Harvard in the Twilight

The Harvard University Extension School caters to a very specific constituency. It has, since it was established in 1910, been charged with providing a Harvard education, comparable in quality to that offered by Harvard College, to working adults who live in the Boston area.

Harvard College, as we all know, employs a selective admissions process to determine which high school students are admitted to each year's entering class.

In contrast, the majority of undergraduate degree candidates at the Extension School--a tiny group numbering about 600--are resuming interrupted college careers [although some, a distinct minority, are themselves just out of high school). Thus, the concept of an entering class is a foreign one at the Extension School.

The existence of the Extension School within the University highlights the fact that institutions of higher education can "when it is in their interest to do so, offer a low-cost option."

Dean of the Extension School Michael Shinagel has been quoted as saying that "One [undergraduate] degree says 'Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College' and the other says...'Bachelor Of Liberal Arts,' but both are Harvard alums. The reason that a Harvard College degree costs so much is that the student is paying for the marching band and the football team and room and board...[Extension' students are in the same classes with the same professors. It's the difference between going to a boutique like Bloomingdale's or Lord and Taylor for designer cloths or getting them cheap off the rack at a discount store."

While this no-frills approach does have its appeal, students are increasingly looking at the cumulative picture. Consequently, if the Extension School is to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment, it has to increase the resources it offers its students.

The school needs to devise a more effective strategy to recruit students nationally, not just regionally. It also needs to be more aggressive about publicizing its mission and role within this University.

The Extension School fails its degree candidates on many fronts, the most egregious being its failure to provide them with career and fellowship advising services comparable to those the Office of Career Services offers College undergraduates.

While there have been concrete attempts to offer some career advising, and a Graduate School Fair was held for the first time last year, these efforts do not sufficiently meet the needs of degree candidates.

Another area which needs to be restructured is that of tuition collection. Students who are not on financial aid or sponsored by corporations should be offered the option of paying fees in monthly payments across the semester or year, instead of in one lump sum.

Also, the Extension School needs to revise its policy of not making institutional loans to its students. The College offers approximately $1.8 million worth of these loans out of University capital, and without Federal guarantee, to undergraduates.

Health insurance coverage which is currently offered to full-time degree candidates should be expanded to cover students during the summer.

The salaries offered to Extension School faculty should be raised in order to attract and keep more of them at the School According to internal Extension School documents tenured Harvard faculty members who teach at the Extension School earn between $5250 and $5450 per semester, while non-tenured instructors with a Harvard teaching appointment earn between $4250 and $4450. By way of comparison, teachers at other area continuing education programs can ears significantly more.

On the academic front, a Phi Beta Kappa chapter needs to be established at the Extension School.

Implementing these changes will require a great deal of capital. The Extension School Administration would do well to rethink its tuition structure as well as its complacent strategies for fundraising, remembering always that happy students tend to be very generous alumni.

Lorraine A. Lezama is a columnist for The Crimson. She will receive a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from the Extension School this June.