Cancelled class Web site not yet a reality
Site would allow students to check class status before committing to a drive to campus
Mike Butler
Issue date: 10/19/05 Section: News
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The Bakersfield College Information Services Department is currently working on a Web page that could potentially save students money, allow students to get more sleep, conserve energy and help the environment.
Many students at BC have had the experience of driving for miles across town or from another town to the main campus only to find a note on the classroom door stating that class has been canceled. First-year BC student Megan Heiss, 18, a psychology major, resides near Liberty High School and drives to and from BC three days a week.
Recently, she arrived on campus at the designated time only to find a note on the door saying class was canceled.
"This was a waste of more than two hours of my time," said Heiss, who has a busy schedule. When asked if she would use a Web page that allowed her to check for class cancellations, she said, "Absolutely."
"Why should I have to drive all the way if the instructor doesn't have to?" she added.
Not only is time management an issue related to the lack of a system of this kind, there also are environmental and economic concerns.
Gloria Vasquez, 18, a journalism major, lives in Delano. She has to drive from Delano to the main BC campus two days a week for a single class, and she recently had to leave from Visalia, where she was attending to some personal business. She drove to the main campus in time for her history class, but when she arrived at the classroom, she found a cancellation notice on the door.
Vasquez, who drives a Mustang, doesn't get the best gas mileage and, with gas prices at nearly $3 per gallon, she said she can't afford to make unnecessary trips.
"It was frustrating to drive all that way and find the class canceled," she said.
David Barnett, BC's Internet services administrator, is working on implementing a system that would allow students to check for class cancellations. Barnett wants to add a page to the college's existing Web site that students can check before they leave home.
Many students at BC have had the experience of driving for miles across town or from another town to the main campus only to find a note on the classroom door stating that class has been canceled. First-year BC student Megan Heiss, 18, a psychology major, resides near Liberty High School and drives to and from BC three days a week.
Recently, she arrived on campus at the designated time only to find a note on the door saying class was canceled.
"This was a waste of more than two hours of my time," said Heiss, who has a busy schedule. When asked if she would use a Web page that allowed her to check for class cancellations, she said, "Absolutely."
"Why should I have to drive all the way if the instructor doesn't have to?" she added.
Not only is time management an issue related to the lack of a system of this kind, there also are environmental and economic concerns.
Gloria Vasquez, 18, a journalism major, lives in Delano. She has to drive from Delano to the main BC campus two days a week for a single class, and she recently had to leave from Visalia, where she was attending to some personal business. She drove to the main campus in time for her history class, but when she arrived at the classroom, she found a cancellation notice on the door.
Vasquez, who drives a Mustang, doesn't get the best gas mileage and, with gas prices at nearly $3 per gallon, she said she can't afford to make unnecessary trips.
"It was frustrating to drive all that way and find the class canceled," she said.
David Barnett, BC's Internet services administrator, is working on implementing a system that would allow students to check for class cancellations. Barnett wants to add a page to the college's existing Web site that students can check before they leave home.