Entrepreneurship & Small Business

The certificate of achievement program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management delivers cutting-edge curriculum for student entrepreneurs that want to hone their mindset skills. Further, this program is for entrepreneurs ramping-up a small business, or those with existing small businesses. The program's courses cover general management, small business management, and marketing, as well as selective units where the student can customize curricula to their specific needs, including workforce experience.

We anticipate an enrollment of approximately 70+ students in the first academic year. Of those, based on historic persistence rates, we expect at least 50 students will apply for the A.S. each academic year. In addition, because the A.S. degree is designed to be stackable, we anticipate 50 certificate awards as well.

Upon Completion of Certificate requirements, students will be able to identify market opportunities; develop a business plan; identify sources of financing; successfully pitch an idea to investors; and incorporate and operate a small business. The Certificate of Achievement is also designed to be stackable toward CSM’s AS-T degree for Business Administration.

To earn a Certificate of Achievement in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management, students must complete 29.5 - 30 specified units that provide comprehensive knowledge of foundational concepts including general and small business management, marketing, as well as

selective units where the student can customize curricula to their specific needs, including workforce experience.

This program will reside in the Business & Management Department which offers certificates and degrees in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Small Business Management, Project Management, Business Management, 21st Century Office Management, Human Resources Management, Facility Management, and Real Estate. 

This program will position students to design, ramp up, and manage a small business. Further, the program positions the student to be managers, partners, and employees or independent contractors for small businesses across a wide-spectrum of markets.

A projected undersupply of prospective candidates in community college programs to fill entrepreneurship and small business management roles currently exists. For the Mid-Peninsula subregion, the annual supply gap for qualified workers includes approximately 21,854 positions in the Bay Area, with 6,783 student completers in the Mid-Peninsula subregion, leaving approximately 15,071 annual openings unmet by community college “supply.” Three colleges in the Mid-Peninsula region, Cañada College, City College of San Francisco, and Skyline College, offer programs under the same TOP code (0506.40 Small Business and Entrepreneurship) which produces approximately 67 awards annually (last 3 years) in total. College of San Mateo intends to meet the identified regional labor market demand by contributing to the number of student completers that are prepared to directly enter the workforce, become self-employed, or transfer for higher educational attainment at local four-year institutions including but not limited to CSU East Bay, Golden Gate University, Menlo College, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, St. Mary’s University, Santa Clara University, UC Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco.

Requirements	Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester      (Y1 or S1)
Required Core Courses: 29.5 - 30 units	BUS. 150	Small Business Management	3	Y1/S2
	BUS. 171	The Entrepreneurial Mindset	3	Y1/S1
	BUS. 173	Sources of Financing	3	Y2/S1
	BUS. 174	The Business Plan	3	Y1/S1
	BUS. 176	Selling the Idea	3	Y2/S1
	BUS. 180	Introduction to Marketing	3	Y1/S2
	BUS. 201	Business Law	3	Y1/ S2
	MGMT 100	Introduction to Management	3	Y1/S2
Required Selective Courses: 5.5 - 6 units from the following courses	ACTG 100	Accounting Procedures	3	Y2/S3
	ACTG 144	QuickBooks: Set-up and Service Business	1.5	Y2/S3
	ACTG 145	QuickBooks: Payroll and Merchandising Business	1.5	Y2/S3
	BUS. 101	Human Relations at Work	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 115	Business Mathematics	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 125	International Business	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 136	Business Finance	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 230	International Marketing	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 232	Sales Management	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 233	Social Media Marketing	3	Y2/S3
	BUS. 401	Business Communications	3	Y2/S3
	COOP 670	Cooperative Education/Work Experience	3	Y2/S3
	COSM 766	Salon Business Entrepreneurship	3	Y2/S3
	DGME 250	Internship	3	Y2/S3
	MGMT 215	Human Resources Management	3	Y2/S3
	MGMT 235	Leadership and Supervision	3	Y2/S3
	MGMT 265	Project Management	3	Y2/S3
	MGMT 306	Essentials of Facility Management	3	Y2/S3
	MGMT 307	Sustainable Facility Management	3	Y2/S3

N/A

CSM's Business Department faculty have conducted outreach to Canada College, Skyline, and CCSF. At the time of submission, we have not received a response.