Introduction to How to Manage Student Consulting Projects

Abstract

Babson College has been using an experiential learning approach since its founding in 1919, and it is a hallmark of how learning happens here. We pride ourselves on a learning model that emphasizes learning by doing and applying Babson’s Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&ATM) methodology to the issues that students are asked to solve while working effectively and collaboratively in teams. We have learned much about experiential learning in our journey, and this book is designed to share that learning with others who are or will be involved with managing and running student consulting project teams. The use of student consulting teams, if done well, can make a big difference in student learning. Over the years, we have seen many practices at colleges and universities where student consulting projects are often assigned to students without providing the necessary structure and oversight to produce excellence in project effectiveness. Students are given the project assignment/topic with an emphasis on the final product. Often, however, there is too little attention paid to managing the comprehensive team process—from how the team can productively work together, to how to prepare to deal with interpersonal dynamics within the team, to helping students reflect and apply their learning from a project experience to their own personal and professional development. Students on teams frequently hear from their project advisors that they have little or no interest in dealing with issues of team dynamics or conflicts. The message seems to be: ‘Just get the project done.’ Further, on a very practical level, students often feel frustrated when everyone on the team receives the same grade, especially in those frequently encountered situations where some team members did not perform at an acceptable level and even hindered the team’s overall performance. Fairness in assessing student performance should be a standard that we strive to achieve. We continue to believe that the management of student consulting teams can be improved from current practices. As such, we will offer practical and tested strategies to help colleges and universities—and the project advisors that supervise such teams—to be even better. We also believe that the running of successful project teams is an intentional process that will benefit the many stakeholders who are involved in these efforts.