obots, AI, and technology are all plugged in on Plymouth State’s campus, but Panthers aren’t limited to these conventional examples of innovation.
Consider the 96-credit three-year applied bachelor’s programs that are launching this fall. Plymouth State is the first college or university in New Hampshire (and among the first in the nation) to offer these programs that make it easier for students to earn their degrees and start careers with less student debt. The applied bachelor’s programs are in high-demand fields, including cybersecurity, outdoor adventure leadership, police studies, robotics and automation engineering, and small business administration. All can be completed in three years of study and offer pathways to traditional four-year, 120-credit programs.
Our history, location, and collaborative culture produces multiple other out of the box academic programs, insights, and activities.
“No other adventure education academic program offers a contrast between modern technologies and traditional technologies on wilderness experiences, which prepares graduates for leading trips under all circumstances,” said Bisson.
Other curricular innovations include an immersion semester in technical and leadership skills (PSU was the first state institution in the country to offer one); a required teaching assistantship; a for-credit partnership with NOLS—the National Outdoor Leadership School; and an exclusive required clinical that tests 120+ essential outdoor skills.
“The simulation is grounded in our real-life experience as business owners and entrepreneurs in New Hampshire, bringing practical, real-world insights into the classroom,” says Finance Professor Christina Bradbury. Bradbury and accounting colleague Jennifer DeMoras both have start-up expertise and their firsthand knowledge has been “gamified” for students, who manage their own model firms.
Financial management is a critical skill every entrepreneur must know. Small businesses constitute over 99 percent of the US total, but only half survive at least five years. “Having a marketable product or service is not the issue; rather it is inexperience and inadequate training that so often leads to stifled growth or worse, failure,” explains DeMoras.
Their “Brew Starters Game” has students evaluating the margins for IPAs versus sours and stouts, applying for a business loan, and remaining compliant with regulatory changes. The simulation has been used in both undergraduate and graduate courses.
“I have a greater understanding of creating business models through focusing on the cost elements required to run a brewery,” said one student. “Getting this realistic insight will further enhance my knowledge when brought into the workplace.”
Three separate versions are currently in production for release later this year, and the initiative has been explored in depth by IMA Educational Case Journal.
“Maternal healthcare in the US is severely lacking,” says Groleau, whose firm, Integrated Physical Therapy and Wellness, specializes in pelvic floor dysfunction issues. There are few “pelvic PTs” north of Concord, and Groleau’s mobile, in-house services are even more uncommon.
After transferring to PSU Groleau discovered the IDS program, which enabled her to take all prerequisites for the inaugural DPT cohort.
“We are innovative in our flexibility—most similar programs have more course restrictions,” says Professor Matthew Cheney, who directs the IDS program. “We open the whole University to students and provide significant advising in ways many others do not.”
Dr. Stephanie Sprout was an important DPT mentor. “She fostered flexibility,” says Groleau, who took note of Sprout’s pre-PSU career in Miami providing in-home/on-site care for a variety of patients while also juggling three other jobs.
“Brie’s business model is particularly innovative, especially in America, where there is very limited availability for immediate postpartum care,” says Sprout. “She saw a niche that desperately needed to be filled for a population that wasn’t getting care.”
Plymouth State’s connection to the center and student-led projects have formed the cornerstone of Theory and Practice of Social Work Interventions III, a course that focuses on the application of social work theory in macro contexts. Students gain knowledge of community development and organization as applied within agency and community contexts.
Student projects have included creating a job description for a full-time town social work position, a rural transit network to facilitate access to services, and an intergenerational support group, among others.
The center’s executive director shared that several projects included immediately actionable items that could be incorporated into agency planning with minimal adjustments.
“The Bearcamp project was such an enriching activity that helped me to better understand what community-engaged practice truly meant,” said one student. “It made me excited for my future in the profession and excited to make a difference now while still in school. I wish more courses incorporated community projects in this way.”
Another University innovation involves a new minor starting this fall in substance use prevention and intervention that is aligned with New Hampshire Certified Recovery Support Worker licensing. The interdisciplinary Cluster offering involves several other disciplines across campus. ■ Peter Lee Miller