Ashland University Launches Programs to Help High School Students Develop Skills

Ashland University’s Economics & Entrepreneurial Outreach Initiative Launches Multi-Faceted Programs to Help High School Students Develop the 21st Century Skills & Entrepreneurial Mindset Needed for the Future

Online content builds upon and enhances economics, entrepreneurship & science programs

Collaborative effort in concert with many Northeast Ohio leadership schools & organizations

Network of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to be established to support program in schools

ASHLAND, Ohio – The Scholarship of Entrepreneurial Engagement Program (SEE), the high school economics and entrepreneurial education outreach program of Ashland University, today announced the launch of its multi-faceted 2009/2010 program to help high school students develop the skills and entrepreneurial mindset needed for the future.

The program launch includes an online 21st Century Skills Multimedia Resource Bank that enhances Ashland’s existing economics, entrepreneurship and science programs, and provides a resource to assist teachers and parents in helping the high school students of Northeast Ohio and beyond develop the skills they will need in the future to succeed and prosper. The online site includes a wide range of content developed in concert with many leadership schools, organizations, and individuals with which the SEE program has been collaborating.

Also to be established is a network of part-time Entrepreneurs-in-Residence across Northeast Ohio to help support the programs in the school. The network is expected to be in place by the beginning of the Spring Semester that commences in January 2010.

“The challenge at all levels (teachers, parents and students) is to open the eyes and minds of high school students to the challenging reality they will face in the future, and then help them develop the 21st Century skills and entrepreneurial mindset they will need to successfully deal with that reality,” said John Klipfell, director of the SEE program at Ashland University.

“Whether as a result of the accelerating speed of technological change, or the changing wants and needs of billions of people in the global marketplace, or the instant communication and ease of global transportation that makes today’s global marketplace a reality, today’s high school students can expect virtually every product, every service, and every aspect of their lives to change during the course of their adult lifetimes,” said Klipfell. “The question that educators and parents must continually ask is this: “Are we preparing students for the reality of the change that is to come?”

“In addition to the usual history, math, science, English and other core subjects students typically learn in school, they must also learn creative thinking, problem solving and communication skills, and develop at least a basic financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy and perspective on the global economy, if they expect to be successful in the future,” stated John Dowdell, director of Ashland University’s Gill Center for Business and Economic Education.

“While many people appreciate the need for developing these so called 21st Century skills in our students, the practical realities of not having enough time in the curriculum, the lack of available and easily accessible content and instructional materials, and budget shortages, more often than not makes the development of these skills always a goal, but rarely a reality,” said Dowdell. “That’s why we chose to collaborate in the development of the content and learning materials needed to develop our online 21st Century Skills Multimedia Resource Bank, and to develop the network of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence that we plan to put in place.”

The program content included in the online 21st Century Skills Resource Bank is part of and further enhances the SEE program’s existing Core Economics and Entrepreneurship Program and Optional Business Plan Competition, and its Science & Technology Program and optional Science Concept Plan Competition. Although teachers are asked to register with the SEE Program Director prior to participation in these two programs, both of these programs are free to teachers. Students who fully participate in these two programs are eligible to receive a Certificate of Participation from Ashland University’s Gill Center for Business & Economic Education, which students can reference on their resumes when they apply for college admission or other advanced training.

“Ashland University is the first Ohio college or university to achieve “P21” Professional Development Affiliate status with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, added Dowdell. “The global awareness as well as financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy programs that Ashland makes available help develop important elements of the 21st Century skills that students will need to acquire to thrive in the future.”

To find out more about these programs and to see a catalog of available program materials, please either review the supporting exhibits attached to this news release, or visit the SEE Program page on the Ashland University website at www.ashland.edu/SEE-program

Educators wanting to find out more about participating in the SEE Program’s core Economics and Entrepreneurship Program and Optional Business Plan Competition, or its Science & Technology Program and Optional Science Concept Plan Competition, can do so by calling or emailing SEE Program Director, John Klipfell at jklipfel@ashland.edu or 440-821-2357.

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Ashland University is a mid-sized, private institution conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. www.ashland.edu