Meek Center’s Enrollment Thriving Despite Coronavirus Pandemic

The Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center has been thriving despite the coronavirus pandemic.

According to college officials, the outreach center located in the heart of Liberty City saw an 80 percent increase in enrollment—from 291 to 524 students—this spring semester compared to the same time last year.

Enrollment numbers have been trending upwards at Meek for more than a year. They increased by 47 percent (314 to 461 students) between Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 and by 63 percent (287 to 469 students) between Summer 2019 and Summer 2020.

“Students are taking advantage and doing extremely well in our programs,” said Kenyasha McDaniel Knight, who serves as student services director at the Meek Center. 

The increase in enrollment can be attributed to multiple factors. 

Like Miami Dade College’s eight campuses, the Meek Center has adapted to the pandemic by providing students with a flexible virtual environment. Students who couldn’t physically attend the Meek Center—because they lived far away or had a complicated schedule—are now able to take courses there.

Schedules at the Center are personalized so students take various classes the same day and its minute professor-to-student ratio allows for a more personalized experience.

“The smaller classroom environment makes it easier to focus on the lectures,” said Nathan Forbs, a student at the Center. “They make me feel like I’m not alone, like we’re truly all in this together.”

During the pandemic, staff at the Meek Center have been even more vigilant about getting information to students about scholarships, free tuition incentives and tutoring.

Besides being eligible for COVID-related collegewide scholarships, such as those offered from the MDC Cares Act, some Meek Center students were eligible for campus-based scholarships from community partnerships like the Carrie Meek Foundation, which provided dual enrollment students from private schools to pay for tuition. Other examples include students in digital marketing, early childhood education and network security programs who received a book stipend and got their tuition covered. 

Nicole Acosta, a speech pathology and audiology major, benefitted from the available scholarships. Prior to the pandemic, she had discontinued her studies for a year because she couldn’t afford tuition.

“Once I found out about the Meek Center, I got hooked,” Acosta said. “There you get more of a one-on-one kind of teaching and it has all of the accessibilities that other campuses have.”

The Meek Center, named after congresswoman Carrie Pittman Meek, was founded in 1989 in response to racial tensions in Miami after riots erupted in 1980, 1982 and 1989 in Overtown and Liberty City following the death of three Black men, during three separate incidents, at the hands of local police.

The center, located at 6300 N.W 7th Ave., is a branch of North Campus that offers specialized training and programs focused on entrepreneurship and community development. The facility has one building with two floors, 12 classrooms, a library and a student success center. It offers the same resources available at any MDC campus: student advisement, career counseling, financial aid services, food pantry, tutoring and a mobile bookstore. 

It also has college credit certificates in early childhood education, network security, crime scene technician, digital marketing strategy and graphic design support.

According to TRIO Student Support Services Director Carlton Daley, who teaches American history and African American history at the Meek Center, students at the outreach center tend to be 30-50 years old and prefer short programs specific to their careers.

“Some of the students hadn’t been in school for years but came back to get their degree because they wanted to get promotions at work,” Daley said. “All so that they could provide better for their children and themselves, which is wonderful.”

The Center uses a holistic approach to reach its students. Once course offerings are set, community partners like Catalyst Miami spread the word to the community. Prospective students receive advice to ensure their schedules won’t interfere with work, family or other responsibilities.

“A collaborative effort between our external partners and internal resources [has] placed us where we are,” Holness said.

To continue assisting its students, the Meek Center plans to hire two new part-time student advisors who will assist in recruiting, admissions, registration and advising, Holness said.

Although the center currently lacks the space to create more student labs, expanding is a possibility in the future. There are also plans to duplicate some of the clubs and organizations available to students at North Campus. 

“I congratulate [students],” McDaniel Knight said. “[The pandemic] was not what they were used to and yet they still jumped in and made it work.”