UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW. Business Associate in Arts Degree

Transcription

1 UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW I. Program Objectives Business Associate in Arts Degree The Associate in Arts Degree in Business prepares students for a career in business or for advanced study at a four-year institution. The College has many articulation agreements with four-year colleges designed to facilitate transfer to these institutions. The degree requirements consist of general education requirements and electives in preparation for a major area of study. The specific objectives of this program are that the graduate must be able to demonstrate: The ability to establish and maintain accounting systems; Knowledge of the principles and practices of American business; Knowledge of the principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics; The ability to perform statistical procedures common to American business; Critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and effective communication skills; An awareness of and concern for the ethical implications of institutional policies and individual practices; An awareness of the diverse factors that shape the world in order to keep pace with the changing society; The ability to use technology for learning and research; The ability to learn independently and to direct one s own learning. II. Departmental Organization and Administration The BUSN program is an associate in arts degree program. Department communication is informal with no strict constraints. and mobile communication devices are used extensively among department faculty. The professors of the BUSN program report to the coordinator of the program, who reports to the chairperson of the department, who then reports to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who reports to the President of Union County College. III. Faculty During the academic year the BUSN program consisted of eighteen, full-time faculty members from multiple departments. Professor Belmonte from the Secretarial Science department taught 9 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Carmichael of the Business Administration department taught 3 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Devries of the Secretarial Science department taught 6 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Dzuback of the Computer Science department taught 3 contact 1

2 hours in the fall and 6 contact hours in the spring. Professor Greenbaum of the Computer Science department taught 6 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Grodner of the Business Administration department taught 9 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Hawthorne of the Computer Science department taught 9 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Henderson of the Business Administration department taught 18 contact hours in the fall semester and 15 contact hours in the spring semester. Professor Levey of the Computer Science department taught 3 contact hours in the fall semester and 9 contact hours in the spring semester. Professor Nwagbogwu of the Mathematics department taught 6 contact hours in the spring semester only. Professor McGowan of the Business Administration department taught 6 contact hours during the spring semester only. Professor O Donnell of the Computer Science department taught 3 contact hours during both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Phillips of the Business Administration department taught 24 contact hours in the fall semester and 15 contact hours in the spring semester. Professor Rodihan of the Computer Science department taught 3 contact hours during the fall semester only. Professor Siegel of the Business Administration department taught 20 contact hours during the fall semester and 24 contact hours during the spring semester. Professor Singer of the Business Administration department taught 9 contact hours in the fall semester and 6 contact hours in the spring semester. Professor Surett of the Business Administration department taught 15 contact hours during the fall semester and 8 contact hours during the spring semester. Professor Wrice of the Computer Science department taught 15 contact hours during the fall semester and 12 contact hours during the spring semester. The BUSN program also consisted of 19, part-time faculty members from the Business department in the academic year. Professor Brooks taught 4 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Coyle taught 6 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Ehrich taught 6 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Elsankari taught 3 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Ford taught 6 contact hours in the spring semester only. Professor Granitzki taught 6 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Hasting taught 4 contact hours in the spring semester only. Professor Huggins taught 8 contact hours in the spring semester only. Professor Innamorato taught 3 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Jardim taught 4 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Lapalme taught 3 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Milwicz taught 12 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Mittleman taught 4 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Saab taught 4 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Sheikh taught 3 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Srinivasan taught 10 contact hours in the fall semester and 8 contact hours in the spring semester. Professor Wachtel taught 4 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. Professor Williams taught 3 contact hours in the fall semester only. Professor Woodring taught 3 contact hours in both the fall and spring semesters. 2

3 IV. Curriculum Accounting (8 credits): Business (9 credits): Economics (6 credits): Mathematics (6-8 credits): Communications (9 credits): Science (8 credits): Humanities/Social Sciences (9 credits): Information Systems (3 credits): History (6 credits): Total (64-66 credits) ACC 103 Accounting I ACC 104 Accounting II BUS 101 Intro to Contemporary Business BUS 201 Business Law Business Elective ECO 201 Principles of Economics I ECO 202 Principles of Economics II MAT 146 Brief Calculus with Applications or MAT 246 Business Statistical Analysis Mathematics course chosen by advisor ENG 101 English Composition I ENG 102 English Composition II ENG 200-Level Literature Course 2 Laboratory Science Electives PSY 101 General Psychology PSY 102 Psychology of Personality or SOC 101 Principles of Sociology Humanities Elective CIS 100 Introduction to Computer Applications or CIS 101 Introduction to Information Systems HIS 101 Intro to Western Civilization I or Modern Language HIS 102 Intro to Western Civilization II or Modern Language The total number of credits required in the BUSN program meets the criteria for being awarded an Associate in Arts degree and the distribution of courses is appropriate for a typical Business curriculum. Foundational mathematics, accounting and economics courses are required. The importance of the English communications courses cannot be overemphasized; repeatedly employer feedback highlights the need for good communications skills from employees. The history, programming, science, and humanities/social science courses help contribute to developing students well-rounded general education. The sequence of business courses consists of twenty-three, including 8 credits in accounting, 6 credits in economics, and 9 credits in business. All of these courses have the appropriate content and level as indicated by the course descriptions in the UCC course catalog. V. Articulation Agreements or Joint Admission Agreements The BUSN department has many articulation agreements with four-year colleges designed to facilitate transfer to these institutions. VI. Students 3

