Nestled in the picturesque Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia, Mountain Empire Community College is surrounded by stunning natural scenery and rich cultural heritage. Our service area includes the counties of Lee, Scott, Wise, and Russell, as well as the city of Norton, all of which offer a unique blend of historical landmarks, outdoor recreation, and a strong sense of community. At MECC, we are committed to providing our students with a quality education that meets the needs of our local communities. With over 70 academic and career-focused programs to choose from, our students can pursue their passions while gaining the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their chosen fields. As a member of the MECC faculty and staff, we are held to high standards of excellence set forth by the State Board for Community Colleges and our Local Advisory Board. MECC is primarily funded by the state, with additional support from the local jurisdictions we serve. Our diverse workforce supports the mission of our college which is to provide our region with accessible, quality higher education, workforce training, and community programs to ensure an educated population and a globally competitive workforce.
Click links below to view details about current open positions at MECC.
Education Support Specialist in Student Services
Career Navigator - Dual Enrollment
Adjunct Faculty - Health Sciences
Adjunct Faculty - Business and Information Technology
Adjunct Instructor - General Biology
Adjunct Faculty - Arts and Sciences Division
Adjunct Faculty - Engineering and Industrial Technologies
Health Insurance:
The Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) offers a wide range of State Health Benefit Plans administered by multiple vendors such as Anthem, Aetna, Optima, Kaiser, etc. Most plans include a basic medical, dental, prescription drug coverage, Behavioral health, Employee Assistance Programs along with free wellness visits. The COVA Care Plan with Anthem is a traditional plan with co-pays, small deductible and out-of-pocket maximums. The COVA HealthAware Plan is a consumer-driven high deductible health plan without co-pays but the state provides you with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help pay for your medical claims and prescriptions. Coverage starts the 1st day of the month after the employees hire date. Employees starting on the 1st of the month will have coverage effective their 1st day of employment.
Flexible Spending Accounts:
DHRM offers Medical and Dependent Care FSAs as a pre-tax benefit option for full-time employees. You can contribute on a pre-tax basis to cover medical or dependent care expenses. The Medical FSA provides reimbursement for eligible medical out-of-pocket expenses while the Dependent Care provides reimbursement for expenses such as day care, after school care or other fees. There is a $10 minimum contribution to enroll in the program. Employees should be cautious and conservative when signing up for the FSAs. The dollars do not carry over from one plan year to the next.
Life Insurance:
Basic Life insurance is provided to all full-time employees. The policy is 100% Employer-paid and is effective on the employee’s date of hire. The coverage is equal to the new employee’s annual salary (rounded to the next highest thousand) and multiplied by two. For accidental death, the coverage is equivalent to the annual salary multiplied by four.
Optional Life Insurance:
Additional optional life insurance may be purchased at group rates at one, two or three, or four times the employee’s annual salary. This policy allows you to also insure both spouse and minor children. Your premium is based on age, salary and the level of coverage requested, and the premiums are paid directly through payroll deduction.
Retirement:
All classified full-time employees are automatically enrolled into a retirement benefit through the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). The employee contributes a mandatory 5% from their salary per pay period. For new employees enrolled onto the VRS Hybrid Retirement Plan, you can retire with full benefits at normal social security retirement age with at least 5 years of service. Employees can elect a reduced retirement benefit once they reach age 60 with at least 5 years of service. The benefits received at retirement are determined by multiple factors such as salary, years of state service, age at retirement.
Available Voluntary Saving Plans: Part-time employees may participate in the voluntary saving plans:
A. Deferred Compensation Plan:
The Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) is covered by IRS 457 regulations and provides another avenue for supplemental retirement savings. Employees can contribute either pre-tax or post-tax dollars directly from their paychecks. The DCP is administered by ICMA-RC.
B. Tax-Deferred Annuities (TDA):These Voluntary Retirement Savings Accounts give employees the opportunity to contribute tax-free dollars to an annuity program and if eligible the employee could receive a Cash Match of up to $20.00 per pay period. The System Office TDAs are administered through either VALIC or TIAA. The IRS determines the maximum an employee can contribute every year. Employees can enroll in either or both the Tax-Deferred Annuity and the Deferred Compensation Plan
Cash Match:
Full-time employees are also eligible to receive a cash match to either a TDA or DCP plan depending on your retirement plan contributions. For eligible employees, the employer will match 50% of your contribution up to $20.00 maximum. Although you can participate in both programs you will only receive one cash match.
Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP):
All classified staff are automatically enrolled into the VA Sickness and Disability Program which provides a fixed amount of sick leave, personal/family leave, short-term disability, long-term disability and long-term care insurance with 100% of the premiums paid by the state. The leave year runs January 10 – January 9. To be eligible for short term disability benefits, employees must satisfy a one-year waiting period. Once eligible, the program provides income replacement for up to 125 workdays. The level of income replacement is based on years of state service. Long-term disability eligibility needs to be approved after the conclusion of short-term disability coverage. The standard income replacement level is 60% but could go up to 80% for catastrophic conditions. Long-term care is a benefit provided to you when you cannot perform at least 2 everyday activities of daily living. Additional information is provided at hire.
Annual Leave:
Annual leave is accrued or earned after each semi-monthly pay period. The accrual rate is based on the employee’s years of state service. The hours can be used for vacation or personal purposes and is generally posted in HRMS about 5 days after the pay period ends. The leave hours can carry over from year to year up to a certain limit based on the employee’s length of state service. Employees who go into an unpaid leave status will not accrue annual leave hours
for that pay period.
Parental Leave:
Parental leave is designed to support new parents with adjusting to their new obligations while managing the operational impact of their absence from work for a limited period of time. Classified employees who become parents via birth, adoption, or foster or custodial care and meet the eligibility criteria may take up to 320 hours of parental leave.
Community Service Leave:
Classified employees may receive up to 16 hours of paid leave per leave year to use to provide service as a volunteer member of a service organization or through authorized school assistance. Part-time employees receive an amount of leave proportionate to the percentage of hours they work in a full 40-hour workweek. Employees who serve with a volunteer fire department and rescue squad or auxiliary unit are eligible for up to 8 additional hours (24 hours total) of leave per leave year.
Holidays:
The state provides twelve paid holidays each calendar year. Each college and the System Office establish an alternate holiday schedule to accommodate our academic schedule.
Educational Assistance:
VCCS supports continuous professional growth and development of its employees. VCCS offers financial support for tuition and mandatory fees for coursework that is job-related and/or part of a degree program. Full-time employees can request financial support for up to a limit of 6 credit hours per semester via up-front payments or reimbursement not to exceed the cost of in-state tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia Commonwealth University. Educational assistance is not available for duplicate degree levels and must be for a higher degree than what they currently have. Professional development for non-credit courses or certifications are also supported.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP):
EAP is available to state employees and their dependents enrolled in our health insurance plans. Included are up to four sessions at no charge for services such as mental health counseling, alcohol or drug abuse assessment, grief counseling and legal or financial services.
CommonHealth Wellness Program:
CommonHealth is available to all employees and dependents age 18 or older living in the employee’s home and promotes fitness, weight-loss, smoking cessation, nutrition and other wellness programs.
Worker’s Compensation:
Employees are eligible to receive benefits under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act for an injury and/or illness which they incurred in the course of official work-related duties. Benefits generally include payment of medical expenses and time lost from work.
Virginia College Savings Plan:
The Commonwealth offers several programs that allow employees to save for college expenses for their children, or grandchildren, etc. The plans offer ways to save for tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other fees.
Virginia Credit Union:
The Virginia Credit Union offers full banking services and discounts to employees of the Commonwealth.
Discounts Programs:
State employees are eligible to receive a wide range of discounts for health/fitness, hotels, car rentals, cell phone services, travel, etc. Employees can view all state employee discounts here: https://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.
Miscellaneous Programs:
We off multiple other insurance and savings programs which can be paid directly via payroll deduction.
Health Insurance: COVA Care through Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Virginia and COVA HealthAware through Aetna provides a wide range of health care services within special networks for medical, behavioral health, dental, and pharmacy providers and facilities. Plans are provided at minimal cost for employee only coverage. For Employee Plus One and Family coverage the state and the employee share the cost.
Life Insurance: The state holds a group term life insurance policy for each employee and pays all premiums. Coverage is equal to twice the amount of annual salary rounded to the next highest thousand. Benefits for accidental death are twice the basic coverage.
Optional Life Insurance: Additional life insurance may be purchased at group rates at one, two, three or four times the employee’s annual salary. Coverage is available for the spouse at 50% of the coverage level of the employee and coverage for minor children is available. Employees must enroll within 31 days of hire for consideration without evidence of insurability.
Retirement: MECC Administrators choose between two retirement plans; the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), a defined contribution plan, or the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), a defined benefit plan. For both the ORP and VRS plans contributions are made by the state and the employee.
