Academic Quality Improvement Program - Master of Business Administration Assessment of Student Learning Plan
September, 2006
- Describe the past year’s accomplishments and the current status of the Action Project.
As a result of the Director’s guidance and a committee reviewing undergraduate grades and GMAT achievement against selected course outcomes and expectations, we have instituted a Quantitative Skills Placement for candidates who, after review by the committee, appear to be unprepared for meeting the demands of the MBA program in terms of quantitative skills. Students who need additional work are directed to a self-paced on-line interactive program called ALEX that will give them the math skills they require to be successful. This is a graded,(non-transcripted) program completed by the student as a provision of their admittance.
An initial effort at the assessment of student learning began with an on-line survey of graduating cohorts concerning their self-evaluated progress in acquiring the competencies and knowledge contained in the MBA program (Critical Thinking, Quantitative Skills, Basic Finance, Quantitative Decision Making and Leadership & Management Practices). The Field Study course is the place in which we expect integration and mastery of the key knowledge areas and the place in which direct assessment will occur. Assessment efforts in this course will be facilitated by the appointment of Field Study Instructor in July 2006.
A “course coordinator” for each course has been approved. This faculty member will be responsible for insuring consistency in instruction, reviewing and analyzing the grading distribution, evaluations, student feedback and collaborating with fellow MBA faculty to insure quality and achievement of course outcomes.
- Describe how the institution involved people to work on this action project?
The MBA Program has consistently sought involvement of faculty and support staff. The IT Liaison has been very helpful with support of our on-line surveys. The Assessment Committee has been responsive, involved and committed to improving the quality of the program through both process and design improvements. Cohort Student Representatives have gathered information and received feedback on assessment activities. Assessment has been discussed with the MBA Advisory Board.
- Describe your planned next steps for this Action Project.
Fall 2006 cohorts will receive a pretest to assess their current levels of performance in the five key knowledge and skill areas of the MBA program (see #1). In January 2007 a pretest-posttest in these knowledge/skill areas will be implemented. In addition a more comprehensive assessment of these knowledge/skill areas and their integration will be developed for the Field Study Course.
- Describe any “effective practices” that have resulted from your work on this Action Project.
Two examples of effective practices are the adoption of a math placement test and the implementation an on-line quantitative skills improvement course for under-prepared students. This has led to improved performance in the classroom and improved student success.
- What challenges, if any, are you still facing in regards to this action project?
The major obstacle remains allocating the resources needed to accomplish our goals. The utilization of effective change management strategies are needed in order to obtain support and reduce resistance. The addition of new faculty and a second coordinator for the program will help with having resources to meet our goals.