Needs assessment for small business operations program at Madison Area Technical College

Abstract

Small businesses are the driving force to our economy and will continue to play a dominate role in our world. In the last several years we have seen a major shift in our economy and in the way business interacts in the United States. We went from a mass production economy to a just in time (JIT) production schedule. This has created an advantage for the small business owner who can be flexible and move with the changing business climate. Madison Area Technical College is home of one of the premiere small business operations program in the country. In the last five years the enrollment has doubled in the program and as the program grows the needs of its students will change. This study was performed to anticipate these changes to better serve the future business owners of southeastern Wisconsin. The researcher conducted an evaluation of secondary research available on entrepreneurship education at both the secondary and post-secondary level. This gave the researcher a framework to develop a survey geared towards the current enrollment. Based on the analysis of the data the researcher was able to make recommendations on how some instructional areas can be better focused and how courses can be structured to the evolving student base.