Harvard Extension School Students Rally for Degree Name Change

[collegecareerstudent]

I go to the Extension School and I really don't like it when people try to argue we don't want Harvard Extension School on the diploma. Are there some frauds who want to portray themselves as something they are not aka from the college? Sure. Those people suck. However, our degrees are meant to be written on resumes and on our diplomas as Harvard Extension School, Masters in Extension Studies, Field: English. We are not hairdressers. We don't study extensions. No one does. That's the issue for the vast majority of us. I never wanted to attend Harvard College. It was never on my radar when I was younger. I knew I wanted to go to a strong graduate school and HES represents to me what we value at a school in this forum- flexibility, affordability (though the price is getting steeper), and transfer credits.

Additionally, this rally happened after we finally had our convocation which was cancelled repeatedly due to the pandemic. Many of us are working professionals, and international. We aren't on campus consistently, and that can hinder our voices. I'm on the events committee and appreciate the president of HESA having a rally- anything- really. Extension students are from all over the world- I'm currently in Beijing. I would have certainly been at the rally had I been stateside but many students aren't or live far away. However, the rally accurately depicts what at least 10,000 of us who supported this initiative on the HES FaceBook group and at HESA events vocalized. We do many club meetings on Zoom and for the events committee I serve on, we still find ways to contribute to campus while either going to the campus, or hosting donation drives, donating money, etc. It should say something to you about the actual number of students who wanted to be there or who care about the initiative and support it for us to also be active members of this forum.

Harvard Extension is Harvard University. Harvard has 12 degree granting institutions on campus, with the college for undergraduates being the most prestigious. Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Extension School, and so on, mostly cater to graduate students (though the Extension school does offer an undergraduate option- though it costs more, and takes longer to complete- so I wouldn't do it). When you graduate from Harvard Extension School, you are graduating from Harvard University. Even if you want to consider it the community college equivalent- it's the best community college in the world, arguably. As someone who has taken courses at Kennedy School, and HGSE, my extension courses were by far the most rigorous and challenging.

In Extension Studies makes no sense- but if we don't enroll and represent ourselves well and hold our Extension affiliation up proudly, and keep trying to do what we can to draw attention to the issue- things will continue to remain the same. My field is English, not Extension Studies.

Should anyone have questions about the programs, or want details about what students can or can't do, or what we actually do, I'm more than happy to answer. This fight is far from over.

Much of the bullying/discrimination is from members of the college, I'm sad to say. I was once removed from a job my first week of being there because one of the members of the college complained that someone "like me" shouldn't be there in their Harvard division. No, I didn't lie about my extension affiliation nor did I alter any information about my program, school, or field. Karma got them in the end, though, but we can't act like there isn't a group of students who do not like members of the Extension community. It's a very real thing- and those not showing pride in their Extension diplomas/experiences do us no favors.

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If anyone is interesting in seeing the Harvard Extension Transcript, let me know. I'll upload mine.