The Academic Senate met in Room 166 of the Distance Education Center on Tuesday, May 1 to discuss changes being made around campus, including in technology.

One such innovation planned on being implemented at EC is the use of the scheduling tool Civitas.

“Civitas schedule planner is for students to use to input their personal, sports, or work schedules to help find them available classes within their schedule,” Vice President of Academic Technology Pete Marcoux said during the meeting. “Hopefully students will be able to find more classes with this tool.”

Civitas is planned on being used at EC starting with the fall 2018 semester.

“I think a scheduling tool would be perfect for students,” undecided major Shirley Richards said. “It used to be hard to find classes that match with my work schedule, so a little extra help would be awesome.”

Once officer reports concluded, special committee reports were issued, including a special committee report on the South Bay Promise program.

“We are nearing 800 students for the program,” ECC Vice President of Student Services Ross Miyashiro said. “We have room for 500 (students), so hopefully students qualify for the waiver so we can get more students admitted into the program.”

According to the ECC website, The South Bay Promise offers an affordable pathway directly from high school to college for students in the El Camino Community College District with enrollment fees for the first year will be paid for full-time students and additional services and counseling will be offered to students enrolled in the South Bay Promise.

To see if you qualify for this program and wish to fill out an application, visit the ECC website.

“Textbooks and classes are expensive,” English major Justin Stafford said. “Even the smallest amount of help makes a big difference, especially for students that are living by themselves.”