Plenary Sessions

City Planning Case Study

"An Active Learning Immersion"

Companies Address the Resource Problem, Students Experience the Solution!


Resources needed to develop and present case studies for the learning environment have sometimes been too expensive for faculty otherwise motivated to use this methodology. WACRA conferences in the past primarily have focused on writing and delivering cases from a faculty point-of-view only. It is time to bring client (company), consultants, and student perspectives into view by allowing them to present their motivations and experiences in collaboration with faculty who generally indicate case studies for specific courses in their academic program.

This panel will discuss the methodology and illustrate through a recent and specific case study involving a U.S.A. city (Bridgeport, Connecticut) and how a case study evolved regarding its economic and social problems. An "active learning immersion" (ALI) model (previously presented by Boisjoly and DeMichiell at Montreal, 1995) was used by graduate students, executive support and group decision-making systems. Their objective was to uncover the issues and problems of a problem city and recommend actions to move it toward a more global and competitive stance.

The program is presented from very brief statements by key players in the process:

a. University administration (Office of the Dean)
b. Faculty (ALI and the Multi disciplinary Approach)
c. Students (Specific Application of Business Process Re-engineering)
d. Clients (Business Leaders for Whom the Project is Conducted)
e. Consultants (Business Project Leaders for Student Advisement)
f. Business Leaders (Graduates of the ALI Approach)

The overall intent is to describe a process that has been successful in complex problem-solving and has paved the way for further project work in the business environment. Academe-business relationships that involve active student participation require patience and different grading criteria than traditional methods. This presentation discusses pitfalls and suggests solutions to benefit all involved parties. The fast-paced presentation is an effort to present some of the salient facts for audience reflection and for later discussion throughout the conference. Follow-up informal round-table discussions will be conducted for interested faculty, administrators, business leaders, and students.

Panelists: Dr. Russell Boisjoly, Dean, School of Business, Dr. Robert DeMichiell, Prof. of Information Systems, Dr. James Keenan, Prof. of Management, all Fairfield University, city government officials, business executives, exchange students Michelle DeLussanet and Thys Rosman, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and Kai Mildenberger, former student and independent consultant with offices in New York and Germany.

Return to NEWSletter - Spring 1997 Issue.