For most Fresno City College students, no Friday courses means a three-day weekend all semester. However, the limited options for Friday courses makes life as a student harder.
The struggle to get enrolled in a course as soon as registration starts is tough to begin with, but with very few Friday courses available, the window for open courses closes.
FCC currently has 131 courses available on Fridays out of 2,623 for the fall semester. Out of the upcoming 2,389 courses in the spring semester, 134 courses are on Friday.
To receive the full amount of financial aid, students must be enrolled in 12 credit units or more. This can be a challenging process when all the courses fill up and you’re stuck on the waitlist.
Even more exhausting is the urgency that transfer students can have trying to make sure they are taking their required courses before transferring.
Prospective transfer students regularly meet with transfer counselors to ensure correct courses are being taken in order to transfer, but some might have to take an extra course over the summer or 9-week courses to fulfill a requirement.
In these instances, an extra Friday course could help balance out a student’s schedule and also take off some of the last minute pressure that comes with degree or transfer requirements.
As a student enrolled in 17 units, I could use the leniency of dividing all courses in the span of five days rather than four to benefit my mental and academic health.
It is typical for general education courses to have two or three meetings a week with a heavier workload in between the week. It is not only demanding for a college student to get an assignment on time within one or two days, but it’s also inconsiderate for the people who work.
Fridays offer a break for students, but what about the people who work throughout the earlier days in the week? Or on the weekends? For some, that extra day might be critical in receiving the education they want or need.
Keeping up with grades can be a challenge, but with the addition of work and volunteer service, I could see myself utilizing that extra day to possibly take a class on Friday.
Not only that, but the lack of Friday classes limits the aspect of choosing what days you have class as a college student. It is incomparable to a university when you don’t get the option to plan your schedule to the fullest degree.
A five-day school schedule keeps students consistent and mirrors the way a real world job works. Even if a student chooses to not have class everyday, that extra one day could bring more structure that gives us room to breathe as students.
Because of the lack of courses held on Friday, the campus is visibly empty with the exception of the few students.
Even a student who is enrolled in a Friday course does not have as many resources as would Monday through Thursday. The Ram Pantry is closed, and services like Student Activities, library, PASS Center, technology support and tutorial centers etc. all close early.
Meanwhile, the West Fresno Centers library and tutorial center is closed for the day.
Support services like these are so critical to our success as more than just students, but as people as well. As a community college, many students come to campus out of necessity and hope that we can receive support wherever we can.
I occasionally come to campus on Fridays and when I do, I always wish it didn’t feel like I’m the only one there.
