McNeese State University College of Business AACSB Maintenance of Accreditation Report 2009/2010. Executive Summary

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1 McNeese State University College of Business AACSB Maintenance of Accreditation Report 2009/2010 Executive Summary 1

2 Introduction and Situational Analysis McNeese State University Founded in 1939 as the Lake Charles Junior College, McNeese became a four-year college in 1950 and was named McNeese State University in McNeese is a member of the University of Louisiana System that includes eight universities. McNeese maintains regional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). We offer degrees through six academic colleges: Business, Education, Engineering and Technology, Liberal Arts, Nursing, and Science. McNeese s student body comprises over 8,000 students (Appendix 1), 88.8% from Louisiana, 6.2% from across the United States and 5% from approximately 50 countries around the globe. University wide, just over 71% of student enrollment is from the local five parish region. For this reason, McNeese State University upholds a tradition of service to the local community with the motto of Excellence with a Personal Touch. McNeese faced a great challenge when Hurricane Rita struck in the fall of The storm caused devastating damage to campus facilities and infrastructure. The recovery efforts showed the high caliber of McNeese faculty, staff, and students as they managed to finish the semester but the impact on facilities and enrollment has taken years to recover with some buildings still offline in University of Louisiana System The state of Louisiana contains two university systems, the Louisiana State University System and the University of Louisiana System. The University of Louisiana System is made up of eight member universities: Grambling State University Northwestern State University Louisiana Tech University Southeastern State University McNeese State University University of Louisiana at Lafayette Nicholls State University University of Louisiana at Monroe The system enrolls approximately 80,000 students (fall 2008) and is the largest higher education system in Louisiana. Current goals of the system are to increase number of graduates in targeted areas (Business, Engineering, Education, and Health Care) by 2012, to improve retention and graduation rates and to track graduates success in the workforce. The College of Business The College of Business supports five undergraduate academic programs and one graduate program. In addition, there are seven concentrations or specializations optionally available to students within the different majors. They are the: BS in Accounting o Optional Concentration in Taxation o Optional Concentration in Professional Accountancy and Exam Preparation BS in Finance o Optional Concentration in Economics o Optional Concentration in Financial Services BS in General Business o Optional Concentration in Construction Management BS in Management o Optional Concentration in Human Resource Management BS in Marketing MBA o Optional Concentrations in Accounting 2

3 Business and the other professional programs at McNeese have a tradition of community involvement and community support. Local business and political leaders frequently turn to the College of Business for information, faculty expertise and quality graduates. We have a core of dedicated faculty who are actively engaged with students and with the community and who constantly strive for continuous improvement. Leadership and Organizational Structure The College of Business is organized into two undergraduate academic departments (Accounting, Finance and Economics and Management, Marketing and General Business) and one graduate office. (Appendix 2). The Coordinator of Support Services oversees all aspects of the Internship Program and Freshman Foundations and assists in fundraising activities and coordinating of student organizations. The H.C. Drew Center for Economic Development Information is an office established through grant funds to provide regional economic data to area businesses. Finally, the Small Business Development Center is attached to the College of Business but operates independently. In January of 2007, Dr. Mitchell Adrian was appointed Dean of the College of Business after the retirement of Dr. Brenda Birkett. Prior to Dr. Birkett s employment, the College had a series of interim deans and Dr. Birkett brought a significant amount of stability to the program. She was instrumental at getting the program reaccredited under the old standards but retired not long after reaccreditation. Dr. Lonnie Phelps is the Department Head for Management, Marketing and General Business and has held that position for many years. Dr. Bruce Swindle moved from the position of MBA Director to Department Head for Accounting, Finance and Economics in the fall of Dr. Cam Caldwell was hired as the new MBA Director in the fall of 2008 but was relieved of his duties early in the spring of Dr. Matiur Rahman took over as Interim MBA Director in 2009 and takes that position officially as of fall Recent Accomplishments Inspired by the new standards for AACSB accreditation, the College of Business is redefining our role in southwest Louisiana. Our efforts for continuous improvement have lead to many accomplishments (Appendix 3). We created several extensions to our academic programs in response to community demand, one of an interdisciplinary nature, and all were achieved with little marginal costs to our program. In the past few years we have received over $360,000 in grants and gifts to improve the College. We have been successful at creating a culture of success and a feeling of belonging among the student body in the College of Business and these efforts are ongoing. We developed the Senior Challenge to help start a pattern of lifetime giving among our new graduates and we created an Alumni Chapter to further those ends. We have been successful at promoting membership in the various student professional organizations and we have developed internal processes for scholarship applications and career services inquiries. We have created student awards for the senior class and have worked to better promote membership in Beta Gamma Sigma. By promoting the concept of membership in the College and through the addition of a new Freshman Foundations course we are working to achieve the UL System goals of improved retention rates among new freshmen and graduation rates for the entire College. To further enhance student success, we are creating a formal mentoring program in which volunteer alumni will serve as mentors to business majors, again with the expectation of improved retention, improved graduation rates and improved success after graduation. 3

4 Our internship program has grown significantly and we continue to promote this program among the regional community. We continue to bring guest speakers to campus and we are developing a program to better promote our efforts to bring quality speakers to the general public. We have created and fully implemented the process for assessment of student learning and have made program changes based on the results. We have also started the process of surveying new graduates and alumni to better determine success after graduation. Current Issues: Challenges/Advantages McNeese State University is located in the Southwest corner of the State of Louisiana, approximately 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and 30 miles east of the Texas state line. Our location somewhat separates us geographically from other state universities and we historically draw most of our enrollment from the five parish region surrounding the university. Our greatest competitor for students and donor funding is Louisiana State University. As the flagship university and as a sports powerhouse, LSU merchandise saturates our area and provides constant marketing and advertising. It should be noted that a large percent of our regional students who start at LSU later transfer to McNeese. Student enrollment at McNeese and in the College of Business has remained relatively stable for several years. Continued predictions of reduced graduation levels for regional high schools have been a concern but have not yet lead to reduced enrollment. There was a significant decrease in enrollment after Hurricane Rita in 2005, but the university is recovering to pre-hurricane enrollment levels. Faculty Turnover Students and alumni regularly report that the faculty and the quality of instruction are the primary strengths of the College of Business. We have been successful at maintaining a high percentage of AQ faculty members and pride ourselves on the quality of in-class instruction and on the high quality of skills of our graduates and alumni. Turnover in recent years has impacted our program significantly. In January of 2007 there were 29 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members in the College of Business. One more tenure-track faculty line was added in However, before the start of the fall semester in 2009 we have 21 full-time faculty with 4 new faculty either hired or in negotiation. One particular faculty issue is the change of MBA Director. In 2008, Dr. Bruce Swindle moved from the position of MBA Director to that of Department Head for Accounting, Finance and Economics. Dr. Cam Caldwell was hired to fill the position of MBA Director. However, Dr. Caldwell left in 2009 and Dr. Matiur Rahman moved into the position of MBA Director. Budgeting The post 2005 hurricane recovery significantly increased state tax revenues and in 2008, (for the first time in over 20 years), the university was funded at 100% of the southern regional average. Salaries neared matching the southern regional average (the southern regional average for most business disciplines is currently roughly equivalent to the 25 th percentile of the national averages reported by AACSB). In our current position searches we are targeting the 25 th percentile of the national average and we have had sporadic success at locating qualified faculty. In 2009, severe state budget shortages lead to a 4% mid-year reduction in the spring semester and an additional 5% reduction in the fall semester. As a result, four open positions in business were frozen pending additional funding. This is a 14% reduction in the number of faculty in the College of Business since fall of To compensate for faculty shortages, the office of Academic Affairs 4

