Team Members

• Lauren Way, Hampshire College
• Colin Twitchell, Hampshire College
• Mike Lehman, Juniata College
• Robert Weissbach, Penn State Erie - Behrend
• Jana Goodrich, Penn State Erie - Behrend
• Susannah Howe, Smith College
• Clif Kussmaul, Muhlenberg College

Overview

This team will identify and organize an entrepreneurial body of knowledge (BOK) (what students should know) and core competencies (what they should be able to do). This is key because most PUI curricula already address some entrepreneurial topics, even if the material is not packaged as such. For example, entrepreneurship requires such traditionally liberal arts areas as critical thinking, creativity, and leadership. Building on existing knowledge and curricular elements increases the likelihood that PUIs will be able to institutionalize entrepreneurship.

The BOK will range from very basic information, such as definitions and general concepts, to complex resources for practicing entrepreneurs. They will be categorized and prioritized into several levels, to facilitate integration into a course sequence, and to accommodate students with varied backgrounds - some have started businesses before or during college, and others have no direct entrepreneurial experience. These levels will ensure that experienced entrepreneurs do not ‘miss out’ on some basic definitions and concepts, and that new entrepreneurs quickly become aware of key ideas. The resulting materials will include the following:

• terms and definitions (e.g. bootstrapping and collateral)
• entrepreneurial concepts (e.g. angel investing, term sheets, and patent processes)
• general concepts (e.g. logo design, payroll taxes, and personnel manuals)
• entrepreneurial competencies (e.g. innovation, marketing)
• general competencies (e.g. planning & moderating a meeting, collaboration)
• pertinent resources (e.g. Entrepreneur.com, NCIIA, Young Inventors International)

Before the meeting, we will review prior work and catalog possible knowledge areas and competencies, and define ways in which they might be sorted or prioritized. During the meeting, we will share their research results and collaborate with the other team members on the appropriate groupings/hierarchies of the competencies, so as to reflect different possible entry points and tracks to entrepreneurship education. After the meeting, we will refine the ideas and develop a graphical means of presenting the competencies, highlighting priority items and possible groupings. We will disseminate the results through the project website and conference presentations and/or publications.