EducationforAdults.com Home »» Adult Education Help Center »» Guerrila Manual

Dealing With The Bureaucracy

**This content is excerpted from the Guerilla Manual for Adult College Students. To learn more about the book or author visit AdultStudents.com .

"I've gotten two particularly senseless letters that say, you need to complete .... these courses. And what they are, are the courses I'm .... actively engaged in taking, but I haven't completed yet because I'm not done with them. And they say, you need to complete these. Well, of course I need to complete them. In 8 weeks I will have and you could have saved the paper and postage."
Patrick A. commenting on dealing with the bureaucracy at his college

Registration

Your first taste of the bureaucracy in your school will come when you try to register for classes. I say 'try' because there's a possibility that the first time you attempt to register you won't manage to do it. You will be short some required piece of paper, or you will not have completed some form correctly, or you will need to take some sort of test(s).

This book won't help you much with registration. Every school is different in terms of what they require you to have in the way of paper work and what they expect you to do.

In general you will probably want to have some proof of who you are and where you live - important so you don't get zapped with that usually higher out-of-area tuition. A drivers license will usually do the job, although they may require a birth certificate, a utility bill or some other proof.

You may also have to produce a high school diploma and transcript or a GED certificate and scores, although this would be unusual for a community college, especially if you were just registering for a single class. Many four-year colleges require passing scores in either the ACT or SAT tests, while most community colleges do not require this.

As an aside, community colleges are normally 'open enrollment.' This means that just about anyone can walk in, register, and take a course. Some small percent of applicants to community colleges won't qualify for entrance because of abnormally low placement exam scores or abysmally bad high school performance, and those students would be sent back to a GED-level system to bring their skills up to college-entrance level. That scenario likely does not apply to most adult students.

"I had to take the Transitional Studies English and Math. And they helped. I wasn't like a waste of my time. It helped me. I had been out of school for so long."
Joyce M. had to complete two non-credit preparatory classes to prepare her for college- level work. The must have helped: She finished college in the Honor Society and had a 3.8 GPA.

Some schools require you to take assessment tests that measure your skill levels in certain basic areas such as reading, writing and math. Note that if you fall below a certain level in these tests you may be required to take non-credit remedial or preparatory courses to qualify for the basic, credit-bearing courses. And you will be charged for these remedial courses.

You will, of course, have to fill out a registration form and probably part with some amount of money. Get used to this: colleges are very inventive when it comes to getting money from you.

Many colleges require medical histories, and in some cases, the results of an actual physical examination by a doctor. You will almost certainly be asked to produce proof that you have been given immunization shots for some common diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella among others.

Although many schools - particularly community colleges - do not require personal interviews for admission, you should talk with a counselor or adviser at the admission stage to avoid taking a class that may ultimately do you no good toward your degree. These people can help you a lot, and in any event you should plan on talking to one ASAP.

Note: There is a difference between being registered and being matriculated. Anyone can register and attend courses in most colleges. It's mostly a matter of paper work and money...you fill out some of the first and give the school some of the second. Whizbang - you're registered.

A matriculated student is one who has applied for and been accepted into a specific degree program. Most colleges will not let you apply for financial aid, register for more than part-time study, or actually receive a degree unless you are matriculated. It pays to choose a program and matriculate as early as possible. And for this you are going to have to sit down with an adviser.

"I check (all) my records periodically. .... I try not to get a parking ticket because I don't want to pay for it. .... (And) I try to make sure my health record is up to date. It's very important, because you get asked to leave if it's not."
Bette B., 40 and the mother of two, earned her Associate's in May 1999 and her Bachelor's a couple of years later.

Parking regulations

Parking is viewed as a fund-raising opportunity at most colleges. And if you aren't careful at most schools, you will be helping your college make a lot of (your) money.

There is almost nothing you can do about the often-Byzantine parking rules on many campuses. Forget that they may not be fair, make any sense, are enforced capriciously and carry hefty fines if violated. Just make sure that you thoroughly understand what the rules are, and then follow them to the letter.

Library Hours and Cards

You will probably be using the library quite a bit. Your student ID will likely get you full library privileges, but it is possible that your school might require a separate library card. A phone call to the library or a review of the student handbook will tell you.

Find out when your library is open and write the hours down on a little card. Tape it to the inside of your notebook. Note that hours might change from one semester to another; hours in the summer and around holidays in particular might be reduced. Write the library's direct dial phone number down as well. You might be able to save yourself a trip by calling ahead to find out if they are open or have a particular book. You may also be able to access their electronic card catalog from your computer using the internet, saving you a trip to find a book or journal they don't have.

"If you have any outstanding bills they will not release your grades. If you have a library book out, you won't get your grades."
Karen D., 46 and the single mother of four, started school in the early 70s. She earned her Bachelor's degree in May 1998 and went on for her Master's.

Labs and computer rooms

Some courses are taught in two parts: a classroom portion and a lab portion. These are often in two separate rooms and at different times. The classroom is just that. The lab will be filled with the hardware or other special purpose gear you need for the hands-on portion of the class.

Most hard science courses - Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Botany, Anatomy, Physiology, and the like, and most engineering and technical classes - have lab sections. Ditto for courses involving computers. These could include basic computer skills classes, writing courses, desktop publishing and graphic design classes, and classes devoted to specific pieces of computer software such as word processing, spreadsheets, page layout, photo manipulation etc.

The lab section of most classes is a separately scheduled component of the class; you will sign up for it when you register for the class itself. It will be held at a different time and in a different place from the classroom component of the class. Your course schedule will spell this out, and in many cases you will have some choice about the day and time of the lab, which gives you some needed scheduling flexibility.

Computer facilities on some campuses provide extended hours. But just like the library, you need to know what those hours are. When you find out, write them down, along with the direct dial phone number, and paste it to the inside of your notebook.

Note that on many campuses you will find computer-equipped classrooms hiding under a lot of different names. The Student Computer Center is of course one. But word processing classes, graphic design courses and similar classes will also be taught in special classrooms. The Computer Department will have its own collection of classrooms. And the Writing Center will probably have some computers available as well. Libraries often have some also.

"I don't check my records. I'm terrible with any kind of forms. I just keep my fingers crossed. I recently got a letter saying that I have completed the right things. Some people got big surprises this year. They gotta go around begging for waivers and things."
Ann H. started school in 1992 at her local community college, got her Associate's degree, transferred to a four-year school as a Junior, and earned her BA in May 1998.

To learn more you can order the complete book online by Clicking Here