Like many programs on campus, the Transfer Center is also feeling the budget crunch when it comes to helping students and taking tours of other campuses.
“We have really understood what the crunch was with the budget,” said Carol Patrick, Dean of Counseling.
The buses that the students take when going on the tours holds 50 people. The Transfer Center has only been getting 10 students on some trips to go to schools for the tours and workshops.
“I had to come up with a number that we have to meet before going on the trips and that number we agreed on was 30 students. That way that was more than half the bus holds,” Patrick said.
With the two USC trips every spring, lots of students told come to the center or express to us that they wanted to go on the trip and see if some friends want to go along. Then the students don’t show up for the trip or have a really low turn out.
Students can find out the information on the Cerritos College web site about when trips are being planned on the Transfer Center link.
“We try to publicized as much as we can. We have Phi Theta Kappa who helps us get the word out and we also send out emails to the faculty to tell their students about the upcoming trips and we put posters around campus to tell students also,” said Kristen Towhid, Senior Typist Clerk in the Transfer Center.
The goal of these trips is to help the student find a school that he/she wants to attend.
Towhid wants to let the students know that we do tell students that we need to have the minimum of 30 students to go on trips with buses. The main thing is that the trip isn’t exactly cancelled , it is the bus that gets cancelled because of the minimum not being met. So if the bus does get cancelled that doesn’t mean the students can’t go at all. They just have to provide their own transportation to get to the college for the tour and workshops.
The Transfer Center does reserve spots for the students at the college they are going to see. So students are still welcomed to go and visit the school because the other college is expecting them.
If the bus does get cancelled also students receive the $5 deposit back and can receive an agenda for the trip at the school, that way students can know the agenda of the day events held at the college they are visiting campus.
The Transfer Center also has a calendar of events and tours on other campuses so students can go and learn about some of the schools they are thinking about transferring to.
“We really don’t want to have to cancel the trips, but students need to know that we are trying to help them find a school to transfer to and we need to have the 30 students to go on the trip,” Patrick said.
Patrick and Towhid encourage students to come on the trips.
With all the budget cuts for Cerritos College, the Transfer Center is trying to save money as the budget cuts become more important.
If students have any questions about the trips, all the information can be found in the Transfer Center or on the web site at www.cerritos.edu/transfer.
