Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, October 8, 2010
Summary of Pre and Post Survey Evaluation
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour (EET) that
was held at SPC during fall 2010. The results of pre and postsurveys administered prior
to and at the conclusion of the tour are included in this report.
Background
St. Petersburg College’s Entrepreneurship Center presented the EET with the intent of
fostering entrepreneurship among students. The objective was to raise students’
awareness of the importance of opening one’s mind to possibilities by making the link
between an entrepreneurial spirit and critical thinking.
The tour was presented in partnership with the Free Enterprise Campaign and with
support from Inc. Magazine. It was held on October 8, 2010, at SPC’s Seminole
Campus Digitorium (UP 160) and was available to students free of charge. To prepare
students for the EET, the Entrepreneurship Center Specialist partnered with the
Student Life and Leadership Directors and the Quality Enhancement Team to design a
mini-lesson that was later conducted at the retreat for student leaders held on August
27, 2010, at the EpiCenter. The mini-lesson focused on the concepts of making
inferences and assumptions and included small group discussion activities.
The EET event took place from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and included two keynote
speakers, a workshop, networking opportunities, a panel discussion, and a questionand-answer session.
The primary goals of SPC organizers were to foster
entrepreneurship among students and encourage awareness of the importance of
critical thinking. The pre and postEET surveys provided a means to evaluate critical
thinking in relation to the QEP initiative by observing changes in students’ awareness
of characteristics linked to critical thinking as a result of the event. Copies of both
surveys are located in Appendices A and B.
Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour Description
The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour is based in New York and has been presented more
than 150 times nationwide. The goal of the tour is to inspire creative thinking,
encourage thinking outside the box, and instill in students an entrepreneurial mindset.
Survey Administration
The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour was publicized through campus emails, paper
flyers in faculty mail boxes, and an announcement in the College’s Blue and White enewsletter. Students across the county and people in the community were invited to
attend through presentations at the Seminole City Council, The Rotary Club of
Seminole, and the GED programs at the Seminole and Clearwater Campuses.
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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 1 of 8
Prior to the mini-lesson, students completed the presurvey that measured their
disposition toward critical thinking. The presurvey and mini-lesson were also
conducted by students and faculty at the Seminole campus, Downtown campus, and
the Clearwater campus during the weeks leading up to the EET.
Students completed the postsurvey at the conclusion of the EET. The postsurvey
included the same questions as the presurvey to ensure that changes in student
awareness of characteristics linked to critical thinking would be observed after
students participated in the event. The postsurvey included one additional question:
“This event increased my awareness of the importance of thinking critically,” which
required a yes/no response.
Survey Responses
A total of 384 students completed either the pre or postsurvey. Based on a comparison
of student identification numbers, it was determined that 66 of the 384 students
completed both the pre and postsurveys. These 66 students are the basis for the
analysis of students’ dispositions before and after attending the EET. A total of 37
students completed the postsurvey, but not the presurvey. Their responses were not
significantly different from those completing both surveys, and are not included in this
report.
Students were asked to select their home campus, and this distribution by campus is
presented in Table 1. The majority of students (84.9%) selected Seminole as their
home campus, while nine percent of the students selected Clearwater, and 1.5% each
indicated the EpiCenter and St. Pete/Gibbs. Two students (3.0%) listed multiple
campuses on the pre and postsurvey.
Table 1
Distribution of Students by Campus
Home Campus
Seminole
Clearwater
EpiCenter
St. Pete/Gibbs
Multiple campuses
Total
Pre and PostEET
Survey
56
6
1
1
2
66
Percent
84.9%
9.1%
1.5%
1.5%
3.0%
100.0%
Students were asked to rate the importance of five characteristics found in the
workplace using the scale of 1 (not important at all), 2 (somewhat important), 3
(important), and 4 (very important). Table 2 shows the presurvey student ratings. The
highest rated characteristic in terms of importance (92.4%) was “Considering different
points of view.” “Being creative” and “Being involved in decision-making” were each
rated second highest (90.9%). The remaining two characteristics were rated above 81%
in terms of importance.
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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 2 of 8
Table 2
PreEET responses to “How important are each of the following characteristics in the
workplace?”
Not
Characteristic
important
at all
Somewhat
important
Important
Very
important
Important
or Very
Important
Being creative
0.0%
9.1%
34.8%
56.1%
90.9%
Examining assumptions before coming to a
conclusion
3.0%
13.6%
24.3%
59.1%
83.4%
Considering different points of view
0.0%
7.6%
36.3%
56.1%
92.4%
Questioning why things are done in a
certain way
1.5%
16.7%
37.9%
43.9%
81.8%
Being involved in decision-making
0.0%
9.1%
31.8%
59.1%
90.9%
Table 3 provides student responses in the postsurvey. “Considering different points of
view” was the highest rated characteristic in terms of importance (98.5%). “Being
creative” and “Being involved in decision making” were each rated second highest
(97.0%). The remaining two characteristics were rated above 95% in terms of
importance.
Table 3
PostEET responses to “How important are each of the following characteristics in the
workplace?”
Not
Characteristic
important
at all
Somewhat
important
Important
Important
Very
important
or Very
Important
Being creative
0.0%
3.0%
13.7%
83.3%
97.0%
Examining assumptions before coming to a
conclusion
0.0%
4.5%
30.3%
65.2%
95.5%
Considering different points of view
0.0%
1.5%
21.2%
77.3%
98.5%
Questioning why things are done in a certain
way
0.0%
4.6%
42.4%
53.0%
95.4%
Being involved in decision-making
0.0%
3.0%
22.7%
74.3%
97.0%
Table 4 displays the difference in the responses between the pre and postsurveys. The
two characteristics with the most change (13.6%) in terms of importance are
“Questioning why things are done in a certain way” and “Examining assumptions
before coming to a conclusion” (12.1%). The three remaining characteristics displayed
a change of 6.1% each. All five characteristics were rated higher in terms of
importance on the postsurvey than on the presurvey.
Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 3 of 8
Table 4
Pre and PostEET change in important and very important total responses to “How important
are each of the following characteristics in the workplace?”
Characteristic
Change in Important or Very
Important Total
Being creative
+6.1%
Examining assumptions before coming to a
conclusion
+12.1%
Considering different points of view
+6.1%
Questioning why things are done in a certain
way
+13.6%
Being involved in decision-making
+6.1%
The postsurvey included a sixth item: “This event increased my awareness of the
importance of thinking critically” which required a yes/no response. The majority of
students (89.1%) selected yes, as shown on Table 5.
Table 5
PostEET responses to “This event increased my awareness of the importance of thinking
critically.”
Characteristic
This event increased my awareness of the
importance of thinking critically.
YES
NO
89.1%
10.9%
A comparison of the mean scores and standard deviations for the pre and postsurvey
responses regarding the five characteristics are presented in Table 6. There was an
increase in the mean score for all five questions on the survey. The highest change in
mean scores between the pre and postresponses was +0.33 for “Being creative.”
“Considering different points of view” represented the second highest change in mean
score (+0.28), and “Questioning why things are done in a certain way” was third with a
change of +0.24. A two-tailed t-test was used to determine if the changes in the mean
scores before and after the EET were significant. All five mean scores were
significantly different at an alpha of .05, showing a positive improvement in disposition
toward critical thinking.
Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 4 of 8
Table 6
Pre and PostEET mean score results and standard deviation
PreEET Results
N=66
Characteristic
PostEET Results
N=66
Mean
St Dev
Mean
St Dev
Being creative
3.47
0.66
3.80
0.47
Change in
Mean
0.33*
Examining assumptions before coming
to a conclusion
3.39
0.84
3.61
0.58
0.22*
Considering different points of view
3.48
0.64
3.76
0.47
0.28*
Questioning why things are done in a
certain way
3.24
0.79
3.48
0.59
0.24*
3.50
0.66
3.71
0.52
0.21*
Being involved in decision-making
*Statistically significant
Figure 1 represents the mean scores for the pre and postsurvey responses.
Figure 1
Mean scores for Pre and PostEET survey responses
Pre and PostEET Means
3.90
3.80
3.70
3.60
3.50
3.40
3.30
3.20
3.10
3.00
2.90
Pre-EET Mean
Post-EET Mean
Being
creative
Examining
assumptions
Consid
different
views
Questioning Involved in
why
decisions
Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour
Conclusion
The pre and postsurvey evaluation suggested that students’ awareness of the
importance of five characteristics linked to critical thinking increased after
participating in the EET, as shown in Table 7. This positive result is in alignment with
the QEP initiative to increase critical thinking.
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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 5 of 8
Table 7
Ranking of Important and Very Important Ratings for Workplace Characteristics
Important or Very
Characteristic
Important
Difference
PreEET
PostEET
Questioning why things are done in a certain
way
81.8%
95.4%
+13.6%
Examining assumptions before coming to a
conclusion
83.4%
95.5%
+12.1%
Considering different points of view
92.4%
98.5%
+6.1%
Being creative
90.9%
97.0%
+6.1%
Being involved in decision-making
90.9%
97.0%
+6.1%
Over 13% of the postsurvey respondents rated “Questioning why things are done in a
certain way” higher in terms of importance as compared to responses received before
students attended the EET. “Examining assumptions before coming to a conclusion”
was rated higher in terms of importance by 12% of the students responding to the post
survey than by the presurvey respondents. Overall, students rated all five
characteristics linked to critical thinking higher in terms of importance after
participating in the EET.
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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 6 of 8
Appendix A: PreExtreme Entrepreneurship Tour Survey
STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
0
0
0
0
0
0
Which is your “home” campus, the one
0
where you take most of your classes?
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Allstate Center
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Clearwater Campus
3
3
3
3
3
3

