Textbooks designed for business statistics customarily present inferential statistics whose premises contradict the definitions developed in descriptive statistics. In particular, because the standard deviation of a population cannot be calculated if the population mean is unknown, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals for the mean that rely on the population standard deviation pose an inconsistency between lessons. To reduce potential confusion and utilize both class time and students’ homework time efficiently, the present note proposes de-emphasizing these tests and intervals in favor of those that depend on the sample standard deviation.

Despite the benefits resulting from experiential, active, and problem-based course design, most economics classes still rely on “chalk and talk.” Economics departments have been slow to develop accessible, course-based experiential learning opportunities such as undergraduate research, and even fewer incorporate service-learning projects. These activities provide an opportunity for students to apply economic concepts to their communities. However, the few service-learning based economics courses discussed in the literature do not include collaboration with departments of Extension, despite the clear synergistic possibilities. This paper describes a project-based service-learning course where student undergraduate teams, with a master’s student team leader, serve as consultants to address an organizational or business problem faced by a local agrifood operation. Using economic tools and primary data collection and analysis, teams develop a marketing plan that provides actionable recommendations, including a presentation to the client. Students enjoyed the course, demonstrated improvements in conducting research and survey design, and by the end of the course, students were more knowledgeable about Extension and had positive perceptions of its impacts. While there are benefits to departments of agricultural economics or agribusiness developing these types of courses, they also require additional effort on the part of both the instructor and the students.

1 In 2009, 42 percent of high school graduates had earned college credit in high school, the most recent data reported in the U.S. Department of

Applied Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness programs aim to equip graduates with decision-making and problem-solving skills for a globally competitive and dynamic business environment. Ensuring student success requires instructors to explore innovative curriculum formats that augment the learning of theoretical concepts, while promoting students’ preparedness for future careers. In this commentary, we highlight three categories of innovative curriculum ideas and present evidence from corresponding student feedback and instructor experiences. We begin with examples of distinctively designed single-hour credit offerings that intend to enhance student learning of the subject matter and business applications while offering professional development opportunities. We further describe programs and courses constructed to enhance global awareness and exposure for students, citing experiences from study abroad programs and from courses employing the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) model. The third category uniquely identifies courses with opportunities for incorporating industry sponsorship in classroom projects, and ideas to shift graduate thesis projects toward writing industry-focused case studies.