Incumbents Are Not Supporting Student Learning

By Mark R. Evilsizer

Fewer tax dollars are actually making it into classrooms and labs. Cancelled classes and diminished student services are not examples of supporting student learning.

At the May 14, 2002 Board meeting a former faculty member, Martin Mason, addressed his concern regarding the elimination of upper division Engineering courses and the lab equipment needed to support them. Mr. Mason showed photographs of his students to Board members, and proudly announced the prestigious colleges and universities they were transferring to. Future Engineering students would not realize similar opportunities because of cuts made to these courses. How does this support student learning?

Martin resigned from Palomar College because of this issue. Not one word was spoken by our current Board members to address his concerns, nor how we could correct this negative trend of eliminating programs (and losing talented faculty) that help to build California's technically astute workforce.

I feel our students must be provided with leading-edge "state-of-the-art" courses in vocational programs, technology, engineering and the sciences. Our community college must meet the needs of the workers of the future, who must have skills to match the employer expectations of the 21st Century. Our present Board's actions do not support this thinking.

The current Board voted this year to approve the termination of the Student Employment Services Coordinator at Palomar College. The individual in this position acted as the liaison between students and employers in our community, and helped students to find jobs and careers.

How does the elimination of such a vital position support student success? It doesn't! We need to develop (not eliminate) partnerships with business, industry, government agencies and educational institutions to ensure that our students achieve their career and educational goals.

Another example of how our present Board members do not support student success includes the elimination of over 130 classes in the Fall 2002 semester due to a poor policy that states classes with fewer than 18 students can be cancelled. Over 900 students were left out in the cold and not able to take the classes they had enrolled in. We should not close the doors of public education to any student that comes to us.

We need independent thinkers on the Board who will acknowledge and correct shortcomings that hinder student learning. Our goal must be to ensure student success and quality education at all levels.