On Jan. 28, the Associated Student Council (ASC) hosted a forum to inform students about the new ctcLink transition. This was held via Zoom and featured panelists President Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, Vice President of Student Services Dr. Yoshiko Harden, and the Dean of Student Development Ricardo Leyva-Puebla. The event was hosted by Alex Roque, the Executive of Issues and Concerns for ASC.
Roque began the forum by introducing the panelists. Dr. Edwards Lange then took over by explaining the background of ctcLink, which is a new system that all 34 community and technical colleges will be transitioning to. It will allow students to have a single record regardless of where they had taken prior classes. This is in contrast to the current system, or as Dr. Edwards Lange called it, “our legacy,” which is outdated and not as user-friendly.
“A number of other community colleges have already switched over to the ctcLink,” Dr. Edwards Lange stated. Seattle Central will start its transition on Feb. 22, when many of the offices and systems will be shut down. On March 1, the system should be up and running, and students will receive their new student IDs and will be able to activate their accounts. During the transition, Canvas and Office360 accounts will still be working.
Dr. Edwards Lange also mentioned that financial aid has already been frequently disrupted as a result of the transition and apologized for the inconveniences.
Next, Dr. Harden took over and reminded the students of important deadlines, such as the registration day for Spring quarter (March 3) and the tuition due date (March 15). These operations will be carried out using the new ctcLink system.
The floor was then opened for questions from the students. The first question was concerning the students who are close to graduating. They asked if ctcLink would disrupt their graduation. Dean Leyva-Puebla advised students to see their advisors and be prepared to select classes they would need to graduate on time. “Any advising you need to get, get them done before Feb. 15,” Dr. Harden added.
The next question asked how students would get their new student ID if the student is presently not in the US. Dr. Edwards Lange said students would receive an email regarding this information, time permitting. Another participant asked when myCentral would shut down. The panelists answered that it will be down one week before ctcLink starts. It was then emphasized that students can still sign in to Canvas during the ctcLink transition. Dr. Edwards Lange added that the school will be getting a lot of messages sent through Canvas.
For closing comments, the panelists informed the students that staff will continue to process evaluations, except for the week of Feb. 22, when they will prepare for the final stretch of the ctcLink system to start running. Dr. Harden wrapped up the discussion by reiterating the significance of ctcLink in that it will improve the way students interact in terms of registering, paying for classes, receiving transcripts, transferring to another college or university, and graduating.
More information on Seattle Central’s transition to ctcLink can be found here.
Author
Alex Su is a Biochemistry student and a staff writer at the Collegian. Harboring a passionate love for fiction, she enjoys writing prose as much as reading books. She’s fascinated by the complexity of living things and aims to work in the medical field. She likes writing for the Collegian as much as bullet journaling, drawing, and eating.
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