5 has temporarily suspended course release approvals resulting in an increase in business faculty teaching loads from 9 credit hours per semester to 12 credit hours per semester. Total faculty development funds have also been reduced to $5000 for the academic year (from $21,000). Planning Process The College of Business utilizes a collaborative process for strategic planning. Feedback is regularly obtained from faculty, students, alumni and business representatives. Over the past few years the College has worked to better formalize the process for gaining feedback from three primary stakeholder groups - employers, students and alumni. In each case, representative groups have been created or expanded and the process for gathering feedback has become more routine. Information gathered from these groups is relayed to faculty and administrators who make the final determinations regarding strategic planning. Plans typically begin as discussions between the Dean, faculty, and various stakeholder representatives. Rough drafts of a strategic plan are created and formally presented to stakeholder groups for feedback. Adjusted plans are then brought to faculty for final changes and approval (Appendix SP 1). This process has proven very productive and has allowed the College of Business to advance dramatically (Appendix 3). Accomplishments in the College have been significant and there is a general feeling of excitement and success among students and business leaders. Financial Goals and Achievements As part of our financial goals we are seeking to increase the size of our endowments though increased alumni giving. To support this effort, we created the Senior Challenge, which challenges seniors to donate through a senior class gift and pledge. The second phase for encouraging alumni giving is the creation of the McNeese Business Alumni Chapter. This chapter provides us with a core leadership group of alumni advisors but it also allows us to encourage students to continue their affiliation with the College of Business. The Alumni Chapter holds multiple social events annually. We were successful in adding endowed scholarships in the College of Business. The Demari Endowed Scholarship received its final funding and will begin to provide payouts starting next year. The White Endowed Scholarship was created and will continue to grow. The Marriner Family Scholarship is a newly acquired endowed scholarship that is divided between students in business and engineering. The process for scholarship applications was changed. Previously, the process of promoting scholarships and selecting applicants was conducted at the University level by the office of Scholarships and Testing. At their request the College of Business created a Scholarship Committee and began conducting the process internally. We aggressively promoted and advertised available scholarships and dramatically increased student applications compared to previous years. We increased the number of applicants to the point that we were able to solicit ten additional annual scholarships in 2008, four from the university, one from the local Rotary Club and five from the Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee. Since 2007 we have received approximately $158,000 for computer and technology upgrades in all our faculty offices, classrooms and computer labs. We received the Louisiana Board of Regents Enhancement Grant of $31,000 to send faculty to AASCB seminars to help increase their knowledge and understanding of the new AACSB standards. The McNeese Alumni Association provided $10,000 funding to create a student investment fund and Cameron State Bank followed with another $10,000. The Student Investment Fund is now managed by our Student Investment Team and has shown success even during the severe market downturns. 5

6 Faculty Faculty members in the College of Business remain dedicated to student success. Discussions with students and alumni indicate faculty engagement as our greatest strength within the College. As a regional (tier 3) university in the UL system, our primary mission is to serve the educational needs of our region. McNeese is considered a balanced program with near equal weight given to teaching and scholarly activity and we have requirements for ongoing research and personal development. Our annual performance evaluations use a weighted scale that applies 50% to teaching activities, 40% to research and scholarly work and 10% for service to the university and community. The standards for academically qualified (AQ) and professionally qualified (PQ) status are appropriate for the University and College mission. AQ status is attained through the completion of an appropriate terminal degree and recent scholarly work of 2 or more PRJ s and 2 or more OIC s. In support of our mission, equal weight is given to PRJ s that are pure research, practitioner oriented or pedagogical in nature although it is assumed that most research will be practitioner oriented. PQ status requires significant employment outside of academia (typically 5 years or more) and can be maintained through scholarly work or professional development activities. There is no ranking of journals for maintenance of AQ status, but journal quality is ranked in determining annual performance and merit evaluations (Appendix 4). Since the last reaccreditation, faculty voted to improve the Annual Performance Evaluation standards and to increase AQ standards for teaching in the graduate program. We now have differential AQ expectations between the undergraduate and graduate programs (Appendix 4). Faculty not AQ at the graduate level have been given 2 years to increase their scholarly activities but when possible, only faculty who are AQ under the new standards will teach graduate classes starting spring of Changes to the Annual Performance Evaluation also include expectations for student advising as part of the teaching component (Appendix 4). The tenured and tenure track faculty members in the College of Business have long been very supportive of AACSB accreditation standards and in general are very productive at maintaining AQ status. However, since the last reaccreditation we have implemented a post-tenure review process for three faculty members who failed to maintain AQ status. Two faculty members elected to retire and a third is currently in the remediation process. Overall, the College of Business at McNeese has done well at developing and maintaining highly qualified faculty. Our greatest challenge for the near future, however, is faculty turnover. This includes retention of some of our best faculty as well as recruitment of new replacements. Through the next few years of probable budget reductions we will continue our efforts to recruit qualified faculty. We will attempt to retain all existing faculty lines, even if some of those lines remain unfilled in the near future, and we will restructure our programs and faculty teaching efforts by spring of 2010 to return faculty to a four preparation maximum per academic year. Reassigned time, graduate assistant support and faculty travel support will be reinstated when funding allows. Assessment The process for assessment of student learning has improved dramatically over the past few years. The College of Business was last accredited under the old standards so that the process of assessment is still relatively new to faculty. Our assessment process is becoming increasingly faculty driven as we continue to train faculty regarding AACSB assessment expectations and as we continue to develop our academic programs. The Assessment of Learning (AOL) committee is now responsible for scheduling assessment activities as well as measuring outcomes, presenting the results and in many cases making recommendations for improvement. 6

7 Program Adjustments Resulting From Assessment Findings Findings of assessment activities have inspired changes in the College of Business. First, we have made changes to the BS in Accounting. Assessment results and consultation with employers indicated a weakness in understanding of the basic accounting cycle (basic bookkeeping skills). Faculty evaluated our program and added content to multiple classes to alleviate this deficiency. After examining student performance on the MFT, a committee was formed to collect and evaluate content from all the core courses of our program. The primary issues of concern regarded accounting principles, analytical tools for business decisions and global business. The review committee collected syllabi from our core courses and using a Delphi Technique, had faculty evaluate content weaknesses and work to coordinate content flow from one class to the next. The end result was that changes were made to four courses in the core of our program to better prepare students for upper level classes in their major. Summary: Continuous Improvement The College of Business strives for continuous improvement and the past few years have seen considerable success. We face many challenges in the near future, particularly in regards to funding and faculty recruitment and retention, but we will press for continued improvements despite the shortages and emerge from the current crises as a more effective academic program. The College of Business unitizes a collaborative planning process that solicits and incorporates feedback from faculty, students, alumni and business leaders. As a result, our long range vision, mission and plans have significant buy-in from our faculty and from the community. We maintain a strong core of AQ faculty who strive to promote student success and who work regularly to keep our programs current with business trends. We have relatively high standards for scholarly work given our mission and size and faculty have taken responsibility to maintain and improve those standards. Our assessment process is showing maturity and has become a faculty driven process. The AOL committee leads the process and we have made multiple adjustments to our program as a result of assessment outcomes. We are currently working to include information from each of our majors and again, our processes are primarily faculty driven. In summary, the College of Business at McNeese State University is a dynamic and thriving institution that works closely with our local business community. We are a key part of the economic success of our region and we continue to play a valuable role in regional business development. 7

