MLT FAQS
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Medical Laboratory Technician FAQs

For further information, you may contact mhaji@sheltonstate.edu, 205.391.2677 or bappling@sheltonstate.edu, 205.391.2654.

A medical laboratory technician (MLT) performs clinical laboratory testing using analytical instruments to help doctors diagnose, treat, and prevent disease.

  1. Submit a Shelton State Community College (SSCC) application to obtain a student ID/A number.
  2. Meet with the SSCC advisor/enrollment/registration specialist to complete prerequisites and general education courses. Visit the SSCC Advising Page to schedule an appointment.
  3. Complete and submit the MLT Program application online before the fall deadline each year (July 1). MLT applications and official transcripts will be evaluated to determine if the applicant meets the current MLT Program selection criteria. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if the admission requirements are not met.

Generally, we admit between 15-25 students each academic year based on a point system.

To be admitted for the fall semester, all MLT applications must be completed before July 1.

Program enrollment is limited to 15 to 25 students each academic year.

Upon admission to the program the Program Director and instructor will advise all MLT students.

  1. CHM 104 (Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry)
  2. BIO 103 (Principles of Biology I)
  3. MTH 100 (Intermediate College Algebra or higher-level math course)
  4. ENG 101 (English Composition I)

The program is typically five consecutive semesters. The admitted student must follow the program course sequence.

The program is two years, and it begins in the fall of each year with students taking the required general education courses and ends in the summer semester of the second year.

  1. A student must achieve a minimum grade of C (75) or above in every MLT course and a grade of C (70) or above in required general education courses.
  2. MLT courses are designed to be taught sequentially. A student must have a minimum final grade of 75 in every course in a given term of work to proceed to the courses taught in the next term. (Please see Program Progression Policy.)

Students are required to complete a 15-week, 360-hour clinical rotation for all major MLT practicum courses at an assigned clinical laboratory and or in the SSCC MLT Laboratory classroom.  The MLT Program Director assigns clinical rotation locations according to agency availability. Before beginning the clinical rotation, students will be required to complete a criminal background check, drug screen, proof of immunizations, and a physical exam deeming the student eligible to complete the clinical rotation.

Working a full-time or part-time job is not advisable.  However, those who work over the weekends or evenings may keep their employment as long as it does not interfere with the clinical rotation.  Students are encouraged to decrease working schedules or take time off during the clinical rotations to increase success.

Currently, the clinical rotation is offered only during the spring semester of the second year, according to program course sequences.

Upon completion of the program, students are eligible to take the Medical Laboratory Technician exam through the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) or other agencies.  If successful on the exam, the student will be a certified medical laboratory technician.

Yes, all MLT students must purchase and wear a liquid-resistant lab coat while taking MLT courses.

The curriculum of the MLT program is delivered through the Canvas Learning Management system, the laboratory classroom on the SSCC Fredd Campus (face to face), and clinical rotations at assigned clinical facilities (face to face). The majority of clinical MLT courses are hybrid.

Applications will be considered for beginning in the fall semester of 2021 or the fall semester of 2022. Acceptance will depend on student readiness (completion of the prerequisites courses with a required passing grade).

According to NAACLS Standard, the MLT program must receive its accreditation before graduating the first cohort group of MLT students. The graduating MLT students will be eligible to sit for a national board of certification examination.

Almost all MLT core courses are hybrid, which means the student must attend the laboratory class on Fredd Campus and practicum (clinical rotation) at affiliated clinical sites in the area, such as DCH and others according to the assigned academic semester.

  1. According to the approved schedule, the laboratory class on Fredd Campus will be either morning or afternoon.
  2. The practicum (clinical rotation) will be in the morning and afternoon (for example, 6 hours a day) according to the approved schedule by the MLT program director and the clinical facility administration.
  3. Evening lab classes will not be held on the Fredd Campus unless there is a conflict.

There will be one weekly lab class per assigned course each academic semester. Each hybrid MLT core course will have an integrated lab component. The hours will be different for clinical rotation or practicum courses.