After a turmoil filled restructuring process, EvCC counselors were given the opportunity to provide administrators with an alternate plan for restructuring the counseling department.

Sandra Fowler-Hill, vice president of instruction, met with each of the six full-time faculty counselors individually last week; collecting input and concerns from each of them about the plan to restructure the counseling department.

Counselors were asked by Fowler-Hill to produce a plan that would be more effective than the current restructuring proposal. Counselors had until Monday to have it ready for Fowler-Hill to make recommendations to President David Beyer based on the proposal.

After discussing the individual meetings with Cristina Castorena, dean of student development, Fowler-Hill made her recommendations to Beyer Wednesday

Counselors agreed that Fowler-Hill was a sincere person to talk to and believed that their input was truly accepted.

"She seems interested in talking with us. It feels good, it feels like you are being heard and can express what you want," said Deanna Skinner, head of the counseling department. "It really depends on what comes out in the end of all this in terms of have any of the things that we have stressed that we feel are really important, will they be considered enough to make a change in the decision."

"I don't think it was just to have us process," counselor Gina Meyers said. "I think that they were really seeing if we could come up with something that we could forward to David."

The counseling department is facing a complete restructuring that would wipe out nearly the entire Counseling, Academic and Career Center, as we know it. The restructuring would include two counselors assigned to provide personal counseling, one each assigned to academic and career counseling in the Basic Skills and Adult Education and the Business and Workforce Education, and two will provide services to TRIO students.

Counselors currently have the flexibility to provide all of what counselor Earl Martin calls the counseling trilogy: Academic, career and personal.

The counselors stressed during their meetings with Fowler-Hill that they would like to offer a more centralized service for students. The new structure would spread the six counselors out of the CACC.

"Having other counselors off in some of the other areas are a fabulous idea, it's very needed for those populations," Skinner said, "but not when you are cutting four positions. You can reach more student if you stay together."

The contracts of full-time temporary counselors John Meyer, Belle Nishioka, Evelin Henriques and Sandy Nisperos will not be renewed in June when they expire as part of the restructuring.

Skinner said that the counselors expressed other concerns along with a need for a more centralized service during the meetings.

"We have all requested that we all report to one supervisor so that we can still be a coordinated service, [we] stressed summer coverage, improved communication, that we want to be listened to," Skinner said. "[Fowler-Hill] seemed to value and respect that."

According to Skinner, individual meetings were originally scheduled so that each of the counselors could choose, based on seniority, which position they would prefer to be assigned to in the new restructuring. This changed after the counselors collectively created a list of 25 broad range questions they asked to have answered.

If a counselor decides not to choose one of the previously mentioned positions, they could also choose to be an instructor.

"All of the counselors have been given the option to teach. This is concerning because then the counselor position will probably be eliminated," Meyers said in an email. "This will greatly reduce the number of counselors available to students."

If all of the counselors requested instructional positions, only two counselors would be left for the entire campus. Meyers, however, seemed to play down the idea that all the counselors would choose instructional positions over counseling services.

There will be counseling services here to help students but it will not look the same," Meyers said in an email, "and we don't believe it will be enough for the kinds of issues and concerns that we see at this college."

Beyer will either be presenting the current restructuring plan or make adjustments based on feedback from the counselors to the Board of Trustees.

"I'm hoping that its made some difference, I would really like to have great faith in our administration," Skinner said. "Right now today I'm feeling hopeful about that and a week from now I will know if that is really the case."