Letter: Administrative barriers derail path to degree

Editor,

My reason for writing is to let you know about the lousy experiences I have had from departments at the college where you sign up for programs and then through advisements where we are asked to sign papers which we do not want to sign.

The advisement office told me I had to finish classes before fall, which I think they and I knew just couldn’t be accomplished in that amount of time. The signing threw us out of the programs we were working on. The comment I have is: why would I spend my government income for a program if I didn’t want to complete it? That would be dumb. Not only that, but this was not my desire when coming to college.

Therefore, writing this might change the way the colleges handle their students. They are here to encourage them to finish their programs, not kick them out. Indeed, the costs aren’t cheap, and they are difficult for families to get there in the first place. Then we have to work for our educations as well in a city that has no jobs that they have hired all students while they attend school.

Are these programs and colleges only set for the very wealthy? If so, then they would hardly have students. Then because of overcrowding they need to innovate new classes and hire new and old professors to accomplish more and better goals and plans for more people.

Having to go to claim colleges should be understood that if we are in one, then that is the college we desire to graduate from. The College of Fine Arts has this concept all wrong and should be looked into and revised, asking each and every student what program they want to continue in — not the one they think we should be in.

Working on finishing a liberal arts program and then continuing with the dance for performance and management program is what I signed up for, and these are the programs that I seek. However because of the bad advisement, it always throws me out of the program when I want to keep it.

For the third time I have been through this dirty type of politics, including many other experiences that I am dealing with at the school. I found myself upset and angry by this. Why should I spend my income on this and not finish is stupid and I want my program back no matter how long the thing takes me to get?

If I return in however many days, years or time to financially find the funds for this is my business, and I should get this with a piece of paper to hang on the wall. With a certification of achievement.

J. Marie Duran

UNM student