Clackamas Community College students can expect seven changes come this summer. These changes are most likely being implemented as a way to increase student success. This is to be expected, as the college is going to be judged more and more from the state on student performance as it relates to money funded from the state legislature. As Jim Huckestein, CCC Vice President, said in an interview earlier this year, “ (The state) is developing metrics to judge us based on how well we’re doing, like how many degrees do we do and how many certificates, and how many people move from pre-college to college level, and things like that.” He went on to say that CCC is now “… concentrating on performance, much more than we have in the past. We can’t necessarily afford to be the cheapest community college in the state. We have to be a good performer as well.”

So, it looks like with the changes coming this summer, the college is making more of a concerted effort to bump up student performance. Here are some things to expect summer term:

Tuition heads up:

As you may or may not have read in issue 16: the college is raising tuition from $84 to $87 per credit. Hopefully, this money will really go to the students and helping them finish class sequences. Out-of-state tuition will remain at $257 a credit.

Adding late classes:

Starting this summer, once a class starts, a student must have the instructor’s consent to join the class. This is most likely out of hope that students will register for classes sooner, adding to his or her long term forecasting plans; or perhaps, it’s just an attempt to make registering for classes a little bit more complicated.

More fees:

As well as instructor consent for a late registration, a late registration fee will be tacked on. If you register late for a class, you can expect the $50 fee to be added to your account in four days time. While the motives for this fee may be a little understandable, it is still slightly annoying that trying to get into a class late will be so hard. Things come up and students change their minds.Registering shouldn’t be so hard.

Incomplete grades:

Procrastinators rejoice! Basically, students who are within passing if they just finish a few essential assignments will have the chance to pass successfully whether it is an exam, paper, assignment, etc. According to a PDF outlining the changes made by Chris Sweet, Registrar/Enrollment Services Operations Manager, “An incomplete can only be initiated with instructor approval and in consultation with the student.” So, if you find yourself one exam from passing a class starting this fall, talk to your teacher. They can hook you up with an incomplete. A bonus: you have a maximum of one year to finish the work! More time to procrastinate!

Honor Rolls out:

Here’s one cool change. CCC, most likely as a way to employ extra motivation to earn good grades, is creating two levels of recognition: Honor Roll for GPAs between 3.5 – 3.749 and the President’s List for a GPA of 3.75 or greater.

Did you move again?

Starting summer 2015, four times a year students will log into myClackamas to find a screen asking for any updates of personal information and educational goals or program of study. Although having to update information may be annoying for some students, making sure the student and college are continuously on the same page isn’t a bad idea.

Pot rules:

With the legality of marijuana for 21+ year old students this July, CCC has set some ground rules. Students under the influence of marijuana will be considered the same as drunken students on campus. Similarly, marijuana is prohibited on campus. So don’t even try it!

Story by: Cassidy Scott

Art by: Brandon Chorum