How many of you have felt the pain of getting the worst registration date for classes in the upcoming semester?
This may cause frustration and pain as a student, but it’s challenging because we’re expected to accept this fact and just know that there is a good chance we won’t graduate in four years. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we should accept this norm. Failing to get a seat in an impacted class, one for which the demand is greater than the seats available, causes students to graduate later, puts a hold on their future and negatively impacts their finances.
It is a known fact that it takes the majority of CSUN students longer to graduate than four years. According to an article by Jason Song from The LA Times, “only about 19% of Cal State students who enter as full-time freshmen are able to graduate within four years” and “about 54% of first-time freshmen finish within six years.” This is unjust considering college is supposed to be a four year experience.
Not only is the extra time in college unnecessary, it takes away from a student starting their future and getting a career. Suzanne Lucas from INC.com states that a “bachelor’s degree is now required for jobs that used to be held by high school grads.” With the time required from college classes, it is almost impossible to acquire and balance a full-time career while attending CSUN simultaneously. The Cal State students who enter as full-time freshmen and are not able to graduate in 4 years are putting their lives on hold. In a sense, they are being held back from their degree by impacted courses.
Your time and future are at stake, but your bank account may be what is hurting the most. CSUN’s website provides the information that a semester tuition is $3,291 for seven or more units a semester, which does not include housing, book fees or parking fees. Even if you have 3 classes left to finish up your degree in that 5th year at CSUN, you are still paying the same as a student who is taking 5 classes. That money in your bank account could be put towards rent for an apartment or a down payment on a new car for work, but instead it is being applied to another semester at CSUN.
CSUN’s impacted classes are forcing us to waste money obtaining the degrees that we truly need to function and prosper in today’s society. I think we can all agree that impacted classes at CSUN cause a lot of stress and negatively affect our futures professionally and financially.
We need to stand up as a unified student front to make a change to what we are to supposed to accept as normal. As CSUN students, we can protest together by emailing each one of our advisors, asking for more classes. If they see the severity of this issue’s impact then they might be more willing to help us make a change and add more classes. We shouldn’t have to face financial and professional blunders in our schooling; we should be helped to achieve our goals in the most beneficial way possible.
Written by Riley Cherry
