Dr Jeff Cornwall

University-based entrepreneurship education takes many forms.
Some students pursue a very traditional business education. Such is the case of Joe Pascaretta, founder and president of the Alps Lawn Company and Alps Technology International and a freshmen student at the University of Michigan, recipient of the $5,000 scholarship from the National Federation of Independent Business — Young Entrepreneur Foundation.
Both of this 19 year old’s companies are growing substantially. Pascaretta’s Alps Lawn Company — a landscaping firm that serves more than 60 residential and commercial properties — experienced a 239 percent increase in revenue to gross more than $1 million in 2006. Pascaretta’s other business, Alps Technology International — an Internet technology firm for the Web site development market — saw a 93 percent increase in revenue in part due to a major increase in international sales.
When deciding where he should attend college, Pascaretta chose the University of Michigan so that he could continue to run both of his businesses. He realized that financially he could have chosen to forgo college, but instead chose to pursue a degree in business while continuing to run his companies. College for him is as much building credibility as anything else.
“In today’s business community, a degree is a valuable asset,” said Pascaretta. “I plan to continue running both businesses through college, but after graduation I want to be able to evaluate my options and see what opportunities are out there. As an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for new innovative ways to reestablish myself in the business world.”
Other colleges and universities are actively seeking students like Pascaretta. There are any number of programs being created to meet the specific needs of student entrepreneurs who want to integrate their business pursuits into their education.
For example, Grand Canyon University has gained a lot of good press for their newly announced College of Entrepreneurship. From their web site:

Established in 2006 to address the evolving needs of the 21st Century Entrepreneur, Grand Canyon University started the nation’s first College of Entrepreneurship. Michael Gerber, entrepreneur, and best-selling author of “E-Myth” joins the only college of its kind — an “Entrepreneurship school by Entrepreneurs” as the Chairman of the College of Entrepreneurship. Michael Gerber, along with an advisory board of internationally known experts, provides the core team for this dynamic learning community.
The College offers a bachelor of science degree program designed for tomorrow’s business owner and promises to offer a curriculum unmatched by other entrepreneurial schools. State-of-the-art simulations, adjuncts who are “entrepreneur-teachers,” and a University Entrepreneurs Fund for seed funding to select student-inspired business plans makes this program a major cut above the rest.

Belmont and other universities are also actively recruiting high school students with businesses to come and study at their schools. This past weekend I spent the day talking with many such students at one of our preview days for high school seniors. We are seeing about 40% of our incoming students arriving on campus with businesses in hand. At Champlain College, they actively advertise their “Bring Your Own Business” program to prospective students.
Universities are generally slow to respond, but there is evidence that many schools are moving quickly to bring their business education into the new entrepreneurial economy.