Budget cuts to affect De Anza transfer center, counseling
Counselors at De Anza face reductions in budget and in staff
May 8, 2018
De Anza College could see a decrease in counselors available to assist students, due to projected budget plans following the May 3 Student Services Planning and Budget Team meeting.
Dean of Counseling and Student Success Sheila White-Daniels said with the numbers given to her division, there will be planned reductions to eight counselors in the 2019-20 academic year and scheduled retirements in 2020-21 will further reduce counselor numbers to six.
“How do we work with EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services) and Financial Aid and all the others in Student Services to find a way to support students when we’re going to have six counselors? And Transfer Center is basically going to be shut down,” White-Daniels said.
Counselor Pauline Wethington said there is a problem about counselors giving incorrect transfer information to students that needs to be addressed.
“Not only are we losing them because the school’s going down, we’re losing them because they’re going to other schools [who’re] going to serve them better,” Wethington said. “We’re not serving them good anymore, we used to and it’s really upsetting to see this.”
Projected budget reductions for Student Services has increased to $3.4 million from $2.2 million, said Rob Mieso, SSPBT Co-chair and Interim Vice President of Student Services.
Due to the additional cut, budget targets and final restructuring recommendations to be sent to College Council by De Anza’s PBT’s will be pushed back to the end of June, Mieso said.
White-Daniels said there needs to be greater divisional collaboration before budgeting proposals go too far along, with students and faculty included in the conversation about achieving student success “by any means necessary.”
“Collectively we are here to serve students and collectively we have to look at how we best do that,” said White-Daniels.