Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) 2016 Alumni Survey Findings
Author: Nakamoto, Jonathan
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Networks,Entrepreneurship,Alumni,Surveys,Middle School Students,High School Students,Employment Qualifications,Job Skills,College Attendance,Business,Employment Level,At Risk Students,Individual Characteristics,Educational Attainment,Qualitative Research

This study describes the results of a survey administered to alumni of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's (NFTE) education programs. These programs aim to improve the entrepreneurship knowledge and skills of middle and high school students in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. The study was designed to gather information about alumni's employability skills, college enrollment, business launch, and employment outcomes. The study included a focus on alumni of NFTE's Startup Summer program because these students had previously participated in an NFTE program during the school year and were thought to be the most invested in launching their businesses. The researchers surveyed all alumni who participated in one or more of NFTE's programs between 1995 and 2016 and received responses from 2,117 alumni. The respondents were 35 percent Hispanic/Latino, 31 percent Black/African American, 11 percent White, 10 percent Asian, 7 percent from two or more races, 2 percent Other, and 4 percent did not report their race/ethnicity. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were female, 42 percent were male, and 1 percent did not report their gender. The largest percentage of respondents participated in programs in New York City (26 percent), Miami/Fort Lauderdale (18 percent), and Chicago (13 percent). The vast majority of alumni who responded to the survey (89 percent) reported that NFTE contributed to their knowledge, skills, and/or personal development. The majority of respondents who finished high school were currently attending college (58 percent) or had finished college (21 percent) and half of survey respondents (49 percent) reported using their NFTE experience in their college applications. One-quarter of the survey respondents launched the business they planned in their NFTE course or another business after their NFTE course. The rate at which the NFTE alumni respondents indicated they were self-employed (16 percent) was higher than the national average. Seventy-one percent of the survey respondents who were Startup Summer participants launched a business and 76 percent of Startup Summer participants who were currently in college planned to start a business after they graduate. Overall, the results from the study indicated that respondents felt that the NFTE courses had a positive influence on their lives and the survey findings suggested that Startup Summer had a particularly strong influence on the participants. Future analysis of the responses to the survey's open-ended questions may produce formative data that NFTE could use to make changes to the programs. Additionally, future studies could specifically examine strengths and weaknesses of each NFTE program. The report contains 22 references, 14 exhibits, and one appendix.