This summer EvCC will be merging student services and enrollment services into a single department, which will handle everything from registration and financial aid to advising, and report directly to Dottie Krzyzanoski, the Interim vice president of student services.

EvCC operated under a similar student support structure until three years ago when a choice was made by the previous administration to split the department into two separate entities.

"Most of the community colleges in the state of Washington have this comprehensive student services structure," said Krzyzanoski.

According to Kryzanoski, David Beyer, the current President of EvCC, has had a larger, more general support department as a goal for some time, and that the major motivating factors for the decision are to enhance efficiency and productivity.

"It is [President Beyer's] belief that the combination of these units will enhance support services and activities needed by students to complete theiracademic goals and embellish the existing cooperative efforts and successes of staff in these areas," said Kryzanoski.

She said the change will bring benefits for both students and the college itself, although there will be no direct, major changes in the enrollment process other than location, as most of the changes are "behind the scenes."

"Bringing enrollment services and student services under one unit will facilitate more collaborative efforts among the various departments with the goal of expanding services to students," said Kryzanoski. "We will maximize people and financial resources, which is extremely important as the college faces budget reductions next year."

Another administrative goal, according to Kryzanoski, is to bring all student support services to a single location to create a one-stop location for students. Such a change would allow students to avoid going from building to building and talking to numerous counselors and advisers during the registration process. However, Kryzanoski added that "There will not be any immediate relocation of the departments," noting that discussion is in preliminary stages and that current budget concerns will likely delay any location change of such magnitude.

Kryzanoski said that there would be no changes in tuition or fees, which are set by the state, and that there would be no layoffs because of these changes. The primary staff change will be the reassignment of Christine Kerlin, the current vice president of enrollment services, who will be taking over the University Center in Gray Wolf Hall. Finally, Kryzanoski assured that the change was not motivated by lack of funds and that it was not budget related in any way.

"The reorganization was not done as a cost saving measure...this was a budget neutral change," said Kryzanoski. "There was just a realignment of responsibilities between the two vice presidents."

The new department will be discussing the return or permanent disappearance of College Palooza, a program which, in past quarters, brought all the advisors from each program into a single room and allowed students to explore the different departments and gain an opportunity to register early without setting up an appointment.

"Palooza was a pilot program instituted to provide advising and early registration for students," said Kryzanoski. "We have received lots of positive comments about the event from students and will take those into consideration as we look to develop a comprehensive array of advising options for students. A task force has been formed to come up with a plan by the end of spring term and if deemed valuable, College Palooza in some form may be back in the fall."