At the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point School of Business and Economics we take pride in creating career-ready graduates through applied learning. After nearly two years of planning, the Anderson Classroom to Career (C2C) Center opened its doors in October 2019 and has quickly become the showcase of the School of Business and Economics (SBE). Located on the first floor of the College of Professional Studies, the C2C Center serves as the hub for SBE’s student engagement programs and outreach initiatives. The C2C Center’s many activities are vital elements in preparing our students to succeed academically and to confidently embark upon their careers.
ANDERSON
REPORT
2019-2020
UWSP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VISIONARIES We are extremely grateful for the support of the following School of Business and Economics donors.
CLASSROOM TO CAREER CENTER INAUGURAL YEAR.................................................................. 2-3 Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D., Founding Director, Anderson C2C Center SMILEY PROFESSIONAL EVENTS............................................................................................... 4-7 Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D., Student Engagement Director MUNDT CAREER-READINESS PROGRAMS. ................................................................................ 8-9 Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D., Student Engagement Director MUNDT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. .......................................................................................... 10-11 Ricardo Boeing, Ph.D., Internship Director ACADEMIC COACHING......................................................................................................... 12-13 Max Trzebiatowski, Advising Director FINANCIAL COACHING......................................................................................................... 14-15 Tracy Hofer, Ph.D., Financial Literacy Association Adviser BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH. ............................................................................. 16-19 Bridget Culbert, Outreach Specialist Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D., Anderson C2C Center Founding Director APPENDIX A. ............................................................................................................................ 20 Organizations Hosting Interns with Anderson Non-Profit Scholarships, 2017-20 APPENDIX B............................................................................................................................. 21 Organizations Hosting Interns, 2019-20
KEITH & TAMMY ANDERSON A 1985 business administration graduate, Keith Anderson had a successful career as a top executive with companies all over the United States. Keith recently retired as executive vice president of operations from NVR, Inc., one of the nation’s largest homebuilding companies. In 2018, Keith and Tammy Anderson committed $1 million to establish the Classroom to Career (C2C) Center to help equip School of Business and Economics students with the tools and strategies needed to launch their careers and follow their dreams. The Andersons are natives of Stoughton, Wisconsin. They currently live in Aldie, Virginia. Keith serves on the School of Business and Economics Business Advisory Council; Keith and Tammy typically return to Stevens Point a few times each year to attend the SBE Senior Banquets. MARK & JULIE SMILEY Mark and Julie Smiley met while attending UW-Stevens Point in the early 1980s. Mark is a 1985 business administration alumnus and Julie is a 1987 communication alumna. The Smileys settled in Baraboo after leaving UWSP and founded Badger Paperboard Inc., a manufacturing company headquartered in Port Washington with locations throughout the U.S. Mark and Julie also raised a daughter and a son, both of whom now take active leadership roles in the family business. Mark travelled back to Stevens Point to participate in a SBE alumni panel discussion in 2014 as part of what are now known as Smiley Professional Events. Since then, Mark and Julie have established two UWSP scholarships in business and communication as well as a program fund to support a variety of student opportunities. RAY MUNDT Ray Mundt graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 1953 with a degree in mathematics. Later he attended Harvard Business School. He married Ruth Stanchik and in 1953 went to work for Kimberly-Clark as a paper salesman where he later became a vice president and general manager. In 1970, he was recruited by ALCO Standard Corporation and eventually become COO, president, CEO and chairman of the board. Ray retired in 1994, but returned to take Unisource Worldwide public in 1996. A board member of many corporations and civic organizations, he was also a Global Jewish Advocacy Honoree, a Paper Industry International Hall of Fame Inductee and a UW-Stevens Point Distinguished Alumnus Award winner. A generous estate gift from Ray and Ruth Mundt helps provide internship and career-readiness experiences for SBE students.
Annual Report 2019-2020
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COLLABORATIONS AND INITIATIVES
CLASSROOM TO CAREER CENTER INAUGURAL YEAR
Besides serving as the home for multiple programs, the C2C Center has also quickly developed its own energy and identity. The combination of the various programs within the C2C Center creates synergy; more is accomplished because of the connections between the teams working on different projects. In the past year, C2C Center staff have collaborated on financial-literacy initiatives and entrepreneurship projects—to name just a few successes.
Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D. Founding Director, Anderson C2C Center School of Business and Economics
The C2C Center is further building its identity by hosting activities that both expand SBE services and boost student awareness of our ongoing programs. For instance, we offered students the opportunity to work one-on-one with LinkedIn expert and author, Wayne Breitbarth, in the C2C Center conference room; these LinkedIn consults served to publicize that the C2C Center conference room is available for student meetings, online interviews and more.
