The Advocate, Issue 3, October 7th 2011

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TV review: Terra Nova, Pan Am and New Girl

October 7, 2011

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Diversity Resource Center still in the works

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Student Resource Guide

advocate the

Volume 47, Issue 3

www.Advocate-Online.net

Students have more options for textbooks than they know by Shelby Schwartz and Jill-Marie Gavin The Advocate

Classes have started, financial aid money has been distributed on schedule and yet many students have put off buying textbooks because of the cost. The average student pays over a hundred dollars for books and supplies every term and they only get a portion of that money back, through book buybacks or textbook tradeoffs. The MHCC bookstore has several options to purchase books. They currently offer rental books, new and used books, loose leaf books [with three hole punches that can be inserted into a three-ring binder for reduced cost] and eight titles of eBooks. “EBooks are something the industry is going towards so they are now selling a few selections of eBooks,” said MHCC bookstore manager Julie Godat. The bookstore has recently started selling the Toshiba Thrive tablet, which can be used as an e-Reader. “In the last year we have had a lot of people ask for eBooks,” Godat said, adding that the bookstore has 234 of 800 book titles available for rent. Godat also said the prices students pay at a college bookstore depend on the net price of the book. The prices for book buyers will be the same for all institu-

tions and then a price margin will be added. The price margin is the money that the bookstore makes off of the sale of the book. The percent of added price margin is determined by the price of the book. According to Pauker, the MHCC bookstore sets their profit margin, and each margin varies by institution. For more than three years the added price margin has been 25 percent. Mt Hood Community College offers other resources than in store purchase of new and used text books and eBooks. The college has also created an online system similar to many school’s on campus book trades. The MHCC bookstore’s student trade option is located online. The textbook tradeoff is a solution for students to buy and sell books to other students and set their own prices. To access this service from my.mhcc.edu click the “Student life” tab and under that section it is accessible from the “Textbook Tradeoff” link. Those looking to sell a book should select “Want to Sell,” and those looking to buy should click, “Want to Buy.” Also available for students is the option to post a flier for a book on the bulletin board located in the entrance of the library on campus. Other community colleges in the area, including Clark Community College and Portland Community

College, have student government offices facilitate their own textbook trading and buying systems that help students obtain cash and still get a good deal by offering a student buy and sell option. At both colleges the trade takes place at an on campus location. At PCC Cascade the students are directed to a basement where there are posted lists of books and their student-designated prices. The student service cost for the book exchange is $1 per person, each student can sell up to eight books. Clackamas Community College, according to Student Life and Leadership Adviser Michelle Baker, has been operating since before she started there 11 years ago. Their exchange is open through the second week of classes in fall, winter, and spring term. The exchange is closed during the summer term. MHCC currently does not have a student-run or student-government-run service for buying and selling textbooks on campus. Associated Student Government President Jackie Altamirano said: “We have something planned for winter term, it will be called “Book Swap” it will be on a Saturday before the term starts. The future exchange will be before the term begins and again after the term ends.

see Textbooks page 4

Clackamas Community College MT. Hood Portland Community Clackamas College Cascade Community College Community College MT. Hood Portland Community Community College College Cascade

$67.70 $64.35 $56.35 $177.75 $177.70 $173.05 Average price for Writing 121 Textbook

Average price for Biology 101 Textbook

MHCC interim president faces financial aid and budget challenges by Jill-Marie Gavin The Advocate

Michael Hay had barely begun his term as interim president of Mt. Hood Community College this summer before facing his first major challenge: dealing with problems in the distribution of financial aid. Students were having to wait longer than usual for funds. Hay said it was “definitely a challenge” but that the college has improved the system significantly since the problems arose. To address the problem, Hay said the Financial Aid Office added more full-time and part-time employees and borrowed workers from other departments to meet the need. He also said financial aid still has a ways to go. Hay did say that timely submission of materials by students is critical and those who applied on time got

Mt. Hood Community College

their aid on time, with some exceptions. Asked how the rest of his summer has been in his new position, Hay said the summer term, when some believe the campus turns into a ghost town, was actually a very lively time for Mt. Hood. With 8,000-plus students on campus, he said it provided a good start in his new position. And, according to Hay, as of the first Monday of fall classes there was about 11,500 students registered. Hay said this is about dead even with last years enrollment, and in fact we are up 1.3 percent in full time equivalent students. This is contrary to projections of the board last year which stated enrollment would be down. Regarding the operation of on-campus services, Hay said his background in retail gives him a dislike for lines. He said the bookstore is much more tolerable this year

and if lines are moving, people are more likely to be happy than if they are at a standstill. His aspirations have not been limited to recovering from blunders of past leaders. Hay said he chooses not to look into the past to see what needs to be fixed but would rather look ahead to see what can be achieved. He said he would like his talent pool — college faculty and staff — to help him reach individual students and help them achieve their aspirations. Hay said, “I want the college to be student-centric and I appreciate all the students who have decided to attend MHCC, because I know they could have gone somewhere else.” His goals for education are to cater to student expectations and specific needs for future employment.

see Hay page 3

Gresham, Oregon


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