Starting as soon as fall of 2007, SF State’s College of Business’ graduate department may relocate downtown in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district.

According to Nancy Hayes, dean of the College of Business, the move will not only extend the graduate department’s existing downtown campus, but also accommodate graduate business students who work in the downtown area.

“The business school does need to align itself with its students, and a lot of our students are working professionals,” Hayes said.

Although the graduate department has been considering the move for almost two years, Hayes said the university and the department do not have any firm plans as of yet, but it is an idea that they are “exploring aggressively.”

“Many of our part-time students work downtown and that is extra travel time," said Victor Cordell, director of the graduate business program. "With the new location, the students will live in one place, and work in one place, and that is one less leg in commuting.”

Cordell said he is confident that the graduate department’s “strategic decision” to move downtown will benefit the program once plans for relocation are finalized. He said the location would enhance the program’s ability to arrange internships and career assistance to students, and make it easier for guest lecturers from downtown businesses to visit the campus.

“I think that the graduate business program will have a stronger sense of identity and community when it becomes physically separated from the undergraduate program,” said Cordell. “The downtown location will give us access to the vibrant business community.”

Mathew Pang, a 22-year-old graduate student of the business program, said he is not too pleased with the prospect of the move.

Pang worries that the move will potentially lead to the program charging students “market prices” instead of the regular SF State graduate student enrollment fee.

“SFSU’s graduate program is positioned as the low cost provider of graduate education in the Bay Area.,” said Pang. “With this move, it places them in a disadvantageous position relative to other state universities and local private universities.”

Cordell estimates that graduate students might end up paying as much as three times more than the current $3,000 registration fee, but Hayes stressed that the department and university have not yet settled on a fee structure.

“It would be disingenuous if we didn’t acknowledge that the cost to the student will increase and make it more difficult for the students,” said Cordell, “but we will also have scholarships to assist those with genuine needs.”

Despite his disagreement with the department’s plans, Pang is willing to give the downtown location a try.

“I plan on continuing my education at SFSU,” said Pang. “Prices elsewhere would be relatively the same and programs elsewhere would likely not allow some units to transfer, it would not make sense to transfer now; and I like it here.”

Although nothing is definite, Cordell explains that plans to expand the downtown location has been in the current agenda and that the department has been scouring available spaces.

“We’ve been visiting prospective sights and narrowed the candidates,” said Cordell. “We are in the process of trying to finalize the location that will meet the needs of the various components of the university.”

Cordell said he hopes to announce the new location within several weeks.

Even with a location in mind, it will take a while for the graduate business department and its program to make a full move downtown. The target moving date is in January of 2007.

“We already have task forces on the conceptual aspects of the move,” Cordell said. “These processes take a long time.”

Hayes said she is uncertain what changes will be made once the location and move is finalized, but said she promises that the changes will only better the business graduate program.

“I feel it’s important to be where the market is and to provide for working professionals who are also graduate students and what location is the in best position to serve that,” said Hayes.