Serious review should be given to the Hoeft Technology and Management Program here at the University of Illinois. While only 30 percent of the program’s funds are derived from the actual University (with the majority of the remained coming from an endowment and a surcharge paid by participants), it remains a minor program that the University gives credit for.

The problem stems from the fact that unlike other major/minor curricula, it essentially has a closed admission process. For comparison, we all know that the College of Engineering has higher admission standards than the College of Liberal Arts on average, but that is simply a reflection of the difficulty of the courses. The mix of business, engineering and joint classes required in the T&M; program are not difficult as many students report; yet the program only has room for 40 or so students to join per year. Thus, the average GPA in the program is currently around 3.7. In the mid 90s the average GPA was only 3.4 because the program was not as popular, and it was still in developmental stages. However, the courses have remained largely the same.

This extremely competitive system is bad for the University and its students because it gives people who are ahead such a further advantage. The T&M; program works very closely with corporate programs who purchase gifts and pay for trips for the students in the program in an attempt to lure them to work for their companies. Once the participants in the program graduate, they are almost always given jobs by the corporate sponsors immediately. Thus, this public University finds itself accepting checks from large companies to have access to graduates of the program.

It is true that the College of Engineering and various other departments accept corporate donations, but it is done in general to support innovation and produce a higher quality of student overall. These types of donations are far less intrusive and manipulative than those given to the T&M; program. It is time for the University of Illinois to either seriously fund the program or remove it from the course schedule.

Ryan Franks

sophomore in engineering