With the unemployment rate in California relatively high at 11.1 percent as of December 2011, it should be a given that universities must focus on job fairs during the school year to really contribute to their students’ success.

However, some students at CSU East Bay are not fully benefiting from these services.

On the Hayward campus, a maximum of 40 employers are expected to attend the Spring Quarter job fair — the largest job fair during the school year — while at nearby San Jose State University, more than 90 employers are expected to attend.

What’s the reason for the relatively small number of employers at the CSUEB job fair?

According to Lawrence Bliss, Director of Academic Advising and Career Education (AACE), it’s because the largest venue on the Hayward campus can only fit 40 employers.

This reasoning, many feel, does not make sense.

“I don’t think 40 is enough; if we had a larger space we could have more. The purpose is to help our students find jobs. Our students are being cheated,” said Bliss.

The university must work with AACE to make sure there is enough space provided to accommodate as many employers and recruiters as possible for job fairs, affording CSUEB students more than just 40 options.

Another issue surrounding campus job fairs is many students aren’t event aware of them.

While there may be a good amount of information accessible to active students who live on campus, knowledge about campus events may be hard to come by for students who commute or don’t spend much time on campus.

Associated Students Inc. (ASI) Vice President of Internal Affairs Lyla Pehrson says that AACE should do more to reach out to commuters.

“I know most of the ads are in the main Union building, but they should be geared towards students that are commuters and don’t spend a lot of time on campus,” said Pehrson.

One possible reason for low student turnout is the likelihood that many students are simply disinterested in the job fairs.

“I know from being with ASI that it’s difficult to reach students. We always have a hard time getting students involved because even if you send emails many just ignore them,” said Pehrson.

While this may be the case, it doesn’t seem as though there has been enough effort by the university to emphasize the importance of job fairs to students.

Some students may choose to ignore emails and advertisements for the fairs, which can result in a missed opportunity for employment in a tough job market.

The university should coordinate with professors and their classes to convey the importance of these job fairs to students and especially seniors.

The university could also display posters throughout every building on campus, along with numerous mass emails to all students explaining the importance of job fairs leading up to the date of the fair.

While this may seem like a lot, it’s essential for the future success of students at CSUEB and the university itself.

It is not only the university’s job to educate students, but to also make sure that they provide students with opportunities to find jobs just like any other university.

The fact this university has limited employers at job fairs on the basis of “not having enough space,” while other nearby universities get double and sometimes nearly triple the employers to show up, does not help the university, its reputation or its students.

If the university helped students by promoting the job fairs more and explaining the importance of them, while providing more space for as many employers as possible to attend the events, then this will likely increase the potential future success for CSUEB and its students.