Abstract
Research findings in this study indicate that entrepreneurship training and education is not a priority at all Virginia community colleges. This same research indicates that there is strong demand for such offerings from students enrolled in the VCCS.

This study examines the extent of credit and non-credit offerings in entrepreneurship and small-business management in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Two distinct surveys were undertaken during spring semester of 1999. The first survey, the Presidents' Survey, determined what the individual VCCS colleges were currently offering and plan to offer in the near future, in both credit and non-credit entrepreneurship activities. The second survey, Student Interest Survey, was designed to determine student interest, or demand, for these types of credit courses.

Essentially, the question to be answered was whether or not a gap existed between what was currently offered, what was planned to be offered, as compared to student interest in entrepreneurship and small-business management education. Our findings indicate that Virginia's community colleges, with few exceptions, are not actively pursuing entrepreneurship and small-business management education.

Research Methodology

To determine the extent of both existing and planned credit and non-credit programs, results were derived from narrative, open-ended responses received from participating VCCS presidents. The survey instrument used to collect this data, as designed by Drury, is the Virginia Community College Entrepreneurship Education Survey (Presidents' Survey) instrument.

The second survey, also designed by Drury, is intended to determine student interest in a wide variety of credit course offerings in entrepreneurship and small-business management. The survey instrument used is the Student Entrepreneurship Education Survey.

Presidents' Survey

The Presidents' Survey packet contains a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and requesting that the survey questionnaire be completed with input not only from the president of the community college but other key members of the college leadership as well. Participation from presidents, deans, provosts, and/or directors is essential in obtaining a wide variety of responses that represent the community college leadership.

The Presidents' Survey instrument starts with a detailed discussion of purpose. An explanation of the importance of small business to the economies of both the United States and Virginia is provided to underscore the need for education and training for small businesses. The purpose section also points out that community colleges are not pursuing the opportunity to vigorously address the educational needs of this important segment of the economy. Definitions of terms used in the study are also provided.

In turn, the presidents were asked to provide information concerning their colleges' efforts in credit and non-credit programs in entrepreneurship and small-business management. Results of the survey by question, with selected comments from responding community colleges, are summarized in the following discussion.

Out of 23 community colleges in the VCCS, 11 responded to the survey (47.8% response rate). Although several colleges have branch locations, data gathered represents primarily the main campuses, with the exception of Tidewater Community College, which responded with data from all branches.

The first question asked was "What credit courses does your college currently offer in the field of small-business management and entrepreneurship?" Nine colleges (82%) reported offering BUS 165, Small Business Management. One college offers a seminar (or project course) in small business, but no basic course such as BUS 165. The other college not offering BUS 165 has a focus on leadership courses and defines these as entrepreneurship-oriented. Two of the nine colleges offering BUS 165 also offer two courses in entrepreneurship; two others offer three, and Tidewater Community College offers eight courses. Of the eleven colleges that responded, only Tidewater Community College and New River Community College offer Associate of Applied Science degrees with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) offers a certificate in small-business management yet requires only one course out of ten required in small-business management to earn the certificate. The remaining courses in NVCC's certificate program are standard required courses in the traditional associate's degree in business program. NVCC has BUS 116, Entrepreneurship, in its catalog but was not currently offering the course. BUS 116 was not required for the Certificate in Small-Business Management.

When asked what non-credit courses are offered in this field, eight respondents (73%) offer non-credit courses to the local business community and two (18%) indicated they do not. One college (9%) sent a "no" response. It is unusual that two colleges do not offer non-credit courses to small businesses especially with the new effort from the Virginia legislature mandating that community colleges spearhead workforce development and small businesses are a part of this effort. The variety of offerings differed in scope and sequence among the respondents. Some programs are very intensive and sensitive to local training needs. For example, Northern Virginia clients need computer skill development, and NVCC has a strong effort in this area. NVCC provides retraining in computer skills to college graduates from other than computer fields. Tidewater Community College has a strong program including interactive video computer courses, training for sales personnel, business communications, and financial management, to name a few. Southside Virginia Community College offers training in tractor-trailer driving.

