SMCCCD Enrollment Barriers
The San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) student enrollment has been declining. See Cañada College data. The new SMCCCD online campaign smccd.edu/bridge excludes important academic program information, namely, pertaining to the Kinesiology, Athletics, and Dance (KAD) Division academic programs housed in the new $121 million dollar building at Cañada. Compare “interest areas” at Skyline, CSM, and Cañada. What is SMCCCD’s intention, excluding KAD program information? The academic program staffing and web content should be aligned before wasting money on marketing campaigns.
In 2020, I taught 230 students; in 2021, 175 students; and so far, in 2022, 225 students. For fall 2022 starting next week, 110 are enrolled. That’s 740 students with minimal marketing and no permanent KAD support staff. I personally talk to SMCCCD students on a regular basis and understand their wants and needs. SMCCCD District employees apparently do not. On July 18th, 2022, this page was published on behalf of my Cañada College yoga and salsa dancing students who wanted their voices to be heard regarding enrollment barriers and other stresses they have encountered over the past few wild years. We should listen to them. They need happiness, hope, and a sense of connection and community right now. We need to treat them like precious human souls. No more barriers.
My hope is to help administration create effective solutions and re-establish welcoming and equitable access to an affordable college education, in alignment with the Board of Trustees Statements (two links below).
60 Days After Biden Lifted Mask & Vax Rules, Exempt Students, Faculty & Staff…
…at Cañada, CSM, Skyline, and District Office Still Forced to Test Weekly, Insurance Billed $1600/mo. WHY?
• They (SMCCD) forced me to get tested every week to take my outdoor yoga class because I have a religious exemption, even though testing mandates are lifted everywhere else. The so-called vaccinated people are getting reinfected, and not subjected to test. They also won’t explain my $400 expense per swab from my out-of-network allocation ($1600/month per person). How it is affecting my family’s insurance or who is profiting from this? They sent threatening, unfriendly emails when I missed a time when I was out of town. I dropped the class.
More Ironic & Unfortunate Barriers with Solutions! Yay!
Ironically… Unaligned SMCCCD Courses. Ask SMCCCD Students from these Courses for Solutions:
- Threatens Civil Rights
- Equal Validity of All Religions
- Against Scientific Inquiry
- Ineffective Marketing (4 P’s)
- Poor Website Layout
- Poor Mobile User Interface
- Illogical Communication
Unfortunately… Ongoing AFT Issues. Ask AFT for Solutions:
#1 | Confusing (3 Minutes)
• I’m so glad this is being pointed out!! Back in 2020, when I was fresh out of high school, I remember feeling totally discouraged from applying to start taking classes primarily due to the fact that the enrollment process was super confusing. In 2021, the only reason I was able to successfully enroll without too much confusion was the fact that I had friends taking classes as well and they were able to guide me through the process. I never felt as though I could rely on any staff to help me enroll.
The registration process is ridiculously complicated. After 30 minutes I gave up!
• My boyfriend tried enrolling in Canada/CSM/Skyline to start his associates degree and I was helping him with the process. I have applied to at least 15 schools before and I have enrolled in 2 colleges as well both in the CSU system. However this enrollment process is the most confusing I have come across. I don’t believe the website is very user friendly and you have to click a lot of places to find the place you are looking for on the website. Anyways, My boyfriend had so much problems with the system that he instead enrolled in Chabot. He was willing to drive the extra 30min instead of fight for a spot in San Mateo county even though he has lived here his entire life. Also… he kept emailing and calling and even tried to show up to receive help, but no one was truly helpful and kept him going in circles.
• Yes my daughter who is a teacher who retired this year tried to sign up for a swimming class and it was too confusing for her. They asked her for High School graduation classes transcripts when she only wanted to take the swimming classes. She did not sign up for it. Her son helped her to sign up, and he is a college graduate from Stanford University, and he could not fill out the application correctly.
• Yes, for me it was a little confusing when I first tried to enroll. There are too many things to do for enrollment. To solve the problem, maybe reduce a few steps and make it a quicker process with clear guidelines.
Why do they charge a Health Service Fee for students on Medicare?
• For me, the enrollment process wasn’t confusing but too many steps that couldn’t be done efficiently. I had to meet with a counselor before I could sign up for classes, but there were no appointments for me until 3 months away. My brother is currently trying to enroll and the amount of things you have to complete before you sign up and then waiting for an appointment with a counselor is too long and isn’t clear. I had to show him how to enroll and he is still waiting and going to the college in person to figure it out. I think with less steps or a more clear list of steps for new and transfer students would be better.
• While I did appreciate the multiple videos on the enrollment process, many details were left out that made me very confused. For example, it was unclear whether or not current high school students were required to apply to their selected college, as many of the questions were only tailored to those who had graduated. It is also a massive pain to enter my WebSmart SMCCD account because it seems as though you routinely have to change your passcode and deal with constant emails.
• My first experience last year was quite confusing. This is because it was my first time accessing the website and I did not realize how many extra forms I needed to fill out as well as who to get permission from. One thing that helped me a lot in figuring things out is a Zoom call with the enrollment office where they clearly explained what I had to do.
