For the past year I have been taking part in some ‘higher education’ and working towards a second major, this time at a local community college. To my dismay, and as just annouced tonight for a second time, the college has a hard time drawing attendance for a number of its mechanical / archetectual engineering courses. Two out of three of the courses I have attended have been in jeapordy of disbanding after the first few sessions due to attendance being too low.
Now I understand that the fact that the college is still required to rake in enough revenue to make the class financially viable since they have overheads and salaries to pay. But what I find dissapointing is the seemingly lack of regard for the students that the college has. If the minimum isn’t met or if attendance drops below the minimum before registration closes (even after the first [few] classes), the class is simply dropped from the course offering and subsequently both the students time and the professors time is wasted.
The community college, being a 100% commuter school with some students driving as long as an hour to get to class needs to have a better notification program in place so that students don’t show up for class on the first, second, or third day without any indication that class is canceled or no longer being held.
Actually, the first class I attended here, the professor didn’t think was going to make so he didn’t even bother showing up. A confused lot of 10 students was left wandering the halls for a knowledgeable administrator who could tell us what was going on. Needless to say, no class was held that evening. Time wasted.
In addition to the time students waste when classes don’t meet their required minimum, the students are left out in the cold if they are working towards a certificate or degree. They are simply told to ‘come back next semester and hopefully there will be enough people for the class to make’. This makes for a very difficult track to follow for those wishing to follow a rigid timeline on which to acquire a degree. This is the exact opposite of VCU where I received my first degree. The closer you are to graduating in the busienss school, the more scarce the classes are which you need to graduate, they fill up quick and no surplus classes are held for those waiting to get in, your just told ‘better luck next semester’.
*shrugs* don’t know which I prefer.
6 responses so far ↓
~Dennis Junior~ // January 27, 2009 at UTC1731 |
Brett:
I was attending (formerly) a Community College; And, they are lacking in many ways from lacking a cohesive administrators to any form ways to notify students of lack of attendance in course….
Laurie // January 29, 2009 at UTC3831 |
Oh, buddy, don’t be fooled that “higher education” is there for the good of the people and the society. It’s a business and the students (sadly) have become the customer and the commodity. Working as a professor (at JSarge), that fact was so apparent that it crushed my naive vision of being anything resembling an inspiration to the students. It’s disheartening, especially when it happens in a place where inspiration is needed most.
Jessica in NYC // February 10, 2009 at UTC0128 |
Laurie is absolutely correct. Education is a business in the USofA. However, I find it disturbing that a class would be canceled after the semester has began? Surely, I misunderstood that?
I would go ballistic if a class I had cancel after three classes or the professor did not bother to show up. If the school takes your money it better value your time! I’d be screaming in the Dean’s office. Brett, take your hard earned money else where.
I have also decided to go “back’ to school and take a few courses, but at a private university. For me the resources offered at a private school verses that of a community collage are incomparable. Once of my classes changed location and I received two emails and a phone call. Then due to a last minute emergency, the class had to be moved again. I received another email informing me of the change followed my an email from the director of the program apologizing for the confusion. Notes were posted at the doors, security was notified of the changes and someone there ready to greet us in case we showed up to the wrong building. Unfortunately, the faculty member did not check her email or voicemail, so she went to the wrong site and held class with one other student, before she read the note on the door or in the class room. If the program director makes the choice to run the course with 1-4 students prior to the first day of class, the course will run and professors are expected to teach. Since, the professor made a mistake the director of the program made arrangements for us to meet over the holiday weekend to cover the missed class if we (the students) wanted to hold class. We were also offered the option of extending the remaining classes by 15 minutes to cover the “missed” class. The apology and all the subsequent follow-up that have kept me informed have made this a non-issue. I am completely happy with my choice. In general, I find public schools in the US are too strapped for money to give you the education you paid for let alone a competitive advantage. Whenever there is an exception, it is ALWAYS because the instructor gave more of his/herself and was committed to teaching despite the bureaucracy. Chin up, think of an alternative and good luck!
Jessica in NYC // February 11, 2009 at UTC0328 |
Hiya, I posted a comment yesterday on here and today on whys and they both disappeared. I’m just checking that it’s a new setting and not that my comments on word press have been lost in the ether. Please confirm, but do not post this comment. thanks.
Brett // February 12, 2009 at UTC3228 |
Sorry Jess, your up now. Never got a notification. Eek!
Jessica in NYC // February 12, 2009 at UTC1228 |
Oh, guess what? I got an email from the University saying they apologized for all the room changes and that they would refund us for 1/12 of the class cost, despite the fact the class was rescheduled. Plus, the the professor emailed us and she is taking us out for breakfast later in the semester and the school will pick up part of the cost. Sorry if I am bragging, but I am impressed by the way this “error” was handled. Then again, I expected nothing less that this.