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To Spur Regional Economic Growth, Community Colleges Look Beyond National Graduation Goals

January 30, 2013

In July 2009, President Obama challenged community colleges to graduate an additional five million students by 2020. According to the president's speech, community colleges uniquely are positioned to fuel the future of U.S. competiveness by developing an educated, skilled workforce to address the needs of a 21st century workplace. However, community colleges across the country are going beyond the president's challenge and establishing new initiatives to help support regional innovation ecosystems focused on encouraging entrepreneurship and nurturing tech-based startups.

The Innovation Fund America (IFA), a partnership between the Kauffman Foundation and Lorain County Community College (LCCC), recently announced it will expand its innovate model to three community colleges — Long Beach Community College in California, Johnson County Community College in Kansas and Catawba Valley Community College in North Carolina. Based on the LCCC highlysuccessful Innovation Fund model, these pilot programs will offer vital support to their community's new and young firms through pre-seedstage access to capital for proof-of- concept, intensive coaching, mentoring, education opportunities and internships. Established in 2007, the LCCC's Innovation Fund has invested approximately $6.5 million into 94 startups that have created more than 300 jobs, provided more than 150 paid internships, generated $17 million in revenue and raised $71 million in follow-on funding. Read the release...

The Business & Entrepreneurship Center (BEC), an initiative of the California Community Colleges, announced a public-private partnership to launch a statewide business plan competition targeting young entrepreneurs. Open to California residents over the age of 14 years, the competition encourages young people to write a business plan and compete to win a combined cash prize of $15,000. Branded as the “BEC Boost,” the competition is broken down by three age groups — 14 to 17 years old, 18 to 27 years old, and 28 and older. The community colleges hope to make self-employment a legitimate lifetime career path for the state's youth by encouraging and mentoring them to gain the skills and knowledge to start their own business. Read the release...

According to an article on delmarvanow.com, a newly formed consortium of community colleges from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia has created a 30-hour technology transfer course to spur technology infusion by existing companies and entrepreneurs. The course, titled Grow Your Business by Accessing New Product Technology, is intended to provide an opportunity for the states' existing manufacturers opportunity to access science and technology developed in universities or government laboratories for use in their own businesses. The pilot course will be offered at Wor-Wic Community College in Maryland this spring. Read the article...

California, Ohiohigher ed, entrepreneurship