8 Vision, Mission and Strategic Planning Introduction As a medium sized, regional institution, McNeese places student learning as our highest strategic priority. The strategy and planning process in the College of Business supports a student centered learning environment that utilizes external stakeholder feedback to develop academic and service programs geared toward satisfying employer needs. The strategic planning process in the College of Business is a collaborative effort between the administration, the faculty and several groups of stakeholders. Faculty members in the College meet annually to discuss long-range plans. Stakeholder feedback is communicated to faculty on a regular basis and is incorporated into the strategic planning process. Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan The McNeese State University Mission Statement McNeese State University, a selective admissions institution, provides education, research, and service that support our core values of academic excellence, student success, fiscal responsibility, and university-community alliances. The University s fundamental educational mission is to offer associate, baccalaureate, and specific graduate curricula distinguished by academic excellence. The University engages in collaborative ventures to benefit industry and to enhance economic development and cultural growth in this region and beyond. The foundation for student success begins with faculty commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and creative and scholarly activity. At McNeese State University, a member of the University of Louisiana System, students cultivate skills for critical thinking and effective expression and gain an understanding of the global community. The learning and social environment integrates discipline-specific knowledge with the values of lifelong learning, ethical responsibility, and civic engagement. The College of Business Vision and Mission Statement VISION STATEMENT - To be recognized as a world-class academic program in business within the State of Louisiana. MISSION STATEMENT - The mission of the College of Business is to provide quality business education to ensure student success and to serve as a resource for the community. CORE VALUES Academic Excellence The College supports a dynamic educational environment that encourages and enhances faculty and student academic achievement and productivity. Student Success The College prepares a diverse student population to succeed in personal and professional endeavors in a global business environment. Partner, Serve, and Interact with the Community The College serves as a resource for education, research, economic development and community service. Personal and Professional Integrity The College values integrity, ethical behavior, mutual respect and collegiality. These characteristics enrich interaction among constituents. As part of the University, the College values excellence with a personal touch. 8

9 Strategic Planning The mission and goals of the College of Business result from the collaborative efforts of faculty, students, alumni and business leaders. In recent years we have taken steps to formalize the collection of feedback from various stakeholder groups and this process continues to develop. The strategic plan for the College of Business (Appendix SP 1) is driven by our mission and divided into four specific goal areas: Program development and enhancement goals Academic goals (student performance) Faculty qualifications and faculty development Financial goals Financial Resources Financial resources for the College of Business are difficult to predict given the structure of state funding (see section Financial Planning). First, higher education and healthcare, the state s two largest expenditures, are among the few state budget items without some measure of constitutional protections. For this reason, funding for higher education has the potential to change drastically from year to year. In addition, the legislature does not finalize the budget until late June for implementation in July, providing little time for preparation during years of significant change. For these reasons, many goals in the strategic plan are tentative based on the assumed availability of funding. Other goals are accomplished through the use of existing resources or through the use of private funds. Endowments and private money to the university provides some support for the College of Business (Appendix SP 2). No private monies are used in our regular operating budget but funds are sometimes used to cover shortfalls in the operating budget. History of the Planning Process: The Beginning of a New Plan The College of Business at McNeese was scheduled for reaccreditation in 2004 and chose to continue under the old standards at that time. Not long after completion of reaccreditation in 2004, the dean, Dr. Brenda Birkett, retired from McNeese. The current dean, Dr. Mitchell Adrian, started at McNeese in January of In 2007, the strategic plan for the College of Business had not been updated since Upon arrival at McNeese, Dr Adrian began a process of meeting and interviewing members of the Corporate Advisory Council for feedback regarding the educational needs of the community. A draft for a new strategic plan was created and submitted to faculty by the end of the spring semester in Mission Development It was soon determined that the mission for the College of Business had been developed many years prior to 2007 and that the mission was no-longer serving as the foundation for strategic planning. In the fall of 2007 the faculty held a retreat for strategic planning and mission creation. Information provided by the members of the Corporate Advisory Council was considered and the revised mission statement (Appendix SP 1) was developed and ratified prior to the end of the semester. This mission statement was considered to be somewhat generic but it was the result of faculty collaboration and created greater faculty buy-in for mission driven program improvements. It is expected that the mission will be re-evaluated every three years and is scheduled for evaluation in

10 Developing a Structure for Stakeholder Input Corporate Advisory Council The College of Business operates under the expectation that the employers of our graduates are our primary customers. Therefore, as representatives of those employers, our Corporate Advisory Council represents our most significant stakeholders. Beginning in 2007, there were several membership changes and additions to the Corporate Advisory Council. In addition to personnel changes, we reorganized the meeting structure. We traditionally held a meeting once per semester and this practice continues. However, originally the agenda for meetings focused mostly on updates from the College. We have changed this process so that in the fall semester we provide an update of College and University progress and in the spring semester we hold a retreat style gathering to gain insight and feedback from our membership for continued strategic planning. Communications are also held via when special issues or concerns arise. To date, the Council has been extremely helpful in providing feedback regarding long-term plans and proposals from the College. SLAC To add to the solicitation of stakeholder inputs for strategy formation, a student advisory group was created. Presidents of the professional student organizations in the College as well as representatives from each major comprise the membership. The student team was incorporated as an official student organization and created its own name the Student Leadership Advisory Council (SLAC). (The members typically refer to themselves as SLAC ers.) The SLAC ers meet twice per month and one meeting each semester is dedicated to gaining feedback for strategic planning. Additional feedback from students is gained during our MBA exit interviews. These interviews are conducted in a face-toface environment and the graduating MBA students are typically very candid regarding their opinions of the program. MBAC Late in the fall semester of 2008 the McNeese Business Alumni Chapter (MBAC) was created under the guidance of the Alumni Association. The purpose of this organization is twofold, 1) to provide a core of interested alumni to serve on an Alumni Advisory Council and 2) to generate ongoing interest and fundraising activities for the College of Business. In the spring semester of 2009, meetings were held with the Alumni Advisory Council members to determine their views of the College of Business and how we can better serve the needs of the community. This final step completed our development of stakeholder input to strategic planning. We now have regular input from: The Dean Faculty Regional Business Leaders Students Alumni The Next Cycle of Strategic Planning After the creation of the new mission statement, a revised five year plan was created in 2008 (Appendix SP 1). We were surprisingly successful at accomplishing many of the goals in our original plan and spent the next year seeking additional input for a revised strategic plan. We have been actively seeking feedback from the Corporate Advisory Council, Alumni Advisory Council and 10

11 SLAC for guidance in preparing the next strategic plan. The draft of this plan will be presented to faculty for modification/approval early in the fall 2009 semester. Summary The College of Business strongly values partnerships with the business community as well as with other stakeholders. The strategic planning process in the College of Business is a collaborative effort between the College and several groups of stakeholders. Since 2007, the College of Business has made significant progress in formalizing the various stakeholder units and developing a more structured process for attaining feedback. Faculty members in the College are regularly informed of stakeholder feedback and meet annually to examine and possibly to revise our long-range strategic plans. As of the writing of this document, severe budget cuts will reduce our operating budget and number of faculty positions for the next several academic years. As a result of the budget changes there is a renewed emphasis for an updated and revised strategic plan beginning in the fall of As budget information becomes available, the Corporate Advisory Council and the Alumni Advisory Council have been alerted to current financial conditions and their feedback has been requested in regards to many of our proposals for program streamlining and change. This process will continue through the fall of State Funding Financial Planning Financial resources for the College of Business are difficult to predict given the structure of state funding. First, higher education and healthcare, the state s two largest expenditures, are part of the few state budget items that are not provided some measure of constitutional protections. For this reason, funding for higher education has the potential to change drastically from year to year. In addition, the legislature does not finalize the budget until late June for implementation in July, providing little time for preparation during years of significant change. For these reasons, many goals in the strategic plan are tentative based on the assumed availability of funding. For the 2008/2009 academic year, mid-year budget cuts to the university were approximately 4%. Additional cuts for the 2009/2010 academic year are around 5%. In addition, it is predicted that there will be reductions of approximately 17% more over the next two years. Some of these cuts were reduced by state allowance of a 5% tuition increase, but most of the new revenue generated will pay for unfunded mandates. As of June 2009, including the mid-year cuts and the budget reduction for 2009/2010, the College of Business is absorbing a budget reduction of approximately 15% which translates into approximately $360,000. This savings was achieved through the elimination of faculty travel, the reduction of our supplies and operating budget by approximately 50% and by freezing four unfilled faculty positions. It is anticipated that the positions will remain frozen for 2010/2011 as well. Most plans within the College of Business are created with the assumption that we can accomplish our goals with existing resources. In cases where new resources are required, implementation of goals is held in check until there is evidence that funding will be available. Endowments and Private Funds 11

