Moorpark College students now have the opportunity for immediate assistance from a counselor with “Walk-in Wednesdays” from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the primary counseling office.

Scheduling an appointment with a counselor can be a hassle and drop-in hours don’t always coincide with classes, work, or extra-curricular activities, but on Wednesdays, students can now visit a counselor’s office free of scheduling a prior appointment to have their questions answered.

Students like 19-year-old english major April Bowman often say the biggest barrier to an appointment with their counselor is proper scheduling. Having to request appointments a week in advance can pose a challenge for students who need help quickly or have otherwise complicated and busy schedules.

“I don’t like their system of making an appointment one week in advance,” said Bowman. “I kind of wish they just pushed you into the next available slot.”

Traci Allen, department chair for the counseling office, is aware of what can be a challenging process for students.

“It can be difficult to get an appointment sometimes and we know that students do need to see us for lots of different things,” said Allen. “We realize that students need options. Finding out that nothing is available isn’t helpful to students.”

Allen hopes opening up availability of counselors to students in this way will assist those who need help or answers right away. All students have to do is arrive on Wednesday while the counseling office is open.

“In essence, it’s like a drop-in, where it’s first-come, first-serve, but it’s not limited to what you need,” said Allen. “Anything we would do in an appointment, we can do. So if you have to see us this week and you can’t get an appointment for something you need, you know that you can show up on ‘Walk-in Wednesday’ and you’ll get whatever service you need.”