School of Business Administration
Over the course of four years students in a Training and Development course worked to design, implement, and evaluate formal training for seniors who worked as Foster Grandparent's with school aged children. The focus was on specific trainings each term. For example, students designed diversity training, self-esteem training, and literacy trainings. The students became versed in understanding the client organization, the seniors, as well as the needs of the children served by these seniors.
The International School is located in downtown Portland and is a private pre-K to 5th grade elementary school which has language tracks in Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. The school gives more financial aid than almost any other private school in the area according to an Oregonian article. Students in a Senior Capstone worked with the Director of Marketing at the International School to enhance the training for their teachers, to survey the Portland community about the International School, to target specific markets for the school, to overhaul the school's advertising materials such as brochures and the website and to create a more focused funnel from initial contact to enrollment. The new webpage follows many of the students' formal recommendations.
This partnership revolves around a Senior Capstone course. Students work in teams to produce several deliverables, which were identified as important by PGE. Students organized an educational event at the Saturday Farmer's Market at the Park Block's where they talk to people about renewable energy. Since they underwent the formal sales training with Green Mountain Energy, a trainer of renewable energy sales people, they also sign people up to renewable energy through PGE. Legally power companies must buy the cheapest energy available which is often coal, an idea to limit the use of coal is to have people sign up to pay more for energy from renewable sources, such as wind energy. Students also work to survey and analyze the data to make formal recommendations to PGE. And finally, this will culminate in a White Paper to be presented to the head of PGE's Renewable Energy Program.
The Business Outreach Center works with about 35 small-business clients at a time in North Portland. Through internships and capstone classes, the center works to provide knowledgeable and relevant mentoring and technical assistance, to help small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs achieve their potential, and to provide PSU students the opportunity for community based learning.
Students designed, and implemented a training course on "job readiness" for homeless woman who were interested in pursuing employment. TEST CHANGE.
