51ยายื

Each semester, 51ยายื students enrolled in an applied human resources course participate in an experiential learning opportunity that connects classroom knowledge with real-world application. By partnering with local organizations such as 51ยายื Culinary Services, the Center for Campus and Community Engagement, the City of Athens, and Athens Arts, Parks, and Recreation, students take the lead on core HR functions including recruitment, training and development, and employer branding.

Students begin the semester with a client orientation and the creation of a comprehensive project management plan. They meet with upper management, tour client facilities, and participate in weekly recruiting events developed by their teams. This hands-on experience allows students to directly apply what they have learned in class to meaningful, client-driven work.

In addition to these efforts, students conduct field work such as tabling at events, delivering classroom presentations, creating and posting recruitment content, and researching best practices for training initiatives. Each week, teams collaborate to refine their strategies and tackle real-time challenges, key components of experiential, project-based learning.

At the end of the semester, students present their approaches, results, key takeaways, and recommendations to their client during a final presentation. This culminating experience reinforces communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, all developed in a live client setting.

The impact of this experiential model is tangible. For one client, students helped increase staffing by 200%, growing the workforce from 600 to 1,800 employees and achieving 100% of the staffing target. In another case, HR students supported a recruitment effort that resulted in staff being hired one week earlier than in any previous year.

To learn more about this impactful, experiential learning project, read the full story here: OHIO Human Resources class gains real-world experience while helping Culinary Services