First, good news about my alma mater, Westfield State College. Well, maybe not good news, but at least it’s interesting news. There’s talk of putting in an access road between Route 20 and Western Avenue. I think that’s a good idea, having myself gone up and down the only existing link, Lloyd’s Hill Road, many times. It’s certainly a proposal that’s worth some serious study. Click the thumbnail picture to see an aerial view, with my guess where the proposed road would be. I should point out the land behind WSC going down to Rt. 20 is a very steep hill.
And now, onto other WSC news. It’s my sad duty to report that once again the semi-professionals who are in charge of the place screwed something up…
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Westfield State College mistakenly welcomes rejected students
If you received a welcoming letter from Westfield State College’s education department recently, check again. College officials admit that the department mistakenly sent welcoming letters to some 300 to 400 students who had previously been rejected by the college.“Last week our education department sent out welcome letters to people interested in the education major, and these were mistakenly sent to some students who had previously received rejection letters,” said spokesman Craig Phelon.
College officials noticed the mistake last Friday when confused parents began calling the school. Letters addressing the problem were sent out immediately, Phelon said. College officials also followed up with phone calls.
“We live in an electronic age and computer errors happen,” Phelon said.
“We regret that this mix-up could have resulted in some confusion and frustration for students and families,” said Robert Bristow, associate vice president for enrollment management. “However, to our knowledge, this is the first time such an error has occurred, and we are taking measures to ensure that it is not repeated.”
Westfield State, located outside Springfield, had 5,500 students apply to the college this year for only 1,000 openings. The college has 4,261 undergraduate students and 743 graduate students.
“We know the students are disappointed,” Phelon said. “They were disappointed in the first place not to be accepted and I’m sure it was not pleasant to receive this additional letter.”
With the 30th anniversary of my graduation only weeks away, I implore the administrators of Westfield State College to please get your act together! And don’t blame this latest embarrassing mishap on the computer. Blame it on whomever is in charge of the computer.