Dissent: Should the Wilson School certificate program be selective?

The majority’s proposal to make the Wilson School certificate program non-competitive is inherently problematic. The current application process exists because the Wilson School’s resources are finite. The intention is to admit a group of students who can best use these resources based on the criteria of academic achievement, clarity of study proposal and demonstrated interest in public policy. The majority argues that “self-selection” — a willingness to complete the difficult requirements for a certificate — is sufficient for admission. But it is unfair to allow these students to use the school’s resources based on this criterion alone while concentrators are required to undergo a competitive process and be evaluated on more factors.

Moreover, establishing an alternate, non-competitive application process opens a loophole for entry into the Wilson School. Contrary to the majority’s assertions, we believe it would result in many students applying for certificates rather than as concentrators because of the near-guarantee of admission. Increasing the number of students who are in the task forces and who are eligible for the Wilson School’s internship stipends has the potential to significantly stress the school’s resources.

Certificate reform at the Wilson School is an important issue. As it stands, earning a Wilson School certificate is nearly equivalent to pursuing a double major. To make the Wilson School more accessible to students in other disciplines, the certificate program should be modified to be less intensive. It could provide much of the same technical and policy training but with more limited task force participation and funding access. Changing the meaning of a Wilson School certificate and reducing costs to the school for these students could make the application process envisioned by the majority possible.

That being said, eliminating the application process for all Wilson School undergraduates would be the ideal. The Editorial Board previously proposed new requirements to make that possible without overwhelming the school’s resources. But incremental progress toward this goal, by creating separate standards for admission for certificate students and concentrators, is not the best way to reach it.

— Josh Abbuhl ’10, Christine Emba ’10, Jessica Lanney ’10, Mary Marshall ’10, Zayn Siddique ’11, Chelsea Ayres ’12, Matt Butler ’12, Alicia Zeng ’12