State-Level Entrepreneurship Policy and Tertiary Entrepreneurship Education : A Study of Benchmarks and Trends in North Dakota

North Dakota lacks an entrepreneurial climate, ranking among the states with the lowest levels of entrepreneurship.Because entrepreneurship nurtures economic growth, a five-step initiative was created by the National Governor's Association (NGA), with assistance from the Kauffman foundation. The initiative seeks to create more positive entrepreneurship environments within states; this study looks at the implementation of academic programs in entrepreneurship throughout North Dakota universities.Following the description of population, economic, and entrepreneurial characteristics of North Dakota, the sources of higher education are listed, as are their degree offerings and enrollment sizes.The North Dakota University System (NDUS) suggested six essential parts of the program:an economic development connection, educational excellence, a flexible and responsive system, an accessible system,a system offunding and reward, and methods for sustaining the vision. Using various means to assess the current entrepreneurial education opportunities in the state, it is found that North Dakota's institutions of higher education are lacking in their implementation of such courses in spite of the NDUS's recommendations. A review of the entrepreneurship programs offered within the state is provided.Implications of implementing more entrepreneurship programs, as well as ways to increase progress within universities, are discussed. (AKP)