Complete that degree

IGETC courses can be taken online

VANESSA ARREDONDO Managing Editor @v_anana

It might be a full-time job or childcare responsibilities, but whatever the reason some students can’t make it to campus. However, there are state and college initiatives that may help students gain certification remotely.

Gov. Jerry Brown made a proposal last month to have a fully online community college by fall 2019. The $120 million budget proposal is said to benefit 2.5 million adults between ages 25 and 34 who can’t physically attend college, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Eighty percent of Pierce students are enrolled part time. Of that percentage, two thirds work full time or part time, Vice President of Student Services Earic Dixon-Peters said. Because a large percentage also have extracurricular activities, he said, the college needs to offer different opportunities to help them succeed.

“One of the needs that we have is, what can we do to service students?

Do we have the support services online to help students be successful?

Is there online tutoring for an online class, are there financial aid services online, special services,” DixonPeters said. “In some areas we are wonderfully prepared. Can we go above and beyond that? Absolutely.”

Some instructors and departments have expressed concerns about having general education classes, such as math and English, fully online, stating that a classroom setting is needed to teach the course materials.

“Specifically in the English Department, we have seen that hybrid classes can be more challenging for students because they cannot receive immediate feedback from their instructors or have that interpersonal communication with their peers,” said Chair of the English Department Donna Accardo. “We have found that students succeed better in a faceto-face environment.”

However, Accardo said there is a growing desire and need for students who can’t physically come on campus and take classes.

Distance Education Coordinator Wendy Bass said that Pierce College is behind other colleges when it comes to online education.

“We don’t just want to throw a class online to put a class online. We want to have a lot of student / instructor contact, we want the students to be engaged, we want there to be discussion, and robust learning,” Bass said.

Bass said IGETC is not officially online yet, but the goal is to be able provide them all digitally. Some departments don’t have classes online, and though they can’t force departments to offer those courses, Bass said they encourage them.

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"Theywillprobablydo everythingforus.We'llbe couchpotatoes.They'llcook, they'llclean,they'llbatheus."

-Yesenia Alvarado, 18, Business Management

Illustration by Wyce Mirzad / Roundup

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ince Pierce College underwent construction on the back road near the faculty offices, the campus has had a rat problem that is affecting the everyday operations of professors. Administration needs to outsource and contact a professional extermination service to handle the matter, as well as step up fixes in-house. The problem grew duringreconstruction. When the concrete was broken, a hive of rats was discovered underground. They dispersed themselves throughout the campus, but seemed to take to the Faculty Office bungalows located behind the College Services building and the Library Learning Crossroads. If Pierce doesn’t act quickly, the campus could become infested, which creates several problems, including potential health issues.

-Corrections-

Page 7: In the baseball preview for the game on Feb. 22, the game was at Pierce College not Oxnard College.

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Rats can carry many of at least 60 communicable diseases, including Hantavirus, leptospirosis, typhus and meningitis.

One solution is to make adjustments to the trash on campus, making it less accessible.

Professional exterminators are needed because the rat traps placed throughout the faculty offices mean rats are left in offices all day for professors to find in the morning. Rats even can chew their

Pro: Better stick to the books