Real Clients, Real Problems, Real Data: Client-Driven Statistics Education

Abstract

In this chapter we describe two client-focused educational experiences at Harvey Mudd College that offer students the opportunity to work on real problems for real clients using real data. The first is the Harvey Mudd College Clinic capstone program, in which teams of students spend an academic year working on a project for an external sponsor. The second is a course project in an upper level statistics elective in which the students analyze data provided by a campus partner. For both of these, we describe their structure, recent projects, as well as student and client feedback. We also offer our reflections on how providing these educational experiences has influenced us personally and professionally.