Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Student success is critically important to students, universities, and society. Measuring outcomes of programs is essential in determining what works and what doesn’t. Programs that improve outcomes should be analyzed and adopted by educational institutions at large. Research suggests that business schools prioritize case analysis over practical application leading to ‘low-integrative thinking’ (McCord and Michaelsen, 2015), a lack of practical knowledge, and effective communication. Experiential learning opportunities have been shown to overcome these challenges faced by business school students as it engages students intellectually and emotionally. Furthermore, experiential learning opportunities develop students holistically and effectively, preparing them for the competitive business world outside. This research aims to examine the post-graduate employment opportunities and graduate program acceptance rates of students who have participated in experiential learning. The experiential learning is set at Pace University’s Center for Student Enterprise.
After evaluating the preference of professionals and students, the results showed that an undeniable majority of the participants prefer candidates with experiential learning experience on their resumes for a given job. This suggests a high correlation between employment with the Center for Student Enterprise and selection as the preferred candidate for hire. However, with regard to graduate program acceptance, noteworthy conclusions cannot be derived due to a low response rate. These results suggest that colleges and universities can contribute to engaging in more experiential learning opportunities for the success of their students. The current research provides an understanding of the relationship between experiential learning and student success. This relationship could be further explored by adopting a longitudinal study to identify the career paths of students who have been a part of experiential learning experiences.
Recommended Citation
Rajkumar, Harshini, "Student Success: Lessons from the Center for Student Enterprise" (2019). Honors College Theses. 288.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/honorscollege_theses/288