With the economy in constant fluctuation like a game of Chutes and Ladders, the University of Wisconsin seniors are feeling the pressure of finding a job after graduation. Working for large corporations no longer offers the benefits that they used to, and the idea of self-employment is appealing to many college students.
Around the nation, universities have begun to offer courses and degree programs in entrepreneurship to prepare students for the trials and tribulations of working for themselves.
At least 550 colleges now offer classes in entrepreneurship, with 49 offering it as a degree program. The University of Dayton is one of these providers. After establishing the major in 1999, university officials have seen a drastic increase in the number of students seeking admission to what is now becoming a highly selective and distinguished major.
Beginning as sophomores, students in the program are instructed to create their own business with $3,000 funded by the school budget. This money is supposed to cover all costs of production. After a year, the businesses are closed, start-up capital is returned to the school and all profits are donated to a charity of the student’s choice.
While the young entrepreneurs are creating buzz about their businesses, they also take classes to supplement their hands-on experience. Students are required to take 18 credit hours in entrepreneurship courses; four of the offered six courses are compulsory, plus two electives. These courses are taught by a blend of experienced entrepreneurs and Ph.D.’s specializing in entrepreneurial related subjects.
UW’s business school offers several entrepreneurship courses at the undergraduate level, but they offer nothing primarily identifiable as an entrepreneurship major. This was not due to slight overlooking by UW administrators; the lack of such programming was intentional.
“We no longer offer the kind of ‘develop a product/start-a-business’ class that we did several years ago because we felt it was more useful for undergraduates to work outside the sheltering atmosphere of the university,” said Belle Heberling, an administrator at the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship.
While many universities across the board are split as whether to offer the program at the undergraduate or graduate level, University of Dayton administrators are confident and extremely satisfied with their decision to impose an undergraduate entrepreneurship program.
“We think the undergrads are well prepared to understand and implement their classroom experiences once they leave here,” said Robert Chelle, director of the entrepreneurship program.
Undergraduate business students at UW can take courses in entrepreneurship even though a major distinction is absent. An entrepreneurial management class provides an opportunity for students to work with local businesses. By working for the business internally, the student is required to draft a business plan, which would benefit both the student and the business.
A second class offered is Venture Creation. For students who plan to eventually establish their own business, this course is key. Students are provided an opportunity to write a start-up business plan for a business they hope to create. At the end of the semester, students present their accomplishment to a panel of local business people and potential investors.
At the master’s level, MBA students have a program relatively similar to what University of Dayton undergraduates are offered, however, UW’s program is highly selective in the students they admit. Within the school of business, MBA students who are concentrating on entrepreneurship can participate in a yearlong applied practicum in starting and growing entrepreneurial businesses.
“The WAVE (Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship) program enables students to identify growing businesses and to invest up to $100,000 in a student-run business or one that WAVE students have agreed has high potential for growth,” said Heberling.
The WAVE program is certainly something to boast about. According to a press release regarding the program in March 2000, “The University of Wisconsin-Madison business school has one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the world,” according to a survey of business graduates conducted by the Financial Times, London.
