The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors approved Shippensburg University’s proposal on Jan. 21 to add an entrepreneurship program to the John L. Grove College of Business.

Entrepreneurship developed into a concentration at SU in 2005 when it became popular. SU has since pushed to expand it to be a bachelor of science in business administration degree (BSBA).

Starting in the fall of 2016 entrepreneurship will be available as a major for business students. However, students in other majors will be able to enroll in the program as well.

“The minor will be available to non-business students. Students in fine arts or engineering or any other major will be able to learn how to develop their ideas through the entrepreneurship program,” said John Kooti, dean of Grove College of Business.

The new entrepreneurship program is exceedingly distinctive, according to Kooti

“There are more than 15,000 business schools in the world. Most of them offer entrepreneurship only as a concentration,” Kooti said. “With the addition of the BSBA in entrepreneurship, we are the only school in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s system that offers a major in entrepreneurship.”

Until now, the entrepreneurship concentration offered four core classes: Issues in entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship and small business development. The program will offer a fifth class next fall; new product design and development. Students must complete all five of these courses to receive a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship.

Four professors currently teach entrepreneurial courses at SU. Since the program was approved, the department has been searching for an additional professor with entrepreneurial experience.

“Since [entrepreneurship] is so practice oriented, it is important that we hire somebody with significant experience in the field,” Kooti said.

However, the program will offer far more than just a new professor and new entrepreneurship course. By the fall of 2017, SU plans to open the Charles H. Diller Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation, according to Kooti. The center will provide resources to students that will assist in creating, developing and marketing their entrepreneurial creations.

There are approximately 70 students enrolled in the entrepreneurship concentration, which Kooti heralds as successful.

“Many high schools now have an entrepreneurship program in place," Kooti said."That being said, a majority of freshmen that come in would not enter the entrepreneurship program directly. We expect them to enter the program after a year or two into their schooling once they are upperclassmen."

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