Students get first week rush at OCC

The OCC campus wasn’t the only thing flooded with rain and students Monday, the first day of the spring semester.

The college’s new online registration site, MyOCC, was slammed with a wave of students trying to register last-minute or to get into a class they petitioned for, school officials said.

MyOCC is the school’s next generation of class registration. Now students can register from a computer anywhere at any time.

The process evolved from waiting in lines on campus to registering by appointment over the phone.

In other ways, though, campus officials faced the same beginning-of-the-semester issues as they have in years past.

“We’re helping people find their classes, especially with all the new buildings,” said campus safety officer Matt Kellogg.  

The college opened up its new $35 million Learning Resource Center/Library over winter break.

The first days of the semester regularly are the most hectic of the school year, with many students showing up to petition for classes that were fully enrolled.

“There’s nothing too hectic on the side of crime or anything like that, but there are a few more fender-benders because there’s more traffic in the lots,” Kellogg said.

Tens of thousands enrolled for the 2007-08 school year, officials said.

Officers deal with more keys locked in cars and more students forgetting where they parked than any other time of the semester, Kellogg said.

The OCC Foundation saw an increase in traffic of its own Monday, when low-income students applied to have their books paid for by the school, foundation Executive Director Doug Bennett said.

The foundation allocates about $2,500 a semester for the program, he said.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.