12 Endowments and private money to the university provides some support for the College of Business (Appendix SP 2). No private monies are incorporated into our regular operating budget but funds are sometimes used to cover shortfalls in the operating budget. The College of Business has a strong reputation in the community and is among the better supported academic colleges at McNeese. In recent years, endowment funds have been used to provide cash awards for high performing faculty with several endowments dedicated to faculty research and teaching awards. We also have eight endowed professorships in the College of Business. However, poor financial performance of the endowments over the past few years suggests that only endowed scholarship support will be available for 2009/2010. Grants and Fundraisers In addition to our endowments, we regularly seek one-time grants and gifts. An ongoing grant to the College of Business is from the H.C. Drew Foundation in support of our H.C. Drew Center for Economic Development Information. We have also received H.C. Drew Foundation support for efforts to advertise, promote and recruit in the College of Business. The College of Business typically receives annual funds from the Community Support Fund. This money is collected from local casino revenues and disbursed among various local entities. McNeese receives a portion that is then divided among the academic units. Proposals for funding are reviewed by the University Executive Committee and funds are allocated accordingly. In recent years these funds have been used for upgrading faculty computers and for classroom redesign efforts. We also receive technology funds through the TASC program. These funds are collected from student fees and are limited to areas that directly affect students or student learning. In recent years we have received approximately $50,000 per year. Improvements have included the addition of the flat-screen monitors in the hallways that display information about the College of Business and new computers for the student lab and for the electronic podiums in all the classrooms in the business building. For the 2008/2009 academic year, the College of Business was the recipient of the Board of Regents Enhancement Grant. We received $31,000 from the Board of Regents and we pledged $21,000 from university funds and $10,000 from private funds to support faculty training and development. The $31,000 was used specifically to send faculty to AACSB seminars about Maintenance of Accreditation, Assessment and Applied Assessment. The remaining funds were used both for AACSB training as well as for general faculty development (conference travel support, etc.). Fundraising Proposals Discussions have begun to develop a process by which grants and funding will have a higher value for faculty efforts to remain academically qualified. The idea is still under development and will be debated by faculty over the next academic year, but is it seen as strategically prudent to aggressively seek external funding sources to allow us to enhance operations beyond what is available from state funding. To better develop local gifts and funding support, the College of Business is currently in the process of creating advertising brochures that support our fundraising efforts. The purpose of the brochure is to provide a tangible information document that we can use in support of our fundraising efforts. 12

13 The brochures will range in size from 1/3 page for small requests to multipage booklets for larger requests. We are currently considering the development of these fundraising brochures for the following areas of interest: Name College of Business - $10 million to $25 million Name MBA - $5 million to $10 million Name Conference Center - $1 million to $5 million Endowed Chair - $1 million to $5 million Name a Classroom - $500,000 to $3 million Endowed Merit Scholar - $750,000 to $1 million Professorships - $100,000 to $1 million Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship Award - $25,000 to $50,000 (Endowed) Endowed Scholarships - $10,000 to $250,000 Sponsor the Student Investment Team - $10,000 to $100,000 Endowed Student Awards - $10,000 to $30,000 Sponsor International Business Club (annual or endowed) - $1000 to $25,000 Sponsor Executive Speaker Series (annual or endowed) - $1,000 to $12,000 Business Day Sponsor (annual or endowed) - $500 to $10,000 Student organization sponsorship (annual) - $250 to $3000 Senior Reception Sponsor (annual) - $250 to $1000 Summary State funding methods make financial planning difficult for all of higher education in Louisiana. State funding is expected to decline over the next two years while enrollments are expected to remain stable or increase. As a result, we will continue to work toward streamlining our academic programs without a loss of quality. Within allowable parameters, the College of Business has been working to find ways to increase funds from external sources to supplement and enhance operations and proposed growth. 13

14 Faculty Qualifications Introduction As a regional (tier 3) university in the UL system, our primary mission is to serve the educational needs of our region. To accomplish this, our expectations for faculty are very balanced in terms of teaching and research and we have requirements for ongoing research and personal development. Our annual performance evaluations use a weighted scale that applies 50% to teaching activities, 40% to research and scholarly work and 10% for service to the university and community. The standards for academically qualified (AQ) and professionally qualified (PQ) status are appropriate for the University and College mission. In addition, we assume that most scholarly activity will be of an applied nature as relevant to our region. However, basic research in the discipline and pedagogical research are weighted equally with applied research. The tenured and tenure track faculty members in the College of Business have long been very supportive of AACSB accreditation standards and in general are very productive at maintaining AQ status. Our system of performance evaluation provides rewards for publications in peer reviewed journals and co-authorship (especially with authors at other universities) is encouraged. Overall, the College of Business at McNeese has done well at developing and maintaining highly qualified faculty. Our greatest challenge for the near future, however, is faculty turnover. This includes retention of some of our best faculty as well as recruitment of new replacements. In 2007 and 2008, McNeese worked to raise faculty salaries to be comparable to the Southern Regional Average. For the business professions, the Southern Regional Average is roughly equivalent to the 25 th percentile of the national averages reported by AACSB. During this time the faculty voted to raise the AQ standards for graduate faculty we added one new faculty line in International Business and converted two annual appointments (Accounting and Marketing) to Tenure-Track positions. In the Spring semester of 2009, budget shortfalls in the state resulted in a mid-year budget reduction of approximately 5% with an anticipated 2009/2010 reduction of another 15%. Due to these shortages, most faculty attrition remains unfilled. The resulting faculty shortage has led the University to temporarily suspend most reassigned time, raising faculty teaching loads from 9 credit hours per semester to 12 credit hours. In addition, shortages of expertise in specific areas has caused problems regarding the number of preparations per semester for some faculty. The final impact of budget reductions has been the loss of all graduate assistantships and travel support funds. The loss of these support and development items (reassigned time, graduate assistants and travel support) continues to undermine our competitiveness when seeking to hire new faculty. Through the next few years of probable budget reductions we will continue our efforts to recruit at the 25 th percentile of the national average. We will attempt to retain all existing faculty lines, even if some of those lines remain unfilled for the next few years. We will attempt to restructure our programs and faculty teaching efforts by Spring of 2010 to return faculty to a four preparation maximum for the academic year. Reassigned time, graduate assistant support and faculty travel support will be reinstated when funding allows. Note, at McNeese the title Visiting Lecturer or VL is used to describe Adjunct Faculty. 14