At the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point School of Business and Economics we take pride in creating career-ready graduates through applied learning. After nearly two years of planning, the Anderson Classroom to Career (C2C) Center opened its doors in October 2019 and has quickly become the showcase of the School of Business and Economics (SBE). Located on the first floor of the College of Professional Studies, the C2C Center serves as the hub for SBE’s student engagement programs and outreach initiatives. The C2C Center’s many activities are vital elements in preparing our students to succeed academically and to confidently embark upon their careers. BIG DREAMS
On a wall in the C2C Center is a quote from our alumnus and donor, Keith Anderson:
“No dream is too big for a Pointer, but it’s up to you to make that dream tangible.” – Keith Anderson
“At an Ask an Expert session at the C2C Center, I worked with an HR specialist who helped me fine-tune my resume. Thanks to the help I received I was able to get my top choice internship for this past summer!” – Lydia Engelbreth
We also began a biweekly drop-in program called “Ask an Expert.” Students were invited to stop by the C2C Center for coffee and conversation with professionals from local companies; at the same time, students learned about the C2C Center’s many other services.
At the C2C Center, we encourage our students to “dream big” and we provide a seamless network of services ensuring our students are ready to pursue their aspirations. The Anderson Classroom to Career Center houses six outstanding programs, which you will read more about in the following pages: • Smiley Professional Events • Mundt Career-Readiness Programs • Mundt Internship Program
Finally, the C2C Center is supporting students by sponsoring programs that have broad appeal but do not fit within either the Smiley Professional Events program or our classes. One such effort is an eight- week course, Business 305 - Strategic Planning , taught by a UWSP Career Services professional. Another C2C Center initiative is our sponsorship, via $500 scholarships, of students participating in “The Branch.” Based at the Wausau campus of Northcentral Technical College, the program assembles teams of students to provide solutions to innovation projects sponsored by businesses. The program teaches collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity via the challenges of entrepreneurship. In fall 2019, 11 UWSP students, a majority of whom were from our Wausau branch campus, worked on challenges from Church Mutual Insurance and the Wausau River District. The spring 2020 session was unfortunately cut short due to COVID-19. MAXIMUM IMPACT Graduates of the School of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are making their marks at businesses, non-profits and government agencies across the state, the nation and the world. The unique programs and services offered through the Anderson Classroom to Career Center ensure that our students have the practical skills and hands-on experiences, in addition to the strongest academic preparation, necessary for professional success.
• Academic Coaching • Financial Coaching • Business and Community Outreach
Students throughout SBE know they can always find a friendly person in the C2C Center who will listen and help. The C2C Center student employees cheerfully greet visitors with a smile. Throughout 2019-20, a total of 16 students gained valuable pre-professional training in the C2C Center as they helped other students with academics, finances, internships, etc.
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2019-20 ACTIVITIES
SMILEY PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
Despite our programming abruptly ending at spring break due to COVID-19, we had a successful year of Pro Events. SUMMARY The following table reports on Pro Events activity, as measured by number of events and student attendance,for the last two years.
Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D. Student Engagement Director School of Business and Economics
Smiley Professional Events
One of the most distinctive things about the School of Business and Economics (SBE) is our year-long schedule of speakers, workshops and special events known as the Smiley Professional Events (Pro Events) program. The program has become well-known on campus, with other departments asking for our help in promoting their events and with the Health Promotion and Wellness unit of the School of Health Sciences and Wellness enrolling their students in the program. By partnering with our Career Services staff, local businesses and alumni, we offer an outstanding array of Pro Events throughout the semester. This allows our students to choose Pro Events fitting their interests and thereby customize their career exploration and job-search preparation. With an average of ten Pro Events per week available, there is always something exciting happening! The learning from Pro Events strongly complements students’ classroom learning; hence, we refer to Pro Events as co-curricular programming. For instance, a student will learn about marketing theory and techniques in class and then may connect with a local marketing professional at a Pro Event. The graphic below, based on data from students on our Pro Events Advisory Board, shows the relative weights of the broad array of learning occurring at Pro Events:
Fall 2019
Spring 2020
Total 2019-20
% change -27.9%
Fall 2018
Spring 2019
Total 2018-19
Events
200
118
318
228
213
441
Student Check-Ins
3,382
1,906
5,288
-12.9% 3,303
2,766
6,069
The decline in the number of events offered is not as alarming as it might seem. Besides the early end to Pro Events programs in the spring 2020 semester, SBE students completing internships began presenting their reports simultaneously at one large event (our Internship Expo) instead of at multiple events spanning two weeks. Likewise, the moderate (-13%) drop in the number of student check-ins at events indicates continued strong student participation in Pro Events given the unexpected campus closure in mid-March due to COVID-19. NEW INITIATIVES While we offer some fundamental Pro Events every semester, we also strive to introduce exciting new events and opportunities to our students. Important innovations from the past year included: • Inviting community members to our first Business and Society lecture by award-winning author/ journalist Bethany McLean.
