Clarion 8/31/11

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Wednesday, August 31, 2011 Vol. 65 Issue 1

Enrollment decreases, fees increase Bre Payton Features Editor

Fewer class sections are available this fall, and fewer students are attending Citrus College than in the past. In addition, the per-unit fee has risen from $26 in 2010-2011 to $36 in fall 2011. According to Sam Lee, Ed. D., dean of language arts and enrollment management, 923 sections are being offered this semester. This is a 99 section decrease from the 1,022 in fall 2010, and a 140 section decrease from fall 2009, when 1,062 sections were in the class schedule. The number of full time equivalent students has been reduced by 399 from fall 2009 to fall 2011. Lee said there are 4,606 fulltime equivalent students enrolled this fall, compared to 4,877 FTES in fall 2010 and 5012 in fall 2009. FTES is computed by counting the number of students taking 12 units. Students who enroll in fewer than 12 units are combined with other part-time students to equal a full-time student. “We have a 13 percent de-

Full Time Equivalent Students Natalie Miranda Citrus College Clarion

crease in sections this year from last year and a 7 percent decrease in full time equivalent students,” Lee said. “That tells you that we have more students packing into classes.” Student headcount has decreased as well. According to Lois Papner, dean of admissions and records,

headcount this fall is 10,105. This is down by 348 students from 10,453 enrolled in fall of 2010. Fall 2010 saw a decrease of 750 students from 11,203 students enrolled in 2009. However, the number of sections in the class schedule may increase next year. Lee said that if there are no

budget cuts, Citrus College will offer 993 sections in spring 2011. This is an increase of 71 sections from the current fall semester. College officials are also planning to offer 112 sections during winter session 2012. However, Lee says that Citrus College is planning for mid-year budget cuts which could occur in

January 2012. “We made spring semester bigger just in case the state comes with mid-year cuts. That way it won’t be smaller than fall,” Lee said. Student fees are expected to increase by a minimum of $10 next spring, Lee said. This would mean an additional $120 per semester for full-time students. California’s per-unit costs remain the lowest in the nation. Lee said this puts us in a vulnerable position to budget reductions made by politicians. “The financial situation is dire, and we don’t see it getting any better soon, in fact it may get worse in December if the trigger cuts are made,” said California Community Colleges Counselor Jack Scott in a press conference in Sacramento Monday Aug. 22. Lee’s advice to students who are affected by a shortage in classroom seats is to pick a major that is less popular so the odds of transferring into a desirable school and attaining a job are higher. “If you can’t get the class you want, take what’s available,” Lee said.

Campus to proceed with lockdown drill Parking Danny Hernandez News Editor

Officials from Citrus College and the Glendora Police Department are planning an allcampus lockdown drill as part of ongoing emergency preparation plan. The exercise is scheduled for Sept. 22 between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The drill is designed to be an opportunity for the campus community to practice emergency preparedness procedures in the event of a real live encounter with a shooter or other criminal intruder on school grounds. “It's been something we've been working toward for the last two years,” said Martha McDonald, Ed.D., dean of students. “It’s been one of our goals in the Student Conduct Team to have a lockdown drill with the Glendora Police Department and other emergency responders.” On Feb. 11, the Campus Safety Department and staff representatives joined with the GPD to stage what they called a “soft” lockdown drill. “We have already completed several small scale lockdown drills on Citrus College Campus to detect and identify weaknesses in our response plan,” said Corporal Michael Henderson with Glendora Police. “The Glendora Police Department and Citrus College administration have worked diligently over the past two years to develop the most effective response plans to campus emergencies in order to provide the safest learning environment possible for students and instructors.” The scenario, which lasted about eight min-

I would rather be overly prepared than not prepared at all, it may be an inconvenience...but that amount of time...is going to pay off in the long run. MARTHA MCDONALD DEAN OF STUDENTS

utes, was designed to help the police to gauge the size of the campus and to determine how long it would take to conduct another full-on drill, McDonald said. It gave law enforcement officials the opportunity to study campus facilities. “It gave a very good opportunity for the Glendora Police officers and our Campus Safety officers to determine the time frame that it would take for us to lock down a building or the campus,” McDonald said. “It allowed them to identify any potential obstacles if that situation was to arise.” Campus Safety Supervisor Anthony Giannone said Citrus safety officers are not armed or trained to respond to shooter scenario. Their job is to oversee the campus for matters that seem to be unusual. When an issue occurs that Campus Safety

cannot resolve, then GPD comes in. “We have a good working relationship with them,” Giannone said. “They have great response time to any event in the city, and also to us.” The all-campus drill was originally scheduled to take place on June 2, and GPD was confirmed to participate. However, some faculty objected to lack of advanced notice and the day being too close to finals. As a result, the drill was postponed. “We didn't want to interfere with the faculty teaching,” McDonald said. “It was close to the end of the semester. We had to think what would be the best environment for that, and the best timing.” A memo dated July 25 was sent to all faculty and staff detailing recommended procedures for the drill taking place Sept. 22. “This day [Sept. 22] was selected and is supported by the Academic Senate and all the management team is on board,” McDonald said. Academic Senate President Nicki Shaw confirmed that everyone is on board with the drill as it is great practice and provides organization and preparedness. The only issue with last semester’s schedule date was that there wasn’t enough notice give in advance, she said. “I think it needs to be done,” Shaw said. “Those situations require different skill sets.” McDonald said that this drill should be beneficial for everyone on campus. “I would rather be overly prepared than not

[LOCK DOWN pg. 3]

guidelines, rules for students

Natalie Miranda Editor in Chief

Finding convenient parking in time to make it to classes is one of the many challenges most students face at the beginning of the semester. “Students need to get here early,” said Tony Giannone, Campus Safety supervisor. “Get here at 7 a.m. even if your class starts at 8 or 9 a.m. Eat at the Owl Café or bring a sack lunch so you don’t have to leave campus.” Students can utilize an annex lot to find parking, which Citrus leases from Azusa Pacific University, located at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Route 66 opposite APU’s Segerstrom Science Center. Rachel Khatter and Timmy Andrews said they did not have a problem finding parking on Aug. 29, the first day of classes. “I got here at 8 a.m., parking

[PARKING pg. 3]


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