Admission Requirements for all Healthcare Education Programs

Students applying for any Healthcare Education Program must meet all General Admission Requirements of the College and be accepted by the College. In addition to the general admission requirements, each program has specific requirements for admission. All Healthcare Education Program applications must be submitted to the Office of Healthcare Education.

Application Deadlines:

  • Associate Degree Nursing for annual fall admission: January 31
  • LPN to ADN Transition for annual spring admission: October 1
  • Practical Nursing for annual fall admission: January 31
  • Surgical Technology for annual spring admission: June 1

Post acceptance requirements for students selected for admission into any Healthcare Education Program are:

  • ECCC Health Examination form (completed after acceptance and prior to the beginning of class on EC Healthcare Education form).
  • Immunizations against measles, mumps, rubella (MMR, two immunizations), or rubella titer.
  • Hepatitis B vaccine, or signed declination statement.
  • American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR Course (completed in June, July or August of year of admission).

All healthcare education students are required to submit to a criminal background check according to Mississippi law prior to any clinical experience. If the person has ever been convicted of a felony, or pleaded guilty to, or pleaded no contest to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offence listed in Section 45-33-23 (f), child abuse, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault, felonious abuse and/or battery of a vulnerable adult they may not be eligible to attend clinical experience, thus forfeiting their slot in the program.

Students enrolled in any healthcare education program must submit to random drug screening at any time during the program.

Students enrolled in any healthcare education program must carry professional liability insurance provided through the college.

The student is responsible for all expenses incurred with drug screening, liability insurance and criminal background check. These fees are attached as a lab fee to the student’s account in the college business office. Transportation costs to and from clinical sites will be at the student’s expense.

General College Admission Requirements

Implementation of specific admission policies is the responsibility of the administration and faculty of the institution. East Central Community College ascribes to an “open admissions” policy consistent with all appertaining laws. The College embraces the philosophy that students be provided the opportunities for learning experiences, e.g. developmental courses, counseling, tutorial assistance, etc., that will help individual students succeed in achieving his/her educational goals. Further, the College utilizes relevant diagnostic instruments to determine the strengths and needs of students in order to assist them in the selection of the most appropriate program options and for possible placement into state of the art development instruction.

East Central Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or qualified disability in its educational programs and activities, employment practices, or admissions processes. The following offices have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies of East Central Community College.

Inquiries regarding compliance with Title VI and ADEA are coordinated by the Executive Vice President, Walter Arno Vincent Administration Building, Room 171, Post Office Box 129, Decatur, MS 39327, Phone: 601-635-6202, Fax: 601-635-4011, Email: compliance@eccc.edu.

Inquiries regarding compliance with Title IX and Section 504 are coordinated by the Dean of Student Services, Campus Police Building, Post Office Box 129, Decatur, MS 39327, Phone: 601-635-6267, Fax: 601-635-4067, Email: compliance@eccc.edu.

Inquiries regarding compliance with ADA are coordinated by the Director of Student Success, Mamie Ethel Burton Memorial Library, Post Office Box 129, Decatur, MS 39327, Phone: 601-635-6228, Fax: 601-635-2150, Email: compliance@eccc.edu.

Academic and Technical Students

Academic students are those who are taking classes that lead to the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees. In general, academic students intend to transfer the work completed at East Central Community College (ECCC) to a college or university and have that work apply toward a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree.

Technical students are those who are taking classes that lead to the Associate of Applied Science degree. This degree combines intensive technical training in a specific career with relevant academic courses and professional development. The Associate of Applied Science degree is traditionally structured for completion in four semesters by students who are academically prepared for College level work.

To be admitted as a student to an academic or technical program at ECCC, an applicant must have on file in the Office of Admissions and Records:

  1. A signed (digitally, if online) and dated official college application;
  2. One of the following;
  • An official high school transcript indicating the receipt of a regular high school diploma from an approved* high school including the date of graduation and appropriate signature(s); or
  • An official state and locally approved high school equivalency exam transcript; or
  • Official College transcript(s) from degree granting institution(s) accredited by national or professional organizations which are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and/or the U.S. Department of Education (USDE).

*NOTE: If the high school transcript indicating the receipt of a regular high school diploma is from a school that is not approved by the College, the prospective student must present an official state and locally approved high school equivalency exam transcript or submit an ACT composite of 14 or better to be admitted into an academic or technical program at the College.

  1. Scores on the American College Test (ACT), SAT Reasoning, or the Accuplacer Placement Test. Applicants who have already achieved a passing grade in College Algebra or English Composition I may be admitted to the College without the aforementioned assessments. Admission into certain programs of study or certain courses may still, however, require 1 or more of these scores.

Admission as an East Central Community College student does not guarantee admission to a specific program of study.

For degree seeking transfer students, official transcripts from all previously attended accredited degree granting institutions of higher education are required by the Office of Admissions and Records.