The college class schedule for the Spring 2001 has finally been released but the frustration for college administrators continues.

The schedule was supposed to be released on Oct. 27, one week before registration at the college began. However, at that time the schedules hadn’t been printed yet. It wasn’t until mid-November that the booklets were printed.

Finally, on Nov. 27 the schedules were released to the public through mail and on campus, one month past the intended distribution date.

But college administrators insist the delay isn’t IVCC’s fault.

"We as an administration apologize for any inconvenience," said Director of Admissions and Records Kelly Conrad. "I’ve certainly expressed my frustration to the right people and I’ve made my feelings known."

The Peoria office of the Standard Register, a 100-year old nationwide printing firm based in Dayton, Ohio, was in charge of printing the schedules. The company was contracted by the college because it was the lowest bidder. The job of printing the schedules was estimated to be between $14-18,000 depending on the cost of paper.

Between 87-89,000 booklets were printed. Approximately 7,000 of those schedules were distributed on campus, the remaining 82,000 schedules are mailed out to every home in IVCC’s district.

Kevin Hartseil, an employee of Standard Register’s Peoria office was in charge of IVCC’s account. He said he can’t explain why the schedules weren’t printed and issued on time. He also says he isn’t sure if IVCC can be compensated for the late printing.

"I really don’t know; it depends on the circumstances," said Hartsiel. "I have no comment on that."

In the meantime, enrollment numbers for the Spring semester are temporarily down. Whether or not they continue at their current pace and reflect a decline when all class registration has been finalized remains to be seen.

"It’s hard to say whether or not they will decline; but I’m concerned about it," said Conrad. "I hope people will see those schedules and use them."

Conrad said she’ll have a better idea about a possible enrollment decrease in a couple of weeks.

The late schedules also creates more work for the college. What is typically two months of work for college employees is now compacted into one.

A staff committee is suggesting the printing firm provide IVCC with a partial refund for the error. At press time, the only action that was taken was the removal of Standard Register from IVCC’s bid list.