Departmental Assessment Update - Shidler College of Business Report

Department: Business Administration
Program: MBA
Level: Graduate

1. List in detail your graduate Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for each degree/certificate offered.

MBA Learning Goal #1: Demonstrate and apply knowledge of the functional areas of business

 

Objective 1: Students align functional action plans with organizational strategic intents and vision

Objective 2: Students design complementary functional action plans, organizational structure, and functional control systems with measures

 

MBA Learning Goal #2:  Communicate effectively orally and in writing

 

Objective 1: Students will speak effectively

Objective 2: Students will write an effective report

 

MBA Learning Goal #3: Understand and apply management skills to the Asia-Pacific business environment

 

Objective 1: Students will describe the economics that characterize global business

Objective 2: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region

Objective 3: Students will describe how national cultures influence business practices and relationships

 

MBA Learning Goal #4: Identify and analyze complex ethical and legal issues.

 

Objective 1: Students will be able to analyze ethical issues to a business situation

Objective 2: Understand the boundaries and overlaps between ethics and law

 

MBA Learning Goal #5: Understand the impacts of information technology on business

 

Objective 1: Students will understand information technology usage across different business processes and functions

Objective 2: Students will be able to evaluate the feasibility of applying information technology in business

Objective 3: Students will be able to use technologies to conduct quantitative analysis of data 

2. Where are these SLOs published (e.g., departmental web page)?

The SLOs are not currently published. The college is in the process of redoing all of its web sites. The program sites will be revised to include the SLOs.

3. Explain how your SLOs map onto your curriculum, i.e., how does your program of graduate studies produce the specific SLOs in your students?

The content of all of the MBA core courses has been reviewed by faculty committees to evaluate the extent to which each course contributes to each program’s learning objectives.

 

The college’s Curriculum and Programs Committee regularly reviews the curriculum in all programs. Part of these reviews now includes mapping the learning objectives in to the curriculum to ensure that the curriculum is properly focused.

4. What population(s) is covered by your assessment(s)?

Students in our MBA programs.

5. Please list/describe all the assessment events and devices used to monitor graduate student progress through the program. Consider the following questions:

6. Please list/describe how your graduate students contribute to your discipline/academic area? Consider the following questions:

7. What attempts are made to monitor student post-graduate professional activities?

The college has created a full-time position of director of alumni relations and expanded the staff in its career services unit. These individuals are working to build and maintain relationships with graduates of our programs.

The college now holds regular meetings with alumni in cities on the US West Coast and in Asia.

Many of the college's alumni have been very successful in business professions.

8. How were the assessment data/results used to inform decisions concerning the curriculum and administration of the program?

9. Has the program developed learning outcomes? Please indicate yes or no.

Yes

10. Has the program published learning outcomes? Please indicate yes or no.

No

11. If so, please indicate how the program has published learning outcomes.

12. What evidence is used to determine achievement of student learning outcomes?

The College has implemented a course-embedded assessment of performance across the learning objectives. Assignments in designated core courses are used to collect the assessment data. 

Primary trait analysis was used to identify data to be collected and to generate rubrics for the scoring the data elements. Individual faculty members use the rubric to score the students. Data are collected once a year in the core courses.

A minimum sample size of 20% is required in the assessment. In most cases faculty will score all the students in their classes. Accordingly, for a core cores with multiple sections, typically 25% of the sections will be assessed.

Here are the traits and rubrics, along with the course number in which the data are collected:

MBA Learning Goal #1: Demonstrate and apply knowledge of the functional areas of business (best business practice) (BUS 696)

 

Objective 1: Students align functional action plans with organizational strategic intents and vision

 

Traits

Rubrics

Articulate organizational direction

0 = Unclear on  organizational direction

1 = Good statement of strategies and vision

2 = Effective, consistent statement of purpose, strategies and vision

Formulate action plans

0 = vague, ill-defined action plans

1 = Partial development of action plans; several effective plans

2 = Comprehensive set of plans

 

Objective 2: Students design complementary functional action plans, organizational structure, and functional control systems with measures

 

