SOARing with Turkeys, 2012 edition

[Sapphire Silk]

Soooo, another tale of SOAR registration for new students.

It's early in the Fall registration season, so class availability is still pretty good. Most of the new students were registered for classes without much difficulty. That'll get worse later in the summer though, as classes fill up (as they are already starting to).

But of course, there WAS one gem . . . remember where we are.

Cast:
Me:
Student: S
Student's Friend: SF (or sucky friend if you prefer. I do).

So I get into the registration system and look over her placement scores. She needs to take a developmental math course, so that's my first objective.

System tells me that she can't register because we don't have her high school records.

SF: *loud sigh*
S: I was home schooled. I turned in all my paper work two weeks ago. And I've taken college courses.
Me: OK, well, this is something I can't override. I'll have to send you to enrollment services to get the block removed, then I can register you
SF: This is ridiculous
S: Well, can you register me for anything else than math?
Me: I can try, but it probably won't let me. (I try. It doesn't) Head over to enrollment services, then come back and I'll get you taken care of.
SF: *muttering about how ridiculous this situation is, with more sighing*

About 30 minutes later, the two return.

I try to register the student for the math class. Now the system tells me she needs a co-requisite. I check the college catalog to see what that would be and find out it is an English course.

Me: Let me see your placement scores again. (I look; no scores for English, Writing, or Reading. Meanwhile SF is starting to sigh again). Did you take the reading placement tests?

S: They told me I didn't have to because I have college credit.

Me: Where did you go to school?

S: (names an evangelical christian university)

Me: (looks up transfer credits) Well, it doesn't look like any of your credits transferred. (At the time I was thinking because the school might not be accredited; looked it up as I wrote this and found that in fact it is). The system thinks you haven't taken placement tests, and you don't have any transfer credits.

S: They said I wouldn't need to take the placement tests because I have college credit

SF: This is so ridiculous (yes, she loves that word).

Me: I understand that. But my computer doesn't reflect any of that. So I'm going to have to send you back to Admissions to fix it.

SF: No. We are not going back there.

Me: (getting more irritated) I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do with the system. Until this is resolved I can't register you.

SF: This is bull. This is not our fault. She submitted that stuff months ago (OK, we went from 2 weeks to months ago).

Me: I get that. But getting frustrated with me isn't helping because this situation isn't MY fault.

Note: the student never got sucky. It was all her friend.

Student: We'll go over there now.

Me: OK. Sorry I couldn't help you.

SF makes more noise as she leaves the room, and I get really irritated. I call to Student. SF is about out the door and starts to come back in, I motion to her to stay put, and she ignores me of course.

Me (to student): When you come back, please don't bring her with you.

Students eyes get wide, but she nods. SF says, "Oh, I'm coming back!"

Me: Don't. Seriously. I'm not dealing with you again.

They leave and don't come back. No loss. The other instructors what was going on and I tell them, and I make it clear Student won't be registered by me if SF comes back. I don't have to take her crap, and I'm not going to.

Ended up not being an issue, today at least. My guess is her transcripts are of recent origin and haven't been entered into the system yet (it takes awhile), so she won't be able to register until she either gets transfer credit or takes the reading/writing placement exams.

[Pixilated]

I definitely have sympathy for S -- sometimes it seems it would be easier to take a tour through Fort Knox than to enrol in a post-secondary education.

However, none of that is the fault of the people sitting in front of the computer screens. SF should sit in your seat for a while.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

I just hope this Friday will be smooth sailing for Little Bits. We go to her college for her orientation and registration.

[manybellsdown]

It is pretty frustrating to get shuffled all over the college for things you already submitted. But those organizational decisions aren't made by the person trying to register you. YOU didn't make it so the computer would lock you out.

I'd submitted all my old transcripts and AP exam scores when I went back to school. Then two semesters ago, I was told I didn't meet the English requirement for a class I'd enrolled in. So I called Records to ask them to forward that information. Guess what Records told me?

"Why would we have your Records?"

I had to pull them ALL AGAIN, and because it was 20 years ago I'd done the AP exams, they charge me to get them from the archives. Not happy.

[BowserKoopa1]

After listening to her loudmouth friend complain so much, I eventually would've said something like, "Excuse me, this does not concern you, and there's nothing you can do. So either sit your butt down and be quiet or go somewhere and wait for your friend. Or I will call security to have you escorted back to your room."
These students need to learn that they can't act that way at their school, becasue I'm going to assume that such behavior can get them expelled, am I right?
While reading your story btw, I figured at least that S would've eventually gotten tired of SF's help and told SF that they really weren't helping at all.

[Sapphire Silk]

I'd submitted all my old transcripts and AP exam scores when I went back to school. Then two semesters ago, I was told I didn't meet the English requirement for a class I'd enrolled in. So I called Records to ask them to forward that information. Guess what Records told me?

"Why would we have your Records?"

I had to pull them ALL AGAIN, and because it was 20 years ago I'd done the AP exams, they charge me to get them from the archives. Not happy.

The records were probably paper records. Colleges admit a lot of students, not all of whom graduate. There is only so much physical space to store those records; after awhile they get microfilmed. My original records from my practical nursing program in the 80's are that way, and I have to pay $5 charge whenever I enroll in a new school, and now sometimes when I apply for certain jobs (like my teaching jobs; they want to see my grades).

After listening to her loudmouth friend complain so much, I eventually would've said something like, "Excuse me, this does not concern you, and there's nothing you can do. So either sit your butt down and be quiet or go somewhere and wait for your friend. Or I will call security to have you escorted back to your room."
These students need to learn that they can't act that way at their school, becasue I'm going to assume that such behavior can get them expelled, am I right?
While reading your story btw, I figured at least that S would've eventually gotten tired of SF's help and told SF that they really weren't helping at all.

We do try to teach professional behaviors, but that's a lot of expect from new students. Simple courtesy will do for me.

But the "Sit quiet or I will call campus police" would have been a move if SF had persisted. But it couldn't be my first move. Actually, the next thing I might have said was, "this is state property, and I am a state employee. I can direct you to leave or you will be charged with trespassing and escorted off campus."

But I have to be careful about playing the campus police card. They're nice guys and they back us up, but they don't want to be our baseball bat for problems we can solve ourselves.

[PepperElf]

While reading your story btw, I figured at least that S would've eventually gotten tired of SF's help and told SF that they really weren't helping at all.

Either that or S was counting on SF to argue for her.

[mikoyan29]

It probably would have helped if her records came from recognized authorities as well. Something tells me her high school records were in the "We need to look at this closely" pile. Probably the same with records from an unaccredited college.

[EricKei]

Either that or S was counting on SF to argue for her.

Aye...Or maybe SF bullied S into it or conned her into thinking that SF would :make it all smooth sailing" (read: bully her way thru the school process like she probably does when she shops). After, all, she was acting like she knew everything ~_~