Downtown Center
3

EpiCenter
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Health Education Center
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

Midtown

Seminole Campus
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus
7
7
7
7
7
7
7

Tarpon Springs Campus
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
Questions: 1-5: How important are each of the following
characteristics
in the workplace?
Not
Important
at all
Somewhat
Important
Important
Very
Important
1
2
3
4
Like this:  Not like this:   
1.
2.
Being Creative
Examining assumptions before coming to a conclusion


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







3
Considering different points of view

4.
Questioning why things are done in a certain way


5. Being involved in decision-making


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





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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 7 of 8
Appendix B: PostExtreme Entrepreneurship Tour Survey
STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
Which is your “home” campus, the one
where you take most of your classes?
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Allstate Center
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Clearwater Campus
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Downtown Center
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

EpiCenter
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Health Education Center

Midtown
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

Seminole Campus
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus
7
7
7
7
7
7
7

Tarpon Springs Campus
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
Questions: 1-5: How important are each of the following
characteristics in the workplace?
Not
Important
at all
Somewhat
Important
Important
Very
Important
1
2
3
4
Like this:  Not like this:   
3.
4.
3
5.
Being Creative
Examining assumptions before coming to a conclusion
Considering different points of view
Questioning why things are done in a certain way
5. Being involved in decision-making
6
This event increased my awareness of the importance of
thinking critically.












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

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
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








Yes
No


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Department of Academic Effectiveness and Assessment
Page 8 of 8