A change in schedule creates concern for several faculty members.

The most talked about subject in faculty senate meetings in recent weeks has been a possible switch to a 16-week schedule.

On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the senate seemed to be split once again on deciding whether or not to switch from an 18-week schedule to a 16-week schedule.

“Dr. Fierro has said we must make a decision by the end of the year, otherwise we won’t have a choice,” said faculty senate president Michelle Lewellen.

The back and forth discussion created more unanswered questions.

Some professors were concerned about their classes being cut and students not being able to take the course because of the limited offerings should the 16-week schedule go into effect.

Other concerns included how late the spring semester would end if a winter session was added.

It was noted by the counselors in attendance that students ready to transfer would have to wait for their transcripts and grades to send them to universities.

Counselor Traci Ukita likes having students getting extra units in the winter, however it would create a larger workload for the counseling department.

Student senate liaison Luis Guzman stated that the student senate already voted to make the transition to a 16-week session.

Many of the members still want more details about how the transition would be done and how the landscape of Cerritos College would be changed.

The senate agreed to invite President Fierro and Vice President of Academic Affairs Joanna Schilling to the next meeting so they can answer any questions and put an end to the discussion.

A suggestion was made to look at other schools and see how they run their institutions.

Prior to the 16-week schedule discussion Dr. Schilling joined the meeting to explain CCSSE.

CCSSE stands for Community College Survey of Student Engagement.

Schilling stands by the survey because it is a way to identify what the school could do to enhance students’ educational experiences.

It also serves as a monitoring device by documenting and improving institutional effectiveness over time.

“The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete and costs about $7000,” said Schilling.

Due to the size of the school, about 800 to 1200 students would need to take the survey for Cerritos to get an accurate decision on what the school needs to approve on.

Counselor Brittany Lundeen backed the survey and believed it would help.