15 Academic and Professional Qualifications The College of Business is committed to maintaining a faculty of high quality consistent with the mission and objectives of the College. Carrying out the mission requires that tenured and tenuretrack faculty members have appropriate academic preparation by holding doctoral degrees that are in, or are closely related to, their field of teaching and research. In the absence of a doctoral degree, nontenure track faculty should have earned at least a masters degree in an appropriate discipline or have a masters degree and at least 30 graduate hours in their teaching area. This academic preparation for non-tenure-track faculty members should be augmented by practical experience that is significant in duration and responsibility, current at the time of hiring and that further prepares the faculty member for an instructional role in the College. However, academic preparation and practical experience alone are not sufficient to maintain the ability to teach or to do research. Faculty members must engage in a regular program of continuous learning during their career. The following describes the College s expectation of the faculty to maintain appropriate academic or professional qualifications. Maintenance of Academic Qualifications In general, a faculty member is initially academically qualified (AQ) if the faculty member holds an appropriate terminal (typically Ph.D. or D.B.A.) degree for their teaching responsibilities. Additionally, faculty members must engage in constant learning activity to maintain currency in their field. All faculty members possessing a doctoral degree are expected to achieve and maintain AQ status. To maintain academically qualified status, a faculty member must meet the following criteria: A. Publish at least three articles within the most recent five-year period in business related refereed journals that are the result of research in their current teaching field. This research may be discipline-based scholarship, contributions to practice, and/or learning and pedagogical research. OR A. Publish at least two articles within the most recent five-year period in business related refereed journals that are the result of research in their current teaching field. This research may be discipline-based scholarship, contributions to practice, and/or learning and pedagogical research. AND B. Participate in at least two appropriate professional development activities during the most recent five-year period that demonstrate continuous learning about, and engagement in, the faculty member s academic discipline. There is an expectation that among these activities, at least one will be devoted to how the discipline is applied to practice. The critical aspect of the appropriateness of any activity is whether it results in outcomes that support the mission of the College. Appropriate activities include but are not limited to: publishing papers in refereed proceedings, presenting papers at professional meetings, serving on editorial review boards, writing textbooks and related instructional materials, developing instructional materials, attending professional seminars and publishing in non-refereed journals. The final determination of appropriate activities rests with the chairperson and the dean. Graduate Faculty In the fall semester of 2008, the MBA Committee met to discuss AQ standards for teaching in the graduate program. Until that time, there were no separate standards to qualify as graduate faculty. 15

16 The MBA Committee proposed higher standards for scholarly activity and this proposal was approved by the faculty. It was also proposed that we apply a two year grace period (until the end of Spring of 2010) to allow (if necessary) faculty teaching in the MBA program an opportunity to improve their scholarly activity. Even with the grace period, attempts were made to adjust teaching schedules to immediately meet the new AQ standards for graduate faculty. However, faculty turnover limited our ability to cover graduate courses and in a few cases we have faculty who are using this grace period to improve their academic credentials. To be considered part of the graduate faculty, a faculty member must meet the following criteria: A. Publish at least four articles within the most recent five-year period in business related refereed journals that are the result of research in their current teaching field. This research may be discipline-based scholarship, contributions to practice, and/or learning and pedagogical research. OR A. Publish at least three articles within the most recent five-year period in business related refereed journals that are the result of research in their current teaching field. This research may be discipline-based scholarship, contributions to practice, and/or learning and pedagogical research. AND B. Participate in at least two appropriate professional development activities during the most recent five-year period that demonstrate continuous learning about, and engagement in, the faculty member s academic discipline. There is an expectation that among these activities, at least one will be devoted to how the discipline is applied to practice. The critical aspect of the appropriateness of any activity is whether it results in outcomes that support the mission of the College. Appropriate activities include but are not limited to: publishing papers in refereed proceedings, presenting papers at professional meetings, serving on editorial review boards, writing textbooks and related instructional materials, developing instructional materials, attending professional seminars and publishing in non-refereed journals. Administrative Faculty and Jurist Doctorate Faculty with full-time administrative responsibly (Dean) may maintain academic qualifications by participating in at least two professional development activities in a three year period. These professional development activities must specifically support the administrative function (e.g., accreditation standards training, leadership training, etc.). Faculty members possessing a Jurist Doctorate (J.D.) are considered AQ to teach business law and law related subjects if they have: Received their J.D. within the recent 5-year period and/or Currently practice law. Maintenance of Professional Qualifications Faculty with Professional Qualifications represent an important resource for the College. The College seeks to employ full-time and part-time lecturers who, by virtue of experience, bring practical perspectives to the classroom. Although there is no requirement or expectation that these faculty members hold a doctoral degree, it is no less important that these faculty members have a level of academic preparation, augmented by practical experience and maintained by continuous learning, to ensure quality and credibility in the classroom experience. PQ faculty members should make up no more than 49% of the faculty in any discipline. 16

17 To be initially professionally qualified, the faculty member must have the appropriate academic preparation and practical work experience outside of academia that is relevant to the teaching discipline, significant in duration and responsibility and current at the time of hiring. To maintain professional qualification status, faculty members may engage in activities identified above for maintenance of academic qualification. Alternatively, they may engage in activities that are relevant to the continuing practice of their profession and which relate to their teaching discipline. Appropriate activities may include but are not limited to: Internship or employment in the teaching discipline Obtaining and/or maintaining appropriate professional certifications Business consulting activities Material participation in workshops or professional meetings in the teaching area Holding a leadership role in an appropriate professional organization Continuing professional education related to the teaching area Member of a board of directors of a corporation The standards require currency of activities. In every academic year, PQ faculty should ideally engage in one or more appropriate activities. During the most recent five year period, faculty members must demonstrate five or more appropriate activities. Participating and Supporting Faculty Status In assessing sufficiency of faculty resources, an important distinction is made between Participating and Supporting faculty members. Descriptions for these categories are: Participating A faculty member is deemed participating if he/she actively engages in the activities of the College beyond normal teaching responsibilities. These activities may include: Faculty Governance Research Committee service Student organization involvement Student advising Student mentoring Educational innovations Leadership responsibilities Supporting A faculty member is deemed supporting if he/she normally does not engage in activities of the College beyond normal teaching responsibilities. Usually, Supporting faculty members are hired on a term-by-term basis and do not have tenure or tenure earning possibilities. Faculty Development The purpose of the developmental process is to afford faculty members the opportunity to make the greatest contribution possible to accomplishing the mission of the College. Faculty professional development is a joint responsibility of faculty members and administrators. Faculty members must take primary responsibility for reaching and maintaining a high level of professional competence. The ideal faculty member is a quality educator, accomplished researcher, and major contributor to the university and the community. The administration provides encouragement, guidance and tangible support for faculty development. 17

18 To encourage faculty members to strive for excellence, developmental resources are provided by the University and by the College. All faculty members are given basic developmental resources, such as; A private office. Computer and printer with appropriate and relevant software packages. High speed Internet access. Mailing and long-distance phone calling privileges. Instructional and research supplies. Copying privileges. Library resources. Basic travel support (when available) for academic development. Developmental structures provide faculty with benefits such as; Specialized teaching assignments Limited number of annual course preparations Availability of course release time (when available) for research and developmental pursuits The opportunity to earn teaching excellence awards The opportunity to earn research excellence awards. Faculty members who maintain their academic credentials are normally provided with; One course release for the semester (typically a nine-hour teaching load). A ten-hour per week graduate assistant (based on availability). Travel funding to a conference of the faculty member s choice within State guidelines and budget availability. Merit recognition for mentoring other faculty in the research arena. Seven endowed professorships are available for College of Business faculty. Typically candidates are expected to be senior faculty members with doctorates in an appropriate business fields. The professorship recipient will be given a graduate research assistant, an additional travel allowance, and if desired, business cards and stationary imprinted with the Endowed Professor s title. The annual compensation package may change depending on Board policy and financial performance of the endowments. In certain years the professorship may be unfunded. The recipient of a professorship normally holds the professorship for one year unless otherwise specified by the professorship. The holder of a professorship is eligible to apply for unlimited terms. Other professorships may be available on a University-wide basis and are awarded according to procedures established by the University. The Pinnacle Teaching Award and Endowed Scholars Awards are also available. Although these awards are not endowed professorships, they provide another means of rewarding productive faculty members. Faculty members also are given the opportunity to apply for sabbatical leaves for the purpose of academic enhancement, research concentration, or other academic endeavors. Faculty will receive three-quarters of the salary to which they would otherwise be entitled during the leave period. Faculty research excellence awards are earned annually for refereed journal articles published in the current year and recognized on the merit instrument. The amount of the award is determined by the quality and quantity of the research effort and the total funds available for the awards. Point values are assigned based on the quality of the journal and the number of co-authors. The monetary awards per faculty member are typically $1000, $800 or $500, depending upon the points earned. All awards are subject to availability of funds. 18

