NEW SCHOOL PROTESTS!

Being in France studying abroad right now, but still an official New School student, I fully support the protests happening right now. The occupation of the building on 5th avenue is a courageous, important and revolutionary act that I wish I could be a part of.

Below is a copy of an email I sent to Dean Dunne, Bob Kerrey, and Tim Quigley back in April of this year (2008): 

Dear Dr. Quigley and Dean Dunne,

As a student who is financing his education on his own, I am constantly concerned with the amount of student loan debt that I am accruing. However, I realize that it was my choice to return to college after an almost 8-year hiatus and if the financial sacrifices I must make to attend a private school with very little financial support are necessary, then so be it. However, when The New School charges me unjustly, I must speak out about it.

The New School charges per-credit for internships - at least as they are handled through the General Studies Bachelors Program. That means to be able to do a 3-credit internship, the student must pay over $2600 to the school -- all to gain an experience that the school doesn't provide. Granted, a coordinator has to be paid to oversee the internship process, but the amount of work he or she has to do does not justify $2600 per student!

The way that students are charged for Prior Learning credit is much more fair and strikingly similar to the process by which internships are administered, so the same system -- or a comparable one -- needs to be in place for internships because the amount of time and effort a coordinator must exert is comparable. For the Prior Learning program, a student is required to take a 1-credit preparation course (which they pay for per-credit) and then is charged $600 for a portfolio review in the end – to receive up to six credits. This is much more fair.

I find it unacceptable that what may be lingering from a former way of doing things is still causing students to be charged thousands of dollars when it is not necessary. After already being over $120,000 in debt from student loans, I must at least attempt to defend those in my situation by not allowing unfair charging practices to still be in place.

I would love to sit down and talk about this issue further, but more importantly I would like to know that steps forward are being made to end unnecessary exorbitant charges for New School students.

Thank you in advance for hearing back from you on this important issue.

Sam Maher

General Studies Bachelor Program Student, Student ID N00579861
samlikesemail@gmail.com(if you must contact me at my New School email address, which forwards right back to this one, it is mahem861@newschool.edu)
phone: 917-747-3043

cc: Gustav Peebles, New School General Studies Bachelor Program Internship Coordinator and Bob Kerrey, New School University President

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To which I recieved only one response from Tim Quigley basically telling me that this is just how it's done!

UNACCEPTABLE!