Growing the university program

[Former Member]

What are the best ideas for growing the program you have to include more faculty, products, and/or courses? In other words, how can we expand the SAP footprint within the member schools that we have right now?

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

These are the ideas generated at the Congress. Please feel free to expand or elaborate on any or all of the following:

- Create local workshops for the faculty. They can be a few hours or spread out over time to give faculty a look at the capabilities without a huge commitment of time.

- Bring in SAP "experts" to show faculty in all areas the capabilities of SAP.

- Do introductory workshops for faculty and students.

- Require SAP instruction in curricula or programs.

- Have roving faculty who introduce SAP in all different classes to generate enthusiasm from the students. The thought here is that the students will drive the programs.

- Bring industry into the schools to help drive programs toward SAP. Have an SAP Advisory Board to the schools.

- Create an SAP faculty group or a committee for mutual support and sharing of ideas. Invite everyone.

- Have some SAP one-on-one time for faculty

- Update the teaching materials to emphasize concepts rather than key strokes.

- Tie SAP to the performance of the instructor, college etc.

- Enlist the AACSB or other accrediting entities to promote SAP competencies & curricula.

- Promote research with or about SAP products.

- Invite visiting lecturers to talk about SAP or promote SAP

- Hire P/T lecturer(s) to teach the SAP courses. (This way tenured faculty don't take time away from their research and other conflicting goals.)

- Create faculty internships which relate to the use of SAP.

- Allow opportunities for paid SAP courses (outside of the current contract)

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[Former Member · Accepted solution]

These are good ideas Nancy - many thanks

In particular I likethe idea of roving faculty that would introduce SAP to students. I've been rollingan idea round in my mind that we could alsdo have student champions / ambassadors to do a similar role. In effect selecting a good student perhaps at the end of the first term or semester to act as an ambassador or focal point for the student body throughout the university. So in essence a top business school student becomes an SAP focial point for students from engineering, IS or other parts of the business school.

Their principle role would be to liaise with their fellow students and gain recognition by being able to call themselves an ambassador (looks good on the CV), and assist in the teaching of later classes. But also each ambassador would then form one part of a network across a particular country - perhaps even meeting up. I would also suggest that in order to receive the accolade (just a title but an important one) they would need also to make regular contributions to and set up their own network on the SDN/UAC?

Just a thought

Experts are a good idea too though historically I have found a lot of firms that suggest they are initially willing to work with us are only after short term recruitment. So it is important that in identifying partners we pick those that are keen to work with us long term and actually contribute something to the university and the UA in terms perhaps of teaching materials / case studies / teaching and lecture time etc.

Martin

Martin Gollogly

Director, University Alliances

United Kingdom and Ireland

[Former Member]

Gail,

maybe a lot more informational meetings with students are necessary. Soem universities are quite big and have a lot of students but not every students knows about the connection to SAP. By giving them the chance to get in touch with SAP on meetings in the universities we can enlarge the whole community.

Another point could be the curriculum. There are a lot of excellent case studies etc. available, but maybe the student need a kind of guideline. The guideline might give the students some recommendations how to aim on a specific education (FI,SD,MM) with respect to the existing curricula from SAP UA. Maybe students miss the red line in the "curricula world"?

What do you think?

[Former Member]

Andre,

I like the idea of some open meetings with students -- if these are by former students who got jobs as a result of the SAP curriculum they take, even better. Guest speakers in class can also drum up business.

Gail