All course information is listed within this syllabus.

CEDEV 597C: Launching Community Ventures, Nonprofits and Organizations (3 credits). This course will provide students with the knowledge needed to form innovative ideas that address social, environmental, and economic problems, put those ideas into a physical plan, get them funded, and launch them. Along the way, students will develop their own ideas for improving the world, and work them forward with fellow innovators. All the while, students will learn the techniques of social entrepreneurship and collaborative innovation, and how to apply them to everyday life.

Prerequisite or concurrent: CEDEV 430

Instructor

Instructor for CEDEV 597C

Michael W-P Fortunato, Ph.D.
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
Founding Partner, Creative Insight Community Development

Phone (Cell): 412-480-4974
E-mail: mwf117@psu.edu or michael@creativeinsightcd.com

I will do my best to respond to your e-mails (use Canvas Inbox) within 24 hours, and I will let you know if I'm going to be unavailable for any length of time.

Office hours by appointment only.

Course Goals and Objectives

  • To develop entrepreneurship planning and strategy skills that can be used not only to start businesses, but more broadly, to launch and fund innovative community initiatives that improve economic, social, and environmental well-being.
  • To discover new ways of applying entrepreneurial strategies to "non-entrepreneurial" situations to stimulate creativity, innovation, and strategic risk-taking in everyday professional life.
  • To present an alternative to the traditional entrepreneurship "plan-fund-launch" course that has equal applicability and usefulness for entrepreneurs, professionals who want to support entrepreneurship, and people who plan to never become entrepreneurs but wish to apply their strategies and behaviors to their own work.
  • To explore alternative means of initiative planning other than standard business plans, including value proposition planning, social impact planning, and team building.
  • To explore alternative means of financing other than standard bank/angel/venture capital arrangements, including lean financing, grants, subsidized loans, crowdsourcing/kickstarting, locavesting, and other non-profit and non-traditional financing options.
  • To explore alternative means of networking, partnering, and organizing, including alternative organizational forms like public-private partnerships, non-profit corporations, B-corporations, learning networks, regional innovation systems, intentional innovation communities, and L3Cs.
  • To develop meaningful goals for initiatives, and learn how to effectively evaluate them.
  • To create a pitchable, fundable plan for a real initiative that addresses a local economic, social, or environmental problem, that is ready for launch upon completion of the course.

Learning Methods

This course relies primarily on three methods of learning:

  • Course readings, module readings, and multimedia like video and recordings
  • Engaging in online discussions and team-building exercises
  • A final planning project where you present a comprehensive launch plan for a new venture or initiative and pitch the idea using multiple media.

Course Schedule

For due dates, refer to the Course Summary on the Syllabus page in Canvas.

Course Materials

Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check the World Campus Course Catalog approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.

Required

ISBN: 978-0415801294
London, M., & Morfopoulos, R. G. (2009). Social Entrepreneurship: How to Start Successful Corporate Social Responsibility and Community-Based Initiatives for Advocacy and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. (E-Book option available)

For pricing and ordering information, please see the Barnes & Noble College website.

Materials will be available at Barnes & Noble College approximately three weeks before the course begins. It is very important that you purchase the correct materials. If your course requires one or more textbooks, you must have exactly the correct text required (edition and year).

E-Book Option

An online version of one or more of your texts is available at no cost as a Penn State Library E-Book. Some E-Books will only be available online, while others will be available to download in full or in part. You may choose to use the E-Book as an alternative to purchasing a physical copy of the text. You can access the E-Book by selecting Library Resources in the Course Navigation Menu, and then selecting the E-Reserves link. For questions or issues, you can contact the University Libraries Reserve Help (UL-RESERVESHELP@LISTS.PSU.EDU).

E-Reserves

This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in the Course Navigation Menu, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and searching for your instructor's last name.

Assignments

Participation (Weekly Assignments) — 78%

  • Weekly assignments are due at 11:59 p.m. EST on the assigned due date of the week the module is assigned. Discussion exercises will be worth 6% of your grade, while strategic exercises are worth 12% of your grade.
  • Weekly assignments are really just components of your idea plan.
  • For discussion-related exercises, initial posts are due at 11:59 p.m. EST on the Friday of the week the module is assigned, while responses are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday.

Idea Plan and Pitch — 22%

  • The idea plan is the final for the course and represents a pitchable, fundable idea to be launched (in theory or in reality) by its author.
    • It is a compilation of your previous work.
    • It should represent a comprehensive launch plan for an idea of your choosing, that is high-quality enough to pitch in real life.
    • It is accompanied by a pitch—a 10-minute presentation of your business using multimedia: visuals, websites, and spoken word.

