By Mel Brito
This upcoming fall, Norwalk Community College will officially form part of the Connecticut
State Colleges and Universities, CSCU.
With this big change, some students have felt a bit uneasy about what it’ll mean for their progress in their degree program and what exactly is changing. To help find answers, I interviewed Guided Pathways Advisor Christian Tovar.
Q: What are some concerns among students you are hearing, if any?
A: Well the biggest concern in students is the change in program, some programs have
taken some of the classes. If they already have taken a class and it’s no longer part of the
program, they’re confused about how they can fix it. Some are concerned about their
timeline in graduation because some programs require more credits now.
Q: How might the consolidation impact your role as a counselor?
A: The only way I can think of that it’ll impact me is that now I need to learn everything
again, basically. Before I knew the codes for classes and programs like the back of my
hand, but now I have to relearn the codes. The part of me meeting with students will not
change.
Q: Will students see changes in Degree Works?
A: That’s the biggest challenge right now, and why everyone is freaking out because once
they login into their new Degree Works they’ll see a lot of changes in their major, they’ll see
some classes that haven’t been applied, but that’s because of the new system.
Q: Where can students see their new requirements, if any, for their programs?
A: So it’s still the same, when you login into MyCommNet, you can go to the State portal and
then you’ll see your DegreeWorks. If they want to see all the programs and the requirements
they can go to the State website, ct.edu.
Q: Will the merger affect students’ progress in their degree programs?
A: No. Because if you’re a legacy student we will try to accommodate everything that they
took for the new program. They won’t be affected in any way. We are establishing a no harm
to the Student Policy, where we will try to work with whatever they have taken to fit into the
a new program in a way where they are still graduating on time and with the requirements
they need.
Q: What advice would you give students to help them ease into the change?
A: What I would advise is to go talk to their advisers to make sure they’re taking the write
right classes, to go over the new Degree Works, to sort of alleviate that unknown. Talk to
your advisor and program coordinator.
Q: Is there anything students need to know or do for the upcoming fall semester?
A: No, not really. It’s important for the students to go to their new Degree Works and see it;
but It's important to go see your advisor if there are any questions.
While the adjustment to the consolidation will take some time, students will have all the
support needed by their advisors. It’s important to schedule an appointment with your
advisor if you have any questions about your Degree Works.
Mel Brito is a writer for the Voice.
Voice writer Benjamin Vasquez edited the article.