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Nebraska Career Pathways Project
FutureForce Entrepreneurship - NET Force Steering Team
Meeting Summary
May 4, 2007
Central Community College
Attendees: Gregg Christensen, Nebraska Dept. of Education
Kathy Thornton, Southeast Community College
Kathy Eitzmann, Southeast Community College
Dennis Headrick, Southeast Community College
Guy Suganuma, Central Community College
Pat Allison, Mid-Plains Community College
Tim Mittan, Southeast Community College
Nancy Bjorklund, Central Community College
Susan Hooker, Central Community College
Monica Braun, Center for Rural Affairs
John Blaylock, Northeast Community College
Stacie Shaddock, McCook Community College
Jennifer Hoagland, Central Community College
Randy Vlasin, FutureForce of Nebraska
Chuck Karpf, Western Community College
Marilyn Schlake – EDGE
Heather Nelson, Metropolitan Community College
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Dennis Headrick
- Introductions
- Updates: Updates were provided by each representative in attendance:
REAP – Training activities have been presented in various community locations.
Business Succession Seminars have also been presented in Ainsworth, Valentine, Burwell/Ord and one that will be held in the future in Nelson. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Omaha Branch is assisting with these seminars.
MarketPlace – This event was held in February and was very successful. Marketplace will be held next year at the New World Inn in Columbus on February 27, 2008. They are looking for sponsors for the event. They are also looking for people willing to serve on an advisory committee.
If you are interested in learning more about REAP activities, please visit their website at http://www2.cfra.org/reap
EDGE – Activities are nearing completion for the year. There were approximately 175 participants throughout the year. Marilyn indicated that data is being compiled but results are not yet available.
Marilyn indicated that EDGE has received pre-approval for a proposal that will be submitted at the end of May that will address Small Business and Security Issues. She indicated that it will be critical for these businesses to become e-commerce certified.
Central Community College – Guy Suganuma reported on activities held during Entrepreneurship Week including an event in which local entrepreneurs spent time on campus to share information and meet with students. He indicated the entrepreneurs enjoyed the event, and some offered to speak with classes. He also shared a copy of the E-Ship Brochure.
He also shared information regarding a joint program with Conestoga Mall and the opportunity for entrepreneurs to receive six month free rental space at the mall to promote their business.
He indicated they are also offering a presentation to inform new students during orientation of entrepreneurship course opportunities.
Jennifer Hoagland shared activities and events at the Hastings Campus including events during Entrepreneurship Week which appeared on a newly designed poster with the design BYOB (Be Your Own Boss). They are using this design on other publications and are sending the information to local high schools. They are also posting information around the campus to attract students to these courses. Jennifer also shared a slide show of one of the events. Local entrepreneurs were invited to campus and students were assigned to the entrepreneurs as a host. It was a very successful event.
Western Community College – Chuck Karpf indicated the best response for entrepreneurship courses have been from the cosmetology students in Sidney. He indicated another potential area to target would be the Auto Collision students.
He indicated that two high schools may consider replacing their Introduction to Business course with the Introduction to Entrepreneurship course. He also suggested that he would like to eventually reach the grade school and middle school students.
A mini-business plan competition was held during Entrepreneurship Week. There were two sets of judges selected from Advisory Board members. The competition went well and the students that participated in the competition were very complimentary. Chuck indicated that getting business people on campus is very important.
The keynote speaker for the Regional FBLA meeting addressed the topic of social entrepreneurship and the importance of giving back to your community.
Northeast Community College – John Blaylock shared some promotional material which identifies the certificate option along with the entrepreneurship option in the Business program as well. John indicated there were approximately 13 people who completed the EDGE courses offered in Northeast Nebraska.
Metro Community College – Postcards were sent to specific areas informing them of the entrepreneurship course opportunities. They received a good response. Three of the six courses are currently offered online and the remaining courses will be offered online in the near future.
Other areas that Heather reported on include: Entrepreneurship will be an area that Millard Public Schools will be offering to students which could become a good support system; The One Diego Center, and the non-credit entrepreneurship courses.
Mid-Plains Community College – The Introduction to Entrepreneurship Course is offered online. There were 15 students who completed the EDGE courses. Pat indicated they did not participate in Entrepreneurship Week but will share activities that others sponsored.
Pat met with Gregg Christiansen and Patricia Fairchild regarding the 4-H curriculum.
Mid-Plains received a VICA Grant. It is hopeful that this will help to increase the number of students in the classroom.