19 A minimum of three teaching excellence awards are given annually. The awards, which include cash stipends (when available), are given to the three faculty members with the highest student evaluation raw scores. Failure to maintain Academic or Professionally Qualified Status Faculty must earn an annual rating of satisfactory for both teaching and scholarly activity (maintenance of AQ or PQ classifications). Failure to achieve either (or both) satisfactory ratings results in an overall rating of unsatisfactory. After two (2) consecutive unsatisfactory regular reviews or three (3) unsatisfactory reviews in a five (5) year period, non-tenured faculty or tenure track faculty will not be considered for renewal of appointment. Tenured faculty are subject to mandatory remediation with the plan for remediation developed by the department head in conjunction with the faculty member and dean. If the faculty member has not achieved significant improvement in performance after a minimum of two (2) years of remediation, a recommendation for dismissal may be made. A recommendation for dismissal automatically triggers a review by tenured faculty in the department. Based on all recommendations, including that of tenured faculty in the department, the Chief Academic Officer may recommend that the University President or his/her designees institute proceedings for removal for cause including proper due process. Application of Standards within the College of Business The use of remediation and a post-tenure review process has been implemented three times since the Spring semester of Two faculty members retired rather than meet the remediation requirements. The third faculty member used one semester of sabbatical to attempt the scholarly activity necessary to regain AQ status and is currently under his first year or remediation. In total, our overall faculty qualifications are very good given our mission and the size of our programs. Economics is our only discipline that does not meet the minimum expectations of 90% AQ/PQ faculty (see Table 10-2, we are currently at 80%). However, this is the result of only one faculty member failing to meet AQ requirements and this faculty member is currently in his first year of remediation. Overall for the College of Business, 78.3% of our faculty members meet the requirements for AQ status and 96.7% of our faculty members are either AQ or PQ. Summary: Current Issues and Efforts for Improvement The current standards for AQ and PQ status are appropriate for the University and College mission. The overall qualifications of faculty are appropriate for AACSB standards and we regularly work to expeditiously correct any deficiencies. The recent increase in the requirements for AQ status of graduate faculty members are an improvement to the academic quality of our MBA program. The application of remediation and post-tenure review of under-performing faculty has allowed us to seek better qualified faculty members who have contributed greatly to the improvement of our program. 19

20 Faculty turnover continues to be a problem and will likely continue for the next few years if the current budget predictions are correct. There have been significant changes in faculty over the past five years. During this time we have hired the following tenure-track faculty: Mitchell Adrian (management - dean) Frank Badua (accounting) Cam Caldwell (management and international business) Jiun-Shiu Chen (management) Salvador Contreras (economics) Susie Cox (management) Seung Kim (accounting) Satya Parayitam (management) Jeffery Totten (marketing) Ed Walker (accounting) Ann Watkins (accounting) In addition, over the past five years the following tenure-track faculty members have left our program: Dr. Brenda Birkett (accounting - dean) Frank Badua (accounting) Mary Joe Beck (marketing) Dave Cabell (management) Cam Caldwell (management and international business) Salvador Contreras (economics) Wayne Mondy (management) Satya Parayitam (management) Ed Walker (accounting) Ann Watkins (accounting department head) As of the summer of 2009, we have hired one new faculty member in International Business who will begin work in August of His Ph.D. is in International Business with an additional background in finance and accounting. He will replace Caldwell (Management) who was also teaching in the area of International Business. We are currently searching for two additional positions, one in Strategy/Entrepreneurship and one in POM/Quantitative management. Our continued efforts to remain competitive at the Southern Regional Average will hopefully allow us to continue to attract quality faculty. Overall, the College of Business at McNeese has done well at developing and maintaining highly qualified faculty. Well over 50% of the faculty in the College are AQ and over 90% of our faculty meet AQ or PQ standards. We will attempt to retain all existing faculty lines, even if some of those lines remain unfilled for the next few years. We will attempt to restructure our programs and faculty teaching efforts by Spring of 2010 to return faculty to a four preparation maximum for the academic year. Reassigned time, graduate assistant support and faculty travel support will be reinstated when funding allows and hire only faculty who meet the proper AQ or PQ qualifications. 20

21 Assessment and Assurances of Student Learning Introduction Student learning through faculty interaction and a student focused curriculum is a top priority for McNeese and for the College of Business. Prior to the introduction of AACSB s new standards, programs were periodically evaluated for the presence of up-to-date content and adequate coverage of desired content. With the creation of assessment standards for student learning, the College of Business began the process of establishing learning objectives and outcome based measures of performance. These efforts were first fully put into practice in 2007 with the first complete round of assessment and resulting program modification. Since that time, the College has worked to improve the assessment process, adjust our programs based on assessment results and increase our expectations of student learning. The Curriculum at McNeese The general education program at the undergraduate level requires that students meet 11 areas of proficiency. They are: 1. Communicate effectively in written English 2. Read with comprehension 3. Reason abstractly and think critically 4. Understand numerical data and statistics 5. Understand the scientific method 6. Be familiar with key technologies and informational applications 7. Learn independently 8. Recognize and appreciate cultural diversity 9. Understand the nature and value of the fine and performing arts 10. Develop a personal value system while retaining a tolerance for others 11. Understand the American political and economic systems There are five undergraduate business degrees at McNeese The BS in Accounting, BS in Finance, BS in General Business, BS in Management and BS in Marketing. Each undergraduate business program is 121 credit hours with no more than 60 credit hours in business. The core curriculum (common to all majors) in the College of Business consists of 33 credit hours. The courses are: ACCT 208 Accounting Principles BADM 201 Legal Environment BADM 218 Issues in Global Business BADM 275 Analytical Tools for Business Decisions ECON 203 Principles of Microeconomics ECON 204 Principles of Macroeconomics FIN 310 Principles of Finance MGMT 300 Management Concepts and Practices MGMT 370 Operations Management and Quantitative Methods MKTG 320 Marketing Principles MGMT 481 Business Policy 21

22 The MBA at McNeese is 33 credit hours with 18 credit hours of preparatory foundation courses at the graduate level. Preparatory foundation courses are waived if students demonstrate proficiency in those areas through the completion of appropriate business courses at the undergraduate level. Assurance of Student Learning Understanding that it is vital to have faculty support for the university and college missions; faculty are viewed as a key component for the establishment of goals, execution of the assessment program, evaluation of the results, and implementation of necessary changes. To implement the assessment program, the college formed an Assurance of Learning (AOL) committee. The college has made ongoing efforts to train administration and faculty about developing, implementing, and improving assessment. In 2006, heads of departments attended training seminars sponsored by AACSB. In 2007, three faculty members attended AACSB assessment seminars and these individuals played a key role in the formation of the AOL committee and the development process of student learning objectives. In , the College of Business received the Board of Regents Enhancement Grant, funded by the Board of Regents/State of Louisiana, which enabled five faculty members to attend the AACSB assessment seminar and four faculty members to attend the AACSB applied assessment seminar. The Assessment Process Learning goals are developed by the AOL committee and presented to faculty for approval. Maintaining the timetable for assessment and conducting assessment is the responsibility of the AOL committee with the support of the Dean. The responsibility of assessing student performance is shared among the faculty. Assessment results are compiled by the AOL committee and shared with the faculty. The AOL committee and the Curriculum committee work together to identify areas that can be improved through analysis of direct and indirect assessment results. All suggestions for continuous improvement are presented to faculty for approval. We will continue to use committee-initiated program changes as our foundation for continuous improvement efforts and expect faculty involvement for all improvements to the college s educational programs. Student Learning Goals and Objectives For the undergraduate programs, student learning goals support the university required learning goals and are as follows: Graduates will be able to apply critical thinking in academic and professional environments. Graduates will be able to formulate and express ideas effectively through oral, written, and/or technological communications in academic and professional environments. Graduates will be able to analyze the global community to make sound judgments in academic and professional environments. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the basic business curriculum. For the graduate program, student learning goals are: MBA Graduates will be able to recognize and assess the ethical and social dimensions of management activities (including all forms of social awareness such as diversity awareness and all forms of inclusion and environmental awareness) and evaluate their impacts on management decisions. 22

