Administration Problems Within a School

Many students encounter problems while attending school. Whenever I encountered a problem the three main departments to visit were admissions, student affairs and financial aid.

Each department was located in undersized buildings around campus. The administrative staff consisted of one male and one female in admissions, one male in student affairs, and four females in the financial aid department. Some of the factors related to these department problems are: Over pack class and dorm rooms; student accounts not being updated in a timely manner; not enough professors to teach required courses; and lack of student activities. In spring Two thousand seven, the college had three hundred thirty-one men and five hundred-ten women totaling up to eight hundred-forty one students total (Morris College, 2007). This is the year I will never forget, because I had to share a room with two other females. Each department was located in undersized buildings around campus.

An example of a problem I witness at school, the admissions department would accept too many applications. This produced a problem for the school because on registration day there was not enough room to house all the students. Admissions administrators would continue to take students room deposits however there was no room available for students at the time.

The admissions department will accept any student regardless of previous grade point average. This is a problem for both students and staff. When admissions accept too many students' class rooms tend to get over packed, which is a disadvantage to professors. Students are affected because there are not enough professors to teach required courses. I was affected by this problem my senior year. I was short one major course to graduate however the school was not offering the course until the fall semester. I had two alternatives sit out a semester or take the course at another school. I witness incidents where other students were also affected by lack of teachers. The shortages cause students to attend school a complete semester for one course. This can cause students to put themselves in additional debt and consume more of their time for courses not required to graduate.

Another problem with the admissions administrative department is the lack of staff. When a college lacks staff in this department it becomes a disadvantage to the students and staff. The staff has more work to complete, and attending to each student is time consuming and difficult. Students become irritable when questions are not answered, lines are long, and not being able to get through when attempting to contact the department. My experience with the admissions department administrative staff was always time consuming. My questions seldom obtained answers on the spot and the four seats located in the department were constantly occupied.

Student affairs department handles problems dealing with dorms, student activities, and cafeteria. A problem with the cafeteria is uncleanliness, long lines, cold food, and the same menu every week. Students pay one thousand, three hundred-eight dollars and fifty cent a semester to eat in the cafeteria (Morris College). Expectations are high and no one should have to consume cold food in a dirty place while paying that sort of price.

At the beginning of each semester the school has a day for registration located inside the gym. The school entire administrative staff and students crowd inside the tiny gym. The workers set up tables for students to come around and register for class, sign up for work-study, get housing permit, and take id pictures. This day consist of long and slow pace moving lines due to all students trying register at the same time. The student affairs department issues each student a housing permit that will allow the student to obtain a dormitory room.

Two thousand nine through Two thousand ten the school failed to house each student that was accepted. Due to this failure the school appeared on local news and students who did not get housing permits after paying room deposit were interviewed. In the interview Hawkins said, "Every time I question the dorm directors about room and board, they'll tell me, Oh well we are trying to find out now' or 'You're already on the waiting list', the only thing we can do is wait". Smith who is also a student said, "One day I had to miss a day out of class because my mom didn't have the money for me to get to class" ( Faye, 2009). Students were left with three options, continue to wait until a room was available, accommodate themselves at their own expense or leave school. This kind of publicity could cause the school to gain a bad reputation and decrease in the amount of students who wish to apply.

The school has two female dorms and three male dorms. The upkeep of these dormitories is horrifying. Using the bathroom or taking a shower was always an unpleasant experience. Occasionally ladies would leave used personal monthly items on the floor, feces inside the shower stall or hair inside the sinks. The maintenance lady would come clean the bathroom once every morning; in the afternoon the bathrooms would be intolerable again. Rats and bedbugs was also a problem in my dorm. My senior year I witness a bad case of bed bugs being spread around the dorm. Rats were being caught in various places like the dorm directors office and student rooms. These issues caused serious health problems for students.

Student Affairs would board students three to a room even though they were aware of the limited amount space for each student. "It is money being wasted when I don't even have enough space to put my things, like there are only two dressers, and two closets, so I have to bring bins from home, just to put my clothes inside of," said Smith (Faye, 2009). My senior year I was forced to share a room with two other females. The rooms only have two beds and two closets so the third female had to use a portable bed and no closet was available for her. Problems that occurred with this situation: student's items would turn up missing; more females sharing the bathroom facilities; roommates not being considerate of your personal property; and the hallways were constantly loud and dirty.

My personal experience with the dormitory had both negative and positive side effects. Some positive effects were being able to come and go as I wanted, class was walking distance, and friends were always nearby. Negative effects were not being able to pick who you wanted to room with, unclean restrooms, and continuous commotion. The laundry room facility is located inside the dorm. There were fifty ladies on each floor sharing two washing machine and dryers. Students would argue over who was there first and missing clothes. I witness the dryer overheat and catch on fire one occasion because