Thanksgiving Food Drive

Have you ever wanted to help a neighbor in need, but just can’t find a way? At HJC we make it easy. Each year the college holds a Thanksgiving food drive. Students can donate nonperishable food items which will be used to fill 10 baskets for HJC students. You can bring 1 item to donate or you can donate more. EVERY donation helps a HJC student.

To participate, bring your non-perishable food item to the front office. There is a donation box in the front hall way. The college will buy turkeys, eggs, milk, butter and break to put in each basket. All donations must be turned in by Wednesday, November 19. The baskets will be distributed on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21.

This is a great way for you to help. Please see Marsha or Karen if you have any questions.

What is going on with my financial aid?

Many of you may have heard rumors about difficulties with the financial aid this quarter.  It is true, that the economic crunch is impacting the federal student loan program across the nation and has finally hit HJC students.

In August, HJC had numerous lenders providing student loans to our students. Because of the lack of credit available to these banks, many of them have stopped participating in the federal student loan program. Unfortunately, they have not made the decision to stop at the same time. This has caused many students to have to complete multiple Master Promissory Notes for different banks. 

The financial aid staff (Darlene, Patricia, and Lake) has been working hard to make sure they notify students as soon as they learn about a problem with a lender. However, we often don’t find out until a loan application is cancelled.

Please be confident that one of the financial aid staff will contact you directly if there is a problem with your loan. If you do not hear from them, you do not need to worry about the status of your loan….it is being processed as normal.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. This has been a difficult time for everyone, including the financial aid staff at HJC. We believe that the national credit crunch impacting the federal student loan program is finally manageable. 

Thank you for your patience during this difficult time. 

Need Microsoft Office Products?

Huntington Junior College students now have the ability to buy the full Microsoft Office suite of products (Word, Access, Excel, etc) for $59.95.

The software is not provided by the school, but directly from Microsoft. Please visit this website for more information or to purchase your software http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

4-Day School Week?

Students at Huntington Junior College recently had the opportunity to vote on the possibility of changing to a 4-day school week. This proposal would have changed Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes to meet only on Monday and Wednesday and extend the length of each class to match that of Tuesday/Thursday classes.

In total, 60% of the students supported the concept and 40% did not. Although this is a majority, the reasons the 40% voted “NO” were very sound. The reasons included:

·         Many students cannot make it to an 8:00 class or have to be home before 3:00 because of their children’s school or daycare schedule. This would prohibit these students from being a full-time student attending Monday/Wednesday.

·         Increasing the length class time from 1 hour  10 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes would make the classes harder for some students

·         Increasing the number of days between class meetings (Wednesday to Monday) would make students more likely to forget material covered on Wednesdays

Given the reasons, and the failure to obtain at least 2/3 of the vote for the proposed change, the administration has decided to maintain the existing schedule at this time.

Please see Carolyn Smith or Cathy Snoddy if you have any questions or concerns.

 

 

 

Welcome to Fall Quarter

Hard to believe fall quarter is here when the temperature is still getting into the 80s, but it today is the first day of school. This is orientation for new students. Tuesday/Thursday and night school classes start tomorrow. Monday/Wednesday/Friday will start on Wednesday and on-line is available now.

Don’t forget — you must start your classes by the first day of the second week of school (Monday or Tuesday). If you don’t, you will have to wait until January to start classes.

We look forward to working with each of you this quarter. Just let us know if you need anything!

Have you scheduled for fall yet?

This is the last week that current students can schedule their fall classes before it is opened to returning and new students. Although current students can schedule anytime, this early registration allows you to choose from classes before they are full. Returning students can start scheduling on September 17. New students can start scheduling on September 22. Remember, you can schedule your classes online 24/7 at www.myhjc.com. Be sure to click on the “Student Portal Home Page” to access the online schedule.

Cathy

Should HJC Implement a 4-Day Week Schedule?

HJC is considering moving to a 4-day a week class schedule. With this plan, classes would meet on Monday and Wednesday and Tuesday and Thursday.  Although it wouldn’t change the Tuesday/Thursday schedule, it would change Monday/Wednesday classes.

Monday/Wednesday classes would now meet from:

1^st period – 8:00 am – 9:40 am
2^nd Period – 9:45 am – 11:25 am
3^rd Period – 11:40 am – 1:20 pm
4^th Period – 1:30 pm – 3:10 pm

There would no longer be a 5^th period class on Monday and Wednesday.

In addition, the college would consider adding a Friday block class. This class would meet only on Friday and would last for 3 ½ hours. The tentative schedule would be from 9:00 am – 12:35 pm.

There are benefits and cons to moving to this schedule. Below is a list of each:

Benefits to 4-day a week classes: 1.      Spending less on gas coming 2 days a week instead of 3 for M/W/F students   2.      Tuesday/Thursday students can take 1 class on Friday to get 5 classes per quarter   3.      Free Fridays for lab hours   4.      Extra day for Externship possibilities

Cons to 4-day a week classes: 1.      To graduate in 18-months, you would have to pick up 5thclass on Tuesday/Thursday, Friday Block, Night School, or Online   2.      Classes will now be longer on M/W/F   3.      Would do away with the 9:15 – 1:10 schedule to be full-time. Would either have to start at 8:00 am or go until 3:10 to be full time on M/W.

We are conducting a survey to get your thoughts about the proposed schedule. E-mail me if you think we should implement the new schedule or not at csnoddy@huntingtonjuniorcollege.edu. You can also complete a survey which can be found in the front office.

Open House and HJC at the Mall

HJC will have an open house on Wednesday, August 13. This will provide interested individuals a chance to tour the building and learn about the programs we offer. In addition WKEE and WTCR will be doing live remotes at the college with door prizes and food.

On Friday, August 22, the college will setup a booth at the Huntington Mall. Medical Assisting students will be available to do blood pressure checks. The fall quarter schedule will be available also.

Stop by and see the college at either one of these events.

When is your last quarter?

Are you planning on graduating in Summer or the Fall Quarter? If so, you need to complete a graduation survey. This quick questionnaire is important to make sure you receive your diploma in a timely manner if you are graduating in Summer. If your last quarter is Fall, this survey will be used to make sure the last classes you need are on the schedule. If you don’t complete this questionnaire, all of your required classes may not be on the schedule.

To pick up a questionnaire, please see someone in the front office.

Important Information for June Graduates

The graduation ceremony is right around the corner. I love graduation it is a time to share your successes with your family, friends, instructors, and staff. Also, we eat cake and you know how I LOVE cake! If you are planning on going through the graduation ceremony there are several things you need to do. You can see someone in the front office to finish all of these tasks:

• Register for the Graduation Ceremony
• Complete the Exit Interview Process 
• Complete your Exit Loan Counseling 
• Pick up your Cap and gown and instructions for the ceremony