OATdb Archive

2009 - 2010

Business Administration, College Of

Goal
Promote Quality Academic Programs
The College of Business Administration in an effort support the goals of the Office of the Provost, to remain competitive with other schools in the State, and to meet our mission must constantly evaluate existing programs and design new programs to meet the needs of the region, state, and country.


Objective
Recruit And Retain Quality Faculty
The strength of the College lies with the quality of its faculty.  Successful pursuit of the College’s mission is dependent on having a quality faculty.


Indicator
Percent Of New Hires From Carnegie Classification RVH Or RH Institutions
Given the demand that faculty be intellectually active, hiring faculty from institutions that produce more research should produce a faculty trained by active researchers.


Criterion
At Least 80%
The College seeks a large percentage of new hires from institutions that are more likely to provide research oriented mentors to their doctoral students.  The College is placing a greater demand on quality research and hopes new faculty will promote a culture of greater productivity.  Hence, the target of 80%.


Finding
Missed Target
The COBA hired four new faculty members for the 2009-2010 Academic Year.  Three of the four faculty members graduated from institutions that have a Carnegie Classification of Research University Very High or Research University High.  Thus, only 75% of the COBA's new hires came from institutions with high research cultures.  This figure falls short of the 80% target.

Indicator
Percent Of Full-time Tenured/tenure-track Percent Of Full-time Tenured/tenure-track Faculty With Peer Reviewed Publications
Peer review publications represent a standard measure of quality.  A faculty actively involved in peer reviewed research is indicative of a quality faculty.


Criterion
At Least 75%
The need for AQ faculty necessitates faculty who are actively publishing in peer-reviewed venues. 


Finding
Productive Faculty
In the 2009 calendar, slight over 80% (80.6%) of the faculty published in at least one peer-reviewed venue.  This high figure demonstrates that the COBA is effectively motivating its faculty to pursue and attain ICs.  The peer-review process is a measure of quality.

Indicator
Faculty Excellence In The Classroom.
The IDEA Center produces a nationally normed measure of teaching effectiveness.  By their standard scoring in the top 50% is indicative of a better than average teaching.


Criterion
At Least 60%
In the IDEA Center Summary Reports a unit with at least 60% of the sections scoring above average is considered “unusually effective.”  The COBA seeks this recognition.


Finding
Unusually High Instructional Effectiveness
For fall 2009, Sixty percent (60%) COBA faculty's classroom performance rating on  "Progress on Relevant Objectives" are at or above the IDEA Database Average; 62% exceed the average on the rating for "Excellent Teacher"; 58% are at or above the IDEA Database average for "Excellent Course"; and 59% are at or above the IDEA Database average on the "Summary" measure.  The College met the 60% target indicating unusually high instructional effectiveness on two of the metrics and fell just short on two metrics.  In spring 2010, these percentages increased to 69%, 71%, 68%, and 70% respectively.


Indicator
Percentage Of AQ Faculty
AQ faculty (a term used by AACSB, International) have the terminal degree AND are intellectually active.  Thus, a large proportion of AQ faculty is indicative of a quality faculty.


Criterion
At Least 50%
AACSB International (the College's accrediting agency) requires 50% or more AQ faculty.


Finding
Target Exceeded
Over 70% (70.65%) of the COBA's tenure/tenure-track faculty meet the  Academically Qualified standard (AACSB).  This far exceeds the minimum AACSB standard of 50% (note:  AQ refers to having a terminal degree and meeting college mandated IC standards).


Indicator
Percentage Of AQ Capable Faculty Who Attain/Maintain AQ Status
AACSB requires at least 50% of the faculty be “Academically Qualified (AQ).” AQ faculty have the terminal degree AND are intellectually active.  Thus, a large proportion of AQ faculty is indicative of a quality faculty.  The faculty who have a terminal degree must be intellectually active to quality as AQ.


Criterion
80% Or More.
As not all faculty do have a terminal degree, we need a large percentage of terminally degreed faculty to quality as AQ to satisfy the AACSB requirement.


Finding
The College Is Effectively Meeting This Expectation
Currently 88.3% of the faculty who can quality for AQ status are.  Efforts are being made to increase this percentage.  As AQ status combines academic credentials with intellectual contributions, a high AQ status is indicative of a faculty that is highly qualified.  The College will consider increasing the target for this objective in the near future.

Indicator
Percentage Of AQ/PQ Faculty
AACSB requires at least 90% of the faculty be “Academically Qualified (AQ)” or “Professionally Qualified (PQ).” AQ faculty have the terminal degree AND are intellectually active.  Professionally qualified faculty have professional experiences that support their teaching area(s). 


Criterion
At Least 90%
AACSB requires 90% AQ/PQ faculty.


Finding
Target Met
Slightly over 90% (91.5%) of the COBA's faculty are either Academically or Professionally Qualified (AACSB terms).  The College exceeds the 90% standard required by AACSB (the College's disciplinary accrediting agency).

Indicator
Number Of Courses With Electronic Tutorials Offered Online
The College is now promoting the use of technology to provide 24/7 access to material dedicated to helping students attain mastery of the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs).  Toward that end, the College is encouraging the creation of faculty generated electronic tutorials for key courses.


