The voice of De Anza since 1967.

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The voice of De Anza since 1967.

La Voz News

The voice of De Anza since 1967.

La Voz News

CAOS program scheduled for 2013 closure

De Anza College’s Computer Applications and Operating System will shut down because of budget cuts, with the tentative shutdown date being spring quarter of 2013.

Academic Senate President Karen Chow said no final decisions have been made but that the action has been discussed for several years. 

Budget cuts aren’t the only reason cited for the elimination of CAOS. The incompatibility with De Anza’s ultimate student achievement goal is also playing a role, Chow said.

“Some of the classes, such as keyboarding skills, don’t meet California State requirements for community colleges and aren’t needed for college-level students,” Chow said.

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CAOS currently offers 18 classes, including courses for both basic computer literacy and professional degrees. Approximately four classes will be transferred to the Computer Information System program while others will be eliminated.

“We are working on other options for students,” CAOS instructor Linda West said. “We are planning to create our own programs for students majoring in health technology.”

The decision to eliminate CAOS comes from the Instructionsal Planning and Budget Team recommendations to the College Council. According to recommendations from Dec. 9, 2011, eliminating CAOS would save De Anza $600,000 annually and cut the equivalent of approximately 5.38 full time employees.

West said meetings that involve CAOS employees, the academic senate, the vice president of instruction Christina Espinosa-Pieb and others are being held to discuss how the program will closed.

“Discussions on this matter were on the way for at least a couple of years,” said West, who has worked at CAOS for 25 years. “We did our best to justify CAOS’s relevancy. At least 4,500 students take CAOS classes in a school year, while we have on staff just three instructors and two aides. That’s a very high productivity.”

Concerning the future employment of current CAOS employees, West said no official decisions have been made, but tentative plans include transferring instructors to the CIS program.

Blanche Monary, president of the classified workers’ union ACE, said non-faculty employees represented by  ACE would be notified of any layoffs by  Feb. 10.

Students expressed disappointment, saying they would not be able to find alternatives to CAOS. 

“As an international student, I pay a lot for my classes, including the CAOS class,” said arts and business administration double major Nimfa Belleza, who is taking computer literacy. “Going to another school, would be even more expensive. I doubt I can afford it.”

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