NDSU Class Implementation

Proposal
By Future of Fargo Consulting
Firm
__________________________________________________________________
________________________

Future of Fargo
Consulting Firm
Fargo, ND 58104
701-234-5678

A Proposal for the Fargo- Moorhead Community

Association
Future of Fargo Consulting Firm would like to thank you for contacting us for
your proposal request on increasing the number of young professionals
retained in the Fargo- Moorhead area annually. Our firm is excited and
determined in accomplishing this request. At Future of Fargo we have the
experience as well as the adequate knowledge needed to fulfill such a task
as the one youve presented. We have encountered this problem in other
areas and have implemented similar plans to the one you will require. The
success in those previous areas have readied our team to create the same
result here.
Since contacting Future of Fargo weve conducted extensive market research
at North Dakota State University leading us to create the following plan for
you to to retain higher young professional job placement rates in FargoMoorhead. Our main objective is to provide this plan and to have it be
implemented at NDSU so that student retainment rates in the FargoMoorhead area after graduation increase in the coming years.

Our Understanding of Your Current Situation

The Fargo- Moorhead area has experienced a steady growth rate of twenty
percent each decade since 1980 (Demographics, 2016). Fargo has been the
largest city in the state of North Dakota for over half a century and Moorhead
ranks near the top in city population in Minnesota as well. Universities within
the Fargo- Moorhead area have also shown steady growth since 1980 and
continue to grow to a total that now stands at nearly 24,000 students
enrolled this semester (Minnesota State, 2016; North Dakota, 2016;
2016 Enrollment, 2016).
With all of this growth, it is no surprise that the Fargo-Moorhead area is one
of the nations most rapidly growing communities. Because of this, fortune
500 companies such as Microsoft, Bobcat/ Doosan, and U.S. Bank all have
branches or headquarters located here in Fargo as do numerous other small
businesses and start-ups. Also, Fargo was recently appointed by Forbes as
the 12th best small area for business and business careers in America
(Forbes, 2016). All together this makes Fargo- Moorhead one of the biggest
and best cultural and technological hubs in the upper Midwest.

It is easy to see that Fargo- Moorhead is an economic hotspot with a plethora

of business and career opportunities. However, the number of graduating
students taking advantage of these opportunities in Fargo is staggeringly
subpar.
College students in the Fargo- Moorhead area, and specifically North Dakota
State University students, have shown poor trends in job placement in FargoMoorhead after graduation (Forbes, 2016). This is not only disheartening to
faculty and staff of NDSU, but also to employers from businesses within the
FM area, as well as the community at large. Fargo- Moorhead is a rapidly
growing community with an increasing amount of job vacancies annually.
This demand for young professionals in the job market require NDSU
graduates, as well as other universities, to call the Fargo- Moorhead area
home permanently upon graduation.
There are many firms in Fargo-Moorhead and many possible courses of
action to take in an attempt to entice our young professionals to stay within
the FM area, but none other than the Future of Fargo have the required
strategic planning skills and foresight or the knowledge and experience with
young adults to accomplish this request. Future of Fargo has developed a
precise and effective plan to get NDSU students involved in the FargoMoorhead community before and after graduation, as well as a means of
providing the students the resources needed to obtain job placement in
Fargo-Moorhead.

The Issue
Only a third of all students in Fargo- Moorhead stay in the area after
graduating college. This equals just under 2,000 in total and 1,500 from
NDSU specifically each year. (Forbes, 2016). Given Fargos growth and the
amount of businesses and business opportunities produced annually, these
numbers are an area of concern and need to be improved. Future of Fargo
has compiled the following data areas as set of guiding principles for
attempting to fulfill your request of retaining more young professionals.
What can NDSU do to get students more interested in staying in
Fargo after graduation?
Where are students going after graduation rather than staying in
Fargo?
Why are students choosing to go to these other places instead of
staying in Fargo?
Are students lacking resources and opportunities to find careers
in Fargo?

 Can students be more involved in the job finding process within

the Fargo area while in school and how can they do this?
Future of Fargo has analyzed these issues and completed an eloquent
proposal that explains all of these points as well as the trends shown on
NDSUs campus. This proposal satisfies the needs of the Fargo-Moorhead
Community Association and will pay large dividends in the future. This plan
has been implicated at surrounding Universities and has shown exceptional
results.

Your Needs
The Fargo-Moorhead area and you, the Fargo-Moorhead Community
Association, need direct job implementation into the coursework of NDSU
graduation requirements in order to keep young professionals in the FargoMoorhead area. Our firm has completed market research of this implication
and created a systematic course of action we would take if chosen to carry
out our proposal. We will provide a plan for how to execute this action, how
to expense the proposal, and the benefits provided by taking this action. Our
methods have proven to be effective on other campuses and we are
confident its utilization at NDSU will result no differently.

