| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.29 |
| Liaison | Bonnie Dong |
| Submission Date | Oct. 30, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
MacEwan University
IN-3: Innovation 3
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Emma
Shipalesky Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
In the Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 terms, faculty member Leo Wong introduced the Mission Possible concept as part of the Business 200/201 course revamp — in which students start up their own micro-venture as a way of making it more experiential for students.
Mr. Wong approached ATB Financial about the idea, and the financial institution sponsored the project with $5,000. Each student would receive $5 to start up their business venture, but would be required to repay that amount by the end of Mission Possible. (At the end of the Fall term, ATB did not collect its loans to the students; rather it asked that the School of Business use the $5,000 to help sustain the project for future students.)
With money in hand, students broke into groups of three to five. They were responsible for coming up with their own idea for a business, organizing themselves, gathering their materials or products, and figuring out how to market and sell to people.
Micro-ventures included raking leaves, selling chocolate bars, and making homemade products like knitted scarves, spring rolls and baked goods. One of the more successful teams developed a wedding photography business and landed a couple of contracts that made the group over $1,000. Another team created a custom sign-making business and called upon the help of local artists.
As the students developed their plans, Mr. Wong enlisted the aid of the student club Enactus MacEwan University to ensure the project ran smoothly with 386 students taking part.
A key component of Mission Possible is the charitable element: teams choose a charity to receive a portion (10 to 100 per cent) of their profits. Mr. Wong says donations of 100 per cent were incentivized because the students’ grades were determined by their profit amount — revenues minus expenses — and by how much they donated to charity. Most teams chose to donate 100 per cent to charity.
A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):
When the project came to its end, the students had raised and donated $22,930 in the Fall term and $31,643 in the Winter term — a total of $54,573.
A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
| Yes or No | |
| Curriculum | Yes |
| Research | No |
| Campus Engagement | No |
| Public Engagement | Yes |
| Air & Climate | No |
| Buildings | No |
| Dining Services | No |
| Energy | No |
| Grounds | No |
| Purchasing | No |
| Transportation | No |
| Waste | No |
| Water | No |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | No |
| Diversity & Affordability | No |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | No |
| Investment | Yes |
Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.