Traits

Rubrics

Design organizational structure

0 = No alignment

1 = Partial alignment

2 = Clear, purposeful alignment

Articulate organizational culture

0 = No alignment

1 = Partial alignment

2 = Clear, purposeful alignment

Design functional control system

0 = No alignment

1 = Partial alignment

2 = Clear, purposeful alignment

 

 

MBA Learning Goal #2:  Communicate effectively orally and in writing (BUS660)

 

Objective 1: Students will speak effectively

 

Traits

Rubrics

Focused sense of audience

 

0 = Unfocused sense of audience

1 = Sticks to the purpose and provides adequate transitions among ideas

2 = Awareness of audience demonstrated through form, language, and presence

Organization

 

0 = Inadequate organization and/or development

1 = Good organization and development

2 = Effective organization contributes to full development of argument

Content: Appropriate and sufficient support of ideas

 

0 = Does not advance an argument with adequate support

1 = Advances argument with sound evidence and references

2 = Innovatively or expertly advances the argument with strong support

Language

 

0 = Lack of language facility with frequent errors

1 = Good facility with language

2 = Presentation enhanced by facility in language use, range of diction, and syntactic variety

Voice quality (pace, volume, inflection, enunciation)

 

0 = Vocal qualities distract from the content

1 = Vocal qualities support the content

2 = Vocal qualities reinforce and animate the content

Mannerisms

 

0 = Little eye contact is made with audience; distracting movements

1 = Appropriate eye contact is made with audience; no distracting movements

2 = Audience engage through frequent eye contact and purposeful movement

 

Objective 2: Students will write an effective report

 

Traits

Rubrics

Clearly stated purpose

 

0 = Ill-defined or vague purpose or multiple purposes

1 = Expresses a clear, coherent thesis

2 = Insightful, creative or skillfully presented purpose

Focused sense of audience

 

0 = Unfocused sense of audience

1 = Sticks to the purpose and provides adequate transitions among ideas

2 = Awareness of audience demonstrated through form and language

Organization

 

0 = Inadequate organization and/or development

1 = Good organization and development

2 = Effective organization contributes to full development of the report

Content: Appropriate and sufficient support of ideas

 

0 = Does not advance an argument with adequate support

1 = Advances argument with sound evidence and references

2 = Innovatively or expertly advances the presentation with well-researched evidence and documentation

Conclusion

 

0 = Missing or not supported by the arguments in the report

1 = Appropriate and supported conclusion

2 = Well supported and valid conclusion

Language

 

0 = Lack of language facility with frequent errors

1 = Readability enhanced by facility with language and sentence conventions

2 = Work enhanced by facility in language use, range of diction, and syntactic variety

Use and citation of references

 

0 = No or inappropriate use of references

1 = Adequate set of references

2 = Excellent set of relevant references appropriately applied

 

MBA Learning Goal #3: Understand and apply management skills to the Asia-Pacific business environment (BUS613c or BUS660)

 

Objective 1: Students will describe the economics that characterize global business

 

Traits

Rubrics

Identify national economic traits within the context of analysis of Asia-Pacific settings

0 = Failed to identify key aspects

1= Identified most significant aspects

2= Identified a comprehensive set of relevant aspects in the context of global business

Appropriately incorporate cultural traits in analysis of global business

0 = Failed to describe key factors

1= Good analysis of factors

2= Comprehensive analysis of factors

 

 

Objective 2: Students will demonstrate a knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region

 

Traits

Rubrics

Demonstrate knowledge of the geography of the Asia-Pacific region

0 = Can identify less than half of the countries

1 = Can identify 50% to 80% of the countries

2 = Can identify more than 80% of the counties

Account for differences in the stages of development of countries in business analysis

0 = Categorizes less than half the countries of the Asia-Pacific region correctly

1 = Categorizes a majority of countries of the Asia-Pacific region correctly

2 = Categorizes most of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region correctly

Perform analysis of an Asian-Pacific country or region that includes the business conditions and practices of the country or region

