Business Administration Program Review Report Draft: October 10, 13

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1 Business Administration Program Review Report Draft: October 10, 13 Introduction At the request of the Administration, members of the business administration discipline (along with members of the economic discipline) have contemplated the addition of an MBA program to our current offerings. If we went forward with such a program, we would also plan to seek AACSB accreditation. In some ways, the fact that this initiative coincides with our mandated program review is fortuitous; in other ways, it is daunting. Instead of the big picture question being what do you want to look like in five years?, we are asking do we want to look like a liberal arts college with an MBA program seeking AACSB accreditation in five years? So we ask you to forgive us if we do not exactly fit into the program review guidelines as neatly as we might. For context, the MBA proposal was being crafted by members of the business administration and economics disciplines without specific endorsement of either discipline prior to the retreats of both disciplines. Thus, the business administration retreat centered on the question of whether to endorse the proposal and under what conditions we could endorse the proposal. After we endorsed moving forward (with stipulations), the following week, at the economics retreat, they ended up with the same qualified endorsement of the proposal. Discipline Retreat Our discipline retreat was actually conducted in two parts with the central question of the MBA/AACSB proposal the main agenda item on the first day (August 15, 2013). A more detailed examination of our assessment data took place during the second part of the retreat on September 3, The agenda for the August 15 meeting is attached and labeled Appendix 1. What follows are the main outcomes of our deliberations. The first three items are responses to our mission and vision. In particular, they reflect changes that we think are in order so that we can better live up to our mission (where we think that adjustments are in order so that our efforts line up with our intentions). The last is our response to the question of the MBA/AACSB proposal. 1. Incorporating Business Ethics (see agenda for background) a. Our vision statement would have students who are prepared for the professional responsibilities incumbent upon business leaders to work ethically for the global common good. We recognize, both in terms of our actions and in terms of outcome data, that our intentions are not well matched with our actions. We endorse the both solution (referenced in the agenda) an early introduction to business ethics along with an ethics across the business curriculum approach. b. Moving forward, we will investigate various approaches to the early introduction. Possibilities could include a 2 credit course taught by a member of the Philosophy discipline (new hire) or a course developed and taught within Business Administration.

2 2. The Future of Concentrations (see agenda for background) a. Our liberal arts heritage and our vision of providing a broad based business education have, at times, been at odds with delivering business concentrations. Indeed, our concentrations that entail four courses beyond the relevant foundations course would constitute a major at many business schools based on the number of credits earned. For example, when a student takes a concentration in marketing, they will take our Marketing Concepts course (BUAD 270) plus four more marketing courses, for a total of 20 credit hours in marketing. Marketing majors at UW-Oshkosh would generally have 21 credit hours in Marketing, and could have as few as 15. While we do not wish to discontinue the concentrations, as they are popular alternatives (as shown in the OIE data), we do think that it is more congruent with our vision if they have a smaller footprint on the overall curriculum. b. We endorse moving to four course concentrations that INCLUDE the relevant foundations course. This is consistent with the SNC Faculty Handbook on what constitutes a concentration (the Registrar agreed with this interpretation), and it is more congruent with our mission. A further benefit is that it would free up our faculty to teach several other courses periodically, including one that was proposed under the new core curriculum. 3. Fostering Connections to the Business Community a. As a Norbertine institution, we are called to act locally. While we think that we have many strong ties to local businesses and a strong local reputation, we think that there is more that we should be doing in this regard. b. We endorse the formation of a Business Advisory Council that will foster ties to the business community in the area. 4. Endorsement of the MBA/AACSB Proposal (see agenda for additional information) a. Following on the last item, as a liberal arts, Norbertine institution, we are compelled to instill the appreciation of life long learning in our students. Many of those students have expressed an interest in acting on that inclination of life long learning by coming back to their alma mater for an MBA. Business administration and related majors are the largest cohort of our alumni. For business leaders, getting an MBA is often necessary for advancement. For those SNC business alums, along with SNC non-business alums and alums of other institutions, who are emerging business leaders in Northeastern Wisconsin, it seems very appropriate that we provide that alternative to them. b. We have several concerns that need to be addressed before we can give endorsement to the proposal. These are spelled out in a document endorsed by both business administration and economics faculty and attached as Appendix 2.