23 MBA Graduates will be able to evaluate the influence global markets have on management decisions and be able to formulate appropriate strategies to improve their performance in the global economy. Graduates will be effective communicators. MBA Graduates will be able to apply critical thinking skills analyzing academic and business situations. In addition to the overall learning goals listed above, each department established learning goals for the undergraduate disciplines. Learning goals for the department of Accounting, Finance and Economics are: Accounting o Demonstrate the ability to complete a manual practice set from transaction analysis to preparation of financial statements. o Demonstrate a basic understanding of the role and importance of business documents, records and information flows in the accounting process. o Demonstrate the ability to model a simple accounting information system or portion thereof using logical data and process modeling. Finance o Demonstrate the ability to utilize various financial measures to analyze the overall financial health and operating efficiency of the firm. o Create forward-looking financial statements. o Understand the mathematic process and application of capital budgeting. o Calculate the value of stocks, bonds and preferred stocks. Note: there is no BS in Economics. The learning goals and objectives for the Department of Management, Marketing, and General Business Administration are: General Business Administration students will be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of fundamental business concepts across the business disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing. Students in Management will be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of fundamental management concepts in the areas of organizational behavior, strategic management, and human resources management. Students in marketing will be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of fundamental marketing concepts. Measurement of learning goals is accomplished through several methods, including multiple choice questions and assessment rubrics. Indirect measures are also used to assess several components of our learning objectives. Although indirect measures are not required, the college finds that these measures add a unique perspective to understanding our strengths and weaknesses. Assessment Results and Timetable The formal assessment reporting structures for 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 are presented in Appendix AOL 1 and AOL 2. Based on initial assessment efforts, the College of Business has developed a timetable for item assessment (Appendix AOL 3) with several items utilizing a multi-year repeating cycle of assessment. 23

24 Program Modifications and Continuous Improvement Over the past few years, several program improvements have occurred as a direct result of assessment findings (Appendix AOL 4). Some of the more notable improvements are: (2007) Course content in the Accounting major was updated (2008) Completed a curriculum mapping exercise to better coordinate and update the content of the core courses in our curriculum. (2008) Several courses adopted common or similar finals when taught by multiple faculty. (2009) Added one lab hour to our capstone course, MGMT 481 to allow students more time and assistance to understand the interconnected nature of the business programs. (Ongoing) We have started the process of developing a unified set of instructions and styleguide to be utilized by the College of Business (implementation pending). The History and Development of the Assessment Process The Creation of Learning Goals Soon after the last reaccreditation visit, the faculty in the College of Business began the process of establishing student learning goals. The graduate program led the way by establishing learning goals and conducting the first process of assessment in At the undergraduate level, it was decided that learning goals would focus on the foundation subject matter from the core courses. In the spring of 2007, undergraduate learning goals were re-evaluated and adjusted to be more outcomes oriented and to better reflect the mission of the College. Measureable objectives for each goal were developed and incorporated into a measurement rubric (Appendix AOL 5). Measurement of Learning Outcomes In 2006, faculty assessed student performance relative to the learning goals in the graduate program. This was a learning process for the College of Business. In spring 2007, the faculty began the process of formulating and improving assessment tools used to evaluate student learning. Several assessment tools were adopted and both direct and indirect measures were used in the assessment process. Direct Measures. To assist in the assessment of student learning goals critical thinking, communications, and global issues, rubrics were developed by faculty members based upon similar rubrics used at other institutions. For each student learning goal, the college of business established a starting expectation that 60% or more of the students would score meets expectations or higher on the measurement rubric and 60% or higher in each subject area of the MFT. For the student learning goals of basic business curriculum knowledge and knowledge of global issues, the Major Filed Test (MFT) by ETS is used. The college has used the MFT exam since 2002 as a general means of assessment. However, not until 2007 were the test results shared among faculty and formally incorporated into the process of program redesign. Indirect Measures. Surveys from student internships provide additional information to assess several of the student learning objectives. Appendix AOL 10 provides a list of the survey questions used in assessing student performance and the average scores for the past five semesters. 24

25 In addition to the employer surveys of student interns, local employers of business graduates are periodically interviewed. From these interviews, qualitative data is collected. This information is taken into consideration when considering curriculum changes. First Complete Round of Assessment and Program Adjustment Results of the MFT for the fall 2006 and spring 2007 semester were shared with faculty and faculty members were surprised at what they considered to be low scores in the undergraduate program (Appendix AOL 6). In addition to the MFT, a writing assignment from the Business Policy (MGMT 481) class was selected and a sample of papers was evaluated by an assessment team using the established rubrics. Volunteers from across the university assessed the student papers. Approximately 50% of the reviewers were from the College of Business and 50% were from other colleges. While the evaluation process revealed weaknesses both in the rubrics and the assessment process, faculty were still discouraged by what they considered to be low student performance outcomes. The AOL committee members produced a report detailing the results of the first round of assessment and disseminated the information to the administration and the general body of faculty (Appendix AOL 7). This information was used to identify critical areas for improvement. From this initial assessment the AOL committee refined the rubrics (Appendix AOL 5) and suggested that the assessment of these learning goals occur in BADM 218 using individual assignments. BADM 218 is the Global Business course required for all College of Business students. General Business Knowledge Results of the MFT did show improvement in student scores from fall 2006 to spring 2007 but the mean percent correct in each topic area was considered lower than expected. It was decided to set the spring 2007 semester scores as a benchmark for measuring future performance. To determine more about student learning of the basic business curriculum, the Dean met with the Corporate Advisory Council for feedback regarding the performance of new graduates. In addition, the Assessment Committee was charged with the task of discovering reasons for low student performance. Measurement of critical thinking Two measures were used to assess critical thinking, a student written project and intern employer response to the question The intern demonstrated good analytical/critical thinking skills. A basic expectation of 2.75 on a 4-point scale was established for the employer response. The evaluation of students abilities to apply critical thinking in academic and professional environments first occurred in Business Policy (MGMT 481). A sample of 22 term papers was collected and evaluated by a team of faculty, half from business and half from other disciplines across campus. The student assignment (averaging 6-8 pages) was an analysis of a company and case discussed during the semester and was designed as a comprehensive report. All established objectives for this student learning goal were assessed in this one assignment. Prior to scoring, a norming process was used by the assessment team for consistency in scoring expectations. This first round of assessment resulted in an overall pass rate of 50%. 25

