TURNING MARKETING CLASSROOMS AND A STUDENT ORGANIZATION INTO AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

ABSTRACT

To assist marketing students during their college experience we developed, over the course of 10 years, an innovative approach to teaching that connects classroom education, career finding, and job-skill development. We linked two required courses, one student organization, and many companies together to create the Underground Agency. The Agency is made up of project-based work in two courses. Select students from these courses then work on projects for external clients organized through the marketing club, where student volunteers finish projects under the supervision of client/company volunteers. What makes this approach unique relative to existing methods of experiential learning is the fundamental shift in students’ and instructors’ mindsets: the classroom is transformed into a career-related job setting complete with onboarding, training, and recruitment. Student and client impact are significant as measured by the Gallup Big Six, NACE Work Competencies, and Career Management Skills. Faculty who embraces experiential learning will find this to be the next step in advancing their impact on students, employers, and curriculum.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Material

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