Foster youth members will be offered priority registration and special services starting summer 2012.
The foster youth services program provides support services to children that have been through events in their life that caused them to suffer. Some of the problems with these children have to do with the displacement from family, schools and multiple placements in foster care.
“The goal is to give them a fair advantage with all the other students,” David Follosco, dean of Students Services, said. “In order to do that priority registration was put into the program.”
Priority registration allows qualified students to register for classes ahead of new students.
In addition, special services like counseling, tutoring, note-taking assistance and seating arrangements will be offered.
There are four groups of students that can take advantage of priority registration and they must all qualify under their programs: disabled students, Eextended Opportunity Programs and Services students, veterans, and foster youth.
Although there are many factors in students that can be taken into consideration to be given special services such as early enrollment, some students agree that it is necessary and fair to the groups that are given that chance.
“I may not always get the classes I need, but the people that get the benefit [priority registration] deserve it, they should feel just like any other student,” Carol Medel, a marketing major student, said.
Many students on campus struggle to get classes every semester due to budget cuts. Some think early enrollment for these certain groups can also affect the amount of time it takes to graduate.
“Many students that are given this opportunity don’t take advantage of it and its not fair to the rest of us. Seniors and students with a high GPA should also get priority to pick classes,” Andrea Meneses, 20, a political science major student, said.
According to Follosco, the college follows the decisions of priority registration under the state law mandated by the California education code.
Priority registration serves a purpose for these groups and that is to help them achieve their educational goals with less difficulties; the foster youth program will be given that opportunity to the students that qualify under the requirements.
To receive early enrollment, registrations will be processed on a first-arrived basis.
Link: http://community.piercecollege.edu/fkce/FosterClasses.aspx http://community.piercecollege.edu/fkce/Index.aspx
