Community college presidents commit to advance entrepreneurship in their communities and create an entrepreneurial culture on their campus.
Thanks to a national pledge, a new survey reveals that community college presidents are dramatically increasing efforts to have entrepreneurs engagement in community colleges, as well as increasing efforts to leverage both community college and community assets to spur local innovation and job creation.
The National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), a national organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, has announced the results of a national assessment of its Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge (PFEP).
Through the PFEP, community college presidents commit to advance entrepreneurship in their communities and create an entrepreneurial culture on their campus and multiple access points to support local startups and small businesses.
According to the assessment, which was conducted in late 2014, the PFEP is a reliable predictor of an entrepreneurial culture at community colleges. Further, higher levels of agreement with activities and behaviors identified within the PFEP action steps indicate the increased probability that a college views itself as entrepreneurial in a number of ways.
(Next page: 5 action steps to further entrepreneurship in community colleges)
The Five PFEP Action Steps
Community college presidents who join the PFEP make five commitments:
· Create or expand internal and external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship
· Increase entrepreneurs’ engagement in community colleges
· Engage in industry cluster development
· Leverage both community college and community assets to spur innovation and job creation
· Create buzz and broad exposure of their college’s commitment to entrepreneurship
The five commitments were developed based on NACCE’S observations of what worked best on member campuses. “These commitments represent what the leading community colleges are doing,” said Rebecca Corbin, NACCE president and CEO. “We identified them four years ago through qualitative research, and this assessment now validates our findings quantitatively. The assessment clearly indicates that the PFEP has had, and continues to have, a significant impact in the way community colleges act and perceive themselves as entrepreneurially minded institutions.”
NACCE launched the PFEP in 2011 in response to the White House-led Startup America’s call to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by encouraging entrepreneurs to start businesses. Startup America (now UP America) was a three-year initiative that blended the efforts of innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders working to increase the prevalence and success of America’s entrepreneurs.
Building Entrepreneurial Cultures
The survey measured perceptions of how individuals at their colleges view their institutions. If they believe they are entrepreneurial, this will impact their ability to “act” this way. The assessment demonstrated that the PFEP is a valid indicator of an entrepreneurial culture and the increased probability that a college views itself as entrepreneurial in these ways:
· Having a culture of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship leadership and financial resources to explore opportunities
· Using assets creatively
· Being involved in and connected to the local community
· Having a significant role in the community’s economic development and a high level of entrepreneurial energy
· Accepting new ideas and approaches
· Generating practical ideas and activities related to entrepreneurship and having a “can do” attitude
The assessment also showed that the PFEP action steps having the greatest impact are: increase entrepreneurs’ engagement in community colleges; leverage both community college and community assets to spur innovation and job creation; and create broad exposure of your college’s commitment to entrepreneurship. With limited time, money and resources, colleges that want to affect the greatest change should focus on these actions as well:
· Optimize asset inventory and management
· Understand local trends
· Identify ROI metrics
· Respond creatively and practically to local trends
· Create awareness internally
· Market the assets and services the college has to offer within the local community
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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