Four of the 155 students graduating from the Orfalea College of Business will do so with a double concentration this fall. But starting winter quarter, Orfalea will only note one concentration on a student’s transcript.
In the College of Business, when students enter their junior year, they have to choose one of 10 different concentrations. A concentration is one particular area inside the major that students specialize in.
College of Business staff and faculty decided to implement a single concentration.
A main reason for the change is budget considerations said, Kristina McKinlay director of advising services.
“It helps us to appropriately plan and fill seats so all students can get the classes they need,” she said.
To help students understand the decision, Associate Dean Brian Tietje came up with an analogy.
“Eight people are in a room with a pizza with 10 slices, everyone gets one slice and if there is enough left over then you can go back for seconds,” he said.
The College of Business can guarantee every student the classes for one concentration; the budget cuts mean the college can’t provide enough classes for a second concentration.
Michael Grimaud, business administration sophomore, said he didn’t expect the program to change to a single concentration.
“I didn’t like the fact that the program didn’t discuss the issue with the students publicly,” he said. “The decision came out of nowhere.”
Other students were upset but say they understand the situation.
“It’s a nice privilege to be able to double concentrate in your own major,” business administration sophomore Jeff Bischoff said. “I think we should have that privilege but it’s unfortunate because of the budget cuts it’s not an option anymore.”
Students can still take courses to have a double concentration, McKinlay said. They just aren’t guaranteed the classes to fulfill the second concentration.
“Overall it helps students graduate in four years,” she said.
Concentrations aren’t acknowledged on diplomas, she said. They are only recognized on transcripts, and after fall graduation, the College of Business won’t note the second concentration.
“Most employers don’t understand concentrations,” she said. “They want to know what a student’s major is and if they have graduated.”
Students shouldn’t expect the double concentration to come back anytime soon, if at all, Tietje said.
“If ever there was to be a financially good time again, there would be other priorities higher than this,” he said.
