Cengage at MCCC
Scarpelli vs. Mt. Etna MCCC Geology professor scales famous volcano.
Opinion divided on new textbook access option
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Switched Off
Photo by James P. Quick | Modeled by Michael Apperson
THE INCREDIBLE
College switchboard now closed at night
James P. Quick Agora Editor
The college switchboard’s hours during the week have been curtailed. The operator will now leave at 4:30 p.m. The evening shift, formerly manned by two part-timers, has been done away with entirely. While this has been done from a budgetary perspective, not everyone is pleased by the decision. “This decision has caused me a new level of concern that I otherwise never felt,” says Lori Bean, Professor of Chemistry. “Because I do teach a night class – Chemistry lab goes until 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday nights.” During the Fall Semester alone, there are 89 courses that meet between 4 p.m. and midnight, including subjects ranging from Welding Symbols to Pre-Teen Tap-Dancing and, of course, Chemistry. “I was concerned that perhaps parents trying to reach their students, or other family members trying to reach a student, would not have a number to call,” Bean says. “I still do not know the answer to that question. How will the community be able to reach someone on campus? I don’t know what they will use anymore.” Sue Wetzel, vice president of Administration, explains why the change was made. “Funding for the two part-time positions that staffed the evening and Saturday hours at the switchboard was cut from the 2018-2019 budget,” she writes in an e-mail. “The switchboard operator was not handling a large volume of calls or walk-up student/community members during the evening and weekend hours.” The college then made the decision to handle the call volume through an automated system. Faculty, staff, and students will now have to contact either security or maintenance if they require help. “Signage is also being placed in all the classrooms and public areas on campus listing the security phone number,” Wetzel writes. Kellie Heinzerling, the Director of Purchasing and Auxiliary Services, explains that new recordings are being made that will also give callers the phone numbers of security and maintenance.
STUDENTS
Enrollment has dropped below 3000. Where has everybody gone? Todd Salisbury Agora Staff
The downward trend continues as MCCC’s Fall enrollment dropped below 3,000 for the first time in 30 years. Enrollment for the Fall 2018 semester is down 5.7 percent, after several years of smaller decreases. This leaves the enrollment count at 2,943 stu-
dents, compared to last year’s 3,122. According to annual Student Profile Data reports published by the college, the last time enrollment was below 3,000 was in the fall of 1988. “We’re bleeding, and we need to find a way to stop the bleeding,” said Kojo Quartey, President of MCCC. The bleeding isn’t just here
See Concerns, Page 2 Serving Monroe County since 1968
September 10, 2018
at MCCC. Community colleges across the state have been recording declines. Nearby community colleges such as Schoolcraft, Macomb, and Henry Ford have seen similar slips in enrollment. Oakland Community College witnessed a double-digit decrease compared to last year. Jackson and Washtenaw enrollment remained nearly the same. See Enrollment, Page 2 Vol. 66, Issue 1