University of Georgia — Online Entrepreneurship Certificate

Industry

Education

Timeline

1 year

Services

• — Market research & strategy
• — Course creation (content + video)
• — Custom LMS build & support
• — Co-branded marketing website
• — Website design & content creation
• — Marketing collateral

Outcomes

• +First public/private program for UGA
• +Nationally recognized program
• +New marketing channel development

The University of Georgia is one of the premier educational institutions in the country, with traditional business programs, business-related ancillary programs, and partnerships with the SBA's Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). Tarkenton worked in collaboration with the University and the Terry College of Business to develop a new online course that blended traditional academic lectures and seminars with experiential lessons delivered by entrepreneurs and business practitioners.

While the University of Georgia has its own traditional education programs, leaders at the University and the Terry College of Business wanted to create an entrepreneurship program that would be accessible to anyone, not based on educational prerequisites. They also wanted a practical, experiential, and actionable curriculum that would make the biggest impact possible on current and would-be business owners — ranging from traditional students to early retirees.

Our team tackled this opportunity in four steps.

1. 01

   Define the program

   Tarkenton's content and strategy teams worked directly with University leaders — including the President of the University and tenured business professors — along with private business owners and operators, to identify the academic and skill gaps most prevalent in small businesses. The goal: create an online course with the same rigor found in traditional education programs, but available to non-traditional students to complete before or while running their business. The program was named the Tarkenton Certificate in Entrepreneurship — an acknowledgement of our founder's business successes and contributions to small business America.

2. 02

   Create the content and platform

   The Tarkenton content team partnered with professors at the Terry College of Business to create all the content for the new course — including video lectures, quizzes, transcripts, lesson plans, and exercises. We filmed and produced all of the lessons, using a combination of University professors and qualified business practitioners as presenters, focused on the most up-to-date, practical guidance on complex business topics. The Tarkenton development team then built a custom Learning Management System (LMS) to host the entire course.

3. 03

   Market the program

   Tarkenton also led the marketing strategy and execution for the new certificate program, including:

   • Marketing website: tarkenton.org
   • Marketing video
   • Direct mail to new business startups
   • Email marketing to University alumni
   • Google and social advertising
   • Trade publication advertisements
   • Speaking engagements
   • Coordinated media tour spanning television, radio, print, and online publications

Tarkenton successfully created, launched, and supported the first ever, fully-accessible, entrepreneurship training program in the long and prestigious history of the University of Georgia. The success of the program motivated the Terry College of Business to use a modified version of the Tarkenton Certificate in Entrepreneurship as the basis of its curriculum for an online course in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the University looked for effective virtual education options early in the pandemic, the Tarkenton-built LMS and course proved to be an effective alternative for traditional students.

• +First public/private program for UGA
• +Nationally recognized program
• +New marketing channel development