The beginning of the spring semester brings numerous changes in policy and procedures as a result of limited funding for San Joaquin Delta College.
Director of Admissions Catherine Mooney listed some of those changes in an email interview with the Collegian.
The last day to drop a full-term class without receiving a “W” has been moved up one week to the last business day before census.
The change comes after the state notified community colleges throughout California that it would not fund schools for students who drop classes without a notation on their transcripts.
The “W” drop date is now the eighth week of the semester. Previously it was closer to the end of the semester at week 14, according to Mooney.
“This change was made at the recommendation of the Academic Senate who believe that half way through a class is sufficient time for a student to decide whether to remain in a class, and a professor is then free to stop keeping attendance records, and can concentrate on working with the students who have committed to the class,” said Catherine Mooney, director of the admissions and records department.
This means if a student is not serious about the class in which they enrolled they should drop that class as soon as possible.
Otherwise they will end up with a “W” or a failing grade on their records and may not be able to repeat the class in the future if they so choose.
Beginning the summer term, enrollment fees are being raised $10 due to changes enacted by the state legislature, from $36 per unit to $46 per unit.
The non-resident tuition fee will also be raised $14 from $176 to $190.
A Nov. 30, 2011 campus-wide email from vice presidents Dr. Kathy Hart, recently named acting president, and Dr. Michael Kerns and in recommended teachers no longer encourage students to drop in on classes if they are not enrolled in the class or on the wait list.
The email states “If a class and wait list are full, we should not recommend or encourage students to attend on the first day of class in the hope that they may be added.”
In previous semesters students could show up and attempt to be added.
The email recommended teachers not add students to a class over the maximum number of seats available or add students assuming that a request for a larger classroom will be granted.
“Do not take more students than you can effectively teach. This maximum applies in both face-to-face and Internet classes. Anticipating that students will drop is a risky practice, and it could be harmful to students’ educational experience in the long run,” the email read.
According to Mooney, the attendance policy changes are a result of the state limiting the number of full-time equivalent students (FTES), or every 12 units of enrollment, that they fund.
Delta’s funding is capped at 15,000 FTES.
Currently there are 16,000 FTES enrolled.
According to Mooney, that equates to $4,000,000 that the school is not receiving funding for.
This funding would help to cover the cost of many services the college provides, such as classes, admissions procedures and counseling.
Mooney further wrote “it is not fiscally responsible for us to carry so much FTES over the limit funded by the State.”
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