Small Business and Technology Development Center S

Eastern Regional Service Center NC Small Business and Technology Development Center

Willis Building ● 300 East First Street ● Greenville, NC 27858-4353 252-737-1380 office ● 252-737-1381 fax ● http://www.ecu.edu/rds

For immediate release May 9, 2008 Contact: Dee Dobson Harper 252-737-1351 [email protected]

Small Business and Technology Development Center’s Graduate Student Team Captures 2nd Place Statewide Competition Win

GREENVILLE – A team of ECU students sponsored by the Eastern Regional Service Center of the NC Small Business and Technology Development Center placed second in the 21st Annual Graduate Business Student Competition. ECU College of Business MBA students Eron Earley-Thiele, Stephanie Edwards and Gregory Hodges were awarded a $2,500.00 prize for their project for the ECU Student Transit Authority, or ECUSTA.

“Once again, ECU received a top award for their participation in the SBTDC’s 21st Annual Graduate Business Student Competition. This year’s team consulted with the ECU Student Transit Authority in identifying critical issues and developing implementation strategies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of ECUSTA. ECUSTA currently has the highest transit fee in the UNC system,” said Carolyn Wilburn, director of the Eastern Regional Service Center of the SBTDC.

ECUSTA is a non-profit student transit organization which provides transit services to and from ECU’s main campus for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. A critical problem arose from the perception that buses were running inefficiently, partly because of ECUSTA’s daily use of 60’ articulated buses despite the varying volume demands. Buses often appear empty when less than full capacity.

Early-Thiele, Edwards and Hodges extensively analyzed departmental and industry ridership data and conducted benchmark studies to compare the ECUSTA to other collegiate systems. The team then made key recommendations to ECUSTA for improvement based on the criteria of cost, speed of implementation, and value to the department. The team spent an average of 500 hours to complete the project.

“ As a result of the team’s benchmarking, analysis, and recommendations, savings to the ECUSTA for the first year is projected to be $1.5 million. This equates to $61/student,” Wilburn said. “An important benefit to the competition is that the students are able to transfer what they have learned in the classroom to a real life business. The ECU College of Business

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East Carolina University is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina. An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Add one/SBTDC

MBA students have been participating in this competition since 1991 and have taken top honors in 12 of the past 17 years. Congratulations to our ECU Team!”

Debbie Hathaway, a business counselor for SBTDC, served as the advisor between the client, the team and the College of Business along with Len Rhodes and Dave West, who were the faculty liaisons for the team. Hathaway said, “This team was brought on for a semester-long project that culminated in their producing a lengthy written report and delivering an oral presentation to a panel of SBTDC judges. They demonstrated that they were able to work closely with a client, identify problems and solutions that have significant impact, and implement many of the solutions during the project timetable.”

Hathaway explained that the competition allows her to take a client with in-depth business counseling needs as the focus of a graduate student project. This one-on-one counseling helps the client’s bottom line and often affords them the chance to work with various Office of Economic Development departments. In the ECUSTA case, the OED’s Center for Survey Research designed an online survey to collect data for the team.

“ Clients often share their experience and satisfaction with associates in their industries, which gives exposure to our office and the portfolio of services we provide as a resource to the business community,” said Hathaway. “It’s a win for the client, a win for our College of Business grad students, and a win for East Carolina University. Placing so distinctively in the competition is a validation of our team’s efforts.”

The SBTDC Eastern Regional Service Center is located in East Carolina University’s Office of Economic Development, which includes the Regional Development Institute, the Center for Survey Research and the Entrepreneurial Initiative. For more information about the divisions of the ECU Office of Economic Development, call 252- 737-1380 or visit http://www.ecu.edu/rds .