For over 130 years, anchor what is now known as Ensign College (formerly LDS Business College) has provided a unique blend of practical career training and spiritual education. Founded in 1886 as the Salt Lake Stake Academy, the institution has consistently focused on preparing students for the world of work while rooting their educational experience in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ . Today, its programs offer compelling case studies for developing effective LDS business education models that balance professional skills with spiritual growth.
This article examines key innovations from the college—including its at-risk student intervention program, the “i4” instructional model, and its Corporate Connect initiative—to extract principles that can strengthen educational and training programs in LDS contexts.
The Human Element: Holistic Student Support as a Foundation
One of the most powerful case studies comes from the college’s approach to student retention and support. In 2014, LDS Business College was recognized in University Business magazine’s “Models of Efficiency” program for its intervention program targeting at-risk students . This program offers profound lessons for any educational setting.
The Challenge: Beyond Academic Probation
Administrators realized that students on academic probation were often struggling with issues far beyond coursework—including learning disabilities, mental health challenges (such as depression), family issues, and social or emotional difficulties . The question became: How could the college address these root causes in a scalable, compassionate way?
The Solution: Service Missionaries as Mentors
Following the Church pattern, the college turned to service missionaries. These dedicated individuals—many retired or with flexible schedules—were paired with at-risk students to provide weekly one-on-one mentoring . The program’s genius lies in its simplicity: mentors act as “life coaches,” helping students organize their time, connect with resources, and—most importantly—understand their divine identity and potential.
“What do our mentor missionaries and volunteers do? They help these folks understand and fulfill their responsibilities now and hereafter, and they help cultivate the royalty, even the deity, within our students.” — Adrian Juchau, Director of Student Support
Outcomes: Transformation and Retention
The results speak for themselves. Students like Jorge Oliveira, a Brazilian student struggling with depression, found not only academic support but genuine life transformation. Oliveira credits the program with helping him establish habits of success and, ultimately, experience a change in his “very nature” through the power of the Atonement .
Case Study Insight: For LDS education programs, integrating mentorship with a focus on eternal identity—not just academic intervention—can dramatically improve student outcomes. The service missionary model provides a cost-effective, spiritually powerful way to deliver this support.
Pedagogical Innovation: The “i4” Immersive Learning Model
Perhaps the most radical case study from the college involves its redesign of the classroom experience itself. Under the leadership of former president Bruce Kusch, the institution developed the “i4” instructional model, which stands for Immersive, Integrated, Interactive, and Iterative .
The Problem: Preparing Students for a World Without Syllabi
Kusch identified a critical disconnect: “The jobs that are waiting for our students when they finish don’t come with a textbook or a syllabus, and they’ve got to be ready to go to work and produce” . Traditional education, with its lectures and predetermined assignments, wasn’t simulating the ambiguity and accountability of the actual workplace.
The Solution: Courses with No Syllabi
In a bold experiment, the college piloted a leadership course with no traditional syllabus. Instead, students were given specific outcomes but were empowered to determine:
- What they would learn to fulfill those outcomes
- How they would learn it
- How they would demonstrate their mastery
This learner-centric approach required significant academic humility from faculty, who had to move from “telling war stories” to facilitating student discovery. One faculty member noted that her “best days of teaching” were still ahead of her after this transformative experience .
This philosophy evolved into what the college calls “Subject Matter Immersion.” In one accounting class, students are told on the first day that they are the accounting department for the Legacy Cookie Company, and their first task is to create last quarter’s financial statements .
“As they go into the workforce… the specifics of what they learn now will change, but how to learn, how to be agile, and how to be able to adapt, those are the things that will keep them employees and successful for a lifetime.” — Bruce Kusch
Alignment with the LDS Learning Model
This immersive approach aligns beautifully with the LDSBC Learning Pattern of Prepare, Teach One Another, Ponder, and Prove . Students prepare by studying materials, teach one another through discussion and collaboration, ponder application, and prove their mastery through projects and assignments. This cycle creates a natural rhythm for deep, transferable learning.
Case Study Insight: LDS training programs should consider removing traditional structures (like rigid syllabi) in favor of outcome-based, immersive experiences that mirror real work environments. This builds the “agility” and “adaptability” employers desperately need.
Bridging Education and Employment: Corporate Connect
A third powerful case study involves how the college connects training directly to jobs. Through its Corporate Connect Series, the institution partners with employers to train Church members for specific roles in business, IT, health professions, and manufacturing .
The Model: Training with a Guaranteed Interview
Corporate Connect programs are intensely practical:
- Training lasts only two to three months
- Participants receive training tailored to specific employer needs
- Those who finish receive a guaranteed job interview
- The program boasts a placement rate of nearly 90 percent
This model addresses a critical question every student should ask: “What are the job placement rates for people who complete the program?” . By building programs backward from employer needs, the college ensures its training has immediate marketplace value.
Emphasis on Soft Skills
Importantly, these programs don’t just teach technical skills. Research cited by college leadership shows that while 96% of college administrators believe they’re preparing graduates adequately, only 11% of business leaders agree . The gap? Soft skills like leadership, professionalism, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Consequently, programs integrate these competencies throughout the curriculum. For example, the Professional Sales emphasis focuses not just on techniques but on relationship selling, ethics, and principled negotiation . Graduates learn to build “mutually satisfying relationships between buyers and sellers” .
Case Study Insight: Effective LDS training programs must be co-designed with industry partners to ensure relevance. They should also intentionally cultivate both technical competencies and Christlike attributes like honesty, integrity, Clicking Here and interpersonal effectiveness.
Lessons for LDS Education and Training Programs
Synthesizing these case studies reveals several key principles for developing effective LDS business education programs:
Conclusion: A Model for the Future
As the nature of work continues to evolve—with young people today potentially holding 16-17 different jobs across five industries —the need for agile, character-centered, and practical education has never been greater. Ensign College’s experiments in student support, instructional design, and employer partnership offer a roadmap for LDS business education worldwide.
The ultimate goal, as President Kusch articulated, is not just to help students do something but to help them become something . When education transforms character, it prepares individuals not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of meaningful contribution in their homes, communities, the Church, and the marketplace.
For educators and administrators seeking to build or refine LDS business programs, the lessons from these case studies are clear: Focus on the whole soul, immerse students in authentic experiences, partner closely with industry, his comment is here and never lose sight of the divine potential within each learner.