0 = Missing key aspects of the country/region

1 = Identifies major characteristics of the country/region

2 = Identifies a comprehensive set of characteristics of the country/region


Objective 3: Students will describe how national cultures influence business practices and relationships

Traits

Rubrics

Identify national cultural traits within the context of analysis of Asia-Pacific settings

0 = Failed to identify national cultural traits correctly

1 = Identified major national cultural traits

2 = Identified a comprehensive set of cultural traits

Appropriately incorporate cultural traits in analysis of global business

0 = Minimal or no analysis of cultural traits

1 = Minimum use of a number of standard analysis tools

2 = Comprehensive and insightful application of various acceptable analysis tools

 

MBA Learning Goal #4: Identify and analyze complex ethical and legal issues. (BUS613c or BUS660)

 

Objective 1: Students will be able to analyze ethical issues to a business situation

 

Trait

Rubrics

Identify the ethical dilemma(s) in a business situation

0 = unable to do so

1 = identifies some but not all of the ethical issues of the dilemma(s)

2 = completely identified the dilemma(s) and was able to raise related issues

Structure the ethical dilemma using an appropriate ethical framework

0 = unable to do so

1 = applies relevant structure appropriately

2 = applies relevant structure and demonstrates appreciation of complexity

Discuss the consequences of ethical choices in the following dimensions:

  • Social consequences
  • Business consequences
  • Personal consequences

0 = unable to do so for all three dimensions

1 = can do so for all three dimensions

2 = can do so for all three dimensions with interesting and rich examples

 

 

Objective 4: Understand the boundaries and overlaps between ethics and law

 

Trait

Rubrics

Differentiate ethical from legal issues

0 = confuses ethical and legal issues

1 = usually correctly distinguishes between ethical and legal issues

2 = correctly distinguishes between ethical and legal issues

 

MBA Learning Goal #5: Understand the impacts of technology on business (BUS 619 and BUS 610))

 

Objective 1: Students will understand information technology usage across different business processes and functions (BUS619)

 

Traits

Rubrics

Explain how information technology is used to facilitate communication and coordination in global business organization

0 = Cannot describe information technology use in any aspect of  business

1 = Can describe information technology use in one functional area of business

2 = Can describe information technology use in multiple functional areas of  business

Explain the process of acquiring and implementing technologies in global business organizations

0 = Cannot describe the process of acquiring and implementing information technology in global business organizations

1 = Can describe some aspects of the process of acquiring and implementing information technology in organizations

2 = Can describe most aspects of the process of acquiring and implementing information technology in organizations

 

Objective 2: Students will be able to evaluate the feasibility of applying information technology in business (BUS619)

           

Traits

Rubrics

Articulate the business benefits that businesses expect from using information technology in business processes

0 = Cannot describe benefits of information technology for any business area

1 = Can describe benefits of information technology for one business area

2 = Can describe benefits of information technology for two or more business areas

Identify the cost of applying the information technology on the organizational processes

0 = Cannot describe costs of information technology in business use

1 = Can identify 2-3 major costs of information technology in business use

2 = Can identify a full range of hard and soft costs of information technology use

Apply concepts of change management for the insertion of information technology

0 = Can identify key issues and concepts of change management

1 = Can identify key issues and concepts of change management

2 = Can identify key issues and concepts of change management and recommend an appropriate plan


Objective 3: Students will be able to use technologies to conduct quantitative analysis of data (BUS610)

Traits

Rubrics

Use descriptive statistics to identify characteristics of a data set

0 = Cannot produce an answer that is both complete and accurate

1 = Produces complete and accurate results

2 = Produces appropriate conclusions and insights from analysis

Use inferential statistics to assess relationships within data in a data set

0 = Cannot produce an answer that is both complete and accurate

1 = Produces complete and accurate results

2 = Produces appropriate conclusions and insights from analysis

            




13. Who interprets the evidence?

The “Curriculum and Programs Committee” a standing faculty committee under the college’s faculty senate.

14. What is the process of interpreting the evidence?

15. Indicate the date of last program review.

UHM COPR: 2007

AACSB International Accreditation review: 2006