By Jesse Garwick
Staff Writer
DMACC is moving the class catalogue, which previously had been both an online version and printed copies, to all digital as of this fall semester.
This decision is another effort to improve efficiency for both DMACC and the students, as well as to keep up with current technology.
The course catalogue and schedule have been accessible online for a few years now, but there was also a hard copy that students could reference without having to go online.
Todd Jones, Director of Marketing and Public relations at DMACC, said, “We realized the web was popular, so the decision was made to go all online. We believe that was a good decision.”
According to Jones, cutting the printed version will save DMACC over $20,000. But the effect on current and prospective students is still up in the air.
In addition to saving on the printing costs, going electronic will allow steady updates to the schedule to make it more fluid and keep students up-to-date on all classes.
Jones says that in addition to the schedule, online registration for classes has been steadily increasing, with about 70-80% of DMACC students registering online.
DMACC students have mixed opinions about the new schedule.
Kelly Smith, 19, first year student in Liberal arts AA said, “I’m old school, I don’t like technology because it doesn’t always work. I like the hard copy because then you always have a backup.”
Isaac Sloan, 19, first year student in AA education said, “It won’t make much difference to me. I prefer online, but it’s nice to have a hard copy.”
Don Hendrian, 38, a returning second year student in liberal arts, said, “I like the hard copy. Sometimes old school is the best school.”
Alex Gumpert, 20, a second year in general education, said, “As long as everyone has access to it, I’m fine. We live in the day and age where most everything is going digital. It doesn’t matter if we like it or not, that’s just the way things are headed.”
For all those who like the printed book, they can access the online version to print themselves a copy. If students use the online version to plan their schedules and, once they register, print their schedules from the Web Info System, they will have the most up-to-date and correct information.
“Our concern is that we want to be student-friendly. The goal is to serve the students. We always appreciate some feedback.” Jones said.
The new schedule will be accessible through the main DMACC web page.
*UPDATE* This story has been updated to reflect correct information about printing the online version. There are no current plans to post a downloadable PDF on the site.
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