Imagine getting a call from one of your professors telling you to enroll in the upcoming semester.
That just might happen on Saturday, Dec. 7, because faculty will be hosting their first ever call-a-thon, where they will be calling students to remind them to enroll in the next semester.
Students need 60 units to graduate, so the event targets students with 45 to 59 credits.
Pierce College president Alexis S. Montevirgen believes it’s beneficial for students to feel supported by the Pierce community.
“It’s important too, for our students to realize that it’s not a recorded message. It’s not just a text message. These are faculty and these are staff that are really taking time out of their evening to go ahead and reach out to them personally,” Montevirgen said.
Monica Ramirez Wee, an art professor, signed-up to volunteer for the call-a-thon.
“We’re hoping to get those students who need their final units in order to graduate,” Wee said. “It has been successful in other colleges, so we decided to try it here.”
In addition to the call-a-thon, there will be a pop-up on the mall on Tuesday,Dec. 10. Counselors and professors will be available to answer questions from any student about graduating, transferring or financial aid.
They will also have computers with them so students can sit with faculty members and work on the necessary research or paperwork.
The goal of the two events is to increase fall to spring enrollment by 5%, according to Instructor of Psychology Angela Belden. She expects to have 30 volunteers spend three hours each calling a total of 1,000 students.
“It’s a very concrete goal. So at the end of this, a week later, when we pull that data, we’ll know if we reached that goal,” Belden said.
If successful, Pierce plans to continue the call-a-thon and pop-up in future semesters.
“It is ambitious. But again, the idea is we just want to help students. This is the first time we ever did anything like this, focused on enrollment,” Belden said. “So the idea is if we have this kind of effort every semester, wouldn’t it be great to reach out to all students, not just students who have between 45 and 59 units?”