3 September 3 Meeting In this meeting, we focused on assessment data. We reviewed the OIE data and looked at enrollment patterns, grade distributions, course offerings, and student attitudes regarding the programs. Here are a few of the highlights from our discussion: 1. Concentrations are a popular option with students. In the average year, about equal numbers of general business administration majors choose a concentration as have no concentration. Two concentrations finance and marketing make up the vast majority of those who choose a concentration. 2. Our discipline GPA is below the College mean GPA. We are pleased with this as an indicator of rigor (though not a perfect indicator). 3. Alums wish they were better prepared and wish they had a wider array of courses to choose from. While this is not a positive indicator, it is in line with SNC alums in general. 4. Our overall enrollments are strong and fairly stable. Our class sizes tend to be well above the College average. Next we turned our attention to the MFT data. This is available as a separate document. Probably the best approach to review this data is to look at the approximate percentile scores, both for SNC as a whole and for the results broken down by major (General Business, Accounting, IBLAS). Here are the highlights of that discussion: 1. Our students continue to perform well overall, relative to national norms. They usually come in at about the 70 th percentile. Accounting and IBLAS students tend to be our top performers, though not always. 2. The results, when broken down by field, show some variability. Most usually score in the range of the 60 th to 80 th percentiles. We wish to be above the 50 th percentile, and so we are safely above in most areas. 3. Our primary areas of concern center on two areas quantitative skills and information technology. In these areas we have seen several recent results that are below the 50 th percentile. We know that these are areas that, at the behest of employers, business curricula at many schools have put into greater focus. As we proceed through the next steps of the discipline review process, this will be one of our areas of inquiry. Perhaps the combination of our early Information Systems course (BUAD 142), and Statistics for Business and Economics course (BUAD 284), are no longer sufficient or adequate in delivering important material to our students. Since we know that a significant number of our graduates go on to work in the area of logistics, these are skills that we should care about.

4 Appendix 1 SNC Business Administration Retreat August 15, 2013 Introduction From the Program Review Guidelines: The Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEPC) believes that the program review process should be a vehicle through which academic programs: evaluate and assess the quality and efficacy of its curriculum and instruction. demonstrate the impact of the program. compare the program to national trends in the area/curriculum. identify and take ownership of the things that need improvement. foster continuous improvement of the program. plan for the next five years. engage each member of the discipline or group responsible for the program. While we are clearly called to do this in terms of our undergraduate programs, we are also at a crossroads for our discipline in terms of possibly embarking on a serious MBA program and working toward AACSB accreditation. So while we go through this process (during and after the retreat), the added layers of this discipline review mean that we need to address some basic issues: Considering all of the data gathered to date, does an MBA program at SNC seem viable? That is, if expected resources are supplied, do we also expect that there would be sufficient demand to fully expect the program to be successful? Is AACSB accreditation an appropriate aspiration if we embark on an MBA program? What would need to change in order to achieve accreditation? What do we still need to know? If we were to start an MBA program and move toward AACSB accreditation, what would that mean for the undergraduate program? What are the likely positive impacts? What are the likely challenges or negative impacts?

