Entrepreneurship

The Entrepreneurship Certificate of Achievement is an online learning program designed for students who plan to open their own business, manage a small business, or work in a small business environment. This curriculum provides students with an understanding of 21st century business management practices for today's entrepreneurs. Students will be able to understand and apply core competencies required in 21st century business management and ownership including principles of accounting, business ethics, social responsibility, management, marketing, and communication, all while simultaneously mastering digital fluency.  Students who successfully complete the Entrepreneurship Certificate of Completion will be prepared to become CEOs of their own start-ups, franchise owner-operators, sole proprietors, and satellite or branch managers of larger operations.

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Small business managers continue to be in constant demand, and entrepreneurship is growing in WCC's service region. The Entrepreneurship Certificate of Achievement is designed to provide students with necessary digital fluency and industry-neutral 21st century entrepreneurial business management skills. Students completing this certificate will have built a skill set that includes areas such as human resources, project, accounting, and marketing management.  Certificate earners will have mastered communication skills appropriate to the business environment and will have business math competency, self-confidence, and will know how to effectively navigate small business ownership.

All the community colleges in the North region have programs in either Entrepreneurship, Business and Commerce, General Business Administration, or Business Management.  That said, only approximately 840 certificates and/or degrees have been awarded in the last three years according to the COE.  This leaves a huge training need for the approximately 20,000 job openings available per year, and the owners and managers of the region's small businesses (which make up approximately 90% of the region's business establishments).

Small business is an integral component to much of the small, rural communities that make up the majority of WCC’s service area. The online Entrepreneurship certificate allows WCC to serve the communities better. The certificate requires the completion of four core courses, as recommended by our advisory board, and the selection of one elective to complete 15 hours of credit.