An Open Letter To Tacoma Community College

Dear TCC,

1.  I'm a person, not an id number, please start treating me like one.  If I call on the phone or visit any office/service, it would be nice to be talked to like I'm an adult and not a child.  I understand that I only look 20, but I passed the big 3O a bit ago.  While there are some gems in the staff (I met a very sweet lady at the cashiers office recently who was particularly pleasant), most that I've encountered are either cold and machine like in their duties, or just down right rude.  I mean neck snapping, finger wagging, R U D E.

2.  Your web site sucks.  It's hard to navigate and search.  The old one may not have been as pretty, but damn it, I could find what I was looking for.

3.  More of a question than a point.  Do you provide contact information for ANYONE that  might be able to assist in a complaint about services?  Because I've looked on the aforementioned web site and found information only for sexual harassment complaints and financial aid academic probation complaints.  I'm starting to believe this is intentional.  I mean, claiming that you are tops in student services may just mean that those that are unhappy can't flipping contact you to tell you so!  Seriously, look into this.

4.  You have gone from a nice little community college to a machine.  There is this overall feeling of garbage in, garbage out, going on.  A student mill intent on fitting as many students in as possible to make sure to get that extra buck.  This has led to a problem getting into classes that are required for particular areas of study.  That leads to taking classes that are superfluous in order to stay enrolled long enough to get a good registration time so that necessary classes can be taken.  And that?  It's a big waste of money!  I have paid for my education with a combination of Federal Pell Grants and Student Loans and I feel no less pissed off about wasting the money the government has been kind enough to bestow upon me than the loans I will have to pay back.  Our country is in an economic crisis and here we are wasting money on classes like Aerobics and A Study of Shakespeare (which I enjoyed but I didn't NEED the class) when I'm trying to earn my Paralegal cert.  This also leads to more time spent in study and less time being part of a productive society, working, making a difference, earning my own living.

On that note, the reason I'm nearly shaking with rage right now; I took ONE quarter off.  Just one.  I only had funding for two quarters this year and it happens that I'll be out of state for two full weeks in the middle of Winter 2012.  I didn't feel it was worth the risk to my academic career to attempt to make classes work during that time frame and since the money was trimmed I thought that was best... of course no one thought it necessary to mention to me that that one quarter, that measly little quarter off, would then have me sitting back at "new student" status yet again... so this Spring I will likely be wasting even more money taking classes I don't need because the classes I do need will be full.  Did I mention that I already have an associates degree?  From your fine institute even, and yet that counts for naught on this issue.  Super.  Here we go again.

Way to be a hindrance toward the greater good TCC.  I'm sure all those fancy new buildings and all that fantastic landscaping are well worth it.  That ornamental grass sure makes me feel better about you wasting my time and cash.

Controlled Breeding

 Oh... yes... if only it were up to us...

Because if it were, there would be birth control in the water supply.