When done early in the semester, this case helps combat the passive attitude and encourages students to take a more active role in the classroom, while helping to foster an atmosphere where they can do so. To accomplish this goal, it is necessary that the case be done as early as possible in the term. It is important to set the tone and the expectations for the term early on. By then the students have fallen into the passive learning pattern and will be uncomfortable, or worse, resent active learning exercises, as they may see them as more demanding on their part and less efficient at preparing them for exams. The value of this case is three-fold.
Students are naive about job searching in general and the expectations of companies in particular.
Often students feel that their grade point average is the bottom line and other considerations are irrelevant. They also see that the job market can be very competitive. Second, the students realize that they will someday need their college professors to write letters of recommendation or evaluation for them. From the range of letters in the case it is clear that a professor can write a more personal letter if they know the student better. This encourages students to form a strong faculty-student link, and to get involved in departmental and campus activities.