Former Students Feedback On A Liberal Arts Undergraduate Course In Entrepreneurship

Abstract

We present initial and preliminary results from a questionnaire survey in early 2005 of former students who took the only entrepreneurship class taught once/year at Macalester College. The objective was to elicit their opinions of what should be taught, the importance of alternative classroom pedagogies, and judgments on how to evaluate student performance. Highest encouragement was given to having outside guest entrepreneur speakers. They were not enthusiastic about the importance of journal articles or even textbooks. They would counsel entrepreneurial students facing constraints on what other courses they might consider, to take especially accounting/finance. They believe grades should be based more so on projects and participation than on performance on exams. They would emphasize the courses focus to be more on starting than growing a firm.