The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp program, which once spanned an entire semester, is now completed in one week's time, and certain elements of it are no longer mandatory.
The Institute for Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation (ELI) is still an important part of the Howard freshman experience, but the changes have made it more bearable for the participants of its Entrepreneurial Boot Camp.
In 2003, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation awarded a $3.1 million grant to Howard to establish a program that would teach entrepreneurial skills as a fundamental part of the college experience, and to promote the importance of black entrepreneurship in the community.
Because of the confusion and frustration caused by last year's boot camp, changes had to be made. First the boot camp sessions were condensed to last only throughout Freshman Week, instead of spanning an entire semester. Also, the business plan competition was no longer mandatory.
Still, there was confusion for the Class of 2009, as to who was supposed to participate in the program.
"I don't know anybody who went to it [boot camp] because we were told it was only for School of B. students," said Kourtney Haynie a freshman biology major. "Since I'm in Arts and Sciences I thought I didn't have to go,"
According to Trenile Tillman, who coordinated both the boot camp and the business plan competition, said the program is still mandatory for all freshmen.
"The Business Plan Competition is no longer mandatory, but freshmen have to attend Boot Camp and complete the online module."
For many members of the class of 2008, Entrepreneurship Boot Camp was not included in their highlight reels of first semester at the Mecca. The boot camp took up several Saturday afternoons with its informational sessions, panel discussions and group meetings.
While many of last year's freshman chose not to participate in the program, some students had no choice. The boot camp counted for more than 20% of the grade in some Freshman Orientation classes, leaving students frustrated and exhausted.
Camille Webster, who is now a sophomore fashion merchandising major said the time spent at the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp intruded on time that could have been spent on typical freshmen experiences at Howard.
"Last year, the boot camp was informative, but it prevented me from doing a lot of other things that I wanted to experience during my freshman year like the Howard, Hampton game," she said.
She also said the changes were inevitable.
"I'm not surprised that they changed the way boot camp was run, because after awhile people just stopped going," she said.
Even for some school of business students Entrepreneurial boot camp was too tedious. Erica Huddleton, a sophomore Computer-Based Information Systems major, said she felt "the boot camp was a waste of time."
She said, despite good intentions, there were two faults in the program.
"The School of Business had good intentions no doubt," she said. "However, we were forced to work in groups that were not always cooperative and the program lasted too long."
