Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

2009 Applied Projects Organizational Impact Report, Heather Carpenter, Paula Krist

USD Evaluation of Applied Learning Model in Nonprofit Leadership and Management Master's Program

Student learning outcomes and student satisfaction of nonprofit management graduate degree programs have received much attention recently from researchers. However, little research examines the community impact of such programs.

This paper reports findings from a community impact study of the Masters of Arts in Nonprofit Leadership and Management at the University of San Diego. An extensive qualitative study was conducted to determine whether student-led applied projects conducted for nonprofit organizations had an impact on those organizations, and if so, to assess the type and duration of that impact. A key finding was that all organizations that were interviewed for the …