4 A. Program Enrollment Analysis The proportionate change in total BUSN majors has a history of fluctuating. The total enrollment in the academic year included 1062 BUSN majors, most of whom were continuing (599) or first-time (216) students. Table 2 details BUSN enrollment patterns over the past several years. Table 3 further details fall enrollment patterns by attendance status. As can be seen in this table, there was a small decline in the amount of students enrolled in the Fall of 2006 (801) to the Fall of 2007 (787). Table 4 shows the number of transfers into the BUSN program. The BUSN program had a decrease in the amount of 3 external transfer students into the program from to followed by an increase of 26 from to The amount of external transfer students decreased to 46 in and then increased to 59 in before settling at 57 in Student attrition throughout the BUSN program has posed an issue for students academic success. As Table 5 depicts, there were 125 first time BUSN students in the Fall 2006 semester, yet only 39 endured after four semesters. Those who did not continue in the program either did not re-enroll (56 students, or 45%), changed their major (17 students, or 14%), or were academically dismissed (13 students, or 10%). There were no graduates of the BUSN program over the four semesters from the Fall 2006 cohort. Table 6 illustrates the number of graduates from the BUSN program. There were 71 graduates from the BUSN program in which increased to 80 graduates in and to 100 graduates in The number of graduates then decreased to 67 graduates in and increased to 85 graduates in There was another decrease in the number of graduates from the BUSN program from 85 to 84 from to followed by another increase to 101 graduates in Credit hours generated from BUSN students increased 4,946 hours to 19,345 credit hours from fiscal year (FY) 2002 to FY Table 7 contains this information. The BUSN direct instructional cost has increased over $675,000 between the 2002 and 2007 fiscal years, to $2,258, while the cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) student has also increased almost $312, to $3, Table 8 has figures since FY2002. There are 2 similar Associate s degree programs in the area, and 2 Certificate programs. Table 9 lists these schools and programs. B. Core Course Scheduling and Enrollment Table 10 depicts the distribution of students among core BUSN courses from the to academic years. Overall, 8,211 (duplicate) students enrolled in 908 sections of core BUSN courses with an average class size of 9.0 students. A total of 2,764 (duplicate) students enrolled in the core BUSN courses in academic year There were 112 sections that ran, with an overall average class size of 24.7 students. During the academic year, 3,389 (duplicate) students enrolled in 153 sections for an average class size of 22.2 students. It should be noted that all of the core courses in the BUSN program were offered and ran at least once during the to academic years. Additional required course enrollment is presented in Table 11. 4

5 Table 12 contains core course scheduling information. There were a total of 972 core courses offered, of which 908 actually ran, over the seven year time period. Most BUSN major courses were offered (and ran) on the Cranford campus. Tuesday/Thursday courses dominated the schedule, with 217 of the 222 offered courses running. Apart from Tuesday/Thursday courses, the most popular days for courses were Monday/Wednesday/Friday (188 that ran) and classes that started between 9:00am - 9:59pm (120 that ran). C. Student Outcomes The Office of Assessment, Planning and Research conducts an annual survey of UCC graduates. 105 students transferred to a 4-year institution after graduating from UCC. Thirtyeight of the 105 graduates that transferred attended Kean University, twenty-four attended Rutgers University, and twenty attended Montclair. Additional institutions that the UCC graduates transferred to are listed in Table 13. Table 14 lists the degrees that the graduates who transferred were pursuing. The most common degrees being pursued were accounting (24), business administration, management and operations (18), and Finance (21). The amount of credits that transferred from UCC to the new institutions are listed in Table 15. Most of the BUSN respondents reported that they accomplished their objective at UCC. Survey results over the past five years also emphasize that the majority of BUSN graduates are generally satisfied with UCC. Further details from this survey are presented in Table 16. An analysis using the CCbenefits occupational projections tool revealed that the job forecast for students graduating from BUSN programs in the Newark-Union Labor Area may be a concern. The area fell short of the expected change by 3,162 jobs showing an increase of 689 jobs instead of the projected 3,851 over a ten year period. Highlights of this analysis can be found in Appendix I. VII. Summary and Conclusions The obvious weakness of the BUSN program is low retention. In the Fall of 2006 the BUSN program had 125 first-time students enrolled. Of these 125 students, only 39 were still enrolled in the BUSN program after four semesters. While the amount of first time students entering the program is a good size (216 in the 07/08 academic year), the low retention rate shows the number of students surviving to the second and third semesters will likely be small. The cost per FTE of the BUSN program, i.e., $3,077.71, exceeds the median cost per FTE of programs at UCC which was $2, in FY The cost per FTE of the BUSN program has exceeded the median cost per FTE of programs at UCC since FY Of particular concern is the projected availability of jobs for chief executives, general and operations managers, sales managers, administrative services managers, industrial production managers, transportation, storage, and distribution managers, construction managers, social and community service managers, managers, all other, cost estimators, and management analysts for the Newark-Union labor area. Over the next decade, an increase of 2.21% is projected in the region for chief executives, general and operations managers, sales managers, administrative services managers, industrial production managers, transportation, storage, and distribution managers, construction managers, social and community service managers, managers, all other, 5

