Print

Wieland, Chloé

Community Development and Applied Economics

2013

MS

This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness ofthe Growing Vermont (GVT) program, an experiential entrepreneurship education program operating at the University of Vermont from 2007-2013. The complexities of the entrepreneurial process have led to multiple objectives for entrepreneurship training programs. The value of the study is to understand how the GVT program meets its objective, and to use this knowledge to support development of future entrepreneurship education programs. This paper uses a novel means of measuring entrepreneurial learning, using the change in entrepreneurial orientation of individuals before and after participation in the GVT program. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO), proposed by Miller (1983) and refined by Lumpkin & Dess (1996), is used as a means of measuring the extent to which firms exhibit entrepreneurial behaviors.
This exploratory study uses a pre and post intervention research design to evaluate the effectiveness of the GVT program, specifically as to how well it prepares students to become entrepreneurs. Data collection methods include a pre and post survey, exit interviews, and written reflections. The results show that students without entrepreneurship experience benefit from exposure to business ownership and learn about the challenges of entrepreneurship; however, students with backgrounds in entrepreneurship are not likely to increase their entrepreneurial orientation. The limitations of operating within the superstructure of a university restrict true participant ownership. The results of this study suggest that entrepreneurship programs consider the need for participants to have a stake in the business when simulating the entrepreneurship experience.