WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007 | NEWS | WWW.KANSAN.COM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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NATIONAL RANKING
Architecture school honored
By Joe Caponio jcaponio@kansan.com
The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design has been named as the best architecture program in the Midwest by a private firm that analyzes the field.
The firm, DesignIntelligence, also listed the University's architecture program as the sixth best in the country in its eighth annual rankings.
John Gaunt, dean of the School of Architecture, said that although accurate rankings were difficult to formulate for architecture programs because of the field's subjective nature, he was happy the University's program is being honored.
"It's always nice to be recognized, no matter what," Gaunt said.
DesignIntelligence comprised the rankings by questioning various professional architecture firms about recent graduates from various universities.
Gaunt said he thought the program was chosen as the best in the Midwest for several reasons.
"I think that our graduate programs, highly-qualified faculty, excellent students and study abroad program all contribute to our reputation," he said.
Keith Diaz Moore, associate professor and chair of architecture, said that preparing students for future changes in the field was a major point of focus in the school's programs.
"We try to get students as much exposure as possible to real world situations," Diaz Moore said.
Diaz Moore said he hoped being named a top school by DesignIntelligence will allow the school to make more connections throughout the profession.
However, he said that he did not think being named the best architecture school in the Midwest will help the program recruit more elite students because the school already receives applications from qualified applicants.
Michael Swann, associate dean of the School of Architecture, said more than 700 students applied for 28 available studio spots in the school for the fall semester. Accepted applicants had an average GPA of 3.97, and most had ACT scores in the high 20s or low 30s.
"It is helpful because there are so many styles, types, sizes or ways of designing architecture, so having so many professors specialized in different areas really helps the students get a balanced education and find out what they want to do," Luk said.
Kai Sun Luk, Hong Kong senior and architecture student, said that he thought the school's faculty is what set the program apart from other architecture schools.
Gaunt said that the honor is important as it confirms that the school's students were being seen in a good light by the people who matter the most.
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Edited by Ben Smith
》 HEALTH INSURANCE
Students risk coverage lapse
Switching insurance providers may prove tricky to some
By Susan Schwarz
sschwarz@kansan.com
Rebecca Goldberg, Dallas graduate, faces two surgeries and a gap in her health insurance.
"My job doesn't insure me until I have been employed there a month."
Goldberg said. "And my parents insurance drops me the first day of employment."
Goldberg said she thought she was safe because she had employment lined up after graduation. She did not know there would be a gap in her cover-
ance to graduates is because many graduates are going off of their parents insurance.
age. Goldberg said she could not afford complications from her surgeries this summer as the financial burden would be too much.
"They think nothing is going to happen," Davis said, "then something does and they are out ten or 12,000 dollars."
"Most students are covered under their parents' insurance so not a lot of people have to think about it."
Tomlinson said he would like to
MAI DO Marketing coordinator, Student Health Services
Bob Tomlinson, deputy commissioner for the Kansas Department of Insurance, said insurance companies drop students from their parents' policies anywhere between the ages of 22 and 24, but some as low as 21.
Mike Davis , senior vice president of the Alumni Association, said the main reason the Alumni Association provides health insur-
see graduates taking interest in both their health insurance and their health.
Many students' lack of insurance may be caused by what to mollson called "under-employment".
Students facing a lack of immediate employment are not able to find their ideal jobs after graduation. These students often face a lack of health coverage, Tomlinson said.
Though Tomlinson said the department would like to have incentive programs for these employers to provide health care, he said he was unable to mandate employers to provide health care because the mandate would cause employers to simply eliminate jobs without provided health care.
Mai Do, marketing coordinator for Student Health Services, said that health insurance is not high on the list of priorities for KU graduates.
"Most students are covered under their parents' insurance so not a lot of people have to think about it." Do said.
Do said that recent graduates should think ahead about their insurance coverage.
"It should be something they look ahead for," Do said. "Not something they look for on an 'as needed' basis."
Jessica Studin, Alabama graduate, will attend the University of Georgia in the fall for her graduate degree. Studin said she thought she was still covered as a full-time student under her parents' policy but she said she was unsure of her coverage because her parents handled her insurance.
University of Kansas students have the option of receiving health insurance through the University for the duration of their time spent at school. The health coverage, underwritten by MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, is available through Watkins Memorial Health Center, east of Robinson Center.
Edited by Ben Smith