Princeton University consulting clubs do not charge fees for their services or engage in profit sharing, even though the University allows clubs to accept payment in an organizational bank account as compensation. The issue came to attention recently, as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business became one of the first universities to ban student-run consulting clubs from charging fees.
Princeton University has four recognized consulting clubs, including Princeton University Nonprofit Consulting (PUNC), Princeton Graduate Consulting Club (PUGCC), the Princeton chapter of 180 Degrees Consulting (180DC), and Tiger Consulting Club.
In interviews with The Daily Princetonian, PUNC and PUGCC affirmed their commitment to pro-bono consulting. According to its website, 180DC — composed of student volunteers — is the world’s largest university-based consultancy for nonprofits and social enterprises and offers “high-quality consulting services without the premium price tag.” Tiger Consulting Club started this academic year and is in the process of membership recruitment. Tiger Consulting Club's leadership declined to comment on their anticipated financial structure, noting they are still a new club.
“Student organizations are allowed to accept payments for services rendered (such as in the case of student agencies),” University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss explained in an email to the ‘Prince.’ He reaffirmed that no student consulting clubs currently collect profits, as the Wharton policy prohibited.
The ‘Prince’ did not look specifically at investment or investment consulting clubs on campus, which may operate on a profit model.
The University’s financial policy about student organizations specifically disallows profit sharing however, stating that funds collected “may not be deposited into an individual student’s bank account, held by an individual, or invested.”
According to Frederick Uquillas, president of the Princeton University Graduate Consulting Club, the club accepts donations, but they go directly to the club’s account and are later used to sponsor club events or membership recruitment.
Uquillas stated that members join consulting clubs to gain experience for future careers, not necessarily monetary payment. Student consulting clubs are a growing fixture of the campus community. According to the ‘Prince’s’ Senior Survey, 8.3 percent of graduates from the Class of 2023 and 9.5 percent of graduates from the Class of 2022 planned to begin careers in consulting after leaving the University.
Student consultants work for non-profit or start-up firms by assembling a team to work on a given “case” or problem. Consultants conduct market research and analysis to recommend a course of action for the firm. Nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity and even the Princeton local government have enlisted the services of PUNC. Members of PUGCC have consulted for companies like OatHaus, which makes spreadable granola butter, and groups like the Detroit Police Athletic League.
Wharton’s formerly for-profit consulting groups resembled those at other elite schools like Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. According to Director of Marketing and Relations of PUNC Christina Yao, Princeton’s clubs emphasize pro-bono work “because we don’t have a business school. Liberal arts is the theme of our undergraduate population, so we’re not going to try to monetize every single organization on campus,” she explained in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Chris MacDonald, a professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University and an expert in business ethics, noted Wharton may have instituted the ban because students are “riding on the branding” of their school name as opposed to professional experience.
“The worry is not just that you’re using the brand, but you’re using the brand for a product that the owners of the brand haven’t vetted,” he said. “It looks like you’re part of Wharton, and therefore it looks like Wharton endorses you, and therefore it looks like there’s both an accountability and a quality control that really isn’t there.”
MacDonald added that pro-bono student consulting is “mutually beneficial” for students and firms.
While “it’s good to give back to [your] communities,” he recognized that pro-bono work is not economically feasible for everybody. “I would at least have misgivings about the idea that students with skills should provide their labor pro-bono for customers that would otherwise be willing to pay,” he said.
Sofia Arora is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Lia Opperman is an associate News editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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