MISSION VIEJO : Colleges Use Phone Registration System

With the help of a new phone registration system, fall semester classes started Monday without most of the usual long lines for about 27,000 students at Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges.

About 22,000 students at the two colleges used the new phone system in recent weeks to sign up for classes, with the average call taking only 12 minutes, officials said. In the past, students had to register for classes in person, often standing in long lines up to two hours long.

“Before, when I first came here, oh man, the lines would be really, really long,” said Anthony Ferrer of San Clemente, who has been taking classes at Saddleback College since 1989. “Now, with this phone system, it’s really eased things. It’s much more efficient.”

After a trial run of the phone system last May for a smaller number of students seeking summer semester courses, officials were able to work out several bugs, making the fall registration much smoother, said Gary S. Stakan, dean of admissions and records at Saddleback College.

And while there are still improvements to be made in the system, Stakan said, most students are saving a “phenomenal” amount of time by registering for classes by any touch-tone phone.

“You didn’t have to drive here,” he said, “you didn’t have to walk up the hill, you didn’t have to wait in line.”

Officials are also hoping to finish work on a program by the end of the fall semester that will allow students to call in for their grades rather than having to wait in line on campus.

With the phone system, approved by the Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees in July, 1992, the colleges also reduced the need for temporary, part-time employees to assist with registration.

Meanwhile, the fall enrollment at both colleges was down from the same period last year, although officials at both campuses expected to meet enrollment targets as late registration continues in the next two weeks.

As of Friday, about 19,000 students were signed up for classes at Saddleback College and 8,300 at Irvine Valley College.

With higher fees and a new state enrollment management policy, Saddleback College expects to stay about the same size as last year, while Irvine Valley College is only planning a slight increase in students and classes.

The state Legislature recently raised the enrollment fee for all community college students from $10 per unit to $13 per unit. Students who already have baccalaureate degrees continue to pay $50 per unit.