Walsh Students Gain Valuable Hands-On Experiences Remotely
Students taking courses remotely may not step foot in a traditional classroom, but they still have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, develop critical thinking skills, and prepare for an evolving workforce. Many courses and programs at Walsh use interactive, virtual activities and online simulations for students to put their skills and knowledge to the test.
Online Simulations for Real-World Scenarios
Many undergraduate students were introduced to a completely redesigned Business Strategy and Policy Capstone (MGT 461) course featuring GLO-BUS, an online simulation that allows students to compete with other teams across the globe to develop a competitive business strategy and gain market leadership.
“GLO-BUS really aligns with Walsh’s philosophy for teaching through real-world experiences,” said Alexa Harris, a full-time transfer student who graduated in 2020 from the Bachelor of Business Administration in Management program. “It was a great experience for me to practice communicating with a team remotely, apply knowledge I’ve gained throughout my program, and making smart business decisions.”
Each week, teams received business data and financial documents to analyze before making important decisions about a fictional company’s future. GLO-BUS was used by 59 colleges and over 560 teams across the globe during summer semester, including Harris’ team, which ranked No. 41 worldwide for best overall score.
The GLO-BUS simulation was led by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management John Cox, Ph.D., to help students learn new material in their capstone course while also the concepts directly. His students are able to go through every step of proper strategy assessment, strategy development, and day-to-day practical application.
“Strategy teams run a fictional company in a real-time competitive industry environment. We incorporate the implications of corporate social responsibility on decision outcomes in addition to typical fixed and variable business analytics,” said Dr. Cox. “My goal is to expose students to and have them gain a realistic understanding of business strategy, and how to assess and apply their gained competencies in a practical setting.”
Recent Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing (BBA-MKT) graduate Marissa Campo participated in PharmaSim, a marketing management simulation that allows students to drive market share and brand awareness in the competitive over-the-counter cold medicine industry, during her Strategic Marketing (MKT 460) course.
“Online simulations force you to think critically,” said Campo. “Because you can see how your decisions impact the company in real-time, it helps you understand how much each aspect of a business influences the others.”
Staying Connected While Studying Remotely
Online education has been adopted by institutions across the globe to allow students to continue their education while balancing multiple obligations. Walsh offered its first virtual course in 1998 and faculty members continually collaborate with a dedicated online learning team to ensure online classes are high-quality, accessible, and interactive.
“The technology we use allows us to modify our hands-on learning exercises for a remote format,” said Dave Schippers, D.Sc., Assistant Professor and Chair, IT/Decision Sciences. “Students collaborate via voice and screen shares to practice skills they will use in the workplace, and I log in to interact and offer guidance, just as I would in our on ground Cyber Lab.”
As Dr. Schippers points out, an online or remote education does not mean students miss out on valuable skill-building and social interactions. In fact, small virtual class sizes allow students to receive personal attention from faculty, interact with classmates, and create life-long connections.
