The Bakersfield College administration cut and rearranged courses after the census day. The last day to add or drop full-length semester classes at BC was on Jan. 30 for the spring semester. 

According to BC Academic Senate President Nick Strobel, “They take a look at how many students are in a particular class with really low enrollments. Are there ways that we could either take one class and combine it with another one at the same time? Or is it possible to move some of those students to another class and try to have more students in a classroom at that given time?”

Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, three weeks into the semester, approximately 22 classes were either canceled or restructured, according to an administrator who spoke on condition of anonymity.

BC professors who were affected by this decision were asked to make a statement on the issue. According to BC Professor of Communication A. Todd Jones, one of his in-person classes was cut from the new BC Southwest campus this semester. 

“I know there are other classes that were canceled. There were other classes that were not canceled that were kind of at the same criteria as my class that were not canceled. I don’t know why, but that’s what happened. That was my frustration. That was the conversation I had with the institution, and we’ve moved on and I don’t want to battle with them anymore,” Jones said. 

Though she has been reassured that the administration wants to see BC’s journalism program thrive, Erin Auerbach, adviser to the Renegade Rip, said that having the Rip’s courses canceled, then cross-listed during the third week of the semester in the name of saving money, sent the opposite message.

“It’s like they’re telling me, ‘We want to help you grow even more beautiful flowers, but we’ll be cutting your supply of water and sunlight in half’,” Auerbach said.

Jones added, “I don’t want to be in their position to make decisions like that. Enrollment management is very difficult. Class demands by students change all the time. They want full 16 week courses, face to face, or they want hybrid classes that are asynchronous. It’s always changing.” 

He continued,  “We’re doing the best we can to kind of monitor enrollment management and accommodate for students because it’s a moving target and difficult.”