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By Moussa Hassoun
Every article written for this column has concentrated on political, social, economic or fiscal issues, all on the national level. This time, I want to put the spotlight on Bentley, since there are many problems that need to be addressed on the administrative level.
We have three major problems that I’ve noticed since I started here in the Fall of 2010: The name, the number and the cost.
Bentley’s name issue began when it changed from “college” to “university.” We aren’t a “university” and we don’t deserve to be called one. Yes, the school did meet the Board of Education’s requirements to get the label by expanding into masters and liberal arts programs more extensively. This all deserves its due credit; however, consider how the program is designed.
Bentley’s liberal arts programs are best represented through the LSM major that so many students now attain upon graduation. I have no doubt that matching a business major with an LSM makes better, well-rounded business leaders.
Despite this strength, it also gives the false impression that Bentley is serious about its liberal arts program. The entire arts program was created to prop up the business degree rather than serving an independent cause of educating students in the arts. In this sense, we are still a business college and should be so called accordingly.
Even for those few students who are registered in a strictly liberal arts program, Career Services is useless in helping them in their goals or preparing them for jobs. Greater strides should be made to expand the liberal arts program, and also increase non-business career opportunities accordingly.
Of course, I think that everyone should stick to what they are good at, but that means we should stop priding our “university” status, and move back to the specific business college that we really are. It is either or, and we have no choice in between.
The second problem is the number. Bentley touts its misleading 99-percent job placement rating. I’ve inquired more about the details of the number several times, and Career Services and other Bentley administrators have been eager to explain much about the stat.
Out of the 99 percent, 78 percent of graduates gained employment after graduation; 21 percent attended grad school. These numbers don’t represent 99 percent of all Bentley alumni; rather, they represent only the respondents to the survey.
As it is right now, 78 percent of graduates could have taken their Bentley degrees and gone to work at minimum wage at McDonalds; here is the problem. Career Services does release a convenient short mention of top companies where alumni are hired, but that isn’t the full story; there needs to be greater clarity about that 78 percent.
Finally, we all know Bentley’s cost problem. Bentley has a low endowment fund of nearly $200 million, bad alumni donation rate and sad applicant pool prospects over the next 5-10 years.
Bentley is in a rough spot given its current and future financial outlook. I suggested to Dean Shepardson that the school crowd source a solution by holding a business case competition specifically tailored to addressing its own financial situation.
Of course, Bentley and Dean Shepardson are in tough positions when trying to balance the interests of all stakeholders of the school.
The suggestion was politely rejected in two phases: First, Bentley had its own experts from its board to its president and more; second, the dean didn’t know how to organize such a thing.
In a world where the Gates Foundation and Facebook crowd source business strategies to the public through competitions, Bentley falls behind in creativity. These organizations are dealing with budgets in the billions and addressing global problems; the very small school of Bentley isn’t.
Crowdsourcing is a free, innovative way to address problems for institutions and anyone that doesn’t take advantage of their greatest assets (the students) will fall behind. I hope the dean and president see it this way and contact SGA or relevant departments to make this happen.
I see an administration riding the wave, rather than redirecting it. These problems won’t seriously impact you and I, because by then, we’ll have graduated; however, it will impact classes to come. For their sake, let’s hope things change for the better.
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THANK YOU MOUSSA!!!
Asa an arts major, I completely agree with your first point. The only support I get in my studies is from my dedicated professors – not from anywhere else in the university. Bentley needs to decide where to put its strengths and follow those. Otherwise they are not truly marketing themselves properly which could eventually lead to a bad reputation in both the business and liberal arts university communities.
I always think the same thing about the “99% job placement” marketing tool. Many people who do not have a job may be hesitant to reply to the survey. With Bentley’s stress on job placement, it could make on feel inferior or incompetent. We are in a difficult job market and there is no shame in not having a job. Similarly, people often take time off to travel and whatnot before jumping into a job. The same value should be put on personal growth as it is on getting a job. Plus, as you said, being in a difficult job market has led many college grads to have to pick up retail on food service jobs to make money while they search for other opportunities. The “99%” probably includes just as many people working at Starbucks as it does people at KPMG!
Thank you for bringing these items to light. You touched on 3 very important topics and brought light to issues a lot of people are thinking. It take a lot of strength and courage to bring these huge cover-ups to light, but you did it eloquently and throughly. I hope the administration realizes the same, rather than making a cover.