California State University, Monterey Bay

Transcription

1 California State University, Monterey Bay External Review Document: MBA and EMBA Programs Date: August 18, 2014 BY: Yung-Jae Lee, Ph. D. Associate Dean Graduate Business Programs Saint Mary s College of California This External Review serves as a response to the Program review request of California State University, Monterey Bay. Reaction to report considerations, additional issues and points of suggestion are enclosed in this brief review for Dean Shyam Kamath, Dr. Murray Millson, Dr. Marylou Shockley, and Ms. Elsa Johnson.

2 This External Review serves as a response to the program review request of California State University, Monterey Bay MBA Program. Data for the review process was obtained from a variety of sources including 5-year program review document prepared by the faculty of CSU Monterey Bay MBA Program. In addition to the 5-year program review, the external reviewer conducted in person interviews with the program faculty and administrators, and phone interviews with two traveling faculty members and alumni of the MBA Program. The reviewer commends the faculty who contributed in creating the excellent 5-year program review of the MBA Program. The review is well organized with sufficient data supporting the content. Although it is clear that the MBA Program is thriving, the reviewer maintains critical perspective on various aspects of the program under the assumption that the College of Business will seek AACSB accreditation in the near future. Because the data used for this review is not by itself exhaustive, the recommendations have been carefully made to provide insights for administrators and faculty with better knowledge of the program context and budgetary implications. Areas of Strength Program s Asynchronous Online Delivery Format Based on phone interviews with several alums of the program, I was able to confirm that purely asynchronous online delivery format is a key strength of the program. All of the interviewees shared that they selected the program because 2

3 online format was the only way they can pursue an MBA due to their work/travel requirements. Another important point shared by many alumni was that the quality of online threaded discussions is very high level because asynchronous environment helps students to think deeper before they post their responses. Streamlined and Robust Curriculum Design The current curriculum design allows students take one course at a time. Alums seemed to like this aspect of diving deep into one content area at a time. In addition, the common syllabi provide consistent quality of instruction, reducing dependency to the talents of teaching faculty. Small but Mighty Faculty This reviewer is very impressed with the dedication and involvement with current core faculty to deliver outcome based curriculum. According to many alumni, the faculty provided sufficient feedback on their written assignment and the faculty was available for consultation. The program s continued success seems to be heavily depending on the dedicated full time and part time faculty. Areas of Improvement and Recommendations Faculty Hiring The review recommend CSU Monterey Bay allocate significant resources in increasing the full-time tenure track faculty size commensurate with the recently revised AACSB faculty sufficiency standards. The projected growth of the 3

4 program should also be reflected in the faculty-hiring plan. In order to ensure the proper acculturation of newly hired faculty, it is recommend that the College of Business develop comprehensive new faculty on-boarding process. Increasing the Number of Courses Based on the competitive review of other AACSB accredited CSU MBA programs, the reviewer has found that the current CSU Monterey Bay s 8 course MBA curriculum looks significantly lighter than other programs that offer curriculums with at least 12 courses. Because the current format has been working well for the students, the reviewer recommend splitting some courses into two courses without changing the program duration. For example, accounting and finance could be two separate courses with shorter duration for each. Establishing Assurance of Learning (AOL) Process The reviewer recommends developing a process to consistently evaluate and document the degree to which your students achieve the educational goals for your program (i.e., learning outcomes). This assurance of learning process will be a critical component for the AACSB accreditation. Ensuring the Integrity of Student Evaluation The reviewer also recommends developing a robust process of ensuring all the work is done by the said student, so that the future AACSB visiting team will fill confident about the integrity of the program. 4

5 Increasing Student Retention Rate In order to increase the current retention rate (about 75%), consider establishing system of student cohort leaders to act as communication liaison between MBA students and administration to allow for real time receipt/ transmission of information. Cohort leader organization could enhance the relationship building and continuous improvement of the MBA programs. The program can also consider providing some networking opportunities at the beginning of the program, so that the students could develop sense of community, which often lacks in purely on-line program. Increasing Alumni Involvement Consider aiding in the establishment of alumni leaders from each geographical area to act as communication liaison between CSU Monterey Bay and participating alumni in order to foster flow of suggestions, event notifications, reconnect non-participatory alumni and other items of interest to both parties. Launching a New Hybrid MBA Program As a way to further expand and diversify the current purely online offerings, the reviewer recommend offering a hybrid MBA program which has some face-toface in classroom learning component. Because of the in class component, the student population will draw from within one or two hours driving distance. The new program will also help CSU Monterey Bay to build a strong local reputation. 5

6 In conclusion, I am pleased in the scope and detail of the 5-year Program Review conducted. The document shows significant innovations, and goals attained by the MBA Programs. The reviewer hopes that this report will serve as additional points of consideration for the administration. 6