• I saw this yoga class and swimming advertised on Instagram. As a teacher I thought it would be a great summer activity at a very reasonable price. I began the process of enrolling and couldn’t believe… it asked for my high school, grades and gpa, … and many more. I am a college graduate (over 20 years ago) and actually made up my responses to the best of my memory. I tried to encourage co-workers to enroll but they were turned off by the long college application.
#2 | Mixed Messages (4 Minutes)
• I actually heard from a classmate that in order to use the Cañada pool I would have to drive to CSM to sign up there. The front desk at Cañada should have paperwork ready for a patron to sign up and have access without having to travel to CSM.
• I definitely found the enrollment process giving mixed messages. It seems as though there is no place to get genuine help where the people actually want to help you and enroll you in their programs. The lack of open student help is ridiculous and a huge barrier for enrollment if it is not an easy quick thing, people will go else where for their education. If you think about it, the enrollment process will be the students first impression of the school imagine if enrolling is this complicated, how complicated it the process to make sure they have enough credits to get their AA and graduate on a timely manner.
• When I was trying to enroll, I found myself hopping between the various sites, reading their information, and ending up feeling more confused than I already was. I found it difficult to understand how the three colleges were “connected” due to a lack of consistency.
Why don’t they have a fill in option for life enrichment?
• I did not know how to take classes at a different college and still counts towards my degree. I had a friend that went to CSM and graduated before I enrolled and she said that she took classes in all of the campuses, but some of the classes didn’t count. Things became more clear when I talked to a counselor and made a SEP plan. Phone numbers or hours should be displayed in the websites to answer questions.
• There are too many things to do for enrollment. To solve the problem, maybe reduce a few steps and make it a quicker process with clear guidelines.
• One of my friends has issues with enrollment. She mentioned something about one time login problem. She never finds out how to enroll and login in the WebSmart. It says either my password or ID is wrong… and something more about gmail ID and username. Most of the time students get confused about what to use, and how and when they can login.
• Since I am taking classes at SMMCD while enrolled in university, I was told I had to talk to a counselor first before enrolling in classes and then I was unable to enroll for a while until I called the college again. This part didn’t make sense to me. This part of the process should have more readily available counselors for students to be able to enroll without having a waiting period as some people need their classes urgently.
• I did feel as though the system was filled with mixed messages. I think that the videos need to be clearer and must go through every single step as though the student knows absolutely nothing about the concurrent enrollment process.
• I was mislead from the beginning of my journey with the Radiologic Technology program and multiple people dropped the ball numerous times almost causing me to graduate late. I still can’t figure out how to find the actual description of the classes and while I am an older student returning to college after a few decades of being away I can’t imagine how challenging it is for someone who is a non-native english speaker attempting this process.
There needs to be a link directly from the application to connect to the respective departments regarding the query, instead of sending personal mails.
• Great facilities and excited for the community to use them – however, the enrollment process wasn’t easy. Also, there should be signs posted that parking is free for the summer. The first day of class was confusing. Even went to bookstore to ask there about permits and they didn’t know about free parking.
#3 | Mask & Vax Rules (5 Minutes)
• I never liked the fact you had to be vaccinated to attend classes. I was already vaccinated so it was not an issue for me personally. I felt for the people who did not want to get the vaccine for personal reasons, because they were denied an affordable higher education.
• Every time I log onto Canvas, the front page says “Verify Your Vaccination Status For Summer 2022 Registration” and “you will be required to submit proof of your COVID-19 Vaccination or apply for an exemption prior to registering” and there is no information about fall covid protocols, and classes start in a few weeks.
• For the exemption, you have to fill out papers and there isn’t a link that links you straight to them so you have to dig for them yourself. They should have direct links so people don’t get confused and don’t have to spend time looking for something that should be provided in the first place.
They make it difficult to enroll whether you are vaccinated or not.
• For medical exemption, they allow a doctor note from and MD, but they do not believe that a note from my acupuncturist is acceptable. I feel this is discriminatory. In California, licensed acupuncturists are considered primary care physicians.
• Many of my friends and I were a little confused about vaccination protocols. One time, someone in the class got covid, and we were informed that if we got a booster, and not having any symptoms, we can come to school. What about those students who did not get a booster and were still fine, but couldn’t come to school because of confusing protocols?
• I am very diligent at checking my emails. If someone who was not as diligent at checking their emails missed these notifications, they would be dropped from their classes because they did not upload their records in time.
• They used “disruption” in their emails. They are saying that if you are not vaccinated, you are “the disruption” to in-person classes and in-person services, thus you are not allowed to participate in those. I don’t see any supportive statements for those who are not vaccinated.
• Canvas wasn’t working for me and the Admissions office said I was dropped from the course because my vaccination record wasn’t in and approved at the time I registered. I thought I was all registered and added to the class but it ends up that I am not. Registering has been really hard and confusing. I can see why people end up giving up and just not taking a class.
• There is a lack of consistency on each college’s website of clear outline of masking and vaccination protocols.