Learning Outcomes from Pro Events
Over 50 community members joined students and faculty for a sold-out keynote address by McLean on “Why Business Goes Bad: Lessons from 20 years of covering frauds, scams and other disasters.” McLean is credited with exposing the Enron scandal and has covered stories about scandals at Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae and the energy sector. The lecture engaged our alumni and generated significant publicity for SBE. A small group of students also had the opportunity to chat informally with McLean after her lecture at a nearby restaurant.
While it is not uncommon for business schools to offer speakers and workshops, we do even more in this regard. We integrate Pro Events into our academic curriculum, resulting in our students earning credit for valuable professional skill-building. From their first year through to graduation, all our students are continuously engaged in career planning and development.
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• Partnering with the Portage County young professionals group (Ignite) to offer a presentation by LinkedIn author/expert Wayne Breitbarth to an audience of local professionals and students. Ignite appreciated our help in providing a top-notch speaker for their members; we were grateful for Ignite’s assistance in reaching local professionals who shared valuable insights with our students. • Hosting “Exploring Careers in Banking” event. This new event was part networking reception and part panel discussion. Attendees included 15 industry representatives and 45 students. Students learned about banking careers and how SBE’s new Credit Analyst certificate can prepare them for careers in the financial-services industry. • Strengthening our Marshfield and Wausau programs by including branch-campus students in large live events at the Stevens Point campus. We provided transportation for branch-campus students from Marshfield and Wausau to attend the “Business and Society Lecture” by Bethany McLean and the “Kickstart Your Career!” keynote address by Colin Ryan. • Establishing the Pro Events Student Advisory Board. Student board members actively promote events among their classmates and provide feedback on various events they attend. The board typically meets twice a semester for a small-group dinner and conversation with a business guest and a faculty member. (Our final board meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19.) The student board members gain valuable connections as well as increased confidence in handling professional dining situations.
• In spring, students had an opportunity to tour the new headquarters of education software provider Skyward . • In both fall and spring, business-professionalism expert Lyn Hulgan reviewed the dos and don’ts of dining with colleagues, clients, etc. during our Etiquette Dinners. • From fall through spring, 53 students connected one-on-one with local alumni and business leaders through our innovative “Lunch with a Leader” program.
We also invested in sending students to workshops and professional-development programs, including Toastmasters, leadership certificate programs, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) dinners, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) luncheons and Portage County Business Council networking events. A handful of students received support to attend an IMA national conference and a SHRM state conference.
“Networking does not come naturally to me, so I really enjoyed being able to practice my networking with the Pro Events Advisory Board.” – Makenzie Wozniak
“Because of the opportunity to participate in Toastmasters, I have been able to work on my speaking skills, finish a second pathway and had the courage to speak in front of a large crowd at the C2C Center grand opening. Since I am graduating in just a few days, I am planning on joining a Toastmasters group where I live.” – Ludvika Gryskiewicz
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Besides our many new initiatives during the past year, we also continued to strengthen popular ongoing programs. Our “Kickstart Your Career!” program is held near the start of each semester and encourages students “to start now to land their dream jobs.” We offered students many great “Kickstart” programs in 2019-20, such as: • In fall, we hosted the nationally-known speaker Colin Ryan , who presented his “Comedic Guide to Money” and attracted our largest crowd of 254 students. The event also served to publicize our Financial Coaching program. • In spring, LinkedIn author/expert Wayne Breitbarth not only presented a keynote presentation but also worked with students one-on-one to improve their profiles. The individual consults alone resulted in 16 of our students amassing a total of 2,027 LinkedIn connections.
2020-21 PLANS
The upcoming year will present challenges and opportunities. Our plans include: • Modifying the “Lunch with a Leader” program to include virtual lunches and more leaders, from both the local area and beyond. • Adapting the Pro Events Student Advisory Board to function in an online format. • Creating a library of recorded past events and an option for students to earn credit by watching and reporting on such videos. • Using online surveys to collect more feedback from students completing “Lunch with a Leader” and other one-on-one events. • Launching a book club, in conjunction with guest authors/presenters.
