Marketing education today is facing significant challenges in attracting and retaining high-quality students. The focus of this article is to advocate engaging 1st-year students in the practice of marketing to help develop their identity as a marketing major, to see the relevance of their studies, and to enhance their thinking and self-regulating learning skills. Action Learning is offered as a pedagogy capable of transforming the initial introduction to marketing experience into a highly motivating and engaging course. An innovative Marketing 101 course is described in which freshman undertake multiple cycles of analyzing, planning, implementing, and controlling marketing strategies in an on-campus coffee house.
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