COM, SMG cut minors’ services

College of Arts and Sciences junior Richard McGovern said when he asked Boston University’s School of Management’s Feld Career Center for assistance with his resume, he was turned away on the grounds that he is only pursuing a minor in the school.

‘The girl said to me, ‘SMG does not cater to anyone who does not major in SMG,” McGovern said.

McGovern said he thinks this may limit his career prospects after graduation, and the school is mistaken to not assist all students with their resumes.

‘What I understand about it is simple,’ he said. ‘They obviously want to service their immediate students, but I feel they are doing a disservice not only to students who are minoring in the area of business, but they are doing a disservice to themselves.’

Students pursuing a minor in the College of Communication or SMG through CAS are not necessarily granted the same services as students majoring in either college, particularly in regards to career and resume services.

‘ SMG Career Center has recently been forced to cut services available to minors due to limited resources,SMG Feld Career Center Assistant Dean Catherine Ahlgren said. Before the changes, SMG students had to schedule appointments with career services often more than two weeks in advance.

‘As much as we would like to provide full services to all interested students, we are compelled to keep the SMG majors our first priority,’ she said.

Not all BU’s schools and colleges adjust the services available according to whether a student is a major or a minor. This is not necessarily a reflection of whether the school has the capability to grant students full attention, but rather of the nature of the kind of services a school typically offers, advisers said.

CAS academic advisors said students pursuing a minor in CAS receive the same attention and benefits as majors.

Biology professor Elizabeth Godrick, who is also an academic advisor, said she does not feel there is any disparity between resources available to minors versus majors in CAS.

‘I would give the same time for a recommendation for a minor or a major,’ she said.

The only reason a minor may not have the same job or research opportunities is that they are less likely to have the completed prerequisitecoursework for the opportunities CAS has to offer, she said.’

Godrick and CAS academic advisor Loren Samons said they attribute this, at least in part, to the diversity of CAS subjects and career paths.

COM and SMG typically have more specialized services than CAS, Samons said.

‘There is a difference in the way COM and School of Management approach things,’ he said.

McGovern said he does not sympathize with SMG or COM’s policies.

‘People who are clearly willing, qualified and capable, are being ignored,’ he said. ‘Their peers who are majoring in that particular college are being given attention no matter how they do. We will see where my donation money goes.’