26 Measurement of communications The evaluation of students abilities to formulate and express ideas effectively through written communications in academic and professional environments was assessed using the same sample from the MGMT 481 course. Measurement of communication skills used the same assessment team and the same process as listed above. It was determined that student papers reflected a pass rate of 45% for student writing and communications. Communication skills were also assessed using intern employer response to the questions Please rate the communication skills (written and verbal) of the intern. Measurement of global community The assessment of student knowledge regarding global issues was to be measured through student performance on the International Issues component of the MFT and by using rubric measures. In both the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007, students scored below the desired benchmark of 60% in the international subject area on both the MFT and the rubric (Appendix AOL 6). Closing the Loop for the First Round of Assessment The first round of assessment of student learning indicated levels of student knowledge below those desired by the College of Business. From this process, the following recommendations were made: 1. Elevate the importance and membership of the Assessment Committee. 2. Revise the rubrics to better support our mission and expectations (as opposed to using rubrics created elsewhere). 3. Conduct research regarding student performance on the MFT. Determine causal factors for low student performance and make adjustments based on the findings. 4. Solicit feedback from the Corporate Advisory Council regarding skills of new graduates. 5. Begin measuring success of graduates five years after graduation. To follow-through with these recommendations, we met with members of the Corporate Advisory Council for feedback about the quality of our graduates. The accountants were most eager to speak with us and gave sobering reports about inadequate skills of newly hired accountants. We then arranged a meeting between accounting representatives and our senior accounting faculty. Over the next semester they were able to identify weaknesses in the curriculum and find locations in the program to incorporate the additional information. Final catalog changes to the program were implemented in 2007 and continued discussions with our accounting representatives (as of summer 2009) suggests that recent interns had the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful career. Results of the MFT suggested on ongoing weakness in core knowledge (Appendix AOL 6). The AOL committee recommended that each department and its faculty members review the syllabi for all core courses required of business majors in an effort to remap the core curriculum at the undergraduate level. An ad-hoc committee was established and syllabi from all core courses were collected and analyzed. Through discussion and debate, course content was adjusted so that all core courses would provide the basic content required by our program. Common syllabi were developed for each core course, (ACCT 208, BADM 201, BADM 218, BADM 275, ECON , FIN 310, MGMT 300, MGMT 370, MGMT 481, and MKGT 320). Faculty members are encouraged to add relevant material as each deems necessary; however, they are expected to cover the material related to the contents of the common syllabi. In addition, specific changes were made in BADM 275 and FIN 310 to update the course content (Appendix AOL 4). 26

27 During the fall of 2008 we established a stronger (more inclusive) assessment committee and began the process of sending members to AACSB Assessment Seminars for additional training. Members of the committee redesigned our measurement rubrics and they were approved by the general faculty. The assessment committee also began a research project to study student performance on the MFT. Finally, with the help of the Alumni Association we began a survey to measure student success five years after graduation (Appendix AOL 9). Improving the Assessment Process For the next academic year, new rubrics were used to assess student performance. In addition, a more comprehensive plan was developed to gather assessment data (Appendix AOL 1). Assessment results indicated an improvement over the previous results but were still not considered by faculty as exemplary. As the assessment committee conducted an analysis of student performance on the MFT, many concerns were revealed. First, it was discovered that students were not always receiving equal instructional content throughout the core of our curriculum. In situations where courses are taught by multiple faculty, not all faculty were teaching the same basic content. Second, it was discovered that even though MFT scores correlated closely to GPA and ACT performance, it appeared that students were not taking the test seriously and were not performing at their maximum. In addition, it was concluded that most students completed their basic core requirements a year or more prior to taking the MFT (sometimes as long a 3 years) and much of the content was not retained. Continuous Improvement After reviewing the results of the MFT and other assessment measures, the AOL committee felt that action needed to be taken to ensure students were receiving adequate instruction on key business related topics. The AOL committee recommended and it was approved by the faculty that each core course have similar finals across sections of each course. The accounting, finance, and economics faculty agreed to have a group of common questions embedded in the final for each course. Management and marketing decided to have identical comprehensive finals in each section of the core courses. The second program change from this assessment was the inclusion of a lab hour to MGMT 481. This additional time allows for instruction and review of core business knowledge in addition to the simulation group exercise, which is key to the course. Furthermore, the AOL committee recommended a passing score on the MFT should be required for graduation. It was decided that a desired overall target of a score of 140 (scaled score) was required to meet expectations for general business curriculum knowledge. Furthermore, the AOL committee recommended: Require a minimum scaled score of 140 on the MFT exam as a condition for receiving test score credit in MGMT 481. o If MFT score is >140 student will receive their earned grade in MGMT 481 (the MFT score is 10% of the MGMT 481 course grade). o If MFT score is <140 the student receives an incomplete in MGMT 481 and must: Complete an exam comprised of questions from all Business disciplines, to be graded by faculty of each discipline. If the student passes this second exam (score of 70% or higher), then the MGMT 481 grade earned is given to the student. 27

28 Continued Assessment If the student fails the second exam, he/she must take an oral exam before a panel of faculty, comprised of all disciplines, to demonstrate basic general business knowledge. If satisfactory, MGMT 481 grade earned is given to student, otherwise student fails MGMT 481. MFT results for 2009 demonstrated some improvement in overall student knowledge (Appendix AOL 2). The AOL committee felt this improvement was a result of the changes made in the preparation and administration of the test. Several reasons for the improvement included the increased emphasize on test scores and the offering of additional core business knowledge in MGMT 481. To address the growing concern about the quality of communication skills of the College of Business students, a writing committee was established. Currently, this committee is working to develop a comprehensive writing/style guide that will be presented to the faculty in the fall of 2009 for revision and approval. When approved, all classes will use the guide to help establish a consistent and professional approach to writing and formatting reports, letters, memos, and other forms of business communication. In Fall 2009, the three SLO s critical thinking, global awareness, and communication will be assessed using students enrolled in BADM 218. The student will be informed during the semester of the assignment and the structure of the rubrics that will be used to assess their performance. LiveText will be used to collect and score the assignments. LiveText offers the ability to retain a student portfolio of each student and trend individual growth. The assessment of these three SLO s is planned to occur each fall semester, thereafter. The administration of the MFT, which assesses the SLO core business knowledge and the international component will occur each semester and be administered to graduating seniors as part of MGMT 481 lab. Summary Student learning is a top priority for McNeese and for the College of Business. The College of Business has in place a process of establishing learning objectives and outcome based measures of performance. Periodic program review and modification has resulted from these assessment efforts and the process is ongoing. Assessment of student learning has become a faculty driven process and continues to become increasingly ingrained into the culture and processes of the College of Business. Several program improvements have occurred as a direct result of assessment findings. Changes include updates to the course content in the accounting major, changes in course content in the core curriculum, changes to our capstone course and coordination among courses with multiple sections. We have also started the process of assessing each major independently. The accounting discipline has led this effort and is establishing processes and procedures that will be shared across the College of Business. 28

29 Appendix 1 Enrollment Data University Enrollment Year 2001F 2002F 2003F 2004F 2005F 2006F 2007F 2008F Students 7,780 8,029 8,447 8,784 8,992 8,343 8,095 8,294 University Enrollment by College Fall 2008 Science 16% Business 14% Nursing 15% Liberal Arts 13% General & Basic Studies 13% Education 21% Engineering 8% Fall 2008 First-Time Freshmen Enrollment by College Students Percent Business % Education % Engineering % General and Basic Studies % Liberal Arts % Nursing % Science % % 29

30 Appendix 1 Enrollment Data College of Business Enrollment Year 2001F 2002F 2003F 2004F 2005F 2006F 2007F 2008F Students 1,172 1,211 1,267 1,275 1,175 1,156 1,062 1,112 College of Business Retention Rates F03-F04 F04-F05 F05-F06 F06-F07 F07-08 Full-time First-time Freshmen 69.5% 65% 63.1% 60.2% 76.4% Undergraduate Retention Rates 75.9% 79.6% 77.5% 77.2% 81% College of Business Enrollment by Major Fall 2008 Marketing 14% MBA 9% Accounting 22% Finance 9% Management 22% Gen. Business 24% Enrollment by Major Degree Completers Fall 2008 Students Accounting Finance Gen. Business Management Marketing MBA