“Watching an hour-long lecture on LinkedIn provided me knowledge I never would have known otherwise. I learned about the built-in algorithm which allows businesses to easily comb through our profiles. By learning this, I was able to tweak my profile, making it so I get more notifications about job offers.” –Donovan Schroeder
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MUNDT CAREER-READINESS PROGRAMS
Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D. Student Engagement Director School of Business and Economics
“The Senior Banquet was the most impactful moment of my time in the SBE program. I gained both insight and skills from an event put on to celebrate us.” – Jackson Clark
As part of C2C Center activities, we tap our networks of employers and experts to create special experiences within our classes which we call Mundt Career-Readiness Programs. Given their placement within classes, these high-impact learning experiences are thus provided to all students. Mundt Career-Readiness Programs provide ideas, tools, connections and—most importantly—real-world practice so that our students graduate ready to begin their professional journeys with confidence! 2019-20 ACTIVITIES The past year saw a growing array of programs delivered in conjunction with classes, although some plans were cancelled due to COVID-19. NEW INITIATIVES We are especially proud of the new programs offered to students in many different classes, from first year through fourth year: • Career-exploration activities for all first-year (Business 100 - Introduction to Business) students. We want students to begin thinking about their career goals early in their time as SBE students; they are more likely to take actions, such as searching for internships, if they see connections to longer- term goals. In fall, we hosted in-class discussions with local alumni and business representatives about possible career paths in management, marketing and accounting/finance. Spring discussions on careers were cancelled due to COVID-19. • Networking practice for all second-year (Business 325 - Organizational Behavior) students. This program is an important investment in building
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS We also offered these highly informative, continuing programs in classes:
• Guidance on making a strong professional impression for all third-year (Business 301 - Oral Communication) students. Every semester, we sponsor in-class presentations by our business- professionalism expert, Lyn Hulgan. Hulgan reviews how to dress for different business settings and how to handle common tricky inter-personal situations. Hulgan also takes a small group of students shopping at Goodwill, where she helps each of them select an interview-ready outfit for under $50. • Practice at professional networking and dining for all fourth-year (Business 480 - Management Capstone) students. All graduating seniors are invited, during class time, to attend a Senior Banquet. At each banquet, students have time to connect with leading professionals and receive advice on job search and interview preparation. • Feedback from recruiters on interview performance for third-year (Business 301 - Oral Communication) students. Each semester, students compete in teams to give the best answers to typical interview questions. A panel of judges gives instant coaching on how to answer questions directly and persuasively. • Professional-level presentation practice for all fourth-year (Business 480 - Management Capstone) students. All graduating seniors present the results of their semester-long, team-based research projects to panels of local business executives. Students experience the pressure of a high-stakes presentation while still within the relative safety of the classroom. In fall, 18 guest judges reviewed 13 team presentations during a two-week period. Spring presentations were cancelled due to COVID-19. • Special in-class guest speakers and field trips. Through C2C Center connections and sponsorships, students have in-class conversations and/or site visits with top experts in their fields. • E-Marketing students (Business 333) students learned how e-commerce company Eastbay, part of Footlocker.com, was competing in a crowded field from Eastbay President Sreeharsha Upadhyayula. • Auditing (Accounting 450) students heard about the limitations of rules from author/journalist Bethany McLean in March 2020. • Marketing Strategy (Business 438) students had a tour and presentation at Trek Bicycle in fall semester. When travel was not possible in spring semester, the Trek executives arranged a “virtual tour” for the students. 2020-21 PLANS We will be working at continuing and improving all of the above programs, particularly: • Adding a peer-mentoring component to the Business 100 - Introduction to Business course. • Adapting the Business 325 - Organizational Behavior networking events to an online format. • Finding new ways to connect Business 480 - Management Capstone students with alumni.
our students’ comfort with networking. First, students participate in interactive workshops on best practices for networking led by SBE alumna and local entrepreneur, Amy Plier. Then the students connect with local alumni and business representatives at professional-style networking receptions. Sixty students were especially well prepared for networking with UWSP business cards printed courtesy of the C2C Center.
• Personal-finance instruction for all first-year (Business 100 - Introduction to Business) and fourth- year (Business 480 - Management Capstone) students. In partnership with Indiana University, we are teaching our students how to become “Money Smart.” Students work their way through interactive online modules tailored to their specific stage of education, from moving away from home through budgeting for life after graduation.
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We are proud of how our interns support the efforts of local non-profit organizations. Two notable programs contribute in this regard. We have supported 16 students with Anderson Non-Profit Scholarships, allowing students to work at non-profits that could not offer paid internships. For a full list of non-profit organizations that have hosted interns with Anderson Non-Profit Scholarships, please see Appendix A. Another important program in the non-profit sector is the VITA/CAP Services income-tax preparation program. After passing an exam, students assist taxpayers unable to afford professional tax-preparation services. 2019-20 ACTIVITIES During this past year, our interns worked at 123 organizations, including 37 publicly-traded companies. For a list of all organizations hosting interns during the past year, please see Appendix B.
MUNDT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Ricardo Boeing, Ph.D. Internship Director School of Business and Economics
Since fall 2019, in conjunction with the opening of the C2C Center, every School of Business and Economics major is required to complete an internship before graduation. The SBE internship program gives students real work experience before they graduate. It allows students to work with companies that are in the Stevens Point area, including Skyward, Northwestern Mutual and Sentry Insurance, as well as others across the state, country and even the world. 2017-20 HIGHLIGHTS
A review of our internship placements from 2017-20 shows both the breadth and depth of the program.
