Administration plans to give back to students

The administration announced yesterday night that there would be a special twelve-week intersession this spring to help students whose classes were cancelled a week before the semester began.

Dubbed “Spring Forward,” this special session is going to be offered for students affected by the budget cuts. Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Robert Bell says his office is going to work hard to contact every displaced student to offer classes needed by effected students.

“I’m convinced that if we do this more strategically that it’s not a matter of not having enough classes, it’s a matter of having the correct classes in place.” Bell said, “My sense is this will be a good step to solve the problem.”

Bell also said he will be drafting a letter that will be offered to transferring students who were disrupted by class cuts. These letters are meant to be sent out to their prospective universities. All students affected by the cuts are urged by the Board of Trustees to contact the Associated Students for help regarding the class cuts.

President Rocha proposed to the board a list of 8 actions the school will be taking to help prevent further cuts to classes.

Among these actions is the creation of a graduation fund based on the goals of the Student Success Task Force and PCC’s Education Master Plan to fund additional classes. Rocha has already offered donations for the graduation fund and has encouraged other faculty to donate.

Rocha also announced that no funds will be spent on construction of new buildings on campus, and that the U-building will be closed and fenced off.

Of the 382 full-time faculty, 25 were released from teaching entirely in order to perform other duties for the college.

Over the last 5 years, $13 million dollars have been spent from the reserves in order to offer additional classes. On top of that, PCC continuously ignored the funding cap the state had placed for Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES).

“These cuts are serious,” Rocha said. “But it’s not the world coming to an end.”

Rocha also proposed that all faculty release assignments end June 30, with a few exceptions.