AACC students interested in starting businesses can earn a degree or certificate from the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute on campus.

The certificate and degree programs consist of six required core classes. “All of our classes in the certificate program are part of the degree program,” Carlene Cassidy, the chair of the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute, said.

These classes include Introduction to Entrepreneurship (ESI 103); Entrepreneurship: Sales and Marketing for Small Businesses (ESI 104); Small Business Management (ESI 120); Small Business Accounting (ESI 217); Legal Issues for Business (ESI 250); and Entrepreneurship: New Venture Planning (ESI 270).

“I enjoy the classes I have had with this program,” Nathanial Disney, a second-year ESI certificate student, said. “I think there is a lot of neat resources you can really find by being involved in this program and a lot of neat networking opportunities to further yourself once you go past college.”

According to Cassidy, besides the six core classes students must take, the degree program includes program electives in addition to general education requirements.

Other classes that students can take are Business and Its Environment (ESI 111); eMarketing (ESI 127); Business Communications (ESI 162); Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship; and Nonprofit Management (ESI 231) and Internship in Business 1 (ESI 275).

“eMarketing with Stephanie Goldenberg, I think, was my favorite class because it’s so real world today,” Nicholas Kiraly, a second-year ESI certificate and business management student, said. “It’s not dated. It almost felt like it had been created for people of this generation for marketing tactics in social media, in where we are now.”

Cassidy said she has seen a growing interest among students in Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management “because we do have people who want to do … something that is more of a social cause as opposed to just a for-profit type of a venture.”

Social entrepreneurship is the use of business ideas and principles to help others and produce social change. An example of a social-minded company is Toms Shoes, a for-profit company in California that based its work on the slogan “One for One,” meaning for every product the company sells, it donates one to help a person in need.