NEW INITIATIVES We made substantial improvements and additions to the Internship Program within the last year, including: • Internship Expo. Upon completion of their internships, our interns present to their fellow students at an Internship Expo. After a trial Expo in May 2019, we launched our permanent schedule in 2019-20 of three events per year for interns in fall, spring and summer terms; the last scheduled Internship Expo was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19. Interns present, poster-style, on the work they did at their jobs and the links to their classes. A total of 177 students have had this valuable experience of convention-style presenting. Upcoming students can learn about the value of internships as well as meet company representatives. Our business partners appreciate the publicity for their organizations and the conversations with prospective interns. • Online submission of internship application and materials. Our new procedure is easier for the students and allows better tracking of applications. • SCORE. We have provided stipends to two students interning with this organization of volunteer mentors for entrepreneurs. The students have learned about the challenges of running a business while also assisting entrepreneurs, thus helping others while adding to their own knowledge. • Online surveys of interns and employers upon completion of internships. From these surveys we learned that 60% of our interns received full-time job offers at the end of their internships and nearly all other interns would have received offers if full-time positions had been available. All students reported that their internship experiences had been beneficial. 2020-21 PLANS
We see the greatest number of internships in summer because this is when students have the most time to work. Our spring session is busy with accounting internships due to the tax season rush. Fall internships are mostly business internships from around the area of Stevens Point, often with organizations looking to hire students after December graduation.
Mundt Internships
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
TOTAL
Summer
n/a
80 41 46
76 25 38
156
Fall
27 22 49
93
Spring TOTAL
106 355
167
139
Our interns are making an impact in the local economy and beyond. Since 2017, 231 (65%) of our interns have worked in Central Wisconsin and, more specifically, 167 (47%) have worked in the Stevens Point/ Plover area. In summer, we see internships from places as far away as Hawaii and Oman. Interns from SBE have worked at companies both large and small. A total of 54 students (15.2%) have interned at Fortune 1000 companies, including 32 students (9%) who had the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 companies. Some Fortune 500 companies that students have interned with are Northwestern Mutual, American Family Insurance Company, U.S. Bank and Sherwin Williams. Sentry Insurance is a Fortune 1000 company that hosts many of our interns. At the same time, 29 students (8.1%) have interned at family businesses—oftentimes, businesses owned by their own families.
We expect to be making progress on many fronts in the coming year, including: • Expanding relationships with large (e.g. Fortune 500) companies. • Expanding internship services to data analytics students. • Increasing student awareness of available internships. • Adapting our events and processes to online formats. • Encouraging and supporting companies as they offer “virtual” internships.
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Please note that: • Appointments typically decline from fall to spring due to more students preparing in fall to graduate in spring and to fewer incoming transfer/new students in spring. • The number of appointments with the advising director declined in fall 2019 because student ambassadors were trained to handle more complex situations. • The student ambassadors’ spring 2020 appointment data includes only in-person appointments before the campus shut-down; the advising director’s spring 2020 appointment data includes both in-person and online appointments for the entire semester. Student ambassadors also staffed a desk in the C2C Center for walk-in questions for 40 hours/week. In fall semester, student ambassadors handled walk-in traffic for nine weeks, from the C2C Center’s opening in early October to the end of the semester. In spring semester, student ambassadors handled walk-in traffic for six weeks, until the campus shut down due to COVID-19. NEW INITIATIVES We made progress in many aspects of Academic Coaching within the last year, including: • Expansion of student ambassador roles. Student ambassadors have been trained to handle a wider variety of situations, including more complex situations. This provides additional challenges and experiences to the student ambassadors while also making better use of the advising director’s limited time. • Adaption to remote work. Significant time was spent in spring semester retraining student ambassadors as many of our processes had to change due to COVID-19. Half of our student ambassadors worked remotely after the campus shut-down to continue advising students via phone, email and Zoom sessions. • Revamped process for application to the major. In the past year, we have converted the process of student application for admission to SBE to a fully online process. This transition was done in conjunction with the offering of a new class, Business 100—Introduction to Business. Instead of attending a mandatory workshop, students receive more in-depth information about SBE in multiple Business 100 class sessions. The students then submit their request for admission to SBE via an online tool. • Recruitment efforts. The Advising team has also become part of SBE’s strategic process for recruiting new students. In spring, our student ambassadors wrote welcome cards to all of those admitted to UWSP with an interest in our majors. Approximately 400 cards were sent to our prospective admits to UWSP for the upcoming fall 2020 term. The personal welcome cards are part of a larger plan to ensure there are five touch points (emails, letters, etc.) with each prospective student within 60 days of their application to the university. 2020-21 PLANS After a pilot during 2019-20, UWSP will be launching a new online tool, Navigate, campus-wide in 2020- 21. Navigate is an online application that allows students to track all their important school information in one place. Students have their schedules, advisors, to-do lists and even financial aid information all conveniently combined in one application. Our C2C Center Academic Coaching team will be making sure our students are taking full advantage of Navigate and will handle any transition questions. Navigate will facilitate greater tracking and communication between UWSP faculty/staff advisors and their advisees. Advisors can easily create appointments with this tool as well as send students reminders via text-messaging. The tool also provides a platform for centralized storage of notes.