Missed Modules

Students are expected to turn work in on the dates announced in the course. However, we realize that most of you are working professionals and will, from time to time, have to do something that will keep you from completing module work on time. If you have a conflict for work, travel, or family, please notify your instructors as soon as you can BEFORE your scheduled conflict. We are willing to work with you, but you have to work with us too! Likewise, this is a privilege and not a right—if you abuse it, we have the option of not accepting your work for that module or modules.

Grading Policy

The turnaround time for graded assignments is generally one week or less.

The following table is the grading criteria for the course.

Grading Criteria
Requirement Cumulative Point Value Weight
Participation 78 78%
Idea Plan and Pitch 22 22%
TOTAL: 100 100%

The following table is the grading scheme for the course.

Grading Scheme
Letter Grade Percentage
A 100% – 95%
A- < 95% – 90%
B+ < 90% – 86.7%
B < 86.7% – 83.4%
B- < 83.4% – 80%
C+ < 80% – 75%
C < 75% – 70%
D < 70% – 60%
F < 60%

Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Graduate Courses for additional information.

NOTE: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please see "Graduation" under World Campus Student Resources.

Online Students Use of the Library

As Penn State World Campus students, you have access to many of the materials that the library offers to students. The library website has a lot to offer, but can be overwhelming. A guide has been created to serve as your introduction to important library resources, services, and important pages within the library. The Online Student Library Guide is updated regularly by the online librarian and is intended to provide a level of comfort through an introduction to help you feel comfortable navigating the library website to find valuable information for your coursework.

Technical Requirements

This course is offered online and it is assumed you possess the minimum system requirements and computing skills to participate effectively. A list of technical requirements is listed on World Campus' Penn State Technical Requirements page.

Minimum Skills

  • You should have an understanding of basic computer usage (creating folders/directories, switching between programs, formatting and backing up media, accessing the internet).
  • You must be able to conduct word processing tasks such as creating, editing, saving, and retrieving documents.
  • You must be able to use a web browser to open web pages, download files, and search the internet.
  • You must be able to use an e-mail program to send and receive messages and to attach and download documents/files.
  • You must be able to download and install programs or plug-ins from the internet.

Getting Help With Canvas Courses

Canvas support is available 24/7 via chat or phone.

It is in your own best interest to be as specific as you possibly can. Try to include information such as the specific course page, quiz question, etc. you were on; what you attempted to do when that failed; the exact language of any error message displayed on your screen; the date and time when your problem occurred; and any other pertinent information (does the problem happen consistently and always in the same way, etc.).

Support Services

As a student, you have access to a variety of services and resources, including advising, tutoring, library services, career services, and more. Please visit the following resources for more information:

Accessibility Information

Netiquette

The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as e-mail and discussion postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core Rules of Netiquette" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course.

Penn State Policies

Login Policy

Students are expected to log in regularly to keep up to date with announcements, discussions, etc. The class will progress at a regular pace throughout the semester and there are specific due dates and times for assignments, etc.

Course Availability

Your course will be available to you beginning the first day of class and will remain open for one year. After one year the course will close.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle.

According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity, an academic integrity violation is "an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically." Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.

Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean's List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.

You can learn more at The College of Agricultural Sciences Academic Integrity Information for Students.

Educational Equity Statement

Penn State takes great pride in fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity on the Bias Response page.

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For information about Penn State's privacy statement and what it encompasses, please read their Web Privacy Statement. Visit Penn State's FERPA Guidelines for Faculty and Staff page for information regarding its rules governing the privacy of student educational records.

Copyright Notice

All course materials students receive or to which students have online access are protected by copyright laws. Students may use course materials and make copies for their own use as needed, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor's express permission is strictly prohibited. University Policy AD40, Recording of Classroom Activities and Note-Taking Services, addresses this issue. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University's Code of Conduct, and/or liable under federal and state laws.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional well-being. The University offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients' cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Accommodations for Persons With Disabilities

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources website provides contact information for every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources page.

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Accommodations for Military Personnel

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.

Use of Trade Names

Where trade names are used, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by World Campus, Outreach and Cooperative Extension, the College of Agricultural Sciences, or The Pennsylvania State University is implied.

Subject to Change Statement

Please note that this Course Syllabus is subject to change. Students are responsible for abiding by such changes.

Course Availability

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