5 Part I. Vision Review (8:00 9:05) From the program review guidelines: The program review process should begin with a retreat attended by all program faculty focused on program vision. Program faculty should attempt to achieve consensus regarding questions such as: In five years, what would you hope the program looks like? What should program graduates know, be able to do, and value upon completion of the major? What critical needs does the program address for St. Norbert College? The greater Green Bay community? Wisconsin and beyond? Answers to these questions should lead to the creation or modification of a vision and mission statement for the program. Our added dimension: Is offering an MBA program and working toward AACSB accreditation consistent with our current mission and vision? Is offering an MBA grogram and working toward AACSB accreditation consistent with our vision for the next five years? Under what conditions would this be part of our vision? One note: We will give less attention today on intended learning outcomes and assessment of the same. This will be the focus of our first discipline meeting. From our last program review (2008): I. Program s Vision Statement and it s relation to SNC s Mission and Core Values St. Norbert College Mission Statement St. Norbert College, a Catholic liberal arts college embracing the Norbertine ideal of communio, provides an educational environment that fosters intellectual, spiritual and personal development. Business Administration Discipline Vision Statement As a Catholic, liberal arts institution in the Norbertine tradition, St. Norbert College exists to teach by word and example. In support of this motto, the Business Administration Program builds on the liberal arts curriculum, fostering the managerial development of our students with intellectual rigor. Students gain a high degree of expertise and insight regarding business theories and practice. They are prepared for the professional responsibilities incumbent upon business leaders to work ethically for the global common good. Business Administration and St. Norbert College s Core Values Consistent with its set of three core traditions, the Business Administration discipline is devoted to developing in students "skills in critical and analytical thought, quantification, synthesis, problem solving and communication" that they will learn to apply as responsible citizens of a diverse, interdependent, changing world. These skills are couched in a broad-business knowledge context with the curricula designed to help students reflect on cultural and societal

6 changes, develop personal goals, and become self-educated individuals. In addition to learning intellectual information, students develop personal skills by working in teams, presenting written and oral reports, and consider ethical issues in many of the courses, in tune with the liberal arts tradition. The vision is to help students respond to the needs of the community by becoming knowledgeable citizen-leaders that can function intellectually and morally in a complex, global business environment and/or to prepare them for graduate business education. Discussion Questions: Does this vision statement still describe what we are intending to do? Do our efforts line up with our intentions? If we are building on our Catholic, liberal arts, and Norbertine traditions, and we are thinking about ethics and the global common good, how are we doing this? Should we be doing something more? Should we not be doing some of the things we are currently doing? How would an MBA program and working toward AACSB accreditation either enhance or interfere with our ability to work toward this vision? In five years, what would you hope the program looks like? What critical needs does the program address for St. Norbert College? The greater Green Bay community? Wisconsin and beyond?

7 Part II. Several Key Recurring Items (9:15-10:15) These items have been parts of previous reviews, vision exercises, and discipline meetings. All are either key to our mission or have been key decision areas. Thus, it seems appropriate to deal with them when looking at the vision of the discipline going forward. 1. Incorporating Business Ethics First, a bit of history: In the early 1990 s, several BUAD faculty attended a conference on teaching business ethics. From that experience, we approved an ethics across the curriculum approach to teaching business ethics. Our assessment efforts in the late 1990 s and early 2000 s yielded somewhat disappointing results in terms of students perceived abilities to deal with ethical dilemmas. In light of our initial program review and Iris interest in this area, she initiated a discussion about incorporating ethics into our curriculum, including the following statement: Business Ethics Issues After attending the Business Ethics Conference in June, 2006, I found that is essential that the Business Administration Faculty address the following issues: Issues: 1) We currently have a business ethics statement in our business mission statement however, we do not fully address how we deal with that statement 2) AACSB accreditation has recently added a business ethics requirement to their accreditation requirements. In order for our program to maintain our reputation as a valuable business program, we need to acknowledge that we must also include a business ethics component. In addition, it probably won t be too long before North Central will require a business ethics component as well. Therefore it would be better to be proactive rather than reactive. 3) We need to determine what it is we want to accomplish. There are currently two major considerations: Do we want to teach a) Behavior and/or modify behavior or b) Knowledge 4) How will we assess our business ethics component? Solutions: Most business programs offer one of three solutions: 1) Have a stand-alone business ethics course 2) Integrate business ethics across the curriculum 3) Both. Start with an introductory course in business ethics and integrate ethics throughout the business curriculum. Recommendations: Unfortunately it would be difficult to introduce another course requirement into the current business curriculum. Therefore, I propose we continue to integrate ethics across the business curriculum. However, we need a better approach and plan than