ACADEMIC COACHING
Max Trzebiatowski Advising Director School of Business and Economics
The Academic Coaching team in the C2C Center is responsible for assisting students in their academic progressions and in their understanding of UWSP scheduling and registration procedures. We also assist in School of Business and Economics and campus-wide communication efforts. Students face many challenges throughout their academic journeys. We help in many ways, including prospective student visits on campus, adding/changing majors, adding/dropping courses, development of graduation plans and graduation audits near students’ final semesters. We also offer one-on-one support to students each semester to track and map their progress towards graduation. 2019-20 ACTIVITIES Overall, the past year saw many positive developments in the Academic Coaching area. For instance, student ambassadors expanded their roles in advising students and adapted to advising students remotely. In addition, the processing of student applications to SBE majors was revamped. option of meeting with the Advising team via phone or online, the number of appointments declined because some students were able to manage either on their own or with just email communication. SUMMARY Here is a summary of the number of student appointments with both the advising director and student ambassadors (student employees): Academic Coaching Activities Fall 2019 Spring 2020 Total 2019-20 % change Fall 2018 Spring 2019 Total 2018-19 Advising Director 381 278 659 -17.4% 479 319 798 Student Ambassadors 119 32 151 n/a n/a n/a 2019-20 also brought some challenges our way in the spring semester. Individual appointments with the Advising Director were down 12% from the previous spring semester, due mainly to the switch to remote learning and working. While all students had the
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NEW INITIATIVES Each year we continue to add new financial-literacy topics, often by connecting to new organizations and speakers. Within the past year, new programs included: • In fall, we worked with the Smiley Professional Events team to bring nationally-known speaker Colin Ryan to campus. As he presented his “Comedic Guide to Money” to a large crowd (254 students),
FINANCIAL COACHING
Ryan emphasized that “knowledge is power” when it comes to money management and that students could continue their financial learning by connecting with our FLA. • In spring, with help from the C2C Center, we launched a new online-learning tool called Money Smart . Students have access to about 20 different financial-learning modules, each about an hour in length. A typical module includes a video by a financial expert, worksheets and links to helpful web sites. We envision this becoming a tool that students can utilize throughout their time at UWSP. • We also expected to present a new event in
Tracy Hofer, Ph.D. Financial Literacy Association Adviser School of Business and Economics
Financial literacy is vital for college students. Research has shown the importance of student financial literacy for student retention and graduation. With C2C Center funding, SBE has expanded financial literacy training, information sessions and one-on-one financial coaching. The Financial Literacy Association (FLA) is a UWSP student organization created to bring financial literacy to all UWSP students. The idea for financial-literacy training on campus began in spring 2014 when students started participating in a Portage County/UW-Madison Extension Financial Coaching program. Soon more students requested training through the Portage County/UW-Madison Extension Financial Coaching program than there were slots available. It was then decided to move the training of UWSP students onto campus and place it under the organization of the student group that eventually became the FLA. Since fall 2014, the FLA and Portage County/UW-Madison Extension have held two training sessions each academic year. The training sessions are intensive, full-day workshops, with follow-up check-ins for the new coaches. On average, 15 students are trained to be financial coaches each semester. There are currently two paid interns to coordinate the financial literacy program on campus under the direction of FLA faculty adviser Prof. Tracy Hofer. The interns take the lead in scheduling one-on-one coaching sessions and group events. We work with Smiley Professional Events to offer Pro Events credit for both one-on-one coaching sessions and group financial-literacy events. We have also worked with local financial institutions, including U.S. Bank and UW Credit Union, to bring new events to campus. 2019-20 ACTIVITIES Before the COVID-19 campus shut-down, we had a busy and productive year improving financial literacy at UWSP. While our flagship program is one-on-one financial coaching, we also focus on group events to improve financial literacy on campus. SUMMARY Here is a summary of the group and individual activities overseen by the FLA in recent years: Financial Coaching Activities 2019-20 2018-19 Group events (in hours) 25 39 Group events (attendance) 600 700 Individual coaching sessions (in hours) 10 6 Total student-contact hours (group and individual) 1,200 1,800 Please note that 2019-20 data extends only to March 13. (We were on pace for a record year!)