The colleges were asked whether or not they expect to expand both credit and non-credit courses and programs. Seven (64%) of the eleven responded that there are no immediate plans for expanding credit courses in this field. Two respondents (18%) indicated "yes"; two (18%) are open for discussing such possibilities if there is a need for such offerings.

Asked if their colleges were interested in offering credit and non-credit courses in entrepreneurship and small-business management (assuming there is strong student interest), seven colleges (64%) said "yes" and three colleges (27%) indicated "some credit courses" to "some modest interest." There was one "no" response.

Questions five and six were designed to elicit responses on how the colleges are marketing their credit and non-credit courses and programs. Question five asked whether or not there is interest from the local business community in such programs; nine respondents (82%) said "yes," one (9%) indicated unknown, and one response (9%) was a "perhaps."

Question six asked how local business interest is measured. Four (36%) respondents stated that they do not perform any formal needs assessments. The remaining seven colleges (64%) have formal needs assessments programs ranging from monitoring enrollment in current programs to telephone surveys and meetings with local business owners. Advisory boards were involved providing input with current needs with most colleges.

When asked if entrepreneurship and small-business management education are an integral part of their credit and non-credit curriculum, eight colleges (73%) responded "yes" (one of these indicated "very much"). Two of the remaining three (18%) noted that there is somewhat of an integration and the third stated "no."

Part of a well-designed credit course curriculum in entrepreneurship and small-business management requires field experience courses, such as solving actual small business problems onsite with businesses or developing business plans for actual small businesses in the community. When asked whether or not they offer or plan to offer credit courses with practical work experiences with small businesses, such as field experience consulting courses, six respondents (55%) replied "yes," indicating through co-ops or internships with local small businesses. The remaining five (45%) responded with a definite "no." There were no comments or elaboration provided with this question by respondents.

Each college was asked whether, if a needs assessment indicated a strong interest by students in credit courses in entrepreneurship and small-business management, such an initiative would be offered. Ten colleges (91%) responded with a "yes," and one college (9%) indicated a "possibly." This is significant in that nearly 100% of the responding colleges are willing to consider offering entrepreneurship and small-business management credit courses if students have a strong interest.

When asked "If the college is affiliated with a Small Business Development Center (SBDC)," seven colleges (64%) noted they have some active affiliation with an SBDC. Two colleges are linked to an SBDC housed at a nearby four-year college in their region: Southside Virginia Community College is aligned with Longwood College, and Southwest Virginia Community College is associated with Radford University. Tidewater Community College is directly linked to the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

Question eleven asked if there is a student organization oriented to the promotion of student interest in entrepreneurship. Four colleges (36%) have such an organization. Two of these have Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapters, and one has a Phi Beta Lambda chapter, a student honorary business fraternity. Student organizations are ideal vehicles to promote topics such as entrepreneurship.

When asked if their college is aware of grant funding for entrepreneurship and small business programs, eight colleges (73%) responded that they are not aware of such funding while the remaining three (27%) are very active in pursuing such funding. Of those actively pursuing grants in entrepreneurship, New River Community College is aggressive in its pursuits, receiving funding from the New Enterprise Fund, INC., Pulaski Venture Fund, and the Micro Enterprise Program. Rappahanock Community College receives funding from the DuPont organization, the Private Industrial Council, the State of Virginia, and the Micro Enterprise Program. Southwest Virginia Community College receives grant funding from the Small Business Administration and the Micro Enterprise Program.

The final question dealt with comments, and there were none reported except requests for the results of this report.

In conclusion, the Presidents' Survey provides significant data on what is now being offered and what is planned in entrepreneurship and small-business management education programs in Virginia's community colleges. The data strongly suggests that more effort in entrepreneurship education is necessary if Virginia community colleges are going to capitalize on this important market segment. There are several significant findings from this survey:

· Most colleges offer at least one entrepreneurship or small-business management course, yet only two offer an AAS degree with a concentration in entrepreneurship.

· Few colleges are planning to expand their offerings yet would consider expanding if there is strong demand for such courses.