8 our current situation. At this point, it is difficult if not impossible to tell what is, and is not being covered in each course and also if the students actually learn anything in the process. Therefore, we need to set up a plan for: 1) what we want the students to learn 2) how we want to teach this 3) how we would assess the program Also, I would suggest talking with the philosophy faculty to ask for their help in this process. Perhaps something could be added into the introduction to philosophy course? Some suggestions would be to begin in an introductory course (such as BA142) by introducing a business ethics case and carry this through to the capstone course. Or, at least have a set program of cases taught at every required course. At our November 5, 2007 meeting, we endorsed the following as a program learning goal: o Demonstrate a sound basis for making decisions in ethical situations The CEPC s recommendations as part of our 2008 review include the following: o Provide more direct evidence that the Program s mission statement, particularly its emphasis on ethics, is an integral part of the Program s curriculum. (I) o Set concrete goals for students exposure to ethical concerns. (II) o Develop an assessment strategy for measuring the efficacy of the Program s ethical dimension. (III) In August of 2012 we held a Business Ethics Workshop with Dr. Patricia Werhane as our guest. This was jointly sponsored by Mission and Heritage, and attended by a number of faculty from BUAD, ECON, and PHIL. As an outcome of the workshop, and further discussions between the Director of Business and the Philosophy discipline coordinator, we agreed (at our November 13 meeting) that the following would be the best way to proceed: o Support the addition of a new faculty position in Philosophy whose teaching load would be split evenly between teaching Business Ethics and teaching other courses in support of the Philosophy discipline. o The model for incorporating business ethics would involve a 2 credit course taken normally in the sophomore year, followed by the ethics across the curriculum component the both solution that Iris had identified five years earlier. Discussion Questions: Do we wish to officially endorse a position request from Philosophy that would support the approach that we approved last November? Would this be a possible BUAD discipline position? Should we look into the process of approving a change in the major that would include this additional 2 credit course?

9 2. The Future of Concentrations First, a bit of history: Through the 1990s, students expressed concern over the range of courses offered in BUAD and the ability to specialize in an area of business. We saw this clearly in our earliest assessment efforts. In response, we started, with the Catalog, to offer suggestions for students wanting further study in specific business areas (originally Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Management, and Marketing). Still responding to similar concerns, and the lack of something official, we began offering official and transcripted concentrations in 2007 (in Finance, Global Business, General Management, Marketing, and Human Resource Management). As a whole, the concentrations are a well-used alternative, especially in Finance and Marketing. In at least one year, more students graduated with a concentration than without. The concentrations have presented challenges as well. Students often have needed waivers from requirements, especially in Finance and/or when a member of the faculty is on sabbatical. Further, offering all of the courses needed to serve the concentrations makes it more challenging to offer reasonable numbers of sections of required courses. In light of this and other concerns raised by the concentrations, in 2012 the BUAD faculty instructed the Director to check on whether either of two options would be possible: o To make the concentrations three courses instead of four. o To adopt a three courses in, one course out model for the concentration. The Registrar ruled that neither of these alternatives were acceptable, citing the Faculty Handbook that reads: An academic concentration is a subset of courses or a grouping of electives recognized by the College and attached to a particular major. Concentrations are intended to provide majors with a particular focus with a broader major field of study. Since concentrations do not stand alone, student may fulfill only one concentration within a major program. Concentrations will consist of a minimum of four courses. Concentrations will be transcripted as part of the major. At the AACSB Accreditation workshop, one of the clear (and somewhat reassuring) themes was less is more. That is, AACSB feels that too many business programs try to do too much with the end result of not supporting the core mission of the program. That thinking is behind another potential (at least partial) solution to our concentration problem.

