the time of enrollment in an institution and after receiving information provided by the student indicating that the student’s location has changed.

For purposes of this policy, the student location is the State where the enrolled student resides and is based on the permanent home address entered into MCC’s Banner Student Information System. For a prospective student, this is the State of the prospective student’s residency at the time the student has applied for admission, intends to enroll, and then is entered into the MCC student management system. For students whose permanent address does not include a U.S. State or territory (e.g., students living outside the United States), their location will be considered the State of Mississippi. For students enrolled in traditional, on-campus courses, their location will be considered to be the State of Mississippi. The student location designation will remain in effect unless and until a student changes the U.S. State or territory listed in the student’s permanent address using MCC’s Student Change Request Form in MCC’s Eaglenet. Once a student enters a new U.S. State or territory, the College will consider that date of entry as the effective date of a student’s revised location for the purposes of this policy. All other college policies that determine Mississippi residence for the purpose of tuition assessment will not be superseded by this policy. 

MCC collects location information from students as part of the registration process, wherein students are asked to provide their physical address.

Relocating during the course of a program to another state may impact the student’s enrollment in the program, meet the state licensure requirements, and/or continue to receive financial aid funding.

Prior to considering relocation, please contact your program director or program advisor at MCC to discuss authorization and licensure eligibility requirements. Upon relocation, please complete the Student Information Change Request form on EagleNet and contact your program director to receive written notification about authorization and licensure eligibility requirements for your current state of residence.

Prior to enrolling in any program at MCC, prospective students living and/or working outside of the United States should confirm with the appropriate certifying agency whether successful completion of any degree program at MCC will meet the credentialing requirements of the country in which they intend to seek employment as to certain types of employment or for advanced/specialized educational programs.

Students should review the specific academic requirements for the program in which they are enrolling, including those related to practicum/internship as well as pre-qualifications for licensure such as the need for a criminal background check. We highly recommend that students contact the applicable licensure board(s) in their state of residence or in the state where they intend to obtain a license before beginning an academic program that results in licensure and prior to beginning any internship/practicum. Many licensure boards require more than successful degree completion to obtain a license. Please be advised that state laws, regulations, and policies may change at any time. Changes in requirements can impact the program’s ability to meet the educational requirements for licensure. It is the responsibility of the student completing the licensure program to check with the licensing board(s) in the student’s state of residence or in the state in which the student intends to obtain a license for the most recent information and requirements. MCC shall not be held liable if the student is unable to qualify for licensure or certification in any jurisdiction or cannot obtain a practicum/internship location.

The curricula for programs customarily leading to licensure at MCC have been designed to meet the licensure/certification requirements in Mississippi as well as preparing students to apply for licensure exams in the State of Mississippi. The licensure board in each state is responsible for establishing the requirements for licensure/certification for its state. Students who intend to return or move to any state other than Mississippi need to review the professional licensure disclosures pertaining to their program and consult with the state professional licensing board. The state professional licensing board makes the ultimate decision as to whether or not an individual will be eligible to sit for licensure based on the rules and regulations in place at the time the individual submits an application for licensure.

Per Federal Regulation 34 CFR 668.43(aq)(5)(v), there are two categories for professional licensure disclosures for each state (for these purposes, states include the District of Columbia and US territories, as defined in 34 CFR §600.2):

• Meets Licensure Requirements
• Does Not Meet Licensure Requirements

Prior to prospective student enrollment in a program that leads to professional licensure, students are advised if the program meets the student’s home state professional licensure/certification pre-education requirements per 34 CFR 668.43 (c) .

If a student moves to a different state before completing the course work for a program of study at MCC that leads to professional licensure, the student must notify the program director in writing using the MCC Student Change Request Form in Eaglenet.

If the director of the program leading to professional licensure/certification determines that the program of study at MCC does not meet the requirements for a state in which an enrolled student is currently located, the student must be notified in writing via email within 14 days of the determination.

• Associate Degree Nursing
• Commercial Truck Driving
• Cosmetology/Cosmetology Teacher Training
• Dental Assisting
• Dental Hygiene
• Emergency Medical Science Paramedic Technology
• Emergency Medical Technician
• Health Care Assistant
• Medical Assisting Technology
• Medical Laboratory Technology
• Physical Therapy Assistant
• Practical Nursing
• Radiologic Technology
• Real Estate
• Respiratory Care Technology
• Surgical Technology

Policy and procedure related to professional licensure disclosures for programs at MCC which lead to professional licensure/certification will be found on the MCC website as well as in the MCC Catalog and MCC Policy and Procedure Manual.

Disclosure information will be published with program information on the MCC website.

The professional licensure disclosure policy and procedure will be reviewed regularly by a committee composed of representatives from Institutional Effectiveness, Digital Teaching and Learning, Workforce Education, Nursing and Healthcare Education, Advising, Admissions, and the Registrar’s office.

Digital Teaching and Learning and Institutional Effectiveness will work with the Mississippi Community College Board to update disclosure information to align with State licensure requirements regularly.

Updated disclosure forms will be sent to the appropriate supervisor and the Institutional Effectiveness office.

Institutional Effectiveness will submit updated disclosure forms to the MCC Webmaster, the Associate Dean of Advising, Retention, & Student Success, and the Director of Advising.

MCC advisors will give a prospective student a written professional licensure/certification disclosure form for their prospective program of interest.

Upon receipt of a Student Information Change Request form, the information will be updated by a member of Admissions or Advising and Retention. If a change in location by state is entered, an email will be sent to the student’s MCC email account with the notification statement designated contact in the Workforce Solutions Office will be notified if the student is in one of the programs of study at MCC that leads to professional licensure/certification.

If at any time the coordinator of a program leading to professional licensure/certification determines the program of study at MCC does not meet the requirements for a state in which an enrolled student is currently located, the students must be notified in writing via email within 14 days of the determination.

If a student relocates to another state at any time after enrolling in a program leading to professional licensure/certification,

• The student must notify the College and the program director by completing the MCC Student Change Form located in Eaglenet.
• The Workforce Solutions office must notify the student in writing via email within 14 days about its determination if the program of study will meet professional licensure/certification standard in the student’s current location.