Senior management students of MSU-Bozeman College of Business are part of a program that enables them to gain practical business experience while offering business research, marketing and operational advice and data. The class, Management 475 - Management Practicum, has been a successful program of the College for more than 13 years.

This fall semester, teams of students will manage special marketing projects requested by area businesses. The projects will help businesses meet pre-set management and marketing goals. This 3-month course has the students analyze either the entire or portions of a business. Areas of focus include the market, competition, operations and financials.

One project students worked on this past spring was a survey for City of Bozeman Recreation Department. The main objective was to discover the recreational needs of the community and to provide a needs assessment for disc golf with MSU and Bozeman high school students.

"The management students began by surveying Bozeman High and MSU students and gathered opinions on what they thought needed to be offered through the Recreation Department," said Sue Harkin, Recreation Director for the City of Bozeman.

"The information they gathered on the interest level of a disc golf course not only gave valuable feedback but also allowed us to apply for a $75,000 grant to build the Rose Park disc golf course. This information was a key missing part of what was needed to apply for this grant, Harkin added. The project findings and finished report were very beneficial to the community."

Currently, the college is taking applications of businesses that may want to take advantage of this service this year. All types of businesses are encouraged to be part of this class. Contact Jennifer Morrical, adjunct professor of management and marketing, at 994-2093 or e-mail her at jmorrical@montana.edu for more information or to receive your application.