spring called The Price Is Right for Personal Finance . The event would engage students in a game- like environment to learn more about personal finance. An exciting set of prizes had been donated by local businesses to encourage student attendance. Unfortunately, this event was postponed due to COVID-19 but we hope to hold it in the near future. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Some of the other important ways we promoted financial literacy in the past year were: • Offering one-on-one financial coaching to students , either by appointment or during scheduled office hours. A financial coach can help students with planning, researching and completing financial goals. • Presenting group events on campus , on budgeting, credit use and scores, financial aid, fringe benefits, scam prevention and ID protection. • Hosting an interactive Financial Fair. First started in fall 2018, this innovative event takes places every semester. Students move from station to station, meeting different representatives and learning about different financial topics. Themes have included credit scores, budgeting, investing strategies and student loan repayment. Attendance is consistently strong, with 54 attendees in fall 2019 and 117 attendees in spring 2020. Students rate this event as excellent, with exit survey scores averaging 8.5 on a 10-point scale (10 being high). 2020-21 PLANS We will continue our efforts to improve students’ financial literacy and thereby contribute to improving UWSP’s rates of student retention and graduation. We expect to be working on: • Adapting our group events and one-on-one coaching to online formats, as needed. • Reaching out to specific populations on campus (e.g. veterans) to have trained coaches and customized presentations for those groups. • Working with the Smiley Professional Events team to bring top financial authors/experts to campus. If we can attract students to a financial-literacy event with a well-recognized speaker, we can get them thinking about managing their finances.
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Anderson Classroom to Career Center
Annual Report 2019-2020
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Corporate Partners
BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Organization
City
Associated Bank BMO Harris Bank
Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI
Church Mutual Insurance CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Merrill, WI
Bridget Culbert and Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D. Outreach Specialist; Anderson C2C Center Founding Director School of Business and Economics
Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI Milwaukee, WI Stevens Point, WI Marshfield, WI Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI Schofield, WI Marshfield, WI
Delta Dental
Enterprise Fastenal
Forward Bank
The connections between the School of Business and Economics and our many alumni and organizational partners, both business and community, make all of us stronger. We are able to provide our students with up-to-date career guidance and opportunities because of support from our alumni and partners. At the same time, we offer benefits to organizations searching for new talent by introducing them to our students. We also connect with and support our alumni across the state, nation and world. 2019-20 ACTIVITIES The past year saw the establishment of many new outreach programs as well as the strengthening of existing programs, connecting us with employers, alumni and new graduates. Outreach leads to valuable connections with students! We had 256 guests at C2C Center programs during 2019-20, representing 71 different organizations. Besides many Corporate Partners representatives, we had 113 guests representing 39 other business and non-profit organizations. CONNECTING WITH KEY EMPLOYERS: CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM Organizations wanting to connect with our students on a frequent, ongoing basis can join our Corporate Partners program. Corporate Partners organizations enrich our students’ learning beyond the classroom and provide professional-development opportunities. Nothing engages students as much as hearing from industry experts! We had 32 official Corporate Partners during 2019-20, mainly large local employers and chambers of commerce. The employers were quite diverse, representing eight industry sectors and 24 different industries. Our best sources of new partners are alumni (e.g., we connected in 2019 with SMC Corporation of Indianapolis through its national sales director who is an alum) and companies who have recently hired our graduates (e.g., we connected with Integrity Insurance after the company hired one of our 2020 graduates).
Gamber-Johnson
Great Lakes Greenheck
Hawkins Ash CPAs Klismith Accounting
Plover, WI
Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Marshfield, WI Marshfield, WI Marshfield, WI Stevens Point, WI
Masonite
Nelson-Jameson, Inc. NextHome Priority Northwestern Mutual
Appleton, WI
Portage County Business Council
Stevens Point, WI Marshfield, WI Stevens Point, WI Marshfield, WI Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI Germantown, WI Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI Stevens Point, WI
Prevention Genetics
Rettler Corp.
Roehl Transport, Inc.
Sentry Insurance
Skyward, Inc.
SMC Corp.
Spectrum Insurance Thrivent Financial
U.S. Bank
Wausau Windows & Doors
Wausau, WI
Wipfli
Marshfield, WI; Wausau, WI
WoodTrust Bank
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Wysocki Family of Companies
Bancroft, WI
We reach out to our Corporate Partners many times throughout the academic year with invitations to participate in various student activities, both in classes and at Smiley Professional Events outside of classes. Some of the larger activities during the past year were our Senior Banquets, Internship Expos, in-class practice networking receptions and capstone presentations. A total of 143 Corporate Partner representatives attended such activities during the past year. Our most active Corporate Partner organizations were Church Mutual Insurance, Forward Bank, Northwestern Mutual, Sentry Insurance and Skyward.
