The spring semester at the City Colleges of Chicago has historically been a time of student excitement and anticipation. In the past students had something of great importance to look forward to, the culmination of years of struggle, study and effort; The Spring Commencement Ceremony!
Today students have to be incentivized, almost bribed to participate in what should be a momentous occasion, celebrating the STUDENT, not the egomaniacal dictates of an individual who has no clue about higher education. The high price consulting firm that came up with the “It’s all about U” tagline, the Commonwealth Edison knock off Reinvention logo, and the “new” City Colleges of Chicago logo needs to go back to the drawing board.
FYI- our students are not buying it.
So why is it so difficult to get our students to participate in graduation 2011?
Could it be that the decision to have a District wide ceremony was a unilateral one made by the Chancellor at the total exclusion of the student’s opinion?
Could it be that the consulting firm that is earning over $500,000 to plan this “District Graduation” failed to consult with the students about moving their graduation from their campus?
Could it be that moving the graduation from the campuses has put an undue burden on those families who will now have to travel from the far north and far south sides to participate in the celebration? (Families, who unlike the Chancellor, do not have the benefit of an eight passenger SUV paid for by taxpayer’s money)
Could it be that when given the opportunity to meet with our students and engage them in a thoughtful dialogue the students reported that the Chancellor was “rude”, “obnoxious”, “eye rolling” “nasty”, and yelled at them?
Could it be that the students are disgruntled about the Chancellor’s mass firing of their college Presidents, many who have fostered unique relationships and offered great support in ensuring that our students are successful?
Could it be that our students are more informed and more savvy then our Chancellor and District Office administrators give them credit for being?
Could it be that our students watch the news and read the newspapers and know that the “Reinvention” has not yielded any improvements impacting their matriculation, but rather five million dollars in jobs for the Chancellor’s friends and those who are politically connected?
Could it be that this perceived student apathy surrounding graduation participation is not apathy at all; but instead a silent protest on the part of our students?
Could it be that the Chancellor’s commitment to telling anyone who will listen that CCC has a low graduation rate, and that students often don’t complete the program that brought them to CCC has had the unintended effect of making students feel that a degree from CCC is not worthy of celebrating?
It could be many things. It is certainly regrettable, ridiculous, rotten, and ruinous.
It’s REINVENTION.
They had staff members calling all the graduates to see if they are participating in the graduation ceremony. And a good portion of them said no!!!
ReplyDeleteThey had staff members calling students to see if they will be participating in the graduation ceremony. quite a few of them said NO!
ReplyDeleteReinvention is so exhausting. As a staff member - it is funny. It is like we are all waiting for it to pass, hoping we will make it through the storm with our jobs, helping our students in the ways we always have and know they need. You get the impression that our administration and contacts at DO dont believe in it, always having a sigh or funny comment about the lastest ridiculous request from downtown. Seems like they are waiting too. It is just a horrible waste of energy (aside from the obvious waste of money that our students desparately need for equipment, scholarships, and technology, to name a few). I think, and hope the Chancellor's days are numbered. If her staff is not seemingly waiting for her to fail, I sure am.
ReplyDeleteLast headcount for students participating in graduation was around..... 400ish. Some of the bigger schools have that by themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love is what is happening at Daley College with the sudden REQUIREMENT that all students graduating MUST fulfill the Human Diversity requirement.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that while it has been on the books for quite sometime, it really hasn't been enforced. Now the VP is insisting that any student who wants to graduate MUST take a course that fulfills the requirement even if it's a student's last semester.
Of course, Daley college offers very few courses that actually fulfills this requirement so students were scrambling to find any online course to ADD to their already full schedules to fulfill it.
Nothing says to students that the CCC cares about their success than changing the graduation requirement the same semseter in which they're set to graduate.
Is this happening at any other CCC campus?
Is there an address or other way to send your blog information / tips?
ReplyDeleteYou can email at savecitycolleges@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI heard that the "special guest - Dr. J. Biden" from Washington declined on speaking at CCC's graduation....so I guess Richard Daley was the next best thing. Is CCC paying him to speak? hummm
ReplyDelete• What kind of requirement is that "Human Diversity" about? Aren't our campuses diverse enough?
ReplyDelete• Another idiocy of Madame Chancellor on scheduling graduation in the middle of exam week is that some of us teachers are still doing our work at that time as well as the morning after, attending to students' final presentations. And she expects us to attend her dog and pony show? Doesn't she know that grades are due on a certain date? Isn't she aware that our students might have real difficulties turning their papers on time? And she claims she went to college? Is that the reason why she cannot even spell YOU correctly in all her expensive publicity?
I think it's pretty obvious the Chancellor is, and has been way out of touch with anything academic. Her ignorance on when grades are due or bad graduation scheduling is not surprising.
ReplyDelete