A Survey of Alumni of the Entrepreneurship Program Of Case Western Reserve University: Final Report

Abstract

As originally conceived the goal of this project was to assess the impacts of entrepreneurship programs at six Universities across the United States to learn about entrepreneurial experiences, income and other key post graduation outcomes. Kauffman Foundation staff assumed responsibility for recruiting participation from these programs, while University of Kansas researchers developed the survey instrument. In the end, only Case Western Reserve University’s Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) agreed to participate in the study.

The limitation of data to a single program and the small size of the sample of respondents, especially among the control group, limits the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Nonetheless, the survey results show that STEP program alumni were much more likely to engage in a broad range of entrepreneurial activities during enrollment in, and after completing, their education, than they had been before entering the STEP program. In contrast there is no parallel increase in these activities among members of the control group.

STEP program alumni also experienced more positive economic rewards from completion of their program. They earned higher salaries than the control group members and they were more likely to increase their incomes.

We cannot of course rule out the possibility that some of these differences are due to sample selection. That is that students enrolling in the STEP program are different from students enrolling in the parallel masters degree programs from which the control group was drawn. Indeed the survey documents some important differences, such as undergraduate major. But there is considerable evidence that suggest that the STEP program is successful in preparing its students for careers in entrepreneurship.