Long-Term Disability: Faculty who participate in the Optional Retirement Plan must purchase long-term disability from the VCCS group plan provided through UNUM. Faculty who participate in the Virginia Retirement System are covered by the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program. This includes sick leave, personal/family leave, short-term disability, long-term disability, and long-term care insurance. Premiums are paid by the state.
Vacation: Administrative and Professional Faculty are given an allotment of annual leave upon hire. In addition, leave is accrued each pay period (24 pays per year).
Sick Leave: Administrative and Professional Faculty who participate in the Optional Retirement Plan will participate in the traditional sick leave plan earning five hours of sick leave each pay period (24 pays per year). Faculty who participate in the Virginia Retirement System are covered by the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program. Eight (8) days of sick leave are allotted each year, for the first five years of employment.
Flexible Reimbursement Accounts: The State offers the Medical Reimbursement Account offering tax savings for medical related expenses not covered by health insurance and the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account offering tax savings for child or elder dependent care expenses.
Holidays: The state provides thirteen paid holidays each calendar year. MECC establishes an alternate holiday schedule from that provided by the state to accommodate our academic schedule.
Tax-Sheltered Annuities: Supplemental retirement savings may be gained through a tax-sheltered annuity program that is offered through payroll deduction and covered by IRS 403(b) regulations. Pre-tax dollars may be set aside each pay into investment programs currently offered by TIAA-CREF or VALIC.
Deferred Compensation: The state sponsored Deferred Compensation program is covered by IRS 457 regulations and provides another avenue for supplemental retirement savings. Pre-tax dollars may be set aside each pay day in the income investment program currently offered through Mission Square.
Cash Match: Participation in either a tax-sheltered annuity or the deferred compensation program at the rate of at least $20 per pay is matched by state funds at the rate of $10 per pay, with a maximum of cash of $20 per pay. You may participate in both supplemental retirement savings programs, but the cash match is applied only once. Employees participating in the VRS Hybrid Retirement plan are eligible for the employer match only after you make the maximum 4 percent voluntary contributions to the defined contribution component of the Hybrid Retirement Plan.
Educational Assistance: Up-front payment or reimbursement for job-related courses or courses to attain a job-related degree, professional certifications or licenses are offered. The Continuous Learning program allows an employee to take up to six credits per semester at his or her home college waiving tuition and fees.
Sabbaticals: Up to 12 months granted for approved projects of full-time independent study, research, and/or creative work which will enrich professional growth and development.
Employee Assistance Program: Assistance is available to employees and members of their households. Included are up to four sessions at no charge for such services as mental health, alcohol or drug abuse assessment, child or elder care, grief counseling and legal or financial services.
Wellness Program: The Commonwealth’s wellness program is called “CommonHealth.” CommonHealth is available to all employees and dependents age 18 or older living in the employee’s home and promotes fitness, weight-loss, smoking cessation, nutrition, and other wellness programs.
Virginia College Savings Plan: The Commonwealth offers several programs that allow employees to save for personal college expenses, for their children, grandchildren, or someone else. The plans offer ways to save for tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other fees.
Moving and Relocation: Moving and relocation expenses may be available for upper-level Administrative Faculty appointees. The state provides reimbursement for expenses incurred in relocating the employee and his/her family to their new primary residence.
Credit Union: The Virginia Credit Union offers full banking services and discounts to employees of the Commonwealth.
Discounts Programs: Discounts include auto repairs, car rentals, education, entertainment, financial services, gifts, health & fitness, home & office, hotel, special services, telephone & wireless, travel, vacations, and optional benefits.
Miscellaneous Programs: Many other insurance and savings programs are available as an employee of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Teaching faculty receive 12 months of benefits and work credit when they complete a nine-month faculty contract.
Health Insurance:
The Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) offers a wide range of State Health Benefit Plans administered by multiple vendors such as Anthem, Aetna, Optima, Kaiser, etc. for full-time employees. Most plans include a basic medical, dental, prescription drug coverage, Behavioral health, Employee Assistance Programs along with free wellness visits. The COVA Care Plan with Anthem is a traditional plan with co-pays, small deductible and out-of-pocket maximums. The COVA HealthAware Plan is a consumer-driven high deductible health plan without copays but the state provides you with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help pay for your medical claims and prescriptions. Coverage starts the 1st day of the month after the employees hire date. Employees starting on the 1st of the month will have coverage effective their 1st day of employment.
