West students, pay close attention to your email.

Many people are confused about what’s going on with the West campus. One thing that is completely clear is that West is closing May 15 after the semester comes an end. The newly proposed building won’t be up and running until spring of 2017. When it is up and running, the new West building will house degree programs in the daytime hours and continuing education classes in the evening.

What that means for the students hasn’t been clear. Now there is a plan to help the students who are enrolled in the degree programs and classes.

Dr. Jeff Galligan, senior advisor for the Trio Student Support Services Program, is the coordinator of the Student Development and Success West Transition Plan.

Galligan said the objective of the West Transition Plan is, “For each student currently attending the West campus to have a personal interaction with the Madison College staff. That will provide them with the services, assistance, and advising support necessary to create an academic success plan at the campus or campuses they will attend after the west campus closure in 2016.”

Galligan wants to make it as easy as possible for the 736 students attending classes at West to get into the classes they need to complete their program at other Madison College campuses. Many of the English, math, science, humanities and social science courses that were offered at West will be held at the Downtown Educational Center (DTEC).

Those currently at West should watch for the following dates:

On Feb. 15, West students should have received an email containing a newsletter that discusses important information regarding the transition from West to other campuses.

On March 11, West students will be receiving a call to confirm students’ commitment to attend classes for the fall semester.

Advising services are going to begin and will continue to run throughout the rest of the spring semester.  Summer and fall courses will be available for the shopping cart in the Student Center on March 14. A registration event will be held in room 153 at the West campus from March 21 to 25. West campus students will also have “Priority registration,” for summer and fall over the course of the registration event.

There will be additional support services held at DTEC and Truax campuses. Students enrolled at these campuses will be able to start enrolling on March 29.  The West advisor, Dzigbodi Akyea, will be continuing to visit classes at West to help provide students with information.

While the Transition Team would like to offer transportation via a shuttle bus from a set location on the west side of Madison to the DTEC campus, the process is not yet completed. The shuttles are run by the Student Senate and therefore not in the control of the Transition Team. Both parties involved and are working hard to put a plan together for a shuttle. Students will be updated when a new plan is available.

Students should watch their email, West lobby postings and the colleges social media accounts for updates.