CIS 434: A model of engaged learning

Fall classes don’t start for several more weeks, but CIS professor Tom Dillon is already excited about the potential for his upcoming CIS 434 consulting class. Students must apply for a seat in the class, and during the review process, Dillon discovered that 95% of the admitted students were doing summer internships this year with companies including Deutsche Bank, Amazon, General Dynamics and KPMG. 

This level of experience helps students in what is a complex and rich learning opportunity that leverages the successful CoB alumni base. During the course, the students form teams and create proposals for real governmental RFP with the guidance of mentors from high-profile companies—most of whom are JMU alumni. Those finished proposals are then critiqued and judged by four other JMU alumni, and the winners are recognized for “Consulting Excellence” at the end of the semester.  

Dillon attributes the high number of student internships he’s seeing to program offerings at JMU. “Because of the university’s emphasis on engaged learning, strong support from the JMU Career Services and the outstanding work of the Office of Professional Development and Engagement in the CoB, we are developing the relationships needed to create these great internship opportunities for our students.”