Entrepreneurship

This program provides Career Technical Education opportunities in the areas of small business start-up and management, marketing, consumer behavior, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. This certificate provides a specialized focus in creating a foundation for implementing product development and small business administration. Upon completion of this program a student should be able to: • Identify new offerings and business opportunities, analyze small business strategies, and evaluate rewards and risks of starting a new business venture.• Demonstrate small business start-up skills specific to operating an enterprise that successfully competes in today’s ever-changing marketplace.Upon successful completion of this certificate, career opportunities exist in entrepreneurship, small business marketing, and product design and production in the field of small business start-ups.

Enrollment Data	2017	2018
Course Dept #	Course Title	Annual Sections	Annual Enrollment Total	Annual Sections	Annual Enrollment Total
BUSN 024	International Business Management	1	15	1	15
BUSN 028	Business Law	13	455	15	480
BUSN 036	Strategic Management	2	30	2	30
BUSN 051	Introduction to Business	17	595	18	576
BUSN 061	Business, Government & Society	3	60	2	50
BUSN 062	Business Mathematics	2	40	2	20
BUSN 078	Business Communications	5	110	6	102
BUSN 015	The Entrepreneurial Mindset	2	30	2	30
BUSN 054	Small Business Start-up and Management	3	60	3	56
BUSN 056	Marketing Principles	4	88	4	80
BUSN 005	Introduction to Project Management	1	20	1	20

Projected certificate completions = 15/year.

The goal of the certificate in Entrepreneurship is to provide Career Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in business start-up and new product development.  Emphasis is on the rewards and risks of starting a small business, developing entrepreneurial competencies, environmental scanning, building legitimacy, developing a social network, and including women and minorities in a small business. Additional areas of focus include screening business ideas, identifying opportunities through creativity, cultivating an innovative frame of mind, developing small business strategies, creating marketing plans, managing cash flow, small business finance, inventory and operations management, and human resource management. 

Upon completion of this program a student should be able to be able to demonstrate the skills necessary to launch a small business in today’s environment, develop and execute a business strategy, and achieve success as an entrepreneur.   

The Entrepreneurship Certificate of Achievement requires the successful completion of 5 required core courses (15 units) and 4 required courses with an entrepreneurship concentration (12 units)

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
BUSN 005	Intro to project management	3	S1
BUSN 015	ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND SET	3	S1
BUSN 028	BUSINESS LAW	3	S1
BUSN 051	INTO TO BUS.	3	S1
BUSN 054	SMALL BUS START UP	3	S1

BUS 078	BUSINESS COMMUNICATION	3	S2
BUSN 024	INTERNATIONAL BUS. MANAGEMENT	3	S2
BUSN 062	BUSINESS MATH	3	S2
BUSN 056	MARKETING PRINCIPLES	3	S2

The proposed certificate is comprised of current courses from established business curriculum. The grouping of these courses into a certificate is part of an overall plan to revamp all certificates currently offered in the business program. This particular certificate will replace the current entrepreneurship certificate and the overall plan will align our certificate programs with how CSUSJ offers its business degrees with each degree earner completing core business courses and then courses that are in their chosen field of concentration.

Most colleges in the service area (San Jose City College, DeAnza, and Mission) have entrepreneurship programs and certificates because the demand is significant. However, the packaging of courses in this program at West Valley provides students the core business skills and knowledge, and then enables students to build on this core knowledge and learn about business while also learning about how to transform their ideas into products and service (entrepreneurship).