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Seniors Hurdle Over Paperwork To Graduate

Posted by :Troy Thomas On : September 10, 2013
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Category: Opinion

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Already missed a deadline?

No not a homework deadline, but a registrar form deadline… I didn’t even realize it was due at the end of my junior year. Let’s tack that on to the growing list of stuff I have to finish before I can graduate—just one email reminder would have been nice. At the beginning of each school year, every student is plagued with getting back into the grove of being back at school, as well as jumping on growing piles of school work and catching up with friends that we haven’t seen in three months.

But as a senior, the start of our last year at Linfield is bitter-sweet. With the excitement and fear of having the end in sight, we have a lot to deal with. We have deadlines, paperwork, thesis, capstones and etcetera to finish in just a short nine months. While it is not necessarily their job to remind us about these types of deadlines, who else is going to? We have not been seniors before, and new advisors might not be familiar with everything that needs to be done.

The paper work necessary to graduate may be required, but it is not a recurring task that students have to perform each year, such as clearing our accounts, getting our semester stickers or registering for classes. So us seniors are not sure exactly what is required of us. This also does not fall onto the staff of the registrars office. This should be included in academic advising’s responsibilities. Academic advising is the office in charge of dealing with our majors, other than our advisors.

Just like the incoming students, there should be a check off list of things that need to be done before our huge occasion sneaks up on us. Or even just a tab on the current students page on the Linfield website would be helpful. Even with the forms online, there’s no guidelines or reminders of what else seniors need to do.

Instead of having to go look for three or four different things, in different places, it should be more simple! One master form or website that lists all of the requirements would definitely make life easier for seniors and end all of the confusion. What we don’t need is scrutiny when we turn these forms in late, unsure of what we were supposed to do, and then told that we can’t turn it in until we fill something else out.

I think this confusion could all come to an end with three simple things: communication, updated technology options and patience. Now we don’t need to be babied, but a little help would be appreciated. Just like the big adjustment of coming into college, going out into the real world is scary and some times intimidating, we need the support of our small college.

Kaylyn Peterson / Managing editor

Kaylyn Peterson can be reached at linfieldreviewmanaging@gmail.com.

Study finds low graduation rates among part-time students

Posted by :jprokop On : April 30, 2012
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Category: News

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Growing numbers of college students are in school part time, and they face increasingly long odds of ever graduating, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report, Time is the Enemy, by the nonprofit group Complete College America, includes data on full- and part-time students at public colleges and universities in 33 states, including California. It was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation and others.

“There is a new generation of students who are poorer, more likely to be a minority, working and with families,” said Stan Jones, the organization’s president. “The graduation rates are very low, so that even though more people are going to college looking to better themselves and better their economic circumstances, those goals are not being realized because the system is failing them.”

Among the report’s key findings:

There is a new majority on U.S. college campuses, with 75 percent of students balancing jobs and schools and commuting to class. Only one-quarter of students attend full-time, live on campus and have few work obligations.

Part-time students rarely graduate: Only one-quarter of them complete a degree, even when taking twice as long as the traditional four years.

Minority students and those who are poor or older are attending college in greater numbers, but fewer than one in five earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.

In California, 14.8 percent of full-time and 6.1 percent of part-time students seeking bachelor’s degrees finished in four years. After eight years, about 60 percent of full-time and 41.6 percent of part-time students had earned a degree.

The report, however, includes data only from the California State University system and not from the University of California or the state’s community colleges. That information may be included in an updated study next year, officials said.

A Cal State spokesman said the school system is trying to address the issues raised in the report.

“The data in this report is nothing shocking to us; it identifies our specific student demographic of part-time, underserved students needing remediation,” spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp said. “There are a host of programs we’ve initiated and are going to initiate more. We’re trying to fix it.”

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Carla Rivera/Los Angeles Times

Seniors need more time to move out, make memories

Posted by :jprokop On : May 20, 2011
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Category: Opinion

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The end of the school year is always busy and stressful for students. There are finals to worry about, papers to write, senior theses to submit and final projects to complete. And, of course, there is also having to move out on time. For underclassmen, moving out is a pain, but for seniors, it can be just as stressful as finals.

This year, the Reading Day date change altered the finals schedule, and seniors only have a brief window of time to move out. In addition to the long list of activities occurring in the next two weeks, including Wildstock and the Linfield Bar Crawl, finals are May 23-26, the Baccalaureate Service and Grad Finale/Senior Celebration are on May 28 and graduation is on May 29. Students are expected to be moved out by noon the following day of graduation.
In addition, family and friends of the graduates come to visit and might want to spend time with them to celebrate. Many seniors are stressing out about the time crunch.

Seniors who live in campus apartments have a lot to pack. During their years at Linfield, seniors accumulate a plethora of things, from furniture to food to clothing. Students living in the area have the luxury of taking multiple trips to transport their belongings. Out-of-state students are not so lucky.

There is also excess anxiety for seniors who do not know where they will be living after graduation. Students who choose not to live at home are forced to find summer living arrangements, quickly. Being stuck with boxes of stuff and nowhere to put them presents a challenge.

The Review believes the time period for moving out should be extended to June 1. The extra time would allow students not only to pack, but to say goodbye to college friends and professors.

However, there are some ways to lessen the stress of moving out. Seniors can prioritize their time by beginning to pack their belongings in advance. But understandably for some seniors, good organization is not enough to overcome the frustrations of moving out.

Students who truly need more time to pack up and to move out can contact Area Director Joni Tonn at jtonn@linfield.edu or Associate Dean of Students/Director of Resident Life Jeff McKay at jmackay@linfield.edu to ask for an extension.

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-The Review Editorial Board