This document and intake form provides you with more information about the process, timeline and expectations for the projects. Potential client organizations will be contacted prior to beginning a new semester. Clients then meet with Professor Lynnette Claire to discuss whether a project may be defined that will be beneficial to your organization and the students.

Please read all the way through this information page to understand what your commitment will be before you complete the questions. The next projects begin in September 2025. First priority will be given to organizations that complete this form by August 10, 2025. Decisions about inclusion will be made no later than September 1, 2025.  Priority is given to Tacoma and Pierce County organizations, particularly those with leadership from under-represented groups. We are no longer able to serve Seattle organizations due to transportation challenges.

At the University of Puget Sound, we strive to be responsible members of our community: The Strategic Consulting Projects are one way we enrich our community as we educate our students.  School of Business and Leadership seniors enrolled in our Strategic Management and Consulting Senior Research Seminar work with local businesses and non-profits as consultants to create effective strategies. Research-based strategic recommendations are accompanied by implementation plans and methods to assess the effectiveness of the strategy. There is no cost to the client organizations other than meeting with the students each week (15 weeks) and being transparent about their organization.

While the consulting projects are learning experiences for our seniors in Business and Leadership, we hope to add value to your organization, helping you be more successful.  Client feedback reveals that working with student teams improves organizations in meaningful ways. The student reflections from past semesters clearly indicate that helping a real organization become more successful is one of the most rewarding experiences of their college careers.  Win-Win in Action: The project benefits your organization and strengthens the students’ work experience and confidence.  We appreciate your active participation in this project and look forward to assisting you in moving forward.

The clients tell me that working with student teams improves organizations in meaningful ways, with most clients finding that students exceeded their expectations. For many organizations, the impact is most significant in these areas:
• The commitment and weekly meetings help you focus on strategy/accountability to make this work a priority.
• The questions the students ask help you think through your choices in new ways.
• The research the students conduct provides perspective that you did not have before (sometimes due to lack of resources, sometimes due to lack of expertise in collecting the data). Students conduct both primary and secondary research.
• The analysis the students conduct helps you view your organization and the existing (and new) data insightfully.
• The report and presentation provide you with a polished presentation and report that you can use in other contexts.

The student consultants are seniors in the School of Business and Leadership. While there are three slightly different majors in the school, all of the students have taken courses in accounting, finance, marketing, management, law and ethics, statistics and economics. They have also taken advanced electives in the school; each student will have a deeper knowledge in a specific area of business. The students are not experts in any of the functional areas: The University of Puget Sound is a liberal arts institution, which means that we focus on a broad education that emphasizes critical thinking, research and communication.

Professor Lynnette Claire teaches the course and, in essence, runs a small consulting firm with new employees each semester. She values research-based assessment of your organization and its environment. She believes in radical honesty, respectful interaction, and clear and timely communication. She believes strategies, implementation plans, and assessment measures should be rooted in research. She pushes her students to invest in your organization and do their best work. She cannot do this without feedback and cooperation from you. If your team of students (usually three) is not meeting your expectations, she asks that you contact her at lclaire@pugetsound.edu or 253-879-3576.

Please communicate in a timely fashion. Let your team know that you received their request or information right away. Please try to provide them with answers to their questions within four days. If communication has become too frequent or if you feel the requests would be better in written form, let them know.

The student consultants work with organizations to create successful strategies.  For many businesses, this means helping them become more profitable.  Not all organizations, however, have the same goals.  Be clear with your team about how you measure success for your organization and what outcomes you wish to achieve through this project.

Feedback from you is essential. Professor Claire's role is to coach her students and to provide support. She cannot do this as effectively without your feedback. At the end, she will listen to your overall assessment of the project and ask you to provide a grade.

Professor Claire’s standards are that a B is what is expected of business seniors working on their first consulting project. C’s are appropriate for projects that were not a waste of time but did not meet your expectations. D’s and F’s are projects that were a waste of time, involved a disrespectful team of students, or were wildly off base. Professor Claire needs to know if a project is headed down the D and F paths (or even C) as strongly worded conversations seem to be quite effective. A’s are reserved for projects that exceed your expectations—projects you’d be willing to pay for. The grade you assign will become 10% of the students’ final grade for the project. Your feedback provides input for other portions of the grade as well. (contact: lclaire@pugetsound.edu, 253-879-3576)

Though the students work with you throughout the semester, a final presentation is required. This is an opportunity for you to be reminded of the process and reasons for the strategies, learn more about implementation and assessment, and ask final questions. This is also an opportunity to share the work with your team and stakeholders. Some clients have two presentations: an in-depth one for the primary contact and a shorter presentation for a larger group of stakeholders. Think about who you would like to be present at the final presentation. Some organizations choose to have only the owner/manager present, others include employees, others include investors or other stakeholders. It is your choice about who to include. We can provide a meeting space to accommodate your presentation or you may have it at another location. In most cases, you will want to block two hours on your calendar so that any questions that arise can be answered.

Please schedule your final presentation well in advance. At a minimum, we are coordinating the schedules of the students (three), Prof. Claire, and at least one person from your organization. The students will initiate the conversation, but if you have some dates in mind, it is helpful to know these (for instance, presenting at a regularly scheduled board meeting). Fall presentations take place between mid-November and early December; Spring presentations take place between mid-April and early May.

Although the students work for free, more successful projects result when the clients treat the students the same way they would treat paid professionals: Be transparent. Communicate clearly. Have high expectations. Be clear when you are not pleased with the direction the work is going.  Go over their heads when needed.

Students appreciate a card and a token of appreciation at the end, but it is not required.

Consulting projects are offered most fall terms and some spring terms. The timeline below is provided to help you plan.

first week of Sept/third week of Jan:
     Students receive team assignments

end of Sept-mid Oct or mid Feb-early Mar:
     Students write a business case about your organization and present it to the class. The case includes detailed research and analysis about your internal and external environment. You will receive a copy of the case: I recommend you read it to ensure that the team's understanding aligns with yours.

early Nov or Apr:
     Team sends you an outline of their recommendations. Draft reports written. Prof. Claire provides feedback.

mid- to late-Nov or -Apr:
     Students present recommendations in written and oral forms.

early-mid Dec or early-mid May:
     Feedback to Prof. Claire from you.

Thank you for your interest in the University of Puget Sound's Strategic Consulting Projects. The next step is to meet with Professor Lynnette Claire to discuss the projects in more detail. The applications are reviewed once a month. If you would like to discuss the possibilities on a more timely basis, please contact Professor Lynnette Claire at lclaire@pugetsound.edu.

Thank you--and we look forward to working with you.