This forum will reinforce the importance of the AAC&U Core Commitments five dimensions (contribution to community, perspective-taking, excellence, integrity, and ethics) and highlight how students can be catalysts in developing education for personal and social responsibility. This forum will offer an unprecedented opportunity for students to come together and develop real plans for change on your campuses. While only the a top idea(s) will receive funding, we hope that many of them will be acted on when they return to campus.

The contact us page provides the contact information for the six Babson students planning this forum. There is also an e-forum for joint online discussions. The staff contact at Babson is Betsy Newman, Dean of Student Affairs.  She can be reached at 781-239-4218 or enewman1@babson.edu.

As part of its Core Commitments funding and with further support from AAC&U, Babson will pay for hotel stay, forum registration (which will include meals), and travel for oneof your students to attend the forum. For the second student, we will cover hotel stay and forum registration, and we hope that your institution can cover travel and remaining expenses.  If you are a recipient of Core Commitment grant money, AAC&U has approved the use of this grant money to cover the travel expense of the second student if you choose.

Flights for each student should be booked by no later than Friday, March 13th.  To book your flights please call 617-559-3735 and speak with Rona from Great International Travel in Needham, MA.  She is a travel agent that books much of Babson’s travel.  Identify that you are calling to book student flights for Babson’s Be The Change Forumand specify the arrival and return dates.  Please make sure that you provide the name of the student traveling that is shown on his or her driver’s license or ID.  Rona will charge the cost of one coach round trip flight directly to Babson College.  Please have a credit card number to pay for the flight for the second student (or the third student, if applicable).  She will do her best to match convenience with economics, but all flights may not be nonstop.  Itineraries must be ticketed within 24 hours of booking.   If you have any issues or questions with respect to booking your flight you can contact Christine Testa, Assistant to the Dean and Associate Dean of the Undergraduate School, at Babson College.  She can be reached at 781-239-5008 or ctesta@babson.edu.

Students can submit mileage to and from Babson’s campus from your school.  We will reimburse at the Babson’s set rate.  Forms will be available when you arrive.

Arrival and check-in at Babson College is from 3pm-5pm on Friday, April 3rd. Prior to the forum, you will be asked to complete a registration form and provide your travel arrangements to Boston’s Logan Airport.  Babson will arrange to have a Babson van arrive on a schedule to pick students up at Logan at no charge.  We will provide the Logan pick-up location prior to the forum.  If there is any issue with transportation from Logan to Babson, contact information will be left at Public Safety at 781-239-5555 so that students can ensure transportation from the airport to Babson College without issue.  Babson College is approximately 15 miles from Boston or a 20-25 minute drive.  The forum will end on Sunday, April 5th at 1:00 pm.  You should leave ample time to wrap up, check out, and travel to the airport for departure on Sunday from Logan Airport.

All student participants will be staying at Babson Executive Conference Center which is located right on Babson’s campus.  Babson has already booked all of the hotel rooms for two students per school so all you have to do is show up!  There will be two students per room (matched by gender) and preferably students will not be housed together from the same school.  More information can be found at:  http://execed.babson.edu/becc/default.aspx.  If your school is sending a third student, you should contact Betsy Newman directly so that she can ensure you book the room at the BECC rate provided for the Babson Student Forum.

We hope that each Core Commitments team will work with students to develop ideas prior to the forum.  The ideas should align with AAC&U Core Commitments five dimensions (contribution to community, perspective-taking, excellence, integrity, and ethics) and highlight how students can be catalysts in developing education for personal and social responsibility.   Any idea(s) that may result from the forum will require the continued involvement from Core Commitments teams to ensure successful implementation and ongoing success.

The Rocket Pitch process is one that Babson uses in our curriculum to develop and implement student business ideas, to great success.  On the first day, Babson faculty will facilitate a “Mapping Opportunities Exercise.” Each student should come to the forum with several ideas of how they can be catalysts in developing education for personal and social responsibility.  There are no strict guidelines for what an idea can or should be other than their alignment with the Core Commitment’s five dimensions (contribution to community, perspective-taking, excellence, integrity, and ethics).  It can be campus-specific but it could also be one that might be implemented across all or several of the campuses participating.  Students should be open to their ideas changing, evolving, or merging with others. It’s also possible that other new ideas might emerge out of this opportunities-generating exercise.  Cross-institutional teams will then form around each of the top ideas generated during the session. Then, structured teams begin research, planning, and preparations for the final Rocket Pitches! For a more detailed look at rocket pitches, visit this link http://faculty.babson.edu/academic/sye3/RocketPitch/Student/index.htm. Faculty concurrent sessions and faculty consultations will be provided throughout the weekend.  It is very likely that students from the same school will not be on the same Rocket Pitch team.  For the winning idea(s), Babson will coordinate the reimbursement of program costs (as approved) after expenses are incurred.

No.  The entire forum will take place on Babson’s campus, including lodging at an on-campus hotel.  There are structured activities throughout the time on campus with our students.  Babson faculty, staff, and students as well as AAC&U team members have volunteered to be judges, faculty consultants, and general observers/facilitators at the forum.  However, if you have an interest in volunteering for the forum, please contact Betsy Newman directly.  We welcome your participation.   Advance notice will assist in planning for your lodging at the BECC at Babson, if necessary.  Schools must cover all expenses (travel and hotel) for a faculty and/or staff that may attend; however, forum registration (which includes meals) will be covered by Babson, if possible.