A competitive edge: student programs based on NBC's The Apprentice are a win for institutions

University Business, Jan, 2007 by Carrie Oleynik

THE WORDS "YOU'RE FIRED!" WILL PROBABLY FOREVER be linked to Donald Trump and his NBC reality show The Apprentice, in which candidates compete on business tasks to get hired by Trump. Shortly after its 2004 debut, a phenomenon began to blossom on college campuses nationwide--academic programs based on the series everyone was talking about. The programs are helping students land jobs after graduation--both directly and indirectly through networking opportunities. Also, the programs benefit colleges and universities by gaining positive publicity, increasing interest among prospective students, and building alumni engagement.

Campus renditions of The Apprentice continue to gain in popularity, despite the reality show's decreasing ratings (it has slipped from seventh during the first season to 51st during season five).

Towson University: The Associate

At Towson University (Md.), the trend is thriving. The Associate competition at Towson's College of Business and Economics is about to start its third season.

Open only to graduating seniors in the business school, the program was started in 2005 by Laleh Malek, director of professional experience. Malek created The Associate after discussions in her marketing classes about The Apprentice. "I figured if we're talking about it so much, we should host a similar competition here," she recalls.

Offered as an extracurricular activity each spring, The Associate splits eight contestants into two teams, which are presented with five case studies by area companies. Two business executives and Towson's President Robert L. Caret provide students with insight and advice at weekly boardroom sessions, and then a candidate is "fired" from the losing project team. The grand prize of the two-month competition is a real job, a permanent position at the participating chief executive's company.

Unlike on The Apprentice, sometimes there is more than one winner. During the first round of the competition, Edwin F. Hale Sr., CEO and chairman of the board of Baltimore-based 1st Mariner Bancorp, was so impressed with the students that it led him to offer permanent positions to both of the finalists. "I have been extremely pleased with student hires, which makes me more inclined to look at Towson when we have entry-level openings," Hale says. Gaining local and national attention in the media makes the competition even more worthwhile for Towson. The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, and other publications have covered The Associate, helping to strengthen the university's branding campaign, Thinking Outside.

"The rewards are numerous, but the main reason why someone should become involved in a program like The Associate is the opportunity to mentor a group of zealous, young professionals," Hale says. "Sharing their excitement about working in business renews your own."

Babson College: The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Challenge

The same can be said about Babson College's (Mass.) Apprentice-like course, The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Challenge, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines. Corporate participant Bill Bishop has found that the best part about working with Babson students is hearing their point of view on real-time issues.

"I like seeing a fresh point of view on business issues; the students have no bias from past ideas or office politics," explains Bishop, who is CEO of The Blue Buffalo Company, a pet food manufacturer based in Connecticut. "Students gain a true business experience, more than just what's in the textbook. We are giving them challenges that are actually happening in the business world.

"It's a win-win situation; the program is good for executives and students," Bishop adds. "The biggest problem I've had is finding the time to talk to all the students who want to talk to me. They truly are fun to work with."

Working on case studies ranging from finance to negotiation, Babson students have worked with big names like Gillette, Reebok, Marquis Jet, and Estee Lauder, among others. Not to mention, like Towson's program, the course has gained media coverage. The class appeared four times on CNBC and has been mentioned in more than 200 newspaper articles.

Leonard Green, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and developer of the course, has even invited a few members of The Apprentice's cast to judge his students' performance.

"I believe that Babson students who are participating in this competition are better than the contestants on Donald Trumps show," Green says. "Each year they get better and better. My students are smart without me; I'm fine-tuning them. A lot of people say you can't teach entrepreneurship, but I think you can."

Green began The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Challenge shortly after hearing that there was a course slot available on Tuesday evenings. Rather than going with courses that had already been done before, he incorporated his interest in The Apprentice into the curricular needs of Babson's entrepreneurship program--only with no textbooks and no tests. Instead, students receive three cases to complete per week.