...With school back in session and students settling into their surroundings we begin to plan for the future - graduation. Many students here at Casper College find themselves at a crossroads, the point where finishing an Associates degree meets starting a bachelors. This is not always an easy process with the current state of affairs at the University of Wyoming.

The only current route to take for students staying in state is to apply with the University of Wyoming as it is the only school in the state offering four-year degree programs. Lately however we are hearing from more and more people just how much of a fight it can be to attend. Transferring credits from one school to UW can be a nightmare taking months to complete and longer if complications arise. Students borrowing federal loans for the first time may have to wait up to a month after classes begin to receive their payment. This can put them into a very tight situation for no obvious reason. The solution to all of this could come in the form of another four-year institution in the cowboy state, Casper College.

The idea of having Casper College offer four-year degree programs has been around for decades. Much of the problem in the earlier years was that the college lacked the faculty, facilities, and funding. Today all one needs to do is look at the construction around campus to see this is no longer a problem. A new set of dorms and the spacious Gateway building have made room for expansion. All of these events seem to show the community that Casper College is ready and willing to take on a larger share of our states educational needs.

That being said there is something left to be desired. Much of the campus still feels small town, something the University of Wyoming is light years ahead on. The sports teams are small and Sweed Ericson Gym cowers in fear at the sight of the Dome of Doom. (I'm not too sure you need this paragraph. while I really like the cowering in fear - I think if you have to make cuts consider consolidating those two sentences with something like the following)

While our sports programs and facilities cower in fear of the University of Wyoming's; the faculty at Casper College far surpass their contemporaries at the larger University.

Sports aside the faculty at Casper College really is what makes the experience special. This is one of the main reasons that Casper College has set itself apart from the University of Wyoming. Many students will tell you that professors remember their names, follow up with events in their lives, and are very helpful with any complications that may arise. The problem appears to be that the university has become so large and disconnected from their student base that the education process feels much like renewing a driver's license. Every aspect of interaction has become bureaucratic in nature with papers to sign, appointments to make, dozens of different offices to visit which are scattered among the many buildings around the UW campus. This impersonal treatment makes students frustrated with receiving their education. At risk of sounding like my father it seems "when you are the only game in town, you get to make the rules..."