10 Discussion Questions: Should we re-constitute the concentrations such that one course in the concentration is the concentration s core, required course in the major? (The Registrar s initial ruling is that this is within the letter and spirit of the law.) What would we expect to be the likely impacts of such a change? Would it be acceptable if some concentrations had two required courses and one elective while other concentrations had one required course and two electives?

11 3. Fostering Connections to the Business Community First, a bit of history: In Spring of 2010, we had a retreat that focused on the vision of the discipline going forward. While many things were discussed, one of the key themes was the need to foster connections to the area business community. In Fall of 2010, we start working toward the formation of a Business Advisory Group with Eliot taking the lead. Ultimately, we do complete a structure and plan for this group and get the support of Main Hall. The intention was for Eliot to take the lead on getting this group up and running during the academic year. However, when Kevin Quinn was appointed Associate Academic Dean (from Associate Dean for Social Sciences), Eliot stepped in as Interim Associate Dean for Social Sciences, and so the launch was delayed. Other Connections: We have many connections to the business community already. Here are some of the ways that we connect that come to mind: Guest speakers in classes Professional organizations with local chapters Internship providers Employers looking to fill positions Partners such as Church Mutual who sponsor courses Discussion Questions: How should we proceed with the Business Advisory Group? What more can we do to link students to the business community? How would starting an MBA program affect these connections for our undergraduate programs? Part III. Preparing for our Assessment Review (10:25-10:50) Jim will provide a handout. At our September 3 meeting we will review assessment data from both OIE and our own MFT results. We will then deal with the second question in the discipline review process.

12 Part IV. Do we wish to endorse an MBA program proposal and seek AACSB accreditation? (11:00-12:30) Kevin Quinn will attend as a guest for a portion of this part. First, a bit of history: Perhaps most important is to point out the history that is at least largely irrelevant: our past endeavors to consider an MBA program. In a report to President Hynes dated February 16, 1991, MBA Task Force Chair Iris Jenkel included this paragraph: Two primary features of a successful program identified by focus group members are differentiation and quality. The retention and recruitment of qualified faculty are the key components of delivering quality graduate and undergraduate programs. Based on recent discussions regarding the pledging of resources for this program, in conjunction with the fact that current BA faculty staffing needs are not being met at the undergraduate level, the continuation of this MBA study is being questioned. In some ways, the current MBA investigation started with the same sort of distaste as previous attempts. In the Fall of 2011, we learned of an MBA program proposal that had no connection to us at all. Rather, it was a preliminary investigation prepared in the Office of Admission. Their report, from November of 2011, concludes that SNC should move forward with a thorough analysis and survey of the market for launching an MBA program. Notification would have been appropriate at an earlier time. However, once it was determined that a full investigation was in order, we have been involved ever since. A Review of the Process to Date: Spring 2012 MBA Task Force is formed, and charged with addressing four questions: 1. What would the program look like (Executive/traditional?, Evening/weekend)? 2. What would be the program s themes (leadership? Ethics? Industry?)? 3. What would be the program s mechanics? (Rolling cohorts? Length of terms?) 4. Who would deliver the program? (Existing faculty? New hires? Industry experts?) After some preliminary discussions, we decided that Phase I of our investigation would focus on the demand side of the equation culminating in a market research study to be conducted in the Summer/Fall of Thus, we would defer dealing with question 4.

