Has this college administration learned absolutely nothing from the past? It is quite clear that with this latest prerequisite registration debaucle they have not and continue to keep students in the dark.
This year alone students had to frustratingly navigate through a maze of one administrative blunder after another.
Back in April students had to deal with the “Black Monday†registration fiasco for the infamous Extended Spring. Then the old LancerLink system crashed and all registration had to be done by hand, which caused students to stand in a ridiculously long line for hours extending all the way to Colorado Boulevard.
At the time Senior Vice President Bob Miller uttered the understatement of the year: “There’s no doubt this was poorly handled.â€Â
Then came this administration’s Extended Spring transfer predicament. Internal college emails showed that the administration knew for months that Extended Spring was going to be a transfer nightmare for students but failed to timely inform students of the transfer issue.
Now the administration finds itself in yet another colossal blunder with problems caused by the new $10.5 million LancerPoint system. The new system has been in place for months and was sold and packaged as a panacea for all the ills of the antiquated LancerLink system.
Some glitches may be expected with a new system of this size , but this is beyond ridiculous because it has gone as far as harming students.
Who was it that said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result?
In referencing the old LancerLink system last September Trustee Linda Wah said, “I think that PCC has been so far behind in technology. It’s really damaged our ability to deliver services to students and also to give the tools that are needed to our staff to really do their job effectively.â€Â
At a Board of Trustees meeting back in Aug. 2012 President Mark Rocha said, “Our current computer system is basically dysfunctional.â€Â
How ironic, that the new multi-million dollar LancerPoint system seems to be as dysfunctional as the old one.
Through LancerPoint, students were allowed to register for classes without taking prerequisite courses. Again the administration failed to properly inform students of the issue even though they knew for weeks that there might be a problem with the new LancerPoint system.
Students found themselves being dropped from these classes without proper notification and than had to scramble at the last minute to find other classes to fulfill their full-time student status.
Student’s financial aid was also in jeopardy. Associate Dean of Counseling Cynthia Olivo said in a recent interview with the Courier that students impacted by the prerequisite predicament who are enrolled in less than 12 units will receive a smaller amount of financial aid.
Most college documents request a personal email address from students, but notifications from the college to students are now sent through the new in-house LancerPoint email system. Most students aren’t aware of their new college appointed email address so students tend to not be aware of any notifications from the college regarding courses, financial aid or anything else that may be important to the student.
So that students can make an informed decision they must be made aware immediately of any issue that may have an impact on their education, futures and lives.
There is no room for excuses.
Taxpayers, parents and students pay good money so students can receive a good education. Excuse after excuse, apology after apology just doesn’t cut it anymore.
It’s time that individuals start being held accountable and terminated for incompetence.
- President Rocha will retire Aug. 31 - August 7, 2014
- Former Courier editor-in-chief dies suddenly - July 26, 2014
- Rocha not offered college presidency in New York - July 3, 2014
What a great editorial! It is about time someone realized how much these administrative blunders hurt students. I am not worried about the faculty starving or missing a house payment because they don’t get a raise. I am worried about students who have to live on less financial aid because the administration screwed up again. Unless you depend on financial aid, you can’t even imagine how stressful it is to find out you have been dropped from a class because you didn’t have a prerequisite. When you hear your aid is being cut, it can be devastating to someone who is just trying to get an education and make ends meet. These administrative blunders affect students’ lives. They shouldn’t be brushed aside with another “oops, we’ll do better next time excuse.” Why are there so many mistakes tolerated? Why so many next times? For the money these administrators are being paid, shouldn’t they know what they are doing?
outstanding. Use their own words against them!
They are so incompetent it is time for a taxpayer revolt.
Throw the rascals out at the next election of board members.
How can we take anything that the admin says seriously, when they have a general council embroiled in a sexual harassment law suit and yet is investigating men on campus for sexual harassment. How much is this general council going to cost the school because of her prurient interests in a married man? If that wasn’t bad enough she then investigated and terminated him? How can she walk with her head high on our campus. Shame.
In the past, we encouraged our friends and family to attend PCC. Never again. In addition to the facts in this article, a closer look at the annual budget demonstrates a huge increase in administrator’s salaries, roughly 30 percent. What are we getting in terms of services from these people. Nothing. While the Board continuously attacks faculty, be aware that instructors have not had a raise in 6 years. I would like to know why there is at least one new ‘Director’ hired at each board meeting and why council continues in her position while being investigated for sexual harrassment? The fact is that the administration is incompetent and our first-class institution is in shambles under the highest paid campus president in CA. I urge all community members to contact their board member and ask that the school be turned back into a learning institution rather than an experiment in incompetence.
So the instructors haven’t gotten a raise in 6 years. Big deal–neither have I. A little financial event known as the crash of 2008 happened and our economy is still in trouble. Incidentally, the Government Accounting Standards Board will soon make it harder for CalSTRS and other pension funds to lie about how much they are underfunded. CalSTRS will be unfunded by $160 billion according to the new rules–which means more budget cuts coming for higher ed. If I were a PCC student I would worry about that more than problems with a new computer system.
http://www.pensiontsunami.com
The fowl-up of registering students without prerequisites has nothing to to with conspiracy theories about pensions, chemtrails, or bigfoot.
Think first, then type — and never type drunk.
Love the play on words in the title. It’s a wreck indeed!
Are the Associated Students or the Academic Senate going to find out how many students were affected and what exactly happened to resolve the situation? Are these misplaced still sitting in the classes (and most likely will fail since they are not ready having taken the pre-reqs)?