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Fresno City College Registers to Go: Program Hits the Road, Signs Up High School Students.

Posted on: Saturday, 13 May 2006, 09:05 CDT

By Denny Boyles, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

May 13--Six weeks. Thirty-two high schools. Nearly 4,000 new college students.

Fresno City College registration staffers were tallying final results Friday as they ended their annual registration-to-go program with a visit to Edison High School in Fresno.

The program, which started with three schools in 1989, actually is a year-round effort by State Center Community College District campuses and is designed to demystify the college application process.

"We started this program after we were confronted with the reality that we were not registering a fair share of high school students in our service area," said Robert Fox, dean of students at Fresno City College. "At that time, high school students couldn't register until August, right before classes began. There was too much uncertainty for them to choose our college."

To attract more high school students to the community college, Fox and other educators brainstormed an idea to have each high school bring their students to Fresno City for a tour, orientation and registration event.

The group then presented the plan to high school counselors. It was not an immediate success.

"They laughed at us," Fox said. "It wasn't a very practical plan because of the transportation costs and even parking at our campus. So we went back to the drawing board and decided if they couldn't come to us, we would go to them."

Today, the program includes 32 high schools, which are visited in an order established each November by a lottery drawing. More than 3,960 students are expected to register for classes during high school campus visits.

The campus visit is one of the last steps for the students, most of whom already have talked with community college counselors and financial aid specialists. When the registration-to-go team visits their school, students are handed a list of subjects they need to take. Then the students consult class lists hung on walls around the auditorium and write their desired schedule, which is confirmed later by registration specialists.

When the students complete the process they leave with a schedule in hand, as well as up-to-date financial information, including how much money they will owe in college costs, and when it will be due.

"They leave here with a newfound sense of urgency, because they owe money," said Roy Rosa, a financial aid counselor from Fresno City, referring to the students who have registered with the college. "That's actually a good thing, because it keeps them motivated."

Friday, Edison Principal Rick Lopez watched as dozens of his students chatted with counselors and browsed class lists. Out of a graduating class of 447 students, 330 took part in the registration-to-go program. For some, the community college is a back-up plan.

Though not all will attend a community college, Lopez said that level of participation still was impressive.

"It's huge for us, phenomenal," Lopez said. "This program is a great partnership, and a great way to bridge the gap between high school and college. It solves the fear of the unknown that so many high school students have about registering for college and sends them into the summer with a clear plan for the future."

The reporter can be reached at dboyles@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6659.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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