Flexible Spending Accounts:
DHRM offers Medical and Dependent Care FSAs as a pre-tax benefit option for full-time employees. You can contribute on a pre-tax basis to cover medical or dependent care expenses. The Medical FSA provides reimbursement for eligible medical out-of-pocket expenses while the Dependent Care provides reimbursement for expenses such as day care, after school care or other fees. There is a $10 minimum contribution to enroll in the program. Employees should be cautious and conservative when signing up for the FSAs. The dollars do not carry over from one plan year to the next.
Life Insurance:
Basic Life insurance is provided to all full-time employees. The policy is 100% Employer-paid and is effective on the employee’s date of hire. The coverage is equal to the new employee’s annual salary (rounded to the next highest thousand) and multiplied by two. For accidental death, the coverage is equivalent to the annual salary multiplied by four.
Optional Life Insurance:
Full-time employees may purchase additional optional life insurance at group rates at one, two or three, or four times the employee’s annual salary. This policy allows you to also insure both spouse and minor children. Your premium is based on age, salary and the level of coverage requested, and the premiums are paid directly through payroll deduction.
Retirement:
Faculty members can choose between two retirement plan options: a defined contribution plan or defined benefit plan. The Optional Retirement Plan is a defined contribution plan where vesting is immediate for the employee. This plan is portable, meaning the employee can withdraw or roll over all funds into another qualifying account. The other option available is a defined benefit plan, also known as a pension plan, through the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). The vesting period for this plan is five years. Both plans have a mandatory 5% pre-tax contribution of employee’s salary per pay period.
Available Voluntary Saving Plans: Part-time employees may participate in the voluntary saving plans.
Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP):
Teaching faculty who choose to participate in the VRS defined benefit plan are covered by the VA Sickness and Disability Program which provides eight (8) days of sick days annually, personal/family leave, short-term disability, long-term disability and long-term care insurance with 100% of the premiums paid by the state. The leave year runs January 10 – January 9. To be eligible for short-term disability benefits, employees must satisfy a one-year waiting period. Once eligible, the program provides income replacement for up to 125 workdays. The level of income replacement is based on years of state service. Long-term disability eligibility needs to be approved after the conclusion of short-term disability coverage. The standard income replacement level is 60% but could go up to 80% for catastrophic conditions. Long-term care is a benefit provided to you when you cannot perform at least 2 everyday activities of daily living. Additional information is provided at hire.
Long-Term Disability for Optional Retirement Plan Participants (ORP):
Teaching faculty members who choose to participate in the defined contribution ORP plan can purchase Long-Term Disability from the VCCS Group plan provided through UNUM. Additional information is provided at time of hire.
Sick Leave for Optional Retirement Plan Participants (ORP):
Teaching faculty members who enroll in the ORP participate in the traditional sick leave plan and accrue at the rate of four and one-half ( 4 ½ ) days per academic semester, awarded on the first day of each semester.
Leave:
Teaching faculty do not receive annual leave. However, teaching faculty not participating in VSDP receive 3 (three) days of personal leave at the beginning of the academic year.
Parental Leave:
Parental leave is designed to support new parents with adjusting to their new obligations while managing the operational impact of their absence from work for a limited period of time. All benefits-eligible full-time administrative, professional, and teaching faculty who have been employed for twelve (12) consecutive months shall
be awarded 8 weeks/(320) hours of paid parental leave for childbirths or the adoption of children under the age of 18, conditioned upon the provisions outlined in this policy. The leave shall be prorated for benefits-eligible, part-time 9- month teaching faculty or benefits-eligible, quasi-full-time administrative and professional faculty.
Community Service Leave:
Full-time instructional faculty may receive sixteen (16) hours of paid leave per calendar year to participate in school activities or serve as a volunteer member of a community service organization.
Holidays:
The state provides twelve paid holidays each calendar year. Each college and the System Office establish an alternate holiday schedule to accommodate our academic schedule.
Educational Assistance:
VCCS supports continuous professional growth and development of its employees. VCCS offers financial support for tuition and mandatory fees for coursework that is job-related and/or part of a degree program. Full-time employees can request financial support for up to a limit of 6 credit hours per semester via up-front payments or reimbursement not to exceed the cost of in-state tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia Commonwealth University. Educational assistance is not available for duplicate degree levels and must be for a higher degree than what they currently have. Professional development for non-credit courses or certifications are also supported.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP):
EAP is available to state employees and their dependents enrolled in our health insurance plans. Included are up to four sessions at no charge for services such as mental health counseling, alcohol or drug abuse assessment, grief counseling and legal or financial services.
CommonHealth Wellness Program:
CommonHealth is available to all employees and dependents age 18 or older living in the employee’s home and promotes fitness, weight-loss, smoking cessation, nutrition and other wellness programs.
