Community College

Unleashing the Problem-Solving Potential of Every Individual   Location: Victorville, California Number of employees: 850 Annual unduplicated student headcount: 18,000 Racial and ethnic demographics: 61% Hispanic, 18% white, 9% Black Students whose enrollment fees are paid via financial aid: 87%   OVERVIEW: A light bulb went on when Dr. Dan Walden heard entrepreneurship described as the self-directed pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. As the Superintendent and President at Victor Valley College, Walden…

Learning Entrepreneurship By Living It in Minnesota’s Twin Cities     Location: St. Paul, Minnesota Number of staff: 192 Number of full-time faculty: 127 Number of part-time faculty: 109  Student enrolled for credit: 8,365 Students enrolled in non-credit courses: 2,206    Certificate, degree, and diploma programs: 100+   OVERVIEW: Saint Paul College stands out within the Minnesota State system for its unique demographics. It’s one of the most diverse schools among the system’s 26 colleges, 7…

EnRich Program Brings a Trauma-Sensitive Lens to Entrepreneurship Education   Location: Decatur, Illinois Enrollment in 2019 (credit and non-credit): 5,435 Part-time students: 73% Continuing education students: 36%    Number of EnRich training program participants since 2018: 1,500   OVERVIEW: In central Illinois’ Macon County, the unemployment rate for African Americans sticks stubbornly at around three times higher than the rate for white residents. Recognizing that the reasons for this extended beyond the sheer number of unemployed,…

Fab Lab ICC Makes a Big Impact in a Small Community     Location: Independence, Kansas Fab Lab ICC launch: March 2014  Total visitors: 35,000  Size: 15,000 square feet    Entrepreneurial Mindset course: Offered once per year   OVERVIEW: In rural southeastern Kansas, agriculture and manufacturing dominate the local economy. However, there are still vestiges of the hard adjustments that residents had to make as coal mining and oil industry jobs disappeared several decades ago. The…

The Evolution of a Pioneering Entrepreneurial Mindset Program   Location: Overland Park, Kansas Number of degree-seeking students: 16,000  Number of continuing education students: 12,000    Years offering entrepreneurial mindset courses: 15   OVERVIEW: The metro Kansas City area straddles two states, Missouri and Kansas. It is home to a wide range of industries, neighborhoods, and populations. Johnson County Community College, located on the Kansas side in the state’s wealthiest county, attracts a diverse cross-section of students…

Rolling Out a Strategy Everyone Can Agree on to Prepare Students for Today’s World   Main campus location: Calmar, Iowa Total campuses and centers: 12 Affiliated high schools: 13 Total students in Ice House courses: 200-250   OVERVIEW: Across eight counties and 5,000 square miles, Northeast Iowa Community College is the go-to institution for post-secondary and technical education and training. Not surprisingly, given its rural location, it’s a leader in agriculture and animal science. Including…

Students and Faculty Embrace a ‘Game-Changing’ Mindset   Location: Daytona Beach, Florida Instructional sites: 7 Students enrolled: 22,000 Degree programs: over 100 OVERVIEW: Daytona State College’s comprehensive approach provides access to more than 100 certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degree programs as well as a bevy of post-secondary vocational programs and non-credit continuing education options for skills and credentials. Its student body is extremely diverse, but economic challenges are common; approximately 90 percent of students receive…

A Wyoming College Redesigns the Student Success Experience to Focus on Mindset   Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming Number of employees: 362 Number of full-time students: 2,827 Total number of students enrolled on campus: 5,307 Median student age: 28 Participants in Strategies for Success courses since fall of 2020: 700   OVERVIEW: The region around Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a microcosm of the challenges facing many parts of the U.S. Even before the…

Spurring Socio-Economic Mobility in Two Florida Counties   Location: 5 campuses and 1 center in Florida’s Pasco and Hernando counties Total enrollment: 11,500 students Number of employees: 948 Percentage of female students: 67%   OVERVIEW: Pasco-Hernando State College serves two counties where the median wage is lower than in the nearest large metro areas, St. Petersburg and Tampa. In Pasco County, the median wage is $50,417; in Hernando County, it’s $46,030, more than $7,000 below…