13 Here is the report that ended this phase: MBA Task Force Report (As of 4/27/2012) Questions We Considered We were asked to consider 3 primary questions in advance of conducting a market research study. Here are the questions along with our responses. 1. What would the program look like? Executive? Traditional? Part time? Full time? Number of courses? We agree that the program should be a part-time traditional program. The number of courses would be typical of such programs, likely about What would be the thrusts of the program? Should they be thematic (leadership, ethics, entrepreneurship)? Should the program provide for specialization in the functional areas of business (Finance, Management, Marketing)? Should the program provide for specialization in industry areas? While we agree that some of the possible thematic thrusts would be important for selling the program, both internally and externally (especially ethics), they would not be the defining characteristics of the program. That is, while the program would necessarily involve a very intentional treatment of business ethics, for example, the novelty of the program would lie elsewhere. In particular, we favor a program providing for specialization along industry lines (the core program plus 2 or 3 courses in an area of industry specialization). Tentatively, we have identified Healthcare, Supply Chain/Logistics, and Risk Management/Insurance as three areas with potential. In addition, students could elect a General Management track instead of an industry specialization. 3. What would be the nuts and bolts of the program? Should it be based on cohorts? Nights and weekends? Based on semesters? We agree that, rather than based on semesters and strict cohorts, the program we more modular in approach. We see courses as lasting 7-8 weeks, mostly meeting one night per week for 3 hours. There would be 5 starting dates per year for courses, essentially 2 non-overlapping start dates per semester along with a summer term. Students could take 2 courses per start date, but with an average of about 6 to 6.5 courses taken per year. Courses could be either onsite or on-line or some combination of the two. We have not determined how to deal with or even define what would constitute foundational background or knowledge requisite to embark on the program. In additional to answering these questions, one of the recurring themes in our discussion regards accreditation. We agree that aspiring to AACSB accreditation would be an important quality demarcation for the program. Our vision would be to embark on a journey to have both the undergraduate program and the MBA accredited.

14 Summer/Fall 2012 The market research phase began with a luncheon meeting with a number of area business leaders. They were enthused about an AACSB-accredited, Industry-focused MBA. We then proceeded to a comprehensive market study, conducted by Aslanian Market Research, a firm that specializes in market studies for focused educational programs. Their report was completed in December of Since we also have a relationship with the Education Advisory Board, we were also able to commission another best practices study on the Development of a Master s of Business Administration Program at Liberal Arts Institutions. This report was completed in November of After going through these reports, as well as getting a lot of informal positive feedback from multiple constituencies who had been hearing about a possible MBA program, all agreed to move forward to the next step. Winter/Spring/Summer 2013 Three separate groups were formed to bring the overall investigation forward, now focused increasingly on the supply ( what would it take? ) side of the ledger. We were operating under the assumption of seeking AACSB accreditation (both for cost purposes and for projecting revenues). Curriculum Development Group (Bursik, Grassl, Odorzynski, Pahl, Quinn) This group met through the Spring to draft a preliminary curriculum, which is included in the July 25 Update document. AACSB Group (Bursik, Frick, Quinn) This group attended the AACSB Accreditation Workshop in Tampa this past June. The focus of the workshop was on the new accreditation standards adopted by AACSB in the Spring of Since they are new, the exact application of the standards is still a bit unclear especially as they might be applied to smaller programs. Some positives: o AACSB has adopted three themes: Innovation, Impact, and Engagement Innovation: Foster quality, but not at the expense of creativity, experimentation, and innovation Impact: Must focus on high quality inputs and resulting outcomes; show how the school is making a difference and having impact; Areas of impact: mission, assessment of learning, curriculum, research, teaching, students, community Engagement: High quality education results when there is significant on-going engagement with the professional and academic worlds; Encourages engagement consistent with the school s mission. o Strong focus on the school s own mission Does mission guide decision making?

15 Mission, expected outcomes, and strategies define the following: Programs offered Students to be served Teaching/learning models Intellectual contributions Organizations to be served The big question: o Standard 15: Faculty Qualifications and Engagement The school must develop criteria consistent with its mission for the classification of faculty according to: Initial academic preparation and professional experience Ongoing/sustained scholarly and professional engagement Categories of qualified faculty status: Scholarly academic (SA) Practice academics (PA) Scholarly practitioners (SP) Instructional practitioners (IP) Guidelines: SA > 40% (SA + PA + SP) > 60% Our Questions: Do what extent are we actually free to develop criteria consistent with our mission to classify faculty? How narrowly do these guidelines apply? To each functional area? To the department as a whole? Business Plan Group (Bursik, Kowaleski, Lamm, Quinn) This group met several times during the Spring semester. Now that the curricular needs are somewhat roughed out, and some other costs are better estimated, its work will continue. A very rough version is included in the July 25 Update document. Discussion: Questions/comments Does the Reinvesting in Business and Economics at SNC document constitute an appropriate list of items that would form a solid basis for the undergraduate program from which to launch an MBA program? Do we have consensus that we wish to move forward with a Proposed MBA Program, also moving toward AACSB accreditation? Do we wish to endorse a particular type of organizational structure? Should actual launch be deferred until a certain amount of endowment funds are raised?

