Letter from the VP of Academic Affairs

Dear Gateway Students,

I see there are comments regarding the class cancellations for the spring, and I want to address concerns you may have. Unfortunately when enrollment is low, some classes must be cancelled. The deans of each of the five divisions look closely at a variety of factors in determining which sections of low enrolled classes can be cancelled. These decisions are guided by such questions as, Is there capacity in other sections? Is this a class that students have to have for graduation or is there an equivalent option? Can we delay the start of this low-enrolled introductory course to the fall so that we can build a strong enrollment? Is there an online, 12 week start, or 8 week start option? Each of the academic divisions have very different programming, so the questions and processes may different slightly, but I assure you that the decision to cancel a class is never, ever taken lightly. We know and appreciate how valuable your time is. When we make the decision to cancel a low enrolled class, we try to minimize the inconvenience by including a list of new class options as well as who to contact for assistance in the cancellation email.

We typically do cancellations a week later than we did this year, but we opted for this week to give students more time to enroll in another section and to adjust schedules, if needed. Scheduling the right number of sections is both an art and a science, but it is a process that we continue to review and try to improve upon. Making adjustments to low-enrolled sections allows the college to use resources more efficiently and creates learning environments that are more robust and engaging. I started my career at Gateway as an developmental math instructor over 10 years ago, and I always said that I would much rather have 50 students in a classes than 5 the synergy and opportunity to learn from a large, diverse group of learners is so much more fun!

I truly loved my time in the classroom, but I am equally excited about serving as your Vice President of Academic Affairs. I appreciate your comments, and I am always willing to listen to suggestions you may have about how to create a great experience for you at Gateway. My email is teri.vonhandorf@kctcs.edu and my office number is (859) 442-4173.

If a class of yours was cancelled and you need assistance enrolling in another class, please contact your advisor or stop by any of the Information Commons during the open advising times.

Open advising times can be found here: http://bit.ly/1Qclcxg

Thank you for choosing Gateway, and I look forward to seeing you in January.

Teri A. VonHandorf, Ed.D. | Vice President of Academic Affairs