· The vast majority reports that there is strong interest from the local business community in these types of programs. However, one-third of the colleges report that they do not perform formal needs assessments to measure this demand (interest). They are looking to workforce and economic development efforts to deal with non-credit small business training in their local communities, yet they are not conducting needs assessments to stay tuned to the market even for this non-credit effort.

· Two-thirds of the colleges report being affiliated with a local SBDC, yet only one-third note that they have student entrepreneurship organizations.

· There is a lack of awareness of grant funding for entrepreneurship and small-business management courses and programs. Only 27% of the respondents indicated such awareness.

The following table summarizes the findings from this portion of the study.

Table 1

Summary of Presidents' Survey Responses.

Variable	Yes	No	Other/Comments
Do you offer BUS 165, Small Business Management or other similar courses?	82%	18%
Do you offer an AAS degree with an entrepreneurship track?	18%	82%
Offer non-credit entrepreneurship and small business management programs?	73%	18%	9% No Response
Consider expanding current credit and non-credit programs?	18%	64%	18% open for discussion
Is there interest in offering credit and non-credit entrepreneurship and small business management programs if there is strong demand?	64%	9%	9% some 9% possibly 9% modest interest
Is there interest from local businesses for non-credit training programs for small businesses?	82%		9% unknown 9% perhaps
How is this interest measured? Is there a formal needs assessment performed periodically?	64%	36%
Is small-business training and entrepreneurship courses an integral part of your workforce and economic development programs?	73%	9%	18% (Somewhat to no)
Do you offer field experience courses in entrepreneurship?	55%	45%
SBDC affiliated?	64%	36%
Student organizations in entrepreneurship?	36%	64%
Aware of grant funding for entrepreneurship courses and programs?	27%	73%

Virginia's community colleges, with few exceptions, are not actively pursuing entrepreneurship and small-business management education. This data can now be matched to the findings from the student-interest survey.

Student Interest Survey

Determining student interest in studying entrepreneurship and small-business management is a key element in this project. Is there sufficient demand from students to enroll in credit courses that lead to awarding certificates and an associate's degree? Most community colleges require business majors to enroll in BUS 100, Introduction to Business, and it was to these classes that the survey instrument was distributed. Students enrolled in other comparable business courses were also included, especially if BUS 100 was not offered in the spring 1999 semester, the time period of this survey.

Each student was asked to review a list of possible course offerings and to check one of the following: "strong interest in enrolling," "somewhat interested in enrolling" or "not interested in enrolling." By design, all courses listed are in entrepreneurship and small-business management.

The courses were grouped according to completion goal. The first goal is a Certificate in Small-Business Management awarded upon successful completion of four elective courses. The second goal is the award of an Advanced Certificate in Small-Business Management after completing an additional four electives.

Upon completion of the Advanced Certificate program, students may pursue the associate's degree by taking five additional courses as electives. There are other college-required courses students must complete before the certificates and degrees are granted. This proposed program of study focuses only on the electives students are allowed to take. Additionally, since this program is designed around certificate as well as degree curricula, enrollees may or may not be matriculated students. It is envisioned that non-traditional students (non-credit students, small-business owners seeking to sharpen their skills, nondegree-seeking individuals) would attend several of these elective courses and enroll in the certificate programs only. Student-interest survey results are as follows.

Twelve (12) Virginia community colleges participated in the student-interest survey (Patrick Henry Community College and Virginia Highlands Community College elected to respond to this survey and not the Presidents' Survey, and Southside Virginia Community College did not respond to the student-interest survey). This represents a 52.2% response rate. With the exception of Tidewater Community College, which provided input from all branches of the college, data represent input from the main campus of the college. Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) data was from the Annandale campus only.

There were 730 student responses received from enrollees in mostly BUS 100, Introduction to Business. Table 2 notes the frequency of responses by college. Note that Rappahanock Community College and Southwest Virginia Community College reported such a small response rate that it was not included in the frequency. These colleges are represented with a non-applicable (N/A) response. The greater frequencies are from NVCC and Tidewater, urban colleges, representing over 70% of the responses. The balance was from rural colleges. NVCC generated over 42% of the total responses from only one of its five campuses, Annandale.

