Knowledge And Competency In The Subject Areas Essential To All Business Professionals
The College of Business Administration will provide a common business foundation for all its majors. This foundation consists of financial and managerial accounting principles (ACC 231 and 232), micro and macro economic principles (ECO 233 and 234), the principles of business law (GBA 281), fundamental quantitative skills (BAN 232 and 363), the principles of finance (FIN 367), the principles of marketing (MKT 371), the principles of business management (MGT 380, 475, 476), business communications (GBA 389), and information systems (MIS 388).
Objective
Students Should Possess Essential Critical Thinking Skills
The student must demonstrate competency in critical thinking.
Indicator
Performance On TACTS Critical Thinking Instrument.
The Texas Assessment of Critical Thinking Skills (TACTS)instrument is a 45 minute, multiple choice test which evaluates 12 thinking skills that the SHSU team identified as important in the business disciplines.
Criterion
Performance Difference Between Undergraduates And Graduates On The TACTS Instrument
The mean score on the TACTS critical thinking instrument for students in the senior level class will be statistically higher than the mean score for the student in the sophomore level class.
Finding
TACTS Results
The TACTS instrument was administered to 6 classes of BAN232 and MGT475 (3 of each) in the fall semester of 2008. The BAN232 classes included sections of Dr. Miller's and Dr. Berg's classes and the MGT475 classes were Dr. Zelbst's sections. The results were consistent with previous years where the upperclassmen scored higher on the average than the underclassmen. However, since the year to year results have not changed significantly, a committee of professors will be formed to address the topics covered in the instrument and changes will be made in the presentation and/or time spent on each topic in the hopes of improving the correct responses on the items of interest.
Action
Study Why Scores Have Not Increased
Faculty teaching relevant courses will be asked to find ways to modify pedagogy for the purpose of improving critical thinking skills.
Objective
Students Should Be Capable Of Effective Oral And Written Communication
Oral and written communication skills are essential to the modern business professional. The pace at which modern business is conducted necessitates that the communication of ideas take place accurately and quickly. Conducting business in a global environment also means that modern business professionals need to accommodate cultural differences in their communications.
Indicator
Writing Samples Produced In GBA 389
The degree of competency in written communication will be assessed through writing assignments in the business communication courses. A rubric developed by the communications faculty will be used to ascertain the level of proficiency.
Criterion
Percentage Of Students Scoring At Least 70% On Written Communication Rubric
At least 80% of sampled students will score at least 70% on the written business communication rubrics.
Finding
Results Of Sampling The Writing Assignments Of The Fall 2008 GBA 389 Students
Approximately 92% of sampled students met expectations on the business communication writing rubrics in the Fall 2008 semester.
Indicator
Oral Presentations Given In GBA 389
The Business Communications course (GBA 389) requires students to give an oral presentation. Professors teaching the course use a common rubric to grade the presentations.
Criterion
Percentage Of Students Scoring At Least 70% On The Oral Presentation Rubric
At least 80% of sampled students will score at least 70% on the oral presentation rubric.
Finding
Results Of Sampling The Oral Presentations Of Fall 2008 GBA 389 Students
Approximately 94% of sampled students met expectations on the oral presentation rubrics in the Fall 2008 GBA 389 classes.
Action
Assessing Communication Skills Outside Of GBA 389
The COBA faculty need to develop a mechanism for assessing communication skills outside of the GBA 389 classroom. Evidence is needed that students are utilizing the skills they have acquired in GBA 389 in other courses requiring communication skills.
Objective
Students Should Demonstrate Competency In The Core Areas Of Business Knowelege
Students should be able to demonstrate competency in the principles of accounting, business statistics, business law, economics, finance, management, and marketing.
Indicator
Student Performance On Questions Embedded In Final Exams In Accounting
Questions were embedded in the final exams of multiple sections of Accounting 231 and 232 in the Fall of 2008. Student performance on these questions across the various sections is an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the fundamentals of accounting.
Criterion
Percentage Of Correct Responses On Embedded Final Exam Questions In ACC 231 And 232
Questions covering four learning objectives will be embedded into the Fall 2008 final exams of ACC 231 and ACC 232. Students should achieve at least a 70% average on these questions.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For ACC 231
Students averaged 82.01% on Objective 1, 82.35% on Objective 2, 69.17% on Objective 3, and 51.93% on Objective 4.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For ACC 232
Students averaged 56.25% on Objective 1, 54.43% on Objective 2, 55.47% on Objective 3, and 87.85% on Objective 4.
Indicator
Student Performance On Questions Embedded In Final Exams In Business Analysis
Questions were embedded in the final exams of multiple sections of BAN 232 and BAN 363 in the Fall of 2008. Student performance on these questions across the various sections is an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the fundamentals of business statistics.