Survey
We aggregated the survey result from 12 NDSU students. Many of the
students believed that NDSU has many resources for job hunting. However,
only 6 out of 12 people were confident about getting a job. Most of the
students do not plan to stay in Fargo-Moorhead community because of fewer
job opportunities or the job they are looking for is not offered in the FargoMoorhead community. Most of the students answered that they would take a
class at NDSU that would help you find a career in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

The Plan:
Our plan is to implement a class into the NDSU system that allows students
to shadow potential future employers in the Fargo-Moorhead area so they
can gain valuable job experience while in college as well as make a
connection with a future employer..
Who would we do this for?
As a start, our focus would be the College of Business at NDSU, and if that
proves to be successful, the methods could be adopted by other majors of

study within the university. 80% of our survey sample of NDSU students said
they would take a class that could help them land a job in the FargoMoorhead area.
Where would be the major change?
The major change that would be made is to the class schedules at Richard H.
Barry Hall at NDSUs downtown campus. We would hold the class at Barry
Hall, since that is where most students are spending their time and where
most of their classes are when they get to their Junior and Senior years. Our
shadowing class we would offer would be geared towards sophomores and
juniors, with the hopes that by their senior year they would have made a
good connection and landed a job with one of the sponsoring companies.

What we would have to do?

Finding an instructor and class time would be the least of our worries. One of
the main challenges we would face would be connecting with the businesses
and getting them to fit a student shadow position into their company. We
would offer the incentive that they would get a first hand look at these
students who could be the future of their company. The Fargo-Moorhead area
is large and filled with companies that would be willing to take this
opportunity.
When would this process be implemented?
We would first offer this class in the Fall of 2018. This seems very far in the
future, but we want to make the best connections we can with businesses,
and get them to commit to the shadowing project for at least 3 years. This
class would only be available in the Fall semesters, so once students sign up
in the spring, we could go through the majors that will be in the class and
what positions would work best for them to shadow. This would give us half
of the spring and all summer to line up the employers. This would be a class
that you could not drop out of. Students need to treat this opportunity like a
job and take it seriously if they ever want a job or internship in the future.

Qualifications
The Future of Fargo is celebrating their 10th anniversary. Founded in 2006,
the Future of Fargo Consulting Firm had the mission to utilize their many
technical schools and universities to get graduating students the job that
they were best qualified for. The founder, Kayla Thompson, had recently
graduated from North Dakota State University. She was struggling to find a

job, and everywhere she went to apply said she was a great candidate, but
only if she had more experience. She reflected on her years at NDSU, some
students had gotten internships and jobs after college, but most of them
were located in Minneapolis or other large cities. Kayla decided that she
wanted to change this. She decided to start her own consulting firm to help
the future of Fargo. Thus, Future of Fargo Consulting Firm was born.
Her first project was started at the smaller level of a community college. She
started with M State in Moorhead where she focused on their Business
Administration program. It took her a couple of years to get the first program
set up. She spent many days going from business to business in the area and
getting them to commit to a connection with the college. It was a lot of work.
After a long 3 years, M State had their first class introduced in the Fall of
2009. There were 12 students enrolled in the class and 10 of them ended up
with jobs in the companies that they shadowed. The other two made
connections within their shadowing experience that got them to other
positions out of college. It was a huge success.
Future of Fargo has been going nowhere but up from their first class at M
State. Since then she has added this program to Rasmussen College,
Concordia, and MSUM. The next big leap for this company is NDSU. Many
colleges around the Midwest have heard about Future of Fargo. We have
been receiving many requests from colleges and their respective cities to
come and implement our plan to get their students to stay in their
communities.
Our team consists of 3 employees who made this dream a successful reality:
Kayla Thompson, President
Kayla was born and raised in the small, northern Minnesota town of
Baudette, Minnesota. She graduated from North Dakota State University with
a degree in Management and a certificate in Entrepreneurship. She may not
have gotten a job right out of college, but her experience in her familys
small businesses has given her the determination to succeed and never give
up. Kaylas drive is how the company has gotten so far. She does not rush
the process of getting these programs put in schools, because she wants
everything the best that it can be. She will not leave a job half done and she
will always follow through on her promises.
Ian Howden, Marketing and Sales

Ian was born and raised in Morris, Minnesota. Ian was also a graduate of
NDSU with a Masters in Marketing and a Professional Sales certification. He is
the reason we get all of our businesses to participate in this program. He is
very personable and can pitch our consulting group to virtually anyone. With
his sales and marketing skills he will find the best companies to support this
college program. He is an extremely hard worker and has never given up on
our company no matter how many times we have gotten rejected by
companies.
Mami Kuwahara, Public Relations & Accounting
Mami grew up in Hiroshima, Japan and then came to NDSU to pursue a
degree in Communications and Public Relations with a minor in accounting.
She is the brain behind all of our public relations and putting a great face on
the company. She keeps all of our financials in working order as well.
Whenever a student sees a poster hanging up around their campus, or goes
to a seminar about this class, Mami is the one to credit. She has an eye for
poster design as well as an amazing public speaking talent. Without her
interacting with countless students, our class enrollment would be a bust.
Our educational background and experience with many different schools in
the Fargo-Moorhead area give us the experience to bring our help to NDSU.
Partnering with us in this endeavor will ensure the students at your university
the opportunity to get hands on job experience as well as a better chance of
making a life in the Fargo-Moorhead area

The Budget
Cost may differ depending on plans such as visiting sponsoring companies,
presentations from sponsoring companies, individual job-search advising,
and an implemented class at NDSU that would help students find a career
and to retain higher young professional job placement rates in FargoMoorhead area. This breakdown and analysis will be displayed on Appendix
C.

