Suzanne Smith, a member of the business administration faculty, likes to vary assignments from semester to semester. "For one thing," she said, "I get bored [using the same ones over and over.]" She gave a choice of term projects to her Management and Organizational Behavior class, one of the first classes business majors take as sophomores of juniors. One was somewhat traditional although it did combine writing, speaking, and information technology. She gave students an option to write an individual five-page, single-spaced paper addressing a topic of the course. Students then presented their major findings in a five-minute oral report to the class, using visual aids such as Power point, a Web site, or a poster presentation.

The second project, chosen by 60% of the class, was the option for groups of three students to produce a six- to ten-minute training video. Some of the topics students chose were interview skills, sexual harassment, and bribery in foreign businesses. While each group member was involved in doing the research and writing the script, the members split up the tasks of acting, filming, and editing.

In evaluating the video assignment, Smith counted 40% for research and content (Do you back up your points with documented credible sources?), 20% for technical/professionalism (smooth transitions, music, good taste), and 40% for effective communication of the message (somewhat entertaining, memorable, creative, or humorous).

Doug Wallace, Director of Media Services, worked with the individual groups, but Smith says that next time she will have him come to talk to the class when she introduces the assignment, letting students know the actual time involved. Students who did well on the assignment told her the video project was fun but took more time than they had ever spent on a paper or project. Even so, some parents have commented that their children treasure the videos as trophies, proudly referring to them as one of their most memorable achievements at PC.