Table 2

Frequency of Responses from Colleges

College Frequency Response

02 Central Virginia 42 5.8%

03 Dabney Lancaster 26 3.6

04 Danville 29 4.0

10 Mountain Empire 8 1.1

11 New River 55 7.5

12 Northern Virginia 311 42.6

13 Patrick Henry 24 3.3

16 Rappahanock N/A N/A

18 Southwest N/A N/A

20 Tidewater 208 28.5

21 Virginia Highlands 19 2.6

23 Whytheville 8 1.1

Total 730 100.0%

The initial research questions were designed around the 19 possible credit courses that would be offered in an entrepreneurship and small-business management curriculum (as noted in Table 3 as Q#). Responses to each of the 19 were "strong interest," "somewhat interested," and "no interest." A fourth response of "zero" indicates "no" response.

Table 3

Level of Student Interest in Credit Courses

Credit Courses	Response Options				N=730
	Strong	Some-what	None	No response	N=730
	%	%	%	%	Mean	s.d.
1. Intro to business	65.9	27.4	4.2	2.5	1.37	.56
2. Financing small business	38.5	42.9	15.3	3.3	1.76	.71
3. Small business accounting	43.2	39.5	15.1	2.1	1.71	.72
4. Entrepreneurship	50.4	31.9	13.7	4.0	1.62	.72
5. Small business management	56.7	32.2	7.9	3.2	1.50	.64
6. MS Word - Excel	56.3	32.7	16.8	3.2	1.50	.64
7. Small business law	38.9	41.0	18.2	3.3	1.77	.72
8. Marketing	33.3	44.1	15.8	4.4	1.84	.72
9. Financial accounting	34.0	32.9	9.7	17.4	1.78	.74
10. Intro to computers	45.1	31.5	18.1	13.7	1.59	.68
11. Legal issues	30.5	33.3	19.5	18.1	1.85	.76
12. Salesmanship	21.8	36.3	14.2	22.5	1.97	.73
13. Advertising	34.8	35.3	15.8	15.6	1.76	.72
14. Merchandising	27.5	37.5	23.6	19.2	1.85	.72
15. Insurance	18.2	37.1	7.1	21.1	2.07	.73
16. Principals of Management	42.6	35.8	19.6	14.4	1.59	.64
17. Advertising – Sales skills	24.1	36.2	19.0	20.1	1.94	.74
18. Internship	29.5	32.9	19.0	18.6	1.87	.76
19. Selected topics	19.3	37.3	19.9	23.3	2.00	.72

Coding of each question is based on an assignment as follows:

· Strong Interest 1

· Somewhat Interested 2

· Not Interested 3

· No Response 4

Conclusion drawn from this analysis is that there is a clear indication of strong interest in entrepreneurship and small-business management credit courses from students. Each question in the first eight required courses generated an 84.3% "strong" and "somewhat interested" response. The other "elective" courses, Q9-Q19, generated "strong " and "somewhat interest" from a minimum of 55.3% to 78.4% per question (course). Both in the required courses and electives, the "strong" and "somewhat interested" result totals are indicative of healthy student interest.

Although there were very few other topics suggested for courses, the following summarizes those few responses:

· English

· Computer Training and Computer Accounting

· Language

Gender Analysis

Gender analysis results are interesting. Male responses numbered 313 and female responses totaled 350 for a total of 663 respondents (Several females and a few males refused to list their age), but of the majority responding the mean male age was 24.53 and mean female age was 26.39. Standard deviation for males was 8.09 and 9.12 for females. At a 95% confidence level, the lower bound mean was 24.85 for both and 26.18 for the upper bound.

"Interest in Entrepreneurship" compared to gender shows that 19 males and 14 females own a small business. Those "considering starting a business" yielded 161 male (24%) responses and 167 female (25%). Of the total responses, 49% indicated that they are considering opening their own business. Other considerations, which ranged from "no interest" to "maybe in the future," yielded 116 male (18%) and 142 female (21%) responses.

