PCC Courier, July 30, 1987

Is There an AIDS Weitzel Retires; Sun, Surf Cover-up? Past Reviewed and Sand Page 2 Page 4 Page 7 COURIER VOL. 65. NO. 2 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA JULY 30. 1987 Drop Fees To Be Abolished By Mary Robertson Staff Writer PCC students no longer have to worry about paying the $10 fee to drop a class. The policy requiring the drop fee expired and was not renewed by the Board of Trustees. “I don’t blame students for being irate about the fee,” said Dr. Gary W, Parker, director of ad¬ missions and records. “Now stu¬ dents don’t have to pay for the privilege of dropping a class. The original intent was to curb the number of drops. In the fall of 1986, however, 11,585 withdrawals were made, making up 20.2 per¬ cent of all grades assigned. In the fall of 1983, the last semester that no fee was required to drop a class, 12,149 withdrawals were re¬ corded. This equaled 23.3 percent of all grades assigned. According to Parker, the three percent de¬ cline in the number of students dropping classes was not signifi¬ cant enough to justify keeping the program alive. Parker believes that with the abolishment of the fee, “students will be more likely to drop a class they need to drop, rather than get an For an incomplete.” He also stated approximately $100,000 is brought into the college each semester, but this amount never reaches the general fund intact. Almost $3,000 is used just to mail notices to students regarding their fees, not to mention the wages paid to part-time staff members that help in the collec¬ tion process. Although the amount the school collected through the fee was a comfortable sum, it was not significant enough in terms of time and money expended to col¬ lect it. Students with back fees should understand they are not off the hook because the policy was dis¬ continued. They are required to pay the overdue balance ac¬ cumulated. The amount is auto¬ matically charged to their social security number, making it dif¬ ficult to elude payment. During registration, this in¬ formation will appear on the com¬ puter and if the student does not pay, a financial hold will be placed on any records until the money is collected. Dr. Bonnie R. James at work. His one-year leave starts Monday. Courier Photo by Jennifer Landis Leave of Absence Set By Sean DuPont Staff Writer Citing "unique opportunities for professional growth and develop¬ ment” that he hopes to find, Dr. Bonnie R. James, assistant super¬ intendent for administrative serv¬ ices will start a one-year leave of absence Monday. With PCC for 11 years, Dr. James has held his current post since 1979. He starts his new posi¬ tion as Deputy of Business and Finance for the Los Angeles Uni¬ fied School District (LAUSD) on Sept. 1. Dr. James says he was offered the job after PCC’s Board of Trustees passed him over for the President-Superintendant position at PCC. That loss played some part in his leave. Although his chance for profes¬ sional growth didn’t materialize, "it made me available for other experiences. But there are no sour grapes. Not being picked only made me available for other op¬ portunities.” In April, James was a finalist during PCC’s search for a presi¬ dent. The Board of Trustees picked Dr, Jack A. Scott as college presi¬ dent over Dr. James. Some com¬ munity groups, including the Pasa¬ dena chapter of the National As¬ sociation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and PCC’S Association of Black Em¬ ployees (TABE) have implied they believe that color may have in¬ fluenced the board’s decision. Susanne H. Miele, president of the Board of Trustees said, “Dr. James’ race was never a factor. We felt that Dr. Scott was the correct choice at this time for this campus.” Dr. James says he “accepts the board’s explanation.” Miele said the board is currently looking for a replacement to take Dr. James’ place for one year, perhaps a retiree. Dr. James says his new post “offers challenges and ex¬ periences that any administrator would welcome.” The new post also offers a salary increase: $94,000 annually over PCC’s $75,000. Dr. James’ career as an educator started in 1961 as a teacher with the LAUSD. He spent the next eight years teaching on the elementary, junior and senior high school levels. In 1969 he started a three year term as an area curriculum supervisor. He served one year as both an assist¬ ant principal and principal. He was on loan for 1 1/2 years to the State Department of Finance as a finan¬ cial analyst, then spent six months as a budget director for LAUSD. His PCC career began in 1976 as director of financial services. Two and one-half years later, he was promoted to vice president of Busi¬ ness Services. The title was later changed to assistant supervisor of Administrative Services, his cur¬ rent title. Summing up his tenure here, Dr. James said, “no administrator in¬ vests 11 years of his life without feeling some sadness about the prospect of leaving professional and community alliances that have developed in that time.” Miele added, “We’d be pleased if he came back to PCC. We rely on him a great deal.”