Working Paper #2011-07 – The Educational Value of the College Fed Challenge

Department of Economics
University of Delaware
Working Paper #2011-07

The Educational Value of the College Fed Challenge

Vera Brusentsev and Jeffrey Miller

ABSTRACT

The College Fed Challenge, a competition between undergraduate students from different colleges and universities, is designed to enhance the development of research, critical thinking, and presentation skills.  This paper analyzes the value of the competition as an instrument for improving undergraduate economics education.  We present results from surveys of (a) students who participated in one district in November 2010 and (b) graduates from the University of Delaware who participated in past years.  The results reflect the impressive effect on student learning outcomes.  We conclude that the visibility of the College Fed Challenge can be an important factor in determining its impact and that the competition could conceivably have a significant and positive impact on economics education in the United States.

JEL Codes:A20, A22

Keywords:  economic education, undergraduate economics, education environment, experienced based education