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When I first arrived at San José State University (SJSU) as a transfer student from Evergreen Valley College (EVC), I suffered a severe concussion from running head-first into a brick wall of bureaucratic policies and practices. Though I was warned about long papers and heavy reading loads in upper-division classes, no one had warned me about the system.
Shortly before the SJSU semester started, I swaggered into an advising office with what I thought was a simple question: Why cothdn't I enroll in upperdivision classes even though I had completed lower-division GE? I was bounced from building to building and cubicle to cubicle at least five times before arriving back exactly where I started! Eventually my question was answered, but I was very frustrated by the experience.
I heard similar stories from other EVC transfer students; in fact, some of my peers postponed enrolling at SJSU because they cothd not cope with the bureaucracy and felt that they...