“Enrollment priorities and limitations”: this is what our enrollment priority system at Cerritos is officially called, with what seems like an emphasis on “limitations.”

Every year, it’s the same old story.  Despite their registrations dates progressively coming earlier and earlier each semester, students struggle to enroll in the classes they need to graduate or transfer.

The truth is that the system that calculates students’ enrollment priority is outdated, and there are some changes that could aid in its refinement.

Expedited by the recent economic downturn, our community college has become even more overcrowded.

Add on top of that the budget cuts that have led administrators to slash course offerings each semester, and the spaces in our classrooms continue to dwindle.

At this point, the odds for all our students to get into the classes they need are ridiculously unfair.

The most important change to consider would be to better reward for a high GPA.

The current system allots one point for each prior unit earned by students, plus bonus points based on unit load, regardless of the grade earned in those classes.

The fact that a straight-F student could accumulate points in this manner is inconceivable.

We propose that these unit points should only be distributed only to students who pass their classes with a C or above.

This ensures that students actually remain in their courses and participate in them.

Furthermore, in the current system, a 10 point bonus is given to students with a 2.0 or higher GPA.

Once again, there is a showcasing of low standards from such a general point bonus.

A better resolution would be to award different bonuses for different ranges in GPA.

A 10 point bonus should be awarded each semester to students who possess a GPA from 2.0 to 2.9, while students with a GPA of 3.0 or above would be awarded 20 bonus points.

There is also a list of 10 specific student groups, with some possessing significant priority over others.

It’s listed as follows, in order from highest to lowest priority enrollment: EOPS, DSPS, U.S. Armed Forces personnel and recent veterans, student athletes, mandatory enrollment requirement students, Scholars’ Honors students, matriculated students, continuing students (the bulk of the student body), and returning students.

The biggest change made would be to eliminate the Scholars’ Honors priority altogether.

The issue with its standing is that it gets priority in all courses, honors and “regular.”

Besides, students in this group would presumably already acquire high priority through the tiered GPA point system.

Taking this off the list would provide deserving Scholars’ Honors and “regular” students with equal enrollment opportunities.

Secondly, we propose moving the Armed Forces and veterans group down four slots, after mandatory enrollment requirement students.

This group consists of students who are members or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces for any academic term.  Currently, they have these priority privileges for only two years within leaving active duty.

Although they should be moved down the list, after some groups with more demanding needs, they should also be awarded three years of priority privileges, as opposed to two, to give those who are recently discharged more time to plan their future.

This provides the group with two years to complete school work, like everyone else.

These simple refinements are just some of the steps our school can take toward a much better learning environment.

As Cerritos College’s classrooms continue to overflow, leaving students who truly need specific courses high and dry, changes must be made to mitigate our current economical predicament.