6 cost estimators, and management analysts jobs. Similarly, a minimal 2% increase in employment for chief executives, general and operations managers, sales managers, administrative services managers, industrial production managers, transportation, storage, and distribution managers, construction managers, social and community service managers, managers, all other, cost estimators, and management analysts jobs is forecasted for the State and a small 10% increase in jobs is expected for the nation. 1 The occupation employment projections for chief executives, administrative services managers, industrial production managers, transportation, storage, and distribution managers, and construction managers show zero annual average job openings from 2004 to 2014 for Union County while projections for general and operations managers, sales managers, social and community service managers, managers, all other, and cost estimators show an annual average of 10 job openings. There are 30 annual average job openings from 2004 to 2014 for management analysts. 2 The BUSN Program was not designated as a regional program because it is not unique among community colleges in the State, e.g., Brookdale Community College and Ocean County College offer programs. The BUSN program is considering going through a transition from an Associate in Arts to an Associate in Science degree. This transition will make it easier for students to transfer into a four-year degree program as most four-year programs result in a Bachelor of Science degree. This transition will change the general education requirements. The change will have to go through the curriculum committee for review and to faculty for approval and finally to the President s Council. 1 Source: CCbenefits 2 Source: State of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development 6

7 Business Table 1 Faculty Profile Academic Year Number of Core Credits Number Taught Fall 2007 Full-Time Faculty Part-Time Faculty Spring 2008 Full-Time Faculty Part-Time Faculty 14 77

8 Business Job Forecast Appendix I CCbenefits provides data, tools and reports for community colleges to use for occupational projections with respect to specific educational programs. For the purposes of this report, the APR office utilized the economic forecaster module to investigate the occupational projections for graduates of the Business program, Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code The analysis links the academic program by CIP code to the federal government s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. CIP code is directly mapped to SOC codes , chief executives; , general and operations managers; , sales managers; , administrative services managers; , industrial production managers; , transportation, storage, and distribution managers; , construction managers; , social and community service managers; managers, all other; , cost estimators; and management analysts. Business (CIP ) Mapped to SOC codes : chief executives; : general and operations managers; : sales managers; : administrative services managers; : industrial production managers; : transportation, storage, and distribution managers; : construction managers; : social and community service managers; : managers, all other; : cost estimators; and : management analysts. For the Newark-Union Labor Area (Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, Union). Timeframe: (5 years) Over the next five years, a projected increase of 519 Business jobs (1.67%) is predicted for the Newark-Union Labor area. This compares to a 2% increase throughout New Jersey and a 6% increase nationally. General economic growth throughout the US should create about 2,270 additional Business jobs in this area over the next five years. An expected 157 Business jobs will be lost in the local area over the next five years. A regional decline of 1,594 Business jobs is expected by the year In sum, 2,270 jobs created local jobs lost 1,594 national jobs lost = 519 total projected jobs. The concentration of Business jobs in the Newark-Union Labor area is above the national average however, this concentration is expected to decline over the next five years. Throughout the State of New Jersey, areas that specialize in Business jobs are Mercer, Somerset, Morris, Bergen, Union, Hunterdon, and Passaic counties, since these areas are above the national concentration average in Business jobs. Timeframe: (10 years) The Business job market in the Newark-Union Labor area over the next ten years is projected to have an increase of 689 jobs. Regionally, an increase of 2% of Business jobs is anticipated over the next 10 years, compared to increases of 2% at the state and 10% at the national level. The future health of the economy over the next ten years should account for an additional 3,851 Business jobs in the Newark-Union Labor area. A projected loss of 372 Business jobs in the local area is a result of occupational performance at the national

9 level. Regional attributes are expected to account for the loss of 2,790 jobs in this labor area. In total, this equates to a job increase of 689 Business jobs over the next ten years.