3Year Program's Unique Learning Experiences

The students in the 3Year Honors Program form their consulting teams for the NPD (New Paradigm Design) experience in their senior year. They are responsible for identifying an selecting projects that will be accomplished over the span of their third and final year.  NPD is the academic service learning component of the program. This is a team based approach and requires the students to work as a consulting team for an organization.

Team based academic consultancy is a form of experiential learning real world) that is integrated within a college level, credit-bearing course in the form of an organized, thoughtful, and meaningful project. Designated teams of students (typically 2-5 per team) are matched with agencies, organizations, or business enterprises that have specific needs related to the content of a particular course. Students then perform the needed service drawing upon their course content and reflecting on their experiences for enhanced classroom learning. At the end, the team provides a tangible final project or deliverable as a result of its efforts. (Painchaud, 2006)

The class of 2005 worked with companies and organizations such as American Express, Camp Sunshine, XR Solutions, and SNHU's branch of Delta Mu Delta. The projects included the creation of a business retention program, a marketing and strategic plan and the development of a Web site.

Integrating Experiences

Each semester concludes with a week-long integrating experience that brings together competencies learned through the modules offered during that semester.

Teams of four to five students spend a week working together, trying to find creative solutions for real-world business challenges.  At the end of the integrating experience, each team will present their research and recommendations to professors, just as they would for supervisors, board members and shareholders in the business world. Students receive team-based grades and college credit for their efforts.

Integrating experience helps students to see the relevance of their learning and serves as a vehicle for competency development.