Although NJIT started off as an engineering school, it has long since evolved, expanding to include a plethora of other majors, from Computer science to Digital Design. At the heart of NJIT’s Hiller College of Architecture and Design, are — as the name suggests — the architecture students.
As of today, NJIT offers the only accredited five-year Bachelor of Architecture program in New Jersey and one of three accredited Master of Architecture programs in the state aside from Kean University and Princeton University. This sets NJIT’s architecture program apart from others, attracting many young architectural minds to the school. At the core of the architecture program itself is the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS).
AIAS is a student-run non-profit that operates across accredited architecture programs in the United States. The NJIT AIAS chapter is a vital resource for the university’s architecture students. It provides necessary services to the architectural program, including the print room, the 3D print lab, and the shop, along with additional opportunities like firm tours and portfolio reviews.
The architecture program at NJIT overall has grown, especially over the last few years. William Totten, current President of AIAS, who works closely with the school to advocate for and advance students’ learning abilities, speaks positively on the chapter’s outlook, acknowledging that “demands have grown as the school has grown, but we’ve been expanding to match it.”
Layla Neira, Vice President of AIAS, who similarly works with administration, also sees growth in the architecture program. “In terms of turnout for our events, I’ve seen the most students I’ve ever seen in these past two years. There’s an increased interest in the younger years in being a part of the organization.”
With a growing number of students and rising demand also come certain issues. Although volunteers have increased the amount of work they do, they also struggle with their own deadlines for projects, which can cause problems with getting prints and other services done in time.
Totten and Neira say that they have tried to mitigate such problems and keep things running smoothly by having multiple members on their board for each sector of management.
“Instead of having one person that runs the event,” Totten says, “we have three people, and that, in a lot of ways, helps alleviate their stress and their work.”
Many students also complain about the pricing of services, but excess costs that AIAS cannot cover are transferred to students who perhaps cannot afford pulling money from their own pocket. Additionally, AIAS is working closely with the school to try and find solutions to this problem, attempting to tackle curriculum requirements by setting certain project deliverables to more accessible campus printing, or by creating more guidelines for the curriculum like instituting the Learning and Teaching Culture Policy, which works to create a bridge between students and faculty.
Student feedback surrounding the program and how it runs seems to earn a lot of attention, with the AIAS and the Student Senate often getting the brunt of the negativity and criticism.
Hanna Khadr, Student Senate representative for HCAD, expresses frustration after seeing the difference between common complaints and actual engagement, calling it “pretty discouraging, especially when we put so much effort into coordinating meetings with our head and organizing events and information sessions.”
She conveys the need for involvement from students to make changes that can help the program continue to grow, making necessary improvements to accommodate students.
“We really rely on student engagement in order to get the numbers we need to go to higher officials and say why something is an issue,” said Khadr.
Despite some supposed tension within the HCAD and possible drawbacks in its functions, the future appears to remain optimistic. “Every semester, we come up with different strategies to fix problems that come up,” Totten and Neira say. “We’re constantly working to try and make it better.”
