Making your education work.

• Author: Dano, Mike

Just because you're a professional doesn't mean there's nothing left to learn. For too long, industry and education have existed in distinct vacuums--where learners and doers were kept at a distance, by conventional standards . But as the pace of the economy accelerates, there's no time to stop to absorb new skill sets and remain relevant. Luckily, Colorado's educational landscape--encompassing both traditional and alternative programs--now allows professionals to work and learn simultaneously.

On the following pages, ColoradoBiz covers a variety of offerings, from ala carte options to immersive schooling for adults looking to bulk up their knowledge and advance their careers .

Weighing debt's toll on entrepreneurship.

What effect does debt have on college graduates' entrepreneurial aspirations? If college students take out loans to pay for their education, will they be less likely to start a new company because they're so worried about paying off their debt?

These questions generate passion on both sides of the issue.

"For way too many young people, they're graduating with these piles of debt and they have not gained any skills in their education that they can use to pay down their debt," said Vic Ahmed, co-founder and chairman of the Innovation Pavilion, which describes itself as an "ecosystem for entrepreneurs." Ahmed said that millennial likely will change their career an average of five times during their life; how, he asked, will they be able to pay off the debt they will accumulate educating themselves for these careers?

"What kind of ability are we giving these people so they can compete?" Ahmed asked, arguing that most of today's higher educational institutions don't teach students the skills they will need to launch their own companies or work in startup environments. Further, he said, some students, like those studying to be doctors, can amass up to $650,000 in student loans--thus making it imperative that they immediately find lucrative jobs (and probably not in the nonprofit sector). "I think this is by far the biggest challenge for our nation," Ahmed said.

Innovation Pavilion is working to address the situation. Ahmed said his organization is tackling the "curse of college debt" with classes on entrepreneurship and technical training alongside courses on life and leadership skills and problem-and project- based learning. "We have a major initiative to transform education," Ahmed said.

TWO-SIDED COIN

On the other side of the debate--whether student debt inhibits entrepreneurship--sits Tom Duening. Duening is an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the director for the school's Center for Entrepreneurship.

Duening said his school's students are leaving the university with an average of $17,000 in student debt. "That to me does not seem like a burden to preclude someone from being an entrepreneur," he said.

"There's never a perfect time to start a company," he added, noting that, "We have a very forgiving society. There's a lot of leniency and flexibility... for paying back student debt."

Moreover, Duening said, a college degree is "totally worth it." He pointed to findings from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that the projected lifetime earnings of a high-school graduate are around $1.3 million, but the same number for the average student with a master's degree is $2.8 million. That figure balloons to $4.1 million for those with professional degrees.

In fact, Duening argued that "the bigger the debt burden, the more likely [a student] needs to be an entrepreneur in order to pay down the debt." He added: "I feel sorry for those folks who have taken on huge amounts of debt and don't see the entrepreneurial opportunities out there." That said, Duening agreed that everyone should learn the principles of entrepreneurship, either in school or outside of it. Indeed, Duening's Center for Entrepreneurship is "dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship, venture creation, and economic development in the Southern Colorado region."

NUMBERS GAME

"This is a world for entrepreneurs," he said.

While Duening and Ahmed come down on either side of the student debt-vs-entrepreneurship question, one faculty member in Colorado State University's Management Department has put some numbers to it. Professor Timothy Galpin conducted a survey of 56 students enrolled in junior- and senior-level entrepreneurship courses at the university, asking them their estimated level of student loan debt upon graduation, and how much they felt that their debt repayments would be a constraint to pursue a startup venture. (Not surprisingly, Galpin teaches entrepreneurship and business strategy.)

On average, Galpin's survey respondents expected $14,384 in student loans on graduation, and "the higher the average estimated debt upon graduation, the greater the perceived constraint to pursuing a startup venture," he said in his findings.

Colorado State University - Global Campus.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY-GLOBAL CAMPUS OFFERS career-relevant bachelor's and master's degree programs built for working adults.

* Classes Anytime, Anywhere : 100% online format with no set class times allows you to work toward s your goals w ithout putting other priorities on hold.

* Career Relevant: Our classes are full of information that you can apply at work the very next day; improving your workplace success from the moment you enroll.

* Tuition Guarantee Once you enroll at CSU-Global, your tuition is locked in and your rate will never increase as long as you stay enrolled.

* Visit CSUGlobal.edu or calll-800-920-6723 to speak with an Enrollment Counselor today.

Webster University

WEBSTER UNIVERSITY HAS PROVIDED INNOVATIVE higher education to residents and military personnel in the Denver metropolitan area since 1974. Webster has been an innovative pioneer in education for career-minded professionals providing graduate programs in convenient format that meets the needs of working adults.

Founded in 1915, Webster University is a traditional non-profit institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. With its home campus in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves. Mo., Webster serves more than 20,000 students through a network of 100+ campuses worldwide and on-line.

WWW.WEBSTER.EDU/DENVER

IMAGINE A MANAGEMENT EDUCATION that prepares you for business without blind spots. A curriculum that turns you into a systems thinker, with an integrated view of your enterprise. And a network that opens doors for you in organizations around the world.

Washington University's Olin Business School Executive MBA program delivers all three.

"As a WashU EMBA student, I acquired a strategic outlook on decision making that allowed me to stretch beyond relationship and portfolio management," says Nick Lane, senior vice president of Colorado Business Bank.

WashU founded the program more than three decades ago, and, over the years, has expanded its EMBA campuses from St. Louis to Kansas City, Denver, Shanghai, and Mumbai. Classes for the 20-month domestic program meet one time a month for a three-day session in addition to four strategically timed residencies.

The program kicks off in St. Louis with GO Week, the first residency and the foundation of your EMBA experience. Denver-campus students go back Denver for the curriculum's core courses. The Business of Policy: DC Immersion--a residency that leverages WashU's unique partnership with the Brookings Institution--complements the core curriculum and is another year one highlight.

Year two takes you back to St. Louis for the weeklong Leadership Residency and for the integrated business themes: Growth, Global Markets, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Working in teams, you and your classmates develop a new-venture idea and business plan. You also travel to Beijing and Shanghai for the program's final residency where you explore the intersection of business and government on a global...