“Thank you for all of the partnerships between School of Business and Economics students and PCBC/Ignite. It is invigorating to see how engaged you are with the community and so willing to help students grow outside the classroom.” – Todd Kuckkahn Executive Director, Portage County Business Council
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Annual Report 2019-2020
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CONNECTING WITH ALUMNI School of Business and Economics and other UWSP alumni are eager to participate in our many C2C Center events and we take pride in having them return to campus to offer support, guidance and networking connections to our current students. Our alumni are incredibly generous with their time and resources once we introduce them to our many exciting ongoing C2C Center programs. Of our total 256 guests in 2019-20, 56 were UWSP alumni; of those, 38 were specifically SBE graduates. Some of the programs with strong alumni participation were “Lunch with a Leader” (Smiley Professional Events), Senior Banquets and Capstone Presentations (both from Business 480—Management Capstone) as well as Practice Networking Receptions (Business 325— Organizational Behavior). We are always looking for new ways to strengthen our connections with our alumni and other community supporters. Three noteworthy examples from the past year include: • a LinkedIn panel discussion with the Portage County young professionals’ group, Ignite • the Inaugural Business and Society Lecture with journalist/author Bethany McLean which drew over 50 community attendees • a new SBE LinkedIn page to share news about our students and programs. Unfortunately, our alumni connections to date have been both happenstance (alumni reaching out to us and asking how they might be of assistance) and incomplete (UWSP alumni relations records being far from comprehensive). To deepen our connections with our alumni, we are establishing an extensive database of SBE alumni information. C2C Center interns are reaching out on LinkedIn to our 1,932 graduates from the past 10 years, encouraging our alumni to share their contact information and professional status using a condensed version of the survey distributed to graduating seniors and new alumni (see below). In future, we will do similar outreach to our alumni on a regular basis so that graduates can update their contact information and professional status as their careers evolve. The allocation of C2C Center resources towards developing a robust alumni database will pay multiple dividends going forward. Being more informed about the success of our alumni will provide important supporting evidence of the quality of our academic and career-preparation programs. The increased connections will also allow us to further engage our alumni in C2C Center and SBE events such as homecoming, guest lectures and continuing education. “I went to the networking events offered to students and ended up with an internship with Wipfli LLP. I was able to get experience and even land a full-time job before graduating.” – Beth Frazer SURVEYING GRADUATING SENIORS AND NEW ALUMNI The first step in remaining connected to our alumni is gathering data on where they are starting their careers after graduation. Until this past year, SBE relied on campus-wide data collection programs to document the placement of our graduates; unfortunately, those programs produced severely limited results due to staffing and resource constraints. To address this shortfall, C2C Center staff and resources are being deployed to establish new procedures for routinely gathering information from our graduating seniors and new alumni.
This strategic investment has already produced the first comprehensive survey of our graduating seniors in May 2020. This initial survey had an extremely high response rate (75%) with 103 responses. The detailed survey allowed SBE to gather new, previously unknown data on the placement and satisfaction of our graduates. Some highlights of the survey: • 34% of the respondents had accepted a job. The median salary of the accepted offers was in the $35,000 to $49,000 range. This finding is consistent with a less comprehensive UWSP report that found an average salary of $41,302 for SBE graduates in 2019. • 47% of the soon-to-be employed graduates reported plans to work in nearby Portage, Marathon or Wood counties, with 14.7% planning to work outside of Wisconsin. • 73% of the respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that SBE had prepared them well for their career. 94% of respondents at least “somewhat agreed” that SBE had prepared them well for their careers. SBE is pleased with these baseline survey results, given that the survey was conducted in the first week of May when many students were still interviewing---not to mention the record-setting economic decline occurring at that time due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, we aim to improve these initial placement and satisfaction numbers through the interviewing, job search, networking and other career-preparation events run through the C2C Center. While the survey of graduating seniors provides us with accurate placement data as of the end of students’ time on campus, the C2C Center has also developed a broader strategy to track placement of our new alumni . We plan to reach out quarterly during the year following their graduation to all new graduates who did not report accepting a job offer before graduation in the following ways: • Via email--using permanent email addresses provided in the survey of graduating seniors We anticipate gathering a substantial amount of data on the placement of our graduates through these efforts since nearly all graduating seniors provided us with permanent email addresses and opted in to follow our SBE LinkedIn page. We will thereby develop a more comprehensive picture of the initial placement of our graduates beyond those who accepted an offer before graduation as well as offer continued assistance to those still seeking employment. 2020-21 PLANS We anticipate increased outreach activities in the coming year, including: • Maintaining and strengthening relationships with current Corporate Partners as we adapt to remote work and learning. • Extending our network by connecting with other current or potential employers of our interns or new graduates. • Supporting our local young-professionals community by co-sponsoring events with the Ignite group. • Continuing the process of surveying each new graduating class, with follow-up quarterly contacts during the first year to record initial placements. • Further developing our database of past graduates via LinkedIn outreach. • Communicating more frequently with our alumni about services and programs they may find valuable. • Via personal LinkedIn messages—from C2C Center interns • Through reminders posted on our new SBE LinkedIn page “It was a blast having the judges in our class to listen to our presentation. Their perspective provides real-world knowledge to those of us about to embark on our career journey. This information is critical to see what employers look for and what mindset employers have.” – Lance Masshardt • 53% of the respondents had either at least one full- time job offer in hand (42%) or were planning to attend graduate school (11%).
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