Students intending to use the Transfer Center or the Career and Employment Center will find the process much more difficult this semester due to budget cuts.

The Transfer Center and the Career and Employment Center have been merged into one unit, now known as the Career, Employment, and Transfer Center, which is located where the Transfer Center was in the Counseling Building.

Both centers have experienced cuts due to budgetary issues. According to Senior Academic and Student Services Manager Nicola Place, 100 percent of the funding for the transfer center, which was “well over $150,000,” was cut. This funding was dedicated to paying for the staff of the transfer center, so they were cut as well.

The new Career, Employment, and Transfer Center is open 20 hours a week, a major reduction in time from both centers last semester. According to Career and Employment Services Coordinator Sarah Boland, the hours were reduced as a result of lay-offs. Student reactions to the cuts are mixed.

Joe Evans, a major in energy systems, concedes that cuts are inevitable. “If they can still serve someone,” he says, “it’s better than cutting classes.”

Maryam Mezari, 34, says that the center is very helpful. “They taught me how to make a portfolio, how to write a resume and cover letter, and they answered all my questions.”

The amount of experts on hand to assist students has also been reduced. The Career, Employment, and Transfer Center has only one full time employee: Boland, the former Career and Employment Center Coordinator. In addition, Place works at the center part time in addition to her other responsibilities in cooperative education courses as well as career and employment functions.

Place has said that the Career, Employment, and Transfer Center is working on getting an assistant in the form of a counselor working part time at the center. She also hopes that a transfer coordinator will be granted for the 2012-13 school year.

The Career and Employment Center was open 40 hours a week last semester and the Transfer Center 32 hours a week. Both centers had on staff a full time coordinator and a part time worker.

The Career, Employment, and Transfer Center assists students in transferring to a full time university and in finding career opportunities. They run an online job board.

Sam Park, a business major and VP of Business Relations at the DVC club SIFE, believes that the idea behind the center is exactly what the school should be doing. “By reducing the hours [of the Transfer Center and the Career Center], they are reducing chances for students,” he said.