College: Miller College of Business
Experiential learning (“Immersive Learning” at Ball State University) is not a new concept in education nor a novelty in the toolbox of the Ball State University faculty. For about a decade here at Ball State University, I have used Immersive Learning methods in various courses to bolster the quality of education delivered to students .in the Hospitality program. From what I have learned, there are many different ways to involve industry or community partners into the educational process, some of which may be more effective than others. Here, I will discuss the ways to incorporate partners into the process and discuss how to use external partners in strategically fruitful ways. The primary goal is to ensure that immersive approaches ratchet up the quality of the instruction for students while keeping in mind that these methods should also work in ways to encourage external partners to want to work with Ball State faculty on other immersive projects.
Recent HIPs Courses Taught:
- HOSP 387 (Immersive Learning)
- HOSP 262 (Immersive Learning)
Related Scholarship:
Webster, C., Hji-Avgoustis, S., Martin, D.A. (2026). Better Education Building Better Communities? Preliminary Findings from a Tri-Sector Experiential Hospitality Learning Experience. EuroCHRIE 2025 Conference Proceedings (pp. 1-6). EuroCHRIE.
Webster, C., Hji-Avgoustis, S., Martin, D. A., EuroCHRIE 2025, "Better Education Building Better Communities: Preliminary Findings from a Tri-Sector Experiential Hospitality Learning Experience," EuroCHRIE, The Hotel School The Hague. (November 13, 2025).
Lee, K. H., Yen, A., Webster, C., Hji-Avgoustis, S., 2025 ICHRIE Global Conference, "Integrating High-Impact Practices in Hospitality Education," ICHRIE, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. (June 19, 2025).