Fall classes have begun at my little community college in Oklahoma, and never before have I seen so many students without books and grants. Generally by this time each semester, nearly all of the students that require financial assistance through pell grants, state grants, and student loans have been approved. The students are also able to get their books through a charge account upon being approved. This year, it's just not working out that way. The college had an all-time high enrollment last semester from the usual 5000 to approximately 7500 from what I gather. Now all of the sudden, there are more forms to fill out to get financial aid, the time frame allowed for book charges is decreasing by half, and nearly one-third of all the enrolled students in all six of my classes are sitting at their desks without books. Is this a conspiracy?

It's not a conspiracy, it's a travesty. The edicational system in this country is swirling down the toilet. Oh, yeah UNLESS your rich. there isn't a school close to my home where I trust that my kids are going to get a fair shake. A close friend of mine is a teacher and was actually assigned to a class where there were no teaching materials. Books, maps, etc-Nothing. By coincidence they also stuck all the "trouble" kids in that class as well. Maybe there is some kind of conspiracy there afterall.

[edit on 26-8-2004 by Der Kapitan]

I find it highly unsettling that this is happening at the college level. These individuals are supposed to have gone through several years of school to have achieved degrees deeming them experts in their fields, and they only seem to be experts at screwing up. If you ask me, I honestly feel that they are doing what most big companies do, which is hanging onto the funds for as long as they can while they collect interest on the retained funding. While this is taking place the students are without texts and getting behind in classes that are proceeding without them. They end up having to drop or getting grades that ruin their transcripts FOR LIFE due to the injustices placed upon them by a system.

This really shouldn't be all that surprising, just look at everything else that the goverment has done.If something is working they have to stick there noses in it just to mess it up.



[edit on 18-9-2004 by freespirit]

I agree with what you said. Wouldn't that fall into the category of "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it?"

[edit on 10/2/2004 by esther]

As a matter of a fact, I filed at the earliest possible time, so that was not the issue. Though I can understand what you mean about the procrastinators holding things up and looking a bit moronic. However, the filing process was held back by the college, and new forms were issued this semester at the last possible moment it seemed for the students to complete and return before processing could be completed. Furthermore, every semester much like this one, I have filed at the earliest possible moment. The difference is this is the first semester that I have had to wait until two and a half weeks into the sixteen week semester to get approved much like approximately 1/3 of the student population that was sitting in class without books. There was a period of getting approved from the government that took place rather quickly, but also a period of waiting for the college to issue additional forms and processing of those forms that took so long.

Every college student having their own textbook is really a modern phenomenon. In the old days, students took notes, and the professor had the only book!

Besides, you're saving trees by not buying books that you're not going to read anyway... (Most college students I know go off the professor's notes, not the book, for exams anyway.)

It would be great if things still worked that way, but unfortunately this is far from the old days. Two of the courses I enrolled in were computer courses where the projects due as assignments were taken directly from the book. Another one of my classes requires electronic homework to be turned in on a weekly basis. I was good to go in the other two courses except for the lab that goes with the Biology where the lab texts have the forms to be filled out and turned in at the end of each lab period. Taking notes would be wonderful...wish it were that easy.