The School of Management (SoM) is moving forward with the mandatory $184 fee this semester for its current students to keep the Career Resource Center (CRC), which is open exclusively to those with approved majors within the school, to help students plan for their future careers.
??? The SoM held open forums to gain student perspectives last semester. Attendance at the forums was low, with less than a handful of students arriving to express their opinions, despite an e-mail invitation to all students who would be affected by the implementation of the fee.
???The lack of students was taken as an assumption that students understood the need for the fee, according to Katherine Ferguson, associate dean for academic programs for SoM.
??? "We assessed the fee for the first time in spring 2009 and received only one phone call from a parent and no complaints from students. I think that is a testament to the thorough student consultation process we went through last fall," Ferguson said.
???SoM officials also had a preliminary discussion about the fee with student leaders, SoM clubs and representatives of the Graduate Management Associations that resulted in a general backing of the fee.
???Ferguson believes that the recent economic crisis shows that keeping the CRC open is vital.
???"I am happy to report that with the resources being generated by the fee, the Career Resource Center continues to provide School of Management students with unparalleled service," Ferguson said.
???SoM officials feel that the CRC must be available to students in order to keep the school amongst the more prestigious business schools in the U.S., citing the fact that most nationally recognized business schools have career resource centers.
??? "They have some excellent new programming for undergraduates that will be of great interest to them," Ferguson said.
???The fee is also needed to keep the CRC open amongst the budget cuts and university-wide hiring freeze, results of the current conditions of the New York State economy, according to Ferguson.
???The SoM said that it would work with the Student Response Center to rework financial aid for future semesters, so those eligible for tuition help will not be hampered with the extra cost.
???Despite the SoM decision, the student response has been mixed among the students.
???Some students feel that the extra fee is a decision that was not made strictly for the benefit of students.
???"I personally haven't used the CRC and I feel like we are just paying to keep people working," said Laura Tomasso, a junior accounting major.
???Other students were unaware the extra fee was even being implemented.
???"I actually didn't know about the fee until [a friend] told me the other day," said Aaron Pollack, a junior business marketing major. "My issue is that students have loans and it can be a pain to re-adjust them with this extra cost. It works out to be about $300 per year."
???Daniel Schuman, a senior finance major, believes that it is a sacrifice students should be willing to make, but feels that students don't take advantage of such services enough.
???"It's definitely necessary to keep the CRC open. It's available to us and we really need to use it," Shuman said. "The extra sacrifice could pay off long term."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
