A School of Entrepreneurship
The B.S.B.A. in Entrepreneurship is offered by the David S. Congdon School of Entrepreneurship, North Carolina’s first private stand-alone school of entrepreneurship and one of only two schools of entrepreneurship in the state. Founding Dean Lou Anne Flanders-Stec leads a school with its own faculty and four majors: entrepreneurship, sales, event management and hospitality management.
Accreditation
High Point University’s SACSCOC accreditation includes the B.S.B.A. in Entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurship, leadership studies, sales and women’s leadership development minors.
A 99% Placement Rate
The Congdon School of Entrepreneurship reports a 99% placement rate for its graduates, who move into ventures of their own, family businesses and companies that want an entrepreneurial mindset.
University Accreditation
High Point University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and has been continuously accredited since 1951. SACSCOC has granted HPU Level V status, which authorizes a university to award doctoral degrees.
Business Plan Competition
Students earned a combined $30,000 in start-up funds at the 16th annual HPU Business Plan Competition in April 2026. Parkevo, an AI parking venture founded by Evan Taylor and Brianna Stinespring, won first place and $12,000. Entrepreneurship major Mason Wolford took second place and $8,000 for PlayFast Motion, and entrepreneurship major William Rossi placed fourth with a drone system that protects crops from wildlife.
Elevator Pitch Competition
At the 15th annual Elevator Pitch Competition, students earned $20,000. Wolford won first place and $10,000, and entrepreneurship major Liam Carney received the Rock Star Rookie Award.
National Results
Parkevo placed second in the semifinal round at e-Fest 2026 and was named one of 12 finalists from 531 student-led AI ventures at 160 colleges in Texas A&M’s AI Venture Velocity Challenge.
Sigma Nu Tau
Students can join Sigma Nu Tau, the entrepreneurship honor society, and incoming students can apply to the Entrepreneurship Fellows program.
“HPU shaped me into an entrepreneur.”
Cam Labrecque, founder and CEO of Rememery
Entrepreneurship Program Ranking
College Factual ranked High Point University #3 in its 2027 Best Entrepreneurial Studies Schools in North Carolina list, which weighs graduation rates, earnings after graduation, affordability and program focus. HPU also ranks #8 in the Southeast Region.
Marc Randolph, Entrepreneur in Residence
Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph serves as HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence, and students pitch their ideas to him each year. MyEyeDr. co-founder and CEO Sue Downes taught two entrepreneurship classes as HPU’s Health Care Expert in Residence.
Recognition for Undergraduate Research
The Council on Undergraduate Research named High Point University the recipient of its 2025 Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments, judged against CUR’s Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research.
High Point University Rankings
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2027 ranks High Point University #1 for Most Innovative Schools and #3 for Best Undergraduate Teaching among Regional Universities in the South. HPU also ranks #1 in its category for Earnings by Major, a new U.S. News factor that measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
The Princeton Review’s Best 392 Colleges: 2027 Edition ranks High Point University #3 for Best-Run Colleges, #3 for Best College Dorms and #3 for Most Beautiful Campus. HPU is the only university in North Carolina ranked in the top 5 for all three.
Niche’s 2027 rankings place High Point University #1 in North Carolina for Best College Campuses, Best College Dorms and Best College Food, and #8 in North Carolina for Colleges with the Best Professors.
Measured by National Association of Colleges and Employers standards, 99% of HPU’s Class of 2025 was employed or continuing their education within 180 days, 13 points above the national average.
Entrepreneurship in the News
HPU Student Entrepreneurs Earn $30,000 in Start-Up Funds in Business Plan Competition
Reeve Fatuova, a junior entrepreneurship major, was awarded $20,000 for her business, BUSTZ. She shared her experience as the first female wrestler on her high school team, which led her to create the first sports bra specifically designed to provide modesty, support and mobility for women wrestlers in high school, college and the Olympics.
HPU Awards and Honors: April 2026
Two student entrepreneurs who co-founded Parkevo, a business designed to make campus parking lot searches easier for drivers, were among the Top 25 student startup teams selected as finalists for e-Fest 2026, where they competed on a national stage in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
HPU Senior Wins Gaddis Leadership Award
High Point University senior Stephen H. Casey Jr., of Spicewood, Texas, was awarded the Brigadier General Norman C. Gaddis Leadership Award during HPU’s 14th Annual Veterans Day Celebration on Nov. 8, 2024.
Explore Entrepreneurship at High Point University
See the courses entrepreneurship majors take and where HPU entrepreneurship graduates go next.
Curriculum & Research Careers & Student Organizations
Questions about the program? Email Kathryn Elliott, chair and director of entrepreneurship, at [email protected].