Ball State's graduate school entrepreneurship program allows working professionals to continue at their job while taking classes via television.
The Ground Floor Initiative, devised by Larry Cox, director of entrepreneurship, is designed to help students start their own business right after they finish their degree. This is another attempt by Ball State's entrepreneurship program to lock-in their place among the elite programs in the nation. Ball State's program ranked sixth out of the top 10 by the U.S. News and World Report in 2007, and has been in the top 10 every year since 1999. Students can study from their hometowns and Cox said he hoped this program would lead to economic development in Indiana.
"Entrepreneurship students are most likely to start a business in their hometowns," Cox said. "If they go to a college campus then they may start that business anywhere. But if they are already established in a location, then they'll be more likely to stay there. That's the advantage of the Ball State program."
For student Ryan Tolle, staying in his hometown makes even more sense, as he already owns a rental property business. Because Tolle lives close to Muncie, he has the option of attending classes in person or participating from home.
"Part of the allure is that I didn't have to be at every class," Tolle said. "If you needed to watch a class over the web, you could do that. Provides a lot of flexibility."
Tolle was drawn to the Ground Floor Initiative because he had never heard of another program that gave this opportunity.
"Dr. Cox had a lot of enthusiasm and passion for what he was talking about," Tolle said. "It was extremely interesting and to be able to go to school and get your MBA and possibly get a business out of it; I hadn't seen or heard of a program like it before."
Politicians and academics have long spoken about the "brain drain" in Indiana, a situation where many college graduates find work outside of the state. The Ground Floor Initiative, along with programs like the Business Fellowship, is another way Ball State is working with local communities to attempt to reverse this trend.
The Business Fellowship's Web site said that in 2003 the state was lagging far behind other comparable states in terms of residents with higher education experience and technical skills.
By helping students develop businesses based off of new technologies, Cox said he hoped The Ground Floor Initiative would help in both of those problem areas.
The Ground Floor Initiative officially began last Friday with an opening banquet. Nine students and four mentors are participating in the program. It is designed to be taken over two years, with two classes taken each semester and one summer semester. Once a month the students will spend a day on Ball State's campus attending special workshops.
The first month is dedicated to finding new technologies which will provide business opportunities for students. During Spring Semester, students will take their technologies and see if there is a market large enough to provide an acceptable profit. During summer, the students will enter the planning stage, where they will develop their business outline.
In the fall of 2007, students will look for funding to ensure their businesses will get off the ground. The program ends in the spring of the 2008 when the business launchings are planned.
Cox said the program is over two years in the making, and began with a classroom exercise at the University of Wisconsin. He said that he hoped he could turn this program into a regular fixture at Ball State.
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