Criterion
Percentage Of Correct Responses On Embedded Final Exam Questions In BAN 232 And BAN 363
Final Exams in BAN 232 and BAN 363 will include embedded questions covering topics considered to be essential by all Business Analysis faculty. Each of these questions should have a 70% correct response rate or better.
Finding
Fall 2008 And Spring 2009 Results For BAN 232
Students in BAN 232 during the Fall 2008 semester averaged 78.6% correct on the embedded questions. The most commonly missed question dealt with the use of derivatives in the optimization process. 63.2% of the students missed the optimization problem. During the Spring 2009 semester, students averaged 85.3% correct. Again, the optimization problem was the most commonly missed question. However, 33.2% missed the question in the Spring compared to 63.2% in the Fall.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For BAN 363
Students in BAN 363 during the Fall 2008 semester averaged 56.1% correct on the embedded questions. The most commonly missed question was about the interpretation of simple linear regression results. 42.2% of the students got the question correct.
Indicator
Student Performance On Questions Embedded In Final Exams In Business Law
Questions were embedded in the final exams of multiple sections of GBA 281 in the Fall of 2008. Student performance on these questions across the various sections is an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the fundamentals of business law.
Criterion
Percentage Of Correct Responses On Embedded Final Exam Questions In GBA 281
Questions embedded on the Fall 2008 GBA 281 final exam covered the U.S. Constitution, the origins of our legal system, dispute resolutions, and torts. Students should be able to answer at least 70% of these corrections correctly.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For GBA 281
Students answered the embedded questions correctly 76% of the time.
Indicator
Student Performance On Questions Embedded In Final Exams In Economics
Questions were embedded in the final exams of multiple sections of ECO 233 and ECO 234 in the Fall of 2008. Student performance on these questions across the various sections is an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the fundamentals of economics.
Criterion
Percentage Of Correct Responses On Embedded Final Exam Questions In ECO 233 And ECO 234
Questions embedded in the final exams of ECO 233 and ECO 234 will be used to measure BBA students' fundamental knowledge of economics. Students should attain an average of at least 70% on the questions.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For ECO 233
63 students in two sections averaged 53% overall on the embedded questions. The students were weakest in their understanding of the "Invisible Hand" of prices and the market system, their understanding of the impact of increased integration of the U.S economy into the global economy, their understanding of elasticity, and their understanding of producer surplus.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For ECO 234
Ten questions were embedded into the Fall 2008 ECO 234 final exam. Students achieved an average of 57% correct. The most commonly missed question involved the interpretation of graph depicting a change in the equilibrium price level caused by an increase in taxes.
Indicator
Student Performance On Questions Embedded In Final Exams In Finance
Questions were embedded in the final exams of multiple sections of Finance 367 in the Fall of 2008. Student performance on these questions across the various sections is an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the fundamentals of finance.
Criterion
Percentage Of Correct Responses On Embedded Final Exam Questions In FIN 367
Twenty questions were embedded into the final exams of five sections of FIN 367. Students achieve an average correct response rate of at least 70%.
Finding
Fall 2008 Results For FIN 367
131 students in the multiple sections of FIN 367 achieved an average 59% on the embedded questions. The questions were divided into quantitative and conceptual questions. The average was about the same for both types of questions.
Indicator
Student Performance On Pre And Post Exams In Management
All Management 476 students will take exams at the beginning of the semester and then retake the same exam at the end of the semester. Multiple professors teaching multiple sections of MGT 476 administer the same exam. The combined results are an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the principles of management.
Criterion
Improvement Measured As The Difference Between Pre-Test And Post-Test Scores In Management
Students taking a pre-test and post-test in MGT 476 will earn a mean score significantly better on the post-test than on the pre-test.
Finding
Spring 2009 Results For MGT 476
209 students took the pre-test and 196 students took the post-test. They averaged 41% correct on the pre-test and 58% correct on the post-test.
Indicator
Student Performance On Pre And Post Exams In Marketing
All Marketing 371 students will take exams at the beginning of the semester and then retake the same exam at the end of the semester. Multiple professors teaching multiple sections of MKT 371 administer the same exam. The combined results are an indicator of how well COBA students are learning the principles of marketing
Criterion
Improvement Measured As The Difference Between Pre-Test And Post-Test Scores In Marketing
Students taking a pre-test and post-test in MKT371 will earn a mean score significantly better on the post-test than on the pre-test.
Finding
MKT 371 Not Assessed In 2008-2009
MKT 371 was not assessed during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Action
Increase Detail In The Findings
Faculty are being to asked to increase the amount of detail in their assessment findings. More specifically, they are being asked to identify the learning the objective with the worst performance and to compare that performance with previous years results.