Wow, it's been quite a while since I posted anything here. Anyway...
I'm trying to put together a formal petition consisting of at least 30,000 student signatures from my college. Right now, our class schedules are typically T/Th, and M/W classes, with occasional once a week Friday classes or other random once a week classes scattered through out the week. The school, however, is money-hungry, as are most schools, and they have managed to pass a new schedule where M/W classes will now be M/W/F classes, so that they can "better utilize classroom space", and continue to get additional money from the government, since the gov't feels that the classrooms are currently not being fully utilized.
Usually, at a typical university, this would be okay. However, this college is a commuter college. Students are typically older, married (a lot of the time with kids), working jobs every chance they get to support themselves, etc. They need Fridays off. It is unfair to make everybody travel and have to get new jobs, or lessen work hours, or have to pay even more money that they don't have for an extra day of day care, just so that the administration can continue to put money in their wallets.
Administration claims that they are doing it for the students. However, practically the entire student body is against the schedule change, as are the professors, and the administration is WELL aware of this. Since classes will be reduced to 50 minutes, three days a week, instead of an hour and fifteen minutes twice a week, administration says it will be better that way since all the students have ADD and can't sit in class the full time. I mean, come on. Really.
So, as you can see, a petition is in order. The only problem is that my friends and I have no idea how to write a formal petition that will be accepted. Can anyone help?
~Arya
Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
I assume you're not looking for critiques of your idea?
Posted by Arya (Member # 6160) on :
I didn't think it needed critiquing, but critique away.
[ November 13, 2006, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Arya ]
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:just so that the administration can continue to put money in their wallets
Speaking as somebody who works in college administration, I have to ask: what's your school's enrollment like? What is it PROJECTED to be?
I ask because most commuter colleges are space-limited and thus suffer from relatively flat enrollment. Any raises for faculty and staff -- even simple cost-of-living adjustments -- have to be eked out of a pool of money that consists solely of tuition monies and donations, and flat enrollment means that the only way to increase tuition monies is through increasing tuition costs.
Posted by Arya (Member # 6160) on :
Actually, we have two campuses, the second being huge. There are 42,000 students, and are always bringing in more. Infact, they're bringing in too many people and there's not enough parking or housing for anyone, but the college wants money, and they'll make the students suffer to get it.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
To address your original question, Arya, a quick google search on "Petition format" lists several governmental websites with specific instructions for petitions and the petitioning process. I didn't link any because they were from all over and likely had slight differences in their recommendations. This made me think that there is probably a formal process for submitting concerns to your college, and such information might even be on their website. Have you checked? Have you asked at the admissions or administration offices at your college what is the accepted method for petitioning a change (or petitioning to stop a change, in your case)?
In short, if you use a random format from somewhere else, it's entirely possible your college will simply ignore it. However, if they have a process in place and especially if it is published or easily obtained, you stand a much better chance of being taken seriously if you follow that process.