EOP&S offices open 2 Saturdays a month

Published in Long Beach City College's Viking newspaper in 2006.

The rescheduling of operation hours in two LBCC offices, EOP&S in A107-108 and Admissions and Records in A140, has been deemed efficient and helpful in the long run, college officials said.
Without additional funding, the EOP&S office extended its hours from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and the second and fourth Saturday of every month.
"We were not funded this year at the same level as we have been in the past," Associate Director of EOP&S and C.A.R.E. Robert Hill said. "We are just being more efficient."
Hill said the changes occurred to meet the demands and facilitate as many students as possible who are eligible for EOP&S.
"It was a concept that was supported by all of the EOP&S team, particularly the interim director, Toni Dubois, EOP&S counselors and the EOP&S support team," Hill said. "We have embraced a collegial and familial philosophy in our organization and everyone has bought into that concept. No one person is greater than the program or the team and we hope to be the example as opposed to the exception."
Meanwhile, the Admissions and Records office has temporarily restricted its hours on Fridays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"This change in hours is only temporary for staff training during the Spring term," Dean of Admissions and Records Ross Miyashiro said. "We are moving from a paper environment to an electronic environment that will help students in the long run."
Miyashiro said to train the staff on new systems, they must pull the together as they only have a limited amount of hours for trainers to come to campus.
"We are also going to re-train staff on customer service for the new generation of students coming to LBCC every year and communication skills when dealing with a diversity of people," Miyashiro said.
To lessen the impact, Miyashiro said the college has recently created more services online, giving students access to multiple personal files such as unofficial transcripts, grades and schedules.
"We hope this will not cause any great hardship for any student," Miyashiro said. "Furthermore, we have opened drop boxes at each campus so students can still submit transcript requests, graduation and certificate application and admissions applications."
Miyashiro said the college's goal is to improve the experience for students at LBCC through a highly trained staff in Admissions and Records.