In spring 2018, Dr. Laura Phillips and I began discussing our desire to co-teach a course that was very hands-on in nature. I mentioned that I had taken two consulting classes during my MBA program, both of which centered on addressing a real and substantial issue or challenge faced by an organization. One of the consulting classes focused on conducting a competitive market analysis for an Italian furniture manufacturer that was interested in expanding in the US market. The semester-long course included a week-long study trip to the company\u2019s headquarters in Trieste, Italy to conduct additional background research in preparation for completing the client report. Because the consulting classes were so applied, I felt like I learned the most in these two courses during my MBA program. Laura and I believed that it would be a valuable experiential learning opportunity for our students at the undergraduate level if we could design and implement such a course. Given our shared interest in social enterprise and sustainability, we decided to focus on socially-minded organizations.<\/p>\n
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We offered the first Social Enterprise Consulting class in Spring 2019 in partnership with CATIE<\/a><\/span> and RETUS<\/a><\/span>. CATIE is a regional center in Costa Rica dedicated to research and graduate education in agriculture, and the management, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources. In collaboration with CATIE, RETUS is a network of female entrepreneurs focused on experiential rural tourism offerings as a means to help provide sustainable livelihoods to the three involved communities in Central Costa Rica \u2013 Santa Cruz, Guayabo, and Mollejones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The course was divided into three components: 1) pre-trip class sessions on topics such as cultural context, consulting, and serving in God\u2019s work; 2) spring break trip to Costa Rica to conduct research\/gather information needed for project; 3) post-country work to finalize consulting deliverables and present them to the client. In order to provide high-quality deliverables for the client organization, students had to apply and be accepted to the course. Due to generous financial support from the College of Business and Southwest Airlines, the student cost to participate in the course, including the week-long field experience to Costa Rica, was $250. As a result, we were able to attract high-performing students to the course.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall, the Spring 2019 class went very well and student feedback was very positive as highlighted by the following comments:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Students also provided some valuable feedback for making improvements to the course, particularly in terms of better clarifying assignment deadlines and devoting more time to practice assignments in preparation for carrying out the specific consulting assignment. Since this was the first time I co-taught a 3-credit hour course with another professor, I was in the process of learning how we could effectively work together in this capacity while also getting used to teaching a new course.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We carried out the second iteration of the Social Enterprise Consulting class in Spring 2020, which built upon the 2019 client trip and deliverables. This project was carried out successfully and we received positive feedback from both the students and the client. I feel very fortunate that the March 2020 trip to Costa Rica was still able to occur given the unfolding global pandemic. I am also hopeful that we will be able to offer future consulting-based classes as I truly believe experiential learning is an effective means for learning that should be increasingly fostered within COBA and the university as a whole.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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