Students’ assessment of experiential learning in an entrepreneurship curriculum – expectations versus outcomes

Experiential learning has become a popular concept in curriculum design and delivery. There is a need to develop science-based assessment to validate learning outcomes and effectiveness when applying experiential learning in teaching entrepreneurship. This article shares one of the most successful experiential learning activities in a non-conventional entrepreneurship curriculum in a 4-year university in the United States. Each student received $1 to work with 8-10 individuals in a team to design, plan, operate, and manage a small venture on campus in one semester. While all proceeds must donate to charity, each individual went through the same process of new venture creation and professional development as in real life. Through a serious of assessment, students revealed that their expectations of the course was very different from their reality in finance, business process, entrepreneurship concepts, team work, communication, and transformation of failure. This article provides tools, strategies, and instruments for educators and scholars to further test the integrated nature of experiential learning in entrepreneurship education.