Mount Union College students majoring in the department of economics, accounting and business administration have the opportunity to participate in an extracurricular activity that allows them to gain real-life experience... before they enter the business world.
Mount Union College's chapter of TEC on Campus is one of the first of its kind on college campuses in the United States. TEC is an international organization of CEOs designed to provide chief executive officers with learning opportunities and the support of other CEOs.
Mount Union graduates Andy Haag '77 and Dennis Sabol '74 serve as chairpersons for the northeast Ohio division of TEC, and they had the idea to start TEC on Campus at Mount Union. Doug Poad, assistant professor of economics, accounting and business administration, serves as faculty coordinator.
Students who participate in TEC on Campus are competitively selected to take part. They meet once a month with area CEOs. The CEOs discuss problems they are facing in their business and the students and other CEOs have roundtable discussions and offer suggestions.
Responses to surveys circulated to both students and CEOs involved were overwhelmingly positive. TEC on Campus offers students "an invaluable complement to classroom learning," said Poad.
"We have powerful discussions about serious issues. Partnership issues, retention and recruiting, healthcare costs and human resources issues... we have some pretty robust discussions. Everyone takes a vow of confidentiality. The CEOs know that they can speak freely and the students know that they are getting the straight story."
Former Mount Union students and TEC participants now working in the business world agree.
"Through TEC, I gained invaluable knowledge and practical skills that most students do not receive with a textbook in the classroom," said Meredith Walker '03, who majored in business administration while a student at Mount Union and now works for The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio. "The interaction was extremely valuable because it allowed me to test my communication skills and knowledge."