By Francesca Di Meglio

In November, 200 of the more than 1,700 part-time graduate students at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business signed a petition stating, "By signing below I wish to indicate to the Stern administration that I am upset with the inability of part-time students to attend the same recruiting and on-campus interview events offered to full-time students. I am also indicating my desire to have this policy changed."

A Stern spokesperson says while admnistrators, including three Stern deans and NYU president John Edward Sexton, haven't seen the petition and don't know which students signed it, they know it centers around part-time students wanting more on-campus job-search perks.

STATUS SEEKERS.  The mini uprising at Stern reflects a nationwide trend at B-schools. Because fewer companies can afford to foot the bill to send an employee to graduate school, far more part-time MBAs are paying their own tuition. And, not surprisingly, they're increasingly adamant about receiving the same opportunities as full-timers, including access to on-campus recruiting -- a privilege they're denied on some campuses.

It hasn't always been this way. Previously, Stern students were permitted to attend on-campus recruiting events in their year of graduation if they attended required career training. But for a variety of reasons, part-time students weren't having the same success with recruiters as full-time students. That's mainly because part-timers tend to have considerable work experience, and on-campus recruiters are usually looking for freshly minted MBAs from the full-time program, who are more willing to take on junior-level roles, says Gary Fraser, associate dean of MBA Student Affairs at Stern.

The school's solution? About two years ago, Stern opened its doors to the Career Center for Working Professionals (CCWP), an office that provides training, networking opportunities, one-on-one counseling, and career planning for part-timers and alumni who already have full-time jobs. The CCWP provides more personalized programs and is a better fit for part-time students seeking their next work opportunity, says Fraser. When the center opened in May, 2003, however, part-timers were no longer allowed to participate in on-campus recruiting.

BW 2004 Ranking		University		Program		Location		Number of Part-Time Students
1		Northwestern University		Kellogg School of Management		Evanston, IL		1,350
2		University of Chicago		Graduate School of Business		Chicago, IL		1,433
6		University of Michigan		Stephen M. Ross School of Business		Ann Arbor, MI		952
13		New York University		Leonard N. Stern School of Business		New York, NY		1,703
14		UCLA		UCLA Anderson School of Management		Los Angeles, CA		585
15		Carnegie Mellon		Tepper School of Business		Pittsburgh, PA		160
17		University of California, Berkeley		Haas School of Business		Berkeley, CA		638
18		Indiana University		Kelley School of Business		Bloomington, IN		328
19		University of Texas at Austin		McCombs School of Business		Austin, TX		230
20		Emory University		Goizueta Business School		Atlanta, GA		176
23		Washington University in St. Louis		Olin School of Business		Saint Louis, MO		357
26		Babson College		Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business		Babson Park, MA		1,046
27		University of Southern California		Marshall School of Business		Los Angeles, CA		792
28		University of Maryland, College Park		Robert H. Smith School of Business		College Park, MD		1,015
29		University of Rochester		William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration		Rochester, NY		192

MONEY MATTERS.  That caused a ripple among Stern's part-timers. One student, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he at least wants the chance to put his résumé in front of the recruiters making the rounds on campus. "From a purely selfish stance, I'm looking for another avenue to help me in my job search.... I think it's fair for students who pay the same tuition to have the same rights," he adds.

From that standpoint, he's right. Part-timers often pay more in tuition than their full-time counterparts. Stern part-timers pay tuition on a per-credit point basis over three or three-and-a-half years, while full-timers pay on a per-semester basis over two years. Part-timers end up with a bigger bill because they're at school longer and face more tuition hikes, says Fraser. But some 65% to 80% of part-time students at top-notch B-school programs still receive at least some sort of sponsorship, says Graham Richmond, co-founder of Clear Admit, an MBA admissions-consulting firm.

Fraser says even students who pay more -- and often out of their own pockets -- get their money's worth. "I think the argument, 'I'm paying the same tuition and I'm not sponsored by a company, so I should have access to on-campus recruiting' is a strong one -- if there aren't any other career services for that student," says Fraser. "We've seen people go through the CCWP to get the jobs that suit them best."

Many part-time students side with Fraser, saying Stern's recent policy change will benefit the majority of part-timers. "We pay to get the best service, and the CCWP better serves us," says Keshava Dasarathy, executive chair of the Part-Time Leadership Forum, an advocacy group for Stern's part-time students.

NEW RULES.  Part-timers at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business voiced similar complaints, while recruiters had to schlep to two different campuses -- one for part-timers and another for full-timers -- to find prospective employees. To solve the problem, the B-school recently consolidated on-campus recruiting onto the full-time campus.

Chicago's new rules, however, don't give part-timers free rein. They're permitted to partake in on-campus recruiting only for full-time positions, not internships. Also, they must be academically equivalent to a second-year full-time student and be graduating the following December, March, June, or August. And they must complete required training from the career-services office and provide proof that they're either unemployed, not receiving any tuition from their employer, or that their employer has allowed them to participate.

Initially, Chicago full-timers were concerned that including the more seasoned part-timers might hurt their chances of getting job offers. But administrators explained to them that diversifying the mix of students and making the process more convenient pleases recruiters, which is beneficial to everyone, says Julie Morton, associate dean of MBA Career Services at Chicago.

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