Implementation and initial assessment of the enterprise program at Michigan Tech

In 1998 we received funding from the National Science Foundation through the Action Agenda program to assist us in a major overhaul of our engineering curricula. One of the key features of our successful grant application was the implementation of a program we called the Enterprise. Students elect to join an Enterprise at the beginning of their sophomore year and continue to participate within the organization through graduation. As they work in the Enterprise, they should take on increasing responsibility for its operation and management. It is our intent that by the time students are seniors, they will be the enterprise leaders- directing, managing, encouraging, and supervising the sophomores and juniors on the team. This paper describes how we went about developing the overall program, highlights our lessons learned, and details some preliminary assessment data obtained.