To some Bakersfield College students, March 15 marks the middle of the spring semester, and it also marks a time to start getting ready for finals. However, to faculty and staff at BC, March 15 marks the date that will determine whether they’ll receive layoff notices.
March 15 notices inform faculty and staff that while they’ll be permitted to finish out the year at their respective colleges, their services might no longer be needed for the following academic year.
“March 15 notices don’t necessarily mean a person will be laid off,” said Angelica Gomez, director of the DSP&S program. “They could end up bumping someone else with less seniority, and that person will end up having to leave.”
Layoffs, however, aren’t the only area the budget cuts are affecting. Individual departments on campus are feeling the cuts in funding, especially the student Outreach Center, which recently had its program terminated.
“I think it’s a shame that a department gets entirely shut down that directly services students,” said former director of Student Outreach, Sonia Jeffery, who is now at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.
“All because of budget cuts that don’t need to happen.”
Joyce Coleman, dean of students at BC, said that outreach services will continue, but not like how they have been in the past.
“We’ll still continue to run student tours out of the dean’s office,” said Coleman. “But we won’t be going out into the community like we used to.”
Coleman also indicated that the matriculation budget has been cut, and students will therefore have a more difficult time reaching their goals.
“Matriculation is anything a student does to get their degree whether it’s a two or four-year degree,” said Coleman.
Meanwhile, it was announced that 10 new tenure-track faculty positions have been opened for the fall semester. The decision to hire these new individuals was based on several factors.
“Overall, we still must meet our target and serve as many students as possible with our limited resources,” said BC President Greg Chamberlain in an e-mail.
“Some positions were requested and others identified based on meeting student need.”