When asked the "likelihood" of enrolling in credit courses in entrepreneurship, 34 males and 52 females indicated no interest. This compares to 153 males (23%) and 177 females (27%) that "might enroll," and 18 males and 13 females that would take these courses for "no college credit." A large number of males (103) and females (108), or a total of 211 respondents (32%), indicated they would enroll with the goal of earning an associate's degree. This is very noteworthy in that this group views entrepreneurship studies as important enough to have a degree granted. When "might enroll" responses (330) were included with the "degree focus group," 541 responses (75%) indicate a strong interest in credit coursework in entrepreneurship and small-business management studies.

Enrollment Status

Enrollment status was another slice of the data reviewed and analyzed. There were 172 full-time male enrollees and 195 females. This compared to 137 part-time males and 160 part-time females. Those owning a small business represent 4.3% full-time responses and 6.5% part-time. Of those considering starting a small business, 54.9% were full-time students and 49.6% were part-time. The "other" category accounted for 40.9% full-time and 43.8% part-time student responses. It is noteworthy that over 50% of the respondents own or are considering starting their own business.

Comments concerning the entrepreneurship program described in the survey are quite revealing of the interest expressed. Consider the following selected comments:

· Very good program.

· Why can't we have more courses like these?

· Great idea, very interested.

· This should have been offered already.

· The certificate idea is great for those who do not want the degree.

· Very interested to learn all I can in order for me to successfully start my own business.

· There are many strengths to this program.

· This program would help entrepreneurs understand better what they are getting into.

Conclusion

The findings from this research offer insight into what is being offered and planned versus student interest in entrepreneurship education in Virginia's community colleges. These results, which indicate a wide gap between offerings and student interest, provide Virginia's community college leaders with information to study their own college needs with respect to entrepreneurship education. There is a wealth of applicable data contained in this report for use by national community college interests in the study of entrepreneurship and small-business management (for further in-depth information on entrepreneurship curricula, workforce development, and non-credit programs in entrepreneurship, see Drury, 1999). When nearly 85% of the responding students indicated they would be interested or strongly interested in the required courses in the certificate programs and 55% to 78% (range by question or course) said they would be strongly interested or somewhat interested in the elective courses, it is time to seriously consider offering such courses.

Selected References

Center for the Study of Community Colleges (1994). Entrepreneurship training in American community colleges. A report to the E. M. Kauffman Foundation, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 365 393)

This study was designed to determine the scope of entrepreneurial education in community colleges located in major urban population centers and to connect that information to occupational training in other areas. A thorough search of the ERIC literature, coupled with interviews with administrators of entrepreneurship training courses, revealed that colleges’ involvement ranged from fully integrated programs to institutes to ad hoc workshops. Most programs were found to be non-credit, continuing education, and fully funded by external sources.

Clayton, G. (1990). Teaching entrepreneurship at the college level. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Prince Edward Island, 1990. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 319 446)

Clayton describes entrepreneurship education as a means of equipping people inside and outside of a college with the skills necessary to start a business. Additionally, the argument is made that general interest business courses should focus on making people aware of the option of entrepreneurship and its risks and rewards, while courses in entrepreneurship should focus on the technical skills needed to start a business. Confederation College’s 19-course program is used as a model.

Dennis, W., Jr. (1996). Small business problems and priorities (4^th ed.). National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Washington, DC: NFIB Education Foundation.

This work is the fourth compilation of perhaps the most extensive survey of small business owners across America. Each survey lists problem areas and respondents are asked to rank the problem from "Critical Problem" to "Not a Problem." Industry, size, location of business, and sales change are just a few characteristics that separate respondents into various categories.

Drury, Richard L. (1999). Entrepreneurship education in the Virginia community college system. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.

Research into what is being offered and planned to be offered in the Virginia Community College System. Additional survey research delves into student interest. Bibliography is annotated. A rich array of forms and syllabi are also included.

Grubb, W., Badway, N., Bell, D. Bragg, D., Russman, M. (1997). Workforce, economic and community development: the changing landscape of the entrepreneurial community college. A joint publication of the League for Innovation in the Community College, National Center for Research in Vocational education, National Council on Occupational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 413 033).

Entrepreneurship Education in the Virginia Community College System

by Richard L. Drury and Walter D. Mallory

Level of Student Interest in Credit Courses