August 30, 2004
Laying the groundwork | Glenn Cummings leads Southern Maine Community College's effort to teach
By Dorothy Ogrodowczyk
More than half of the students at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland are interested in business ownership, according to Glenn Cummings. But in a survey conducted in 2000, SMCC alumni business owners indicated that, though they were satisfied with their technical education, a lack of business skills had led to some tough lessons, such as making investments without understanding the budgetary considerations or the payoff time involved.
As a result of that feedback, Cummings, director of partnership programs and an instructor in the business department at SMCC, and his colleagues recently established the Entrepreneurial Center, which will help students with a host of entrepreneurial skills, including marketing, payroll and human resources management, understanding cash flow and knowing when to apply for credit. Cummings, 43, acknowledges that some students are naturally more entrepreneurial than others, but he's confident that basic entrepreneurship skills can be taught. Entrepreneurship, he says, "comes out of confidence. The more confidence you have, the more willing you are to seek new opportunities and take risks. Confidence comes from know-how, and that's where entrepreneurship can be taught."
The new program isn't business school lite: SMCC is taking a more applied approach than a business school curriculum, which tends to be more academic. "At [the University of Maine in] Orono, the idea of entrepreneurship is 'let's design the next microchip or wood composite,'" says Cummings. "[At SMCC] we're talking about bread-and-butter Maine industries ˆ electrical, plumbing, construction ˆ where students who aspire to be business owners need business skills."
The center was modeled after a similar program at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass., and most of the classes, which begin Aug. 30, will be taught by adjunct faculty who own businesses themselves. Students may choose between two certificate programs: a six-credit Business Startup or a 15-credit Business Ownership certificate. (The Community College System is seeking funding to establish entrepreneurial centers at its six other campuses during this school year.)
In addition, students with business plans can apply for one of four slots in the student incubator, where they can establish their businesses before they leave campus. The incubator offers free rent, advice and access to a computer and phone, and low-cost printing and copying. Students enrolled in other SMCC classes will pay no additional charge to participate in the certificate programs or incubator, but non-SMCC students can take the classes for SMCC's typical $68 per credit fee.
Even with the program, Cummings anticipates that many students will need additional assistance from the other business development organizations in the state. "We're giving students basic startup skills," he says, but "a lot of them are going to need to go to the [Small Business Administration] or other agencies for more specialized skills, especially those trying to get their business going right after graduation."
The center also offers a high school outreach program. Recently, it held a three-day institute in which business consultant Jim Wilfong and Falmouth High School Principal Allyn Hutton trained 18 local high school teachers on teaching entrepreneurship skills to their students. The center will reserve space in the incubator for an exceptional high school student entrepreneur.
Cummings says the broader goal of the Entrepreneurial Center is to strengthen Maine's economic base as it transitions away from manufacturing. He credits the recent increases in the state's employment rate and income level to entrepreneurship, especially in the construction industry, which he says is now dominated by small or mid-sized companies. "What you're seeing," he says, "is a broader level of smaller entrepreneurial firms, and that is the wave of the future for Maine."
As a result of that feedback, Cummings, director of partnership programs and an instructor in the business department at SMCC, and his colleagues recently established the Entrepreneurial Center, which will help students with a host of entrepreneurial skills, including marketing, payroll and human resources management, understanding cash flow and knowing when to apply for credit. Cummings, 43, acknowledges that some students are naturally more entrepreneurial than others, but he's confident that basic entrepreneurship skills can be taught. Entrepreneurship, he says, "comes out of confidence. The more confidence you have, the more willing you are to seek new opportunities and take risks. Confidence comes from know-how, and that's where entrepreneurship can be taught."
The new program isn't business school lite: SMCC is taking a more applied approach than a business school curriculum, which tends to be more academic. "At [the University of Maine in] Orono, the idea of entrepreneurship is 'let's design the next microchip or wood composite,'" says Cummings. "[At SMCC] we're talking about bread-and-butter Maine industries ˆ electrical, plumbing, construction ˆ where students who aspire to be business owners need business skills."
The center was modeled after a similar program at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass., and most of the classes, which begin Aug. 30, will be taught by adjunct faculty who own businesses themselves. Students may choose between two certificate programs: a six-credit Business Startup or a 15-credit Business Ownership certificate. (The Community College System is seeking funding to establish entrepreneurial centers at its six other campuses during this school year.)
In addition, students with business plans can apply for one of four slots in the student incubator, where they can establish their businesses before they leave campus. The incubator offers free rent, advice and access to a computer and phone, and low-cost printing and copying. Students enrolled in other SMCC classes will pay no additional charge to participate in the certificate programs or incubator, but non-SMCC students can take the classes for SMCC's typical $68 per credit fee.
Even with the program, Cummings anticipates that many students will need additional assistance from the other business development organizations in the state. "We're giving students basic startup skills," he says, but "a lot of them are going to need to go to the [Small Business Administration] or other agencies for more specialized skills, especially those trying to get their business going right after graduation."
The center also offers a high school outreach program. Recently, it held a three-day institute in which business consultant Jim Wilfong and Falmouth High School Principal Allyn Hutton trained 18 local high school teachers on teaching entrepreneurship skills to their students. The center will reserve space in the incubator for an exceptional high school student entrepreneur.
Cummings says the broader goal of the Entrepreneurial Center is to strengthen Maine's economic base as it transitions away from manufacturing. He credits the recent increases in the state's employment rate and income level to entrepreneurship, especially in the construction industry, which he says is now dominated by small or mid-sized companies. "What you're seeing," he says, "is a broader level of smaller entrepreneurial firms, and that is the wave of the future for Maine."
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