i r r

2B edesay

Weneda, 3,01 /SeStemn

the
statement
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The Statement is The Michigan
Daily's news magazine, distributed
every Wednesday during the
academic year.

THEJUNKDRAWER

"I realized I actually need some
more like statistical analysis skill and like
some knowledge about it," Liu said. "So I
just decided to major in stats as well."
--Xiaoxiao Liu

The number of students who are
triple concetrators out of the
16,162 LSA students registered for
the winter 2011 semester.

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patient with the recently developed dual-degree program
and that it may take several years to finalize the process.
"I don't think that it's an issue of the advisors
not wanting to work together, and that's why
we ask the students to really write it down
so that when we meet with the Business
School we can say from a business perspec-
tive, 'What are the issues you see?' and we
can talk about it from the engineering per- j9
spective," Barcia said. "The students want it
facilitated, and I think it should be."
Barcia also contends that advisors exercise
caution because they want to make sure students
are taking on the academic load "for the right rea- The
sons."
Business School Student Programs Advisor Sarah Powers LSA
echoed a similar sentiment. doul
"We are sympathetic to the fact that our students need
a way to accurately track their degree progress in order to
graduate as planned. Therefore we have dedicated advi-
sors who are trained to provide this vital function," Powers
sity students seeking a BBA and an Engineering degree 23 wrote in an e-mail to the Daily.
out of 5,588 total Engineering students, according to Mer- Despite the logistical interference he has experienced,
cedes Barcia, director of the Engineering Advising Center. Ahsan appreciates the educational synergy between the
"When I was looking into what I wanted to do with respective schools.
my future, and my plans to make a positive impact on the "You need all these business financial institutions in place,
world," Ahsan said, "I felt that having a com- in terms of management, accounting, strategy, to execute
bination of both engineering and on top of the problem you just solved techni-
business early on will help cally," Ahsan said. "So it gives me inspi-
me better problem solve ration when Im going between both
in the future." schools, and Im learning how to
However, Ahsan "Growing up in high school, you have actually execute it and execute
has found that such the public school and then you have music. what mlearning theoretically."
select company can
have its obstacles, When you get here, it's really no different." The number of stu
which is why he co- --Dan Brown in a Multiple Depe
founded the Society --ganeBrownra-
of Business Engineers in Degree Program.
2009. This group aims to combat
logistical difficulties between the respec-
tive departments.
The organization has three-prongs: to lobby for a degree
auditing system and more course equivalencies between
engineering and business classes (the lack of which requires
dual-degree students take more credits in both schools), to
provide academic advising to students and to coach students
on professional development. t a u
The organization's efforts are a response to what Ahsan
believes to be a lack of administrative support and oversight.
"All advisors have no idea how this process should work, .
and they're making it up as they go. There's no administra-
tion behind (it) actually," Ahsan said.
"I'm sure you've gone to an advisor and say, 'oh, I'm going
to take 18 credits.' They usually push you away from that.
Now think of a student saying, 'tm going to take 20 cred- The numb(
its per semester in both these programs and whatever else
I'm doing.' Advisors are going to definitely say that's nearly 5,588 total
impossible because they haven't seen students actually suc- students s(
ceed."
However, Barcia, who advises freshmen and undeclared Engineeril
engineering students, cautioned that students need to be COURTESY OF DAN BROWN

number of
students who are
ble concentrators.
dents
ndent
er of students out of
Engineering
eeking a BBA and
ng degree.