By: Raymond Alonso
(Hallway with The Gateway Advising & Transfer Center; Room A120 Photo Credit: Raymond Alonso)
The current yearlong registration is that they can sign up to Spring 2025 classes. Originally, it was set to open last November but it was pushed to April of this year. Why the change in the registration process? Associate Dean of Student Services Maria Llopiz said that the change has been discussed for a long time & were prepared for this. This is a game changer for students & is a seamless process. She doesn't want students to waste time & money. She's happier that the system is aligned well with their philosophy & for course selection. The Director of Transfer Center, Susan Calabrese said that it's particularly important for students to see what they need. Llopiz saw no downsides to this new change; but sees more benefits.
"We mentioned planning ahead first choice for course selection, definitely the strategic plan for meeting the degree transfer requirements. There are really no downsides because you also have the guarantee to run classes within the launch of this yearlong scheduling, so we're going to have some classes that are guaranteed to run, which is another benefit, & that also means no course cancellations, they're guaranteed to run. I think if students plan ahead, they're better at establishing the mechanisms around their classes to help them be successful for those 16 weeks. What do I mean by this? So, students have complex lives, many are working, or about 60% of them. Sometimes, they have more than 1-2 jobs & many have family responsibilities which limits their time on what you can & cannot do. So, if you know this in advance, how much better your planning will be is your thinking where you work part time & family related responsibilities for the upcoming semesters, so that you can plan accordingly."
Calabrese agreed with Llopiz. "I think it also helps us, as an institution, to know what students need. They are learning to think ahead in terms of their semester-by-semester plan & we're aware of what courses are needed for them for the transfer institution. That's where we can make sure on what's on demand is going to be provided as well from administrative point of view, so it all works together as an institution that we can provide what students want & foresee what they'll be needing through that strategic planning." Llopiz added to Calabrese's words. "I'd like to add that when you see yourself enrolling sequentially, one semester after another, & you're able to plan, that brings you closer to seeing completion. You now can pinpoint the day & time to think about internships, to think about scholarships, to think about research opportunities, & how you can thread this to your plan because you'll be seeing a year, 2 semesters ahead. You can see the fall & the spring. What does that mean for positioning yourself for better opportunities whether you're joining the workforce, or planning to transfer? There's nothing like planning & planning ahead to help you position yourself for best opportunities & for the utmost success."
Cynthia Lawrence, a college advisor, claims: "Well, it allows them to plan. Instead of planning for just summer 2024, they can plan for Summer 2024, Fall 2024 & Spring 2025, for 3 semesters. For other students, it doesn't work well because they planned their lives based on maybe a semester." She then discussed the benefits & downsides for this new plan. "Again, planning purposes, for some, that could be a plus. Our system is working so you don't have to pay for all the semesters at the same time, it's spread out. But the downside is that you might have to change your schedule if other plans change, or classes are cancelled whereas you planned for Spring to reflect your availability for this time & come spring semester & your schedule is different because classes are cancelled, unavailable, or you changed your mind, students sometimes do that too. They come in with the idea that they're going to have a particular major & then that changes, or maybe not have a major & that changes too. It could be ideal for some students to have that type of planning if nothing changes, but if things change then their schedules may have to change as well. Also, students should register as soon as possible, no matter what; it doesn't matter what schedule, or semesters they registered for but to get their registration in as soon as possible." This is her comment regarding the impact on students: "For students, it's longer & sometimes we have restrictions because we don't have the time based on the way an appointment is scheduled. 30 minutes isn't necessarily enough time to schedule 3 semesters of classes."
Students will be given opportunities with this new plan. Whether or not their plan changes, they have resources from the college that can help them sort out any issues they have. It is highly recommended that students should register as soon as possible, so that their classes of choice aren't taken.
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