1. Feasibility Study for Establishing a Small Business Management Course at Harper. Volume XVII, Number 3.
- Author
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William Rainey Harper Coll., Palatine, IL. Office of Planning and Research., Seeck, James K., and Lucas, John A.
- Abstract
In 1988, a survey was conducted to determine the feasibility of offering a new degree credit program in Small Business Management at William Rainey Harper College, in Illinois. All 3,170 former students who had taken a non-credit seminar in the Small Business Department in Continuing Education were surveyed regarding their interest in small business management, the likelihood of their enrollment in the proposed program, scheduling preferences, reactions to the proposed curriculum and degree requirements, and interest in serving on the advisory board or as faculty for the program. Study findings, based on a 10% response rate and the assumption that non-respondents were not interested in the program, included the following: (1) among the respondents, 56% were small business owners, and 35% were considering starting their own business; (2) 62 of the respondents indicated that they would be interested in enrolling in certain courses within the proposed program, while 29 indicated they would enroll in the complete degree credit program; (3) almost two-thirds of the sample preferred evening courses, with Tuesdays and Mondays being the most popular days and Saturdays the least popular; (4) 215 respondents suggested new courses to be added to the curriculum, while 90 suggested alterations to the associate degree program; and (5) respondents offered 58 nominations for the advisory committee and 48 nominations for faculty positions. Projecting survey responses to the 26,000 small businesses in the college district, it was estimated that the new program could attract 130 students per semester and would therefore be very feasible. Attachments include tables, respondents' answers to open-ended questions, and the survey instrument. (JMC)
- Published
- 1988