16 Appendix 2 Moving Forward in Business and Economics at SNC August 27, 2013 The Business Administration Faculty and Economics Faculty at St. Norbert College believe that launching an MBA Program and seeking AACSB accreditation could be a viable, positive step forward for our disciplines and for the College as a whole. However, before (and while) advancing in this manner, we must ensure the continued strength and viability of our current programs. Thus, there are several initiatives and investments we see as necessary. 1. Eliminate the lesser formula for CUPA-based salary targets (would apply to Business, Economics, and Computer Sciences). We need to attract and retain quality faculty in all areas. We are currently at a disadvantage in these disciplines relative to other fields. While the differential formulas allowed for a wider distribution of salary advancement for a number of years, it is time to address this disparity. 2. Approve the perennially requested finance position to allow us to get to full strength in the undergraduate business program. This will allow us to reduce class sizes in several courses and offer a wider array of courses to majors and non-majors. 3. Allow for hiring above the CUPA number. When hiring is planned, the past salary of the person holding the same position should neither present an impediment nor a benefit in filling a position. The CUPA system allows for lower-to-market salaries to rise; it also keeps higher-to-market salaries from rising even higher proportionally. When we know that we will be hiring, build it in to the budget. For instance, this coming year we will be hiring to replace both Eliot and Iris. Today, we can get numbers from Jesse from CUPA. We should take that number (what has been seen as the upper range of the salaries that we could offer), add about 10% to it, and put it in to next year s budget NOW. Example: CUPA Assistant Professor Average for the Field: $90,000. Current formula:.91 x $90,000 = $81,900 Current CUPA Minimum:.92 x (.91 x $90,000) = $75,348 SNC Hiring Range: $75,348 - $81,900 (With a note communicated through the Associate Dean that we don t know where the money would come from if we are at the top of that range). We are proposing that we build in to the budget essentially the full $90,000 CUPA average, with a range of $81,900 - $90,000. Why is this so important to business and economics? The CUPA numbers in our fields look high compared to other disciplines, but are actually quite low in comparison to business salaries across academics especially in comparison to AACSB-accredited institutions. We are highly unlikely to get the faculty we want without doing better in this regard.

17 In terms of the new initiatives: 4. Create a new business unit (a School of Business and Economics ), and hire a leader of that unit at the Dean level. Regardless of the precise organizational model, give the new unit greater autonomy over various budgeting/operating areas; for example, we need greater flexibility over adjunct stipends. Note: The movement toward greater autonomy comes with responsibility. Many business schools are expected to pay a percentage tax on the revenue they produce back to the central administration. We would need to work on the accounting system that would best capture this idea. 5. Bring in a consultant to evaluate our chances of becoming AACSB candidates for accreditation. If the signal is positive, we should become AACSB members, and move toward accreditation. 6. Given the current curricular outline for the MBA program, two new faculty lines would be needed to deliver both the undergraduate and graduate programs, while relying somewhat less on adjunct instruction in the undergraduate program. 7. Budget for some start-up technology expenses; ensure that the business unit has a place at the table for determining ongoing technological needs for both the graduate and undergraduate programs. 8. Before making substantial outlays for the program (especially hiring a Dean and support staff), secure start-up funding with the goal of no deficit years for the program. Also, secure sufficient pledges of endowment (for instance through a naming gift, and perhaps through endowed chairs) to ensure the program s sustained financial success without excessive reliance on expanding tuition revenue over time.