It is a great mark of success for the College of Business at Butler University that it was ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek the 48th best overall business school in the nation, the 12th best in academic quality and the second best in internships.
Perhaps the other colleges would fare as well if they received the same support.
Last week’s edition of The Collegian headlined the COB’s achievement, but it also featured the announcement that the College of Communication is losing its current internship coordinator.
The favoritism has been made clear.
Students in COB are each assigned a career mentor when they are freshmen and an internship coordinator around junior year.
No wonder the college is doing so well if every student receives such individualized attention.
On the other hand, the program directors of CCOM’s six programs are now responsible for seeing that CCOM students find internships along with all of the directors’ other responsibilities.
CCOM is Butler’s newest college; it has not had much time to prove what it can achieve.
Interim Provost Kathryn Morris was quoted in last week’s edition of The Collegian saying that since the issue was about a specific college, the administrators within the college should address it.
However, on the provost’s webpage on butler.edu, the “Academic Initiatives” page reads, “At Butler University we are committed to providing intellectual, cultural, athletic and artistic opportunities and leadership in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.”
This issue is not just a problem CCOM needs to face.
This is about Butler students getting experience in the professions they are studying.
This is about real life experiences and hands on opportunities.
Gary Beaulieu, director of Internship and Career Services, said that even though CCOM students might have to go look for internships, those students are highly sought after for internships, and the programs out there are outstanding.
Beaulieu also said that networking is the best tool any student can utilize when looking for an internship.
And with social media sites like LinkedIn out there, networking has never been easier for students looking for work.
I do not believe that CCOM will be able to be compared to COB’s success on a national scale when the college says it cannot afford to have an internship coordinator.
However, the temporary loss of CCOM’s internship coordinator does not mean that CCOM students will be running around Fairbanks Center in chaos.
Internships will be found, students will continue to succeed and life will go on.
