This fall, 34 Sacramento State students signed up for a class they assumed would be like any other. What they soon realized was that the class would involve no textbook, no classroom and the FBI.

The FBI has created a student-operated marketing agency known as Universal Strategies. Its mission is to create a marketing campaign that will help recruit people into the FBI.

“What is great about this opportunity is that there is no classroom work at all,” said student Michelle Musgrove. “The work that we do, and what already has been done, is essentially something practical that we can put on our resumes for when we graduate.”

Universal Strategies has divided into four teams consisting of public relations, advertising, strategic implementation and market research. For the first half of the semester the students have focused on developing marketing campaign strategies. The first big test that could change the course of the campaign has finally arrived.

Universal Strategies proposed its campaign ideas and strategies to the FBI Monday in an attempt to earn a marketing budget of $2,500. This money will benefit the students by funding their marketing ideas that include newspaper and billboard advertisements, press releases and informal open houses.

“The groups are really great to work with, not to mention excellent creative thinkers,” said Michael Richards, a member of the public relations team. “It is a collaborative effort between the four teams, and with the many different people involved we cannot help but feel exited about our presentation.”

The class is being sponsored by EdVentures Partners, an education marketing company based out of Berkeley. It specializes in developing partnerships between educational institutions and industry leaders. Working in conjunction with the FBI, EdVentures is providing Universal Strategies with ongoing resources, guidance and a project budget to implement its marketing campaign.

Armain Austin, the representative from EdVentures and the facilitator between Universal Strategies and the FBI, has been working with the students on preparing their presentation. Austin, a Sac State alumnus, said that although working with a government institution can be tricky because inexperienced students are expected to meet the FBI’s high standards, he is not worried about Universal Strategies.

“This group of students have really worked diligently towards a great campaign,” Austin said. “What they have prepared to present to the FBI is much better than what I could have ever expected.”

The FBI is currently running this program, called the FBI Collegiate Marketing and Recruitment Program, at 22 campuses across the nation. This is the first time that Sac State has been involved. Austin is also involved at six other schools including San Jose State, Concordia University in Portland and Hawaii Pacific University.