MCC Welcomes Trinnette Nichols as Dean of Student Services
Published on Thursday, January 16th, 2025
MCC is pleased to welcome Dr. Trinnette Nichols as its Dean of Student Services! Trinnette is a native of Marion, South Carolina. She graduated from Francis Marion University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and received a master’s degree in Counseling from Webster University. In 2022, Dean Nichols completed doctoral studies in Leadership for Higher Education at Capella University. She comes to MCC having demonstrated student services leadership at both Fayetteville State University and Central Carolina Community College.
Student Services is a very broad team, encompassing financial aid, counseling, advising, the registration process, recruitment, admissions and retention and community outreach. It touches students every step of the way through their MCC journey, so having an experienced, visionary leader at the helm is really important.
“I’m looking forward to bringing stability and efficiency to this team,” explains Dean Nichols. “Our team members are talented, energetic, resilient and they absolutely love MCC and our students; we are off to a great start together.” She sees opportunities for increased staff training, better technology to help her team work smarter and opportunities to streamline processes and procedures. “Student Services has enormous impact on student life, which is why these employees deserve support, encouragement and inspirational leadership. I’m looking forward to growing as a team.”
A new initiative Dean Nichols is piloting involves the creation of a community outreach plan. The student services staff is researching a host of factors impacting student enrollment and retention, such as health, housing, medical and social services, as well as transportation. “Our students have real life issues impacting their ability to gain an education. The more we understand about their daily challenges, the better support we can provide.”
Another project Dean Nichols is really looking forward to is the implementation of the College’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Onboarding. The Student Services team has re-engineered the journey through which a student chooses MCC, applies to the College, is accepted and begins coursework. By streamlining the onboarding process, MCC aims to dramatically improve student experience and satisfaction.
Dean Nichols played the alto saxophone in her high school’s marching band, so many of the analogies she uses to describe her hopes for the student services team are musical in nature. “Each team member has their own sound and their own gifts and talents. It is up to me to conduct this group so we are all on the same sheet of music, making one beautiful harmony together. If we can do that, MCC students will be singing our praises during our graduations each year!”