Southeast Community College – All six courses will be offered online. Tim also reported that there are currently 4 businesses located in the incubator and there are two more possibilities. JumpStart was offered in February and JumpStart2 will be offered in May. They are in the process of starting SAGE, a student organization, and Continuing Education will be offering; Business Plan in a Day.
Tim encouraged others to start an Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. He indicated that it is crucial to the success of the Entrepreneurship Focus.
Department of Education – Gregg indicated that Nebraska was considered at the forefront of events conducted during Entrepreneurship Week. He stated that the Nebraska Career Education Conference will be held June 4-7. If you are interested in more information on this conference, you can visit the following Website. www.nceconference.com
If you are interested in reading the monthly newsletter you can go to the following website: www.nde.state.ne.us/entreped/enews.html
Gregg has also been working with Patricia Fairchild and Marilyn Schlake on the 4-H curriculum.
FutureForce – The website of FutureForce is being redesigned and the target is to have the new website live by the end of May. The organization and structure is being reviewed. Some focus areas of FutureForce are: Career Pathways, The State Scholar Program, Career Connections and Advanced Learning Partners. Promotional materials are being developed that will reflect the new organizational structure.
Tim Mittan agreed to attend the FutureForce Financial Pathway meeting in Lincoln on June 22 from 9:00-4:00.
UNL – Although a representative from the University was not in attendance, it was discussed that representatives from the University appear to be interested in increasing collaboration with the community colleges. Greg volunteered to obtain a contact name for the Entrepreneurship Center at UNK and forward that name to Dennis.
State Colleges – The group was in consensus that this is a link that is currently missing and may be an area in the future to do some outreach to.
3. Articulation of E-Ship Activities to Secondary Schools
a. 4-H Curriculum – Marilyn indicated that the curriculum is in the editing stages. The curriculum is designed for middle school students but can be used by anyone. She indicated there are three units which include:
1) A Discovery Process; 2) Career Skills, and 3) Feasibility of a Business
Training will be held May 22 for individuals interested in piloting the curriculum. The curriculum will be piloted in Nebraska and when it is approved by the 4-H National Committee it can be approved in any state.
It was suggested that it may be helpful to develop a list of instructors who teach entrepreneurship courses to create a resource link. Gregg volunteered to compile the information provided that instructor’s name are sent to him.
b. High School Curriculum – A presentation will be held during the NCCE conference on June 4 that will provide information on Entrepreneurship Investigation (ESI) and the Entrepreneurship Focus Program (EFP). This is a great opportunity to get the message to high schools regarding this opportunity. It was suggested that high schools in each community college area be notified about this opportunity.
Kathy and Tim shared information regarding dual credit courses that are being offered to Lincoln Public School students and the process that Southeast Community uses. If anyone is interested in receiving more information, they can contact Tim.
c. Advisory Groups – It was suggested that participants from the pilot group of the 4-H curriculum project and/or attendees of the June 4 NCCE presentation be asked to participate on an Advisory Board. It was also suggested that this would provide an opportunity to begin working with Tech Prep Coordinators for articulation agreements.
Advisory Groups and Professional Development will be included as an agenda item for the next meeting.
4. Marketing
It was suggested that the marketing team work with FutureForce in the development of a new template that would include such items as:
Calendar
Events
Testimonials
Links to Programs
PodCasts
Partners in Mentors.
It is important to get the word out to high schools about the different pathways that are available. This will be included as an agenda item for the next meeting.
5. Pathway Name
It was a consensus of the group to retain the name of NetForce for the committee, and to change the pathway name to Entrepreneurship.
6. Cluster
Following is the recommendation of the NetForce Committee:
Recommendation to the Department of Education and to FutureForce that the two entities work together to enhance the cluster demographic to include Entrepreneurship and to make it a visible component of the cluster groups.
Other:
Gregg – A summer symposium will be held July 11, 12 and 13 at Babson College. The symposium focuses on what to do to put together a great entrepreneurship program. He indicated that the symposium is primarily for faculty, chairs and possibly Deans. Mailers will be sent to every community college in the next month. If you would like more information on this conference, please visit the following website: http://www.nacce.com/symposium/index.html
Heather – Asked if online classes could be developed and shared between the community colleges. Dennis indicated that he would address this topic at the Instructional Officers meeting.
Next Meeting:
October 12 Grand Island
Agenda Items:
E-Center Structure
Advisory Boards
Marketing
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