Student Trustee Addresses ‘Outdated’ Registration System
By Shawn Ree Canin
April 10, 2023 marks the first day of registration for summer classes at City College. However, students and faculty face numerous problems with the registration process, and the system has been causing issues for years now.
Tala Justo, a social work student at City College, is one of the many students facing problems with registration. “I had a problem finding Pilipino 2 for Summer. So I emailed the [Philippine Studies] department chair Dr. [Lily Ann] Villaraza. It really annoyed her because it is not her job, she’s a faculty, to respond to technical difficulties. Still, she tried her best.” Justo added, “to prepare for my registration day, I saved my schedule…so upon registration time, all I had to do was click enroll or register, but lo and behold, it was gone. The Pilipino 2 option was gone. So I emailed Dr. V again, and she reiterated that she is not the one to ask about technical difficulties.”
In an interview with Malinalli Villalobos, a student trustee for the San Francisco Community College District, he acknowledged that the registration system needs to be fixed for students.
Every student faces different problems with registration, including adding and dropping courses. Villalobos asserts that the current registration system is outdated, complicated, and difficult to navigate due to a lack of clear instructions and the system itself.
“I am very aware of the problems with the registration system. I have been working with students before my student trustee role. I was working with students through various resource centers. So that’s where I have originally heard of the registration problems,” Villalobos said. “The system that we use now, we have identified that it’s not working for students. It creates a lot of red tapes.”
Villalobos has raised these concerns to the registration committee and top administrators to address this issue. But ever since, “it hasn’t really fixed the system. It seems like there’s just bandage over bandage over [the] bandage. This has been going on for quite a few years,” he added.
Villalobos revealed an ongoing district-wide vetting of a new registration system to resolve the chronic registration issues. However, its implementation is not expected in the upcoming summer and fall 2023 semesters. With the new registration system, Villalobos hopes that this will alleviate the problems they have been hearing from the students.
Villalobos further stated, “investment for the registration system has to be bigger for it to work. Because if it’s not, it’s only putting a band-aid on the problem. And we’re full of band-aids. We want solutions that make it easier for students to register.”
Villalobos added that other ways to help students are forums open to the City College community to hear direct feedback from students.
For assistance with registration, students can visit the Registration Center in-person services at MUB 130 from 9 AM to 5 PM every Monday to Thursday. They also have a virtual help counter from 9 AM to 12 PM every Monday and Wednesday, 1 PM to 4 PM every Tuesday and Thursday, and Friday from 9 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 3 PM.