Student Experience

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Feedback

At the end of each term (typically following the Immersion scheduled for the term), Student Success will email you an End of Term Survey. The survey will be open for about 1 week. This is an opportunity to review your experiences with the program, technology, and Student Success team. You will also review each course for which you were enrolled. The survey will include quantitative likert scales of 0-10 and qualitative open text inputs.

When choosing a number rating for your courses, program, technology and advisor, please consider the promotion scale below:

  • 10 – Exceeds expectations
  • 9 – Meets expectations
  • 8 – Needs improvement
  • 7 and below – you would not recommend this aspect of the program

In addition, you may always provide informal feedback to your Student Success Advisor about your student experience at any time. Your advisor will escalate to appropriate administrators as needed.

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Case Method

This program relies heavily on the case method, both in live session classes and in peer meetings. Below is an introduction to case discussion.

What is a case discussion?

A case discussion is a student-led, interactive exploration of ideas, concepts, and strategies presented in a specific case study. These discussions provide inductive learning opportunities for students, propelling them to deepen their understanding of specific content and to hone their evidence-gathering skills.

What is the purpose of a case discussion in class?

The situation within a case study is complex and can have more than one right answer. Through case discussions, students learn different viewpoints and multiple meanings from their peers as they discuss multiple valid—and possibly contradictory—explanations for situations.
A case discussion can help students learn how to apply concepts and methods related to marketing, strategy, negotiation, and entrepreneurship, and push students to think about business issues in their own companies and team projects.

Tips to Prepare for Case Discussion

  1. Collaboration is a major component of case discussions. Be open to voicing your viewpoint of a case and explaining your argument, as well as listening to your peers who have opposing viewpoints.
  2. Set reasonable expectations for your own contributions to discussions. Any contribution is valuable to furthering the discussion—there are no “dumb” questions, comments, or observations.
  3. Diversity within your class is an asset. Expect gender and cultural differences between yourself and your peers to come up in discussion. Addressing these background differences can enhance communication and collaboration and push you to see the case study situation from multiple angles.
  4. Take notes on the case study before class but do not rely on them during discussion. A discussion can take many paths that you did not anticipate. Depending on a list of canned comments can limit your engagement in the discussion and can lead you to become distracted by stating your comment at the “right time” during discussion.
  5. Set a realistic time limit for yourself toward preparation for each case study. More time spent on preparation does not necessarily transfer to more knowledge. On the contrary, spending long hours dissecting all the information can be exhausting and lead to fatigue. A recommended time frame is 2.5 hours of preparation per case.
  6. Jump into the conversation. Delaying your participation in the discussion makes it more difficult for you to join the collaborative effort of your group, and makes your forthcoming comments feel riskier to verbalize. Jumping in earlier reduces any anxiety you have about being center stage.
  7. Be an active listener. Learning is a dynamic process involving the integration of your own knowledge juxtaposed to what is gained from listening to others. Listening to your classmates’ comments can help you keep up with the flow of discussion and add richness to the conversation by continuously generating knowledge.
  8. Reflect on what you have learned. A case discussion is pointless if students do not walk away with a few takeaways. The more you can reflect on the discussions, the greater clarity you can gain on how to apply learned concepts and strategies in your own professional life.

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Student Ambassadors

A select group of students will be recruited from each cohort to represent the program as Student Ambassadors to prospective applicants via webinars hosted by the Enrollment team. To be eligible to participate, a student must first complete Immersion 1.

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Cohort Reps

Students matriculate into the program as a cohort that includes all students, full-time or part-time, who begin the program on the same start date (i.e., January, April, or September of that year).

Each cohort will be invited to elect two Cohort Reps (typically one student on the full-time track and one on the part-time track).

Candidate nomination and election will occur between weeks 5 and 8 of Term 1 when Student Success will send a candidate nomination form to your program email. Cohort Reps will be elected by their fellow students in the same cohort.

What does the Cohort Rep do?

The Cohort Rep will be responsible for the following:

  1. Attending an orientation session with program administration and the other elected cohort representative
  2. Attending one meeting per term with program administration
  3. Gathering feedback from their cohort that is not covered in program surveys and prioritizing that feedback. Cohort reps should not create surveys but can use Slack polls, town halls, and other options to gather feedback.
  4. Building community in your cohort by facilitating overtime sessions and networking sessions
  5. Connecting with cohort representatives from other cohorts to facilitate cross-cohort interactions and plan new student tips and tricks sessions
  6. Spreading awareness of ongoing program initiatives (these will be discussed in the once a term meeting with HBAP administration)
  7. Remaining up to date with program communications (faculty chairs email communications and Slack announcements channel)
  8. Being actively involved in the Cohort Representatives Slack channel
  9. Directing students in your cohort to correct channels for various needs

How can you use your Cohort Rep?

  1. Attend scheduled meetings organized by your Cohort Rep
  2. Share feedback and requests with your Cohort Rep
  3. Consume all reports and communications shared by your Cohort Rep

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Program Certificate

Upon graduating from the program, students receive a certificate of completion. The certificate includes shields from Harvard Business School, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Those who fulfill the Distinction requirements will receive recognition of this honor on their certificate.

Students will receive a printed certificate as well as a Certified Electronic Certificate (CeCertificate). This CeCertificate is an official, secure, and verifiable digital credential. Your CeCertificate can be instantly verified with a unique 12-digit CeDiD that can be validated at Harvard’s official Certified Electronic Credential website.

Grade Report

Students can request an itemized grade report. Please note the 3 business day window to receive the report.

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