Benefits
Working with Future of Fargo Consulting Firm will help students find a job in
the Fargo- Moorhead community by connecting with local businesses.
Students will get to learn how to find a suitable job step-by-step from classes
and get to visit local companies in order to become familiar with future
career possibilities. According to the NDSU annual employment report
(2015), 15% of graduated students were still active in job search. We are

willing to work with alumni who are still looking for a job in order to receive a
higher employment rate by connecting them with opportunities in FargoMoorhead area.
The first benefit is offering a class at NDSU that would help students find a
career in the Fargo-Moorhead area. It will build a students confidence for job
hunting as well. Learning throughout the class step-by-step will help students
to know more options in their field and most suitable jobs for themselves.
Secondly, finding the job that they are looking for will help them stay in the
Fargo-Moorhead community. Throughout the class, visiting local companies
and having a presentation from local sponsoring companies will provide
opportunities to directly discuss and to create connections with current
employers. This will boost the employment rate in Fargo-Moorhead
community and grow the community even more economical.
The third benefit would be higher enrollment at NDSU. Other undergraduates
would hear about the amazing job placement upon graduating at NDSU and
flock to go to school here.
At the end of the class and proceeding graduation, we will have an
evaluation amongst students in order to seek the satisfaction and
employment evaluation survey to measure the success. To boost the
employment in Fargo-Moorhead area, we are looking forward to modifying
plans according to the result each semester.
We appreciate for your time and considering Future of Fargo Consulting Firm.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. If you
have any questions or have plans that should be added, please contact us at
701-730-8184.

Works Cited
Annual Employment Report. (2015). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from
https://www.ndsu.edu/career/employment_report/
Demographics - City of Fargo. (2016). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from
https://www.cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/Demographics.aspx
Fargo, ND. (2016). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from
http://www.forbes.com/places/nd/fargo/
Minnesota State University Moorhead. (2016). Retrieved November 19, 2016,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_State_University_Moorhead
North Dakota State University. (2016, September 20). Retrieved November
19, 2016, from https://www.ndsu.edu/data/enrollment/annual/
2016 Enrollment Report. (2016). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from
https://www.concordiacollege.edu/directories/offices-services/institutionalresearch/2015-enrollment-report/

Appendix A
Group #5 Focus Group Questions
Have you had any work experience in the Fargo/Moorhead area while going
to school at NDSU? If yes, what positions? If no, why?
Fargo/Moorhead is a rapidly growing area with many new job opportunities,
do you feel that these opportunities are related to your major? If yes, what
jobs? If no, what is your major and why do you think the job outlook isnt
very well?
Have you attended any of the career fairs at NDSU? If yes, what were the
pros and cons of them? What should be added or removed? If no, what would
you expect from an ideal career fair?
Would you enroll in a class that would give you on the job experience and
give you a better chance at finding an internship or job? Would it be worth
your time?
After graduation, what is the most important thing that you would look for
when you are looking for jobs? (values, pay, location, ect.)
Is there anything that NDSU should add/remove from their career resources?
Is there anything that the University should have to make finding a job
easier?

Appendix B.
Group #5 Survey
Gender:
Male
Female
Decline to answer
Year in School:
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
What is your major? __________________________
Are you from North Dakota? Yes or No
If no, where? _____________________
NDSU has many resources to help students find a job after college,
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree

Disagree

Neutral Agree

How confident do you feel about getting a job(that pertains to your

degree) once you are finished with college?

Not Confident
Confident

Only a little scared

Already have job

Doesnt Matter

Would you enroll in a class at NDSU that would help you find a
career in the Fargo/Moorhead area?
Yes or No
Do you think that NDSU has enough resources to help you find a
career once you are done with college? Yes or No

Do you plan on staying in the Fargo/Moorhead Area upon graduating

from NDSU?
Yes or No. Why or Why not?

What is your opinion on the most recent career fair, or any other
career fair you have attended at NDSU?

Do you think that the Fargo/Moorhead has a good job outlook for
young professionals coming out of college? Why or Why not?

Do you have any ideas of what NDSU could do to better the job
placement for college graduates?

Appendix C.
The budget outline for the Fargo- Moorhead Community Association would be
included here.