Writing Well: None of Our Business

Virtually the entire faculty and administration of Sy Syms School of Business agree that many of its students are unable to properly express themselves in written form. The problem has been widespread for some time, yet the administration has taken no identifiable actions to rectify the situation.

When asked of Sy Syms students' writing capacity, Assistant Professor of Management Lawrence Bellman covered his face, citing grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and even spelling as demanding immediate attention. He stressed that superior writing does influence potential employers and serves as a prerequisite to success in the business world.

"Employers are calling us and saying 'What [type of students] are you sending us? You're sending us illiterate jerks!'" he said. "As a professor, I'm very frustrated."

Other professors agreed with his sentiments, though most were not as blunt. Associate Professor of Marketing & Management Fred Palumbo commented that this problem is not unique to Sy Syms. "Across the US, one of the complaints that the outside world has is a general inability to communicate in print. People are reading less, and vocabulary is not as good." he said. "It's not just a problem within Sy Syms; I see it in other colleges as well."

Dr. Palumbo cited laziness and procrastination as factors leading students to submit poorly written papers. In fact, between ten and fifteen percent of Sy Syms students fail to submit their senior research papers before their scheduled graduation date, saddling the university with the responsibility of tracking them down.

Assistant Professor of Business Law Robert Greenberg was also critical of the writing submissions he has received. He pointed to a basic misunderstanding of the writing process. "Sy Syms students in general seem to feel that writing an analytical essay involves nothing more than repeating either one's notes from class, or what one can cut and paste off the internet." he said. "Overall, it seems that a good number of students lack certain basic writing skills."

He added that he is sometimes hesitant to assign written coursework because "it's difficult to plow through everything that students throw into an essay in the hope that somewhere in there is the correct answer."

Associate Dean Ira Jaskoll also agreed that a problem exists. "In general, students need help with their writing skills, but the biggest problem is lack of time." he said. He pointed out that all Sy Syms students are required to complete a speech course before graduation, as well as two composition courses during their first year on campus.

"The English Department's goal is to teach students how to write. If it's not as successful as it should be," he said, "then they should look into that."

He also noted that at the present time, "Nothing is being planned to change any of this."

Numerous professors identified the Writing Center as an excellent tool which students should learn to utilize more often. The center, located on the second floor of Furst Hall, provides free one-to-one writing tutoring to all students enrolled in Yeshiva University. The Writing Center's director, Dr. Lauren Fitzgerald, emphasized that "coming to the Writing Center is not a sign of an inability to write."

Dr. Fitzgerald declined to provide statistics on the number of Sy Syms students who have sought The Writing Center's assistance, though she did confirm that students do come in on a regular basis.

According to the Writing Center's website (http://www.yu.edu/writingcenter), the center is staffed with "specially selected and trained YU students from a variety of majors and schools and faculty-level writing consultants." Though all YU undergraduate students are eligible to apply to work as tutors, the site's current staff of thirty three includes only one student studying at the Sy Syms School of Business.

A major factor that likely exacerbates the problem is the complete lack of courses aimed at improving writing skills for business students in particular. Though many professors are openly critical of their students' writing abilities, no business communications courses have been taught at Sy Syms for years.

Dr. Charles Snow, dean of Sy Syms, noted that he is acutely aware of the problem. He was quick to defend Sy Syms, however, saying, "The blame has to do with the lack of preparation students receive in elementary and high school. These schools aren't doing the quality job that was done years ago."

Over the past two years, Snow said that he has concentrated on upgrading the Sy Syms' core curriculum, which does not include any courses directly related to the improvement of students' writing skills. He added that the Sy Syms Board of Directors is planning to "begin to round out the ancillary courses in about a year."