The College Planning Council announced a plan to hire 17 new staff members by August 2015, including 9 in the counseling office.

Students and staff alike have been complaining about the counseling situation for as long as many of us can remember. The lack of same day appointments, consistently long lines, and  general confusion most students face without proper help is a major barrier to many student’s education.

“This is our time to deliver,” said Jack Friedlander, executive vice president of educational programs.

With funding from the Student Success and Support Program as well as the Student Equity program, City College is looking to add staff to areas that affect students the most.

Four of the counselors would be set to work in the office, with one each going to EOPS, Transfer Achievement Program, and high school students.

Two will be dedicated to the Express to Success program, a program specifically for helping students take dual-credit courses to finish their educational plans faster.

While the college will be posting the job listings, so will every other community college in the state, all of which just received the same funding to hire qualified staff members.

“Our whole philosophy has been if we don’t get the top notch person, we wait and go at it again,” said Friedlander.

Along with the plans for new staff positions, President Lori Gaskin has decided to reorganize the structure of the planning council with so many changes going on across the country for community colleges.

“People are beginning to realize how significant community colleges are,” Gaskin said.

The college has been given over $100 million in funding to make an impact in the lives of students. “Not just in the classroom, but in goal attainment,” explained Gaskin. There is an “absolute fervent expectation that we move that dial of student success.”

With so much money on the line, the legislature tied numerous performance expectations to the funding. With these expectations, President Gaskin has asked Friedlander to take a more “direct support role” while continuing his executive vice president duties until a replacement is found.

All of these changes were made without the council’s consideration. President Gaskin said that the “stakes were too high’ at this moment to wait.

While Friedlander was initially not excited about the role, he has come to embrace it after some time to consider.

Friedlander has served a similar role at other institutions before, and will look to assist Gaskin in the day to day operations of the college.

The next scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, Feb 17.