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NEWS
Wednesday September 21, 2011
Courses Cut, Enrollment Soars
Metro Wants Partnership to Continue I-Tap from page 1
Students brave long lines that wrap around the Student Services Bungalow. Higher enrollment draws more students who seek financial aid dollars on a hot fall day. Photo by Luis Rivas/Collegian
Fall Semesterfrom page 1
Beyond tuition matters, perhaps the most visible effect of the spike in enrollment is class availability. LACC was forced to cut 862 of its course section offerings between the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, according to college president Jamillah Moore’s June 2011 State of the College address. With fewer sections and more students this fall, getting into classes has proven difficult for many. Timothy Adamski is a first-semester LACC student who has already experienced the competitiveness of class enrollment. He said he was crowded out of two classes he tried to add this semester, “English 101 and an art class.” Pai sympathizes with the overwhelmed students on campus and wants to reassure them that the administration is doing its best under the circumstances to keep up with student scheduling demands. “The college is being efficient in the way it does its enrollment management,” Pai said. “We have to schedule classes
which are in demand” … “We are meeting the demand, but students are feeling something different. They see bigger classes. They pay the fee increase.” Not all students, however, are lamenting the higher cost of attendance. Simone Castagna commutes between LACC and Santa Monica College where she also takes classes. She acknowledges that although it may be inconvenient to students, the increases might be essential to the survival of the college. “It may be necessary since California has the cheapest education of any state,” Castagna said. “So I don’t feel that bad about [a] $10 per unit increase.” However, Pai expresses concern that a small increase in fees now could lead to more down the road, ultimately restricting access to LACC from those students who might not be able to afford it. “We don’t need to create a greater gap, a greater divide,” he said.
EducoSoft Under Investigation EducoSoft from page 1
“I started working from my house,” Cerezo said. However, toward the end of the semester, with little time remaining to complete her assignments, “... all my [online lab] hours were gone.” She ended up getting her missing work hours accredited, but she is still waiting to be reimbursed for the faulty software. LACC President Dr. Jamillah Moore, who had discontinued the use of the software, claimed that everyone who had purchased it would be reimbursed. “Every student who applied got reimbursed,” said Paul Carlson, LACC’s VP of Administrative Services. “To the best of my knowledge.” Despite Carlson’s assurance, there still seems to be confusion among the student body. Cerezo, for one, seemed unaware of the formal application process and had asked for reimbursement in person. “We sent out an [e-mail] blast,” Carlson said. Still, he believes the number of students who asked for their money back to be relatively low. “It was not very many,” recalled Carlson. He was not certain whether or not there was a deadline in place for reimbursement applications. The experiences with EducoSoft left students dissatisfied, prompting Dr. Moore to order a preliminary investigation and an internal audit. How the software company came into possession of student’s confidential class scheduling information is unclear. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which is meant to ensure that students’ personal information is properly safeguarded, seems to have been violated. Student class schedules were somehow released to a private company. Students who believe their personal information was improperly disclosed can complete a
FERPA complaint. A conservative estimation suggests that at least 770 students received emails encouraging them to purchase “Watch Your Language.” At a cost of $25 per software unit, EducoSoft stood to make close to $20,000 from the software per semester – that’s assuming that each student that was contacted accepted the offer, an unlikely scenario. Still, anonymous sources claim that the actual profit margin was considerably higher. It remains to be seen how many students were actually affected and how much money was generated through the “Watch Your Language” software. The recipients of any potential profits are also unknown at this point. A number of LACC faculty contributed to the development of the software. The Collegian contacted Arnold Blanchard, auditor for the Los Angeles Community College District, who confirmed that an investigation was currently in progress. However, Blanchard was unable to comment, as the investigation continues. This should come as welcome news to students who were affected by the software. “It was a horrible experience,” Cerezo said about working with the EducoSoft program. “When you try to get help and all doors are closed, that’s a really bad feeling. No one was returning my phone calls. Nobody knew anything. It was very frustrating.”
LOS ANGELES COLLEGIAN
In 2009, the district was more interested in relieving parking congestion and encouraging the use of public transportation while helping students combat “tough economic times.” The LACCD also dedicated $1 million dollars to the program to compensate 90 percent of the cost. “ In these tough economic times, we are intensely committed to ensuring that our students have easy, affordable access to our campus through a variety of transportation channels that are both eco-friendly and available where students live,” said Dr. Marshall E. Drummond, chancellor of the L.A. Community College District in 2009. Drummond is gone and so is the district’s commitment to the program during even more challenging economic times. Now, due to the lack of funding, students have to pay more than double without the assistance of the I-TAP program. Two months ago, Metro officials met with LACC’s Vice President of Administrative Services Paul Carlson and Associated Students Organization President Jaden Ledkins to discuss how all nine colleges could still be involved in the program. The official statement from Metro is that both sides met one last time on July 11,to talk about various programs that might be able to fit in the school’s budget. No agreement has been reached and since then, the district has made no attempt to meet with Metro personnel. “We are trying to get the TAP program back, in our investigation into Metro, we learned that businesses are getting a better deal than students,” said
Ledkins, when asked about the status of the program. “Businesses don’t subsidize the program, not even a cent, in order to get a fair deal, they [Metro] need to treat students like the business.” In a survey conducted by the Collegian, 42 percent of City college students use the Metro to get to campus. Faculty and staff also use the Metro. Professor Clark said, “I think it’s an unfortunate contradiction. It will ultimately make it more difficult for students to remain in college.” At one point in 2009, nearly 30,000 students were enrolled in the program. Now, students are speaking out about the loss of the I-TAP pass. “It was vital for me because I don’t have a vehicle or a source of income as I’m going to school full time,” said theatre major Albert Birgen “To take the metro to school was really convenient for 20 bucks.” Eric Romann from the Bus Riders Union said that he would like to see more students get involved and mobilize. “We would love to get together and connect with students who are interested in organizing around this.” Romann said. Currently UCLA, Pasadena City College and Rio Hondo College are the only three schools that have preserved the I-TAP. A passenger waits for his train at the Vermont/Santa Monica Red Line Metro Station. Photo by Patrick Chong/Collegian