Worker’s Compensation:
Employees are eligible to receive benefits under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act for an injury and/or illness which they incurred in the course of official work-related duties. Benefits generally include payment of medical expenses and time lost from work.
Virginia College Savings Plan:
The Commonwealth offers several programs that allow employees to save for college expenses for their children, or grandchildren, etc. The plans offer ways to save for tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other fees.
Virginia Credit Union:
The Virginia Credit Union offers full banking services and discounts to employees of the Commonwealth.
Discounts Programs:
State employees are eligible to receive a wide range of discounts for health/fitness, hotels, car rentals, cell phone services, travel, etc. Employees can view all state employee discounts here: https://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeediscounts.
Sabbaticals:
A/P faculty who meet the eligibility criteria may be granted up to a 12 month sabbatical for approved projects of fulltime independent study, research, and/or creative work which will foster and enrich professional growth and development.
Miscellaneous Programs:
We off multiple other insurance and savings programs which can be paid directly via payroll deduction.
Working at Mountain Empire Community College for the past 35 years has been a wonderful experience and truly a blessing for me. I received my education at MECC and immediately afterwards went to work at a large hometown business. After working there approximately 12 years, I returned to MECC as a full-time employee. I always said it was like coming home. The faculty and staff were like family. Everybody was so friendly and eager to work together. I’m a country girl at heart and working here has given me the opportunity to stay rooted and close to my home and family. It has given me a greater appreciation for our community and the opportunity to give back to our students what was given to me years ago. -- Debbie McGuire, Fiscal Technician in our MECC Business Office.
MECC is a remarkable community of individuals dedicated to supporting your success. Beyond the breathtaking campus, MECC offers an atmosphere that fosters a strong sense of unity. My educational journey began at MECC, and the exceptional faculty and staff played an important role in my success and helped me find my passion for education and desire to keep learning. The transformative environment of MECC has been both inspiring and life-changing, making it an exceptional workplace. --Kevin Stanley, MECC Information Technology Specialist and Adjunct Instructor
If you have an interview at MECC, you should park in Parking Lot A.
Enter in through main Entrance of Godwin Hall.
Interviews may change for the various positions. MECC utilizes interview panels. The panel or search committee consists of employees across campus who work or interact with the position. A search chair leads and facilitates the committee process. A search advocate is assigned to each position search; the search advocate’s role is to advocate effectively for diversity, help minimize/mitigate implicit bias, and help committee members test their thinking.
Usually, staff position candidates interview with a search committee panel of 3-5 current employees who participate in all stages of the search process. This search committee will ask questions during the interview to ascertain how your knowledge, skills, and abilities align with those needed to be successful in the position. If the hiring manager wants to interview separately, Human Resources will set up two separate interviews for candidates.
Teaching, Administrative, and Professional Faculty also go through an interview process such as stated above. In addition, faculty candidates must give a presentation on a predetermined topic as well as an interview with the Vice President and President of the agency.
Click link here to find many helpful links to processes and services that you may need.
(You will need to log into FoxConnect, MECC's employee portal, with your newly assigned credentials. If you have any issues signing in, please contact helpdesk@mecc.edu)
New employee orientation will encompass most of the first day. Please present yourself at 8:00 a.m. in Godwin Hall, conference room 130 (the same room where you interviewed). The agenda includes:
1. Our agency’s mission,
2. Organizational reporting structure,
3. Policies and procedures,
4. Policies,
5. Benefits,
6. Retirement plan,
7. Leave plans,
8. Workforce civility,
9. Forms and documents needed at hire (please bring your I-9 supporting documents and a voided check for direct deposit of your paycheck with you),
10. Payroll, andEmployee handbook, to name a few.
The above orientation should be completed around 11:00 a.m. Starting at 11:00, we will:
1.Take you on a campus tour so you can be introduced to the employee community (wear comfortable footwear),
2. Get your ID badge made with your picture (be ready for the picture), and
3. Get a parking pass (bring in your vehicle tag number).
At noon, we will take a lunch break providing lunch for you from our Red Fox Grill. You will have an opportunity to eat lunch with your supervisor and Human Resources and get a break before we complete the campus tour. The remainder of the day will find you obtaining your computer hardware and meeting with your supervisor.
Valerie Lee, Director of HR & Chief Diversity Officer | 276-523-9079 | |
Cory Darnell, Human Resources Analyst | 276-523-9081 | |
Holly Jones, Human Resources Analyst | 276-523-9093 |