Criterion
At Least Five
In the first year of encouraging the creation of electronic tutorials, finding faculty to do so for five courses represents a great start.


Finding
Tutorials Not Created
Several faculty started creating tutorials but none were fully completed.  The Teaching Effectiveness Committee met to discuss how to move forward in the upcoming academic year to address this objective.

Action
Promoting Intellectual Contributions
The College's faculty continue to produce Intellectual Contributions (ICs) at a more than acceptable rate.  However, in an attempt to encourage ICs of higher quality, the College will create a committee to restructure the College's Faculty Evaluation System (FES) with the intent of creating additional incentives for improved productivity in quality and/or quantity.  The target is to complete a new system by the end of the 2010 fall semester to allow it to be implemented for the 2011 FES cycle.

Action
Develop Academic Support Material To Promote Greater Teaching Effectiveness
 To pursue continuous improvement in teaching the college's Teaching Effectiveness Committee has been charged with (1) identifying topics that students seem unmotivated to learn and obtain testimonials on the value of the topic to help serve as motivators, (2) identifying "bottlenecks" in the curriculum (topics that have to be re-taught in subsequent courses) and (3) work with the faculty to develop tutorials for the bottleneck topics.  These resources should help the faculty become more effective educators and, at the same time, allow them to set higher standards for the accompanying student learning objectives.


Objective
Seek And Maintain Program Recognition
To ensure that programs are current and of high quality, the College, having earned recognition from the most prestigious accrediting agency for schools of business (AACSB, International) will maintain the accreditation and pursue other peer reviewed recognitions, when appropriate.


Indicator
AACSB Maintenance Report
To maintain AACSB accreditation, the College must submit a fifth year maintenance report.  The College's maintenance cycle requires the submission of the fifth-year report in the fall of 2010 with a site visit in spring 2011.  To prepare for these requirements, the College will complete a draft version of the report during the 2009-2010 AY.


Criterion
Complete Draft AACSB Maintenance Report By May 30, 2010
The AACSB maintenance report needs to be completed well in advance of the team visit.  A consultant will visit the College in June 2010 and will need access to the draft report prior to his visit.

Finding
Draft Completed
An initial draft version of the college's Fifth Year Maintenance report has been completed.  The draft will be sent to the college's consultant who will provide feedback as to how to improve the report.  The consultant’s visit is scheduled for June 24 and 25.


Indicator
IC Impact
The intellectual contributions of the faculty should have an impact on the expansion of knowledge, profession, and/or pedagogies.  The type of impact may vary by discipline.

Criterion
Set Benchmark
This is the first year the College is assessing impact.  As such, the information complied the first two years will be used to create a benchmark against which future efforts at continuous improvement will be compared.

Finding
Departmental Intellectual Contribution Impacts
Each deparmental chair will submit, by June 11, a summary of the impact of their faculty's intellectual contributions.  These impact statements will serve several purposes.  (1) The will set a benchmark allowing comparisons in the upcoming years.  (2) They will help use identify types of impacts that are taking place in the college and, thus, help use create an IC policy.

Indicator
High Profle Service To The Academy
Serving as a journal editor, member of an editorial board or officer of a recognized professional organization requires support of our peers and provides recogition for the College.


Criterion
Number Of Faculty Serving As Editor Or Member Of Editorial Board For A Peer-review Journal
Serving as an editor of a peer-review journal or serving as a member of an editorial board is indicative of respect by one's peers within the discipline.  Having faculty serve in these functions raises the College's profile and provides recognition for the College.


Finding
Editors
The COBA has three faculty members serving as editors of regional/state journals and an additional three faculty members serving as editors of national/international journals.  These faculty members provide service to the academy that effectively increases the recognition of the college within the academy.

Action
AACSB Maintenance
The college is accredited by AACSB, International, the most prestigious accredtation available to college's of business.  Maintenance of the accredition is of paramount importance promoting the quality and recognition of the college.  The college has developed a strategic plan that is mission driven and supports its reaffirmation efforts.  Included in plan is a revision to the college's reward structure (Faculty Evaluation System) that will provide greater rewards for effective assessment of student learning and producing ICs that have greater impacts.  Both of these desired goals will improve the college's reputation.


Action
Intellectual Contribution (IC) Policy
The college will create an Intellectual Policy (IC) Policy that outlines its efforts to promote ICs that impact (1) promotion of knowledge within the discipline, (2) processes that promote effective contributions to the profession, and/or (3) pedagogies and student learning.  The policy coupled with revision of the colleges reward structure will enourage faculty to produce ICs that have an impact beyond the college and, thus, improve the college's recognition.


Action
Support Of The Journal Inquiry, Critical Thinking Across The Disciplines
The College, in conjuntion with the other colleges on campus, is providing funds and personnel to allow SHSU to sponsor the journal Inquiry.  This journal is provides a venue for research related to critical thinking.  Hosting the journal provides recognition for the college and university for promoting quality in an area that is held in high esteem by faculty across most, if not all, disciplines.

Objective
Promote Development Of New Programs And/or Adjust Curriculums Within Existing Programs
In pursuit of the University's and College’s missions, existing programs will be reviewed and new programs will be developed as the need and opportunities arise.  The review of existing programs and the development of new programs will proceed through the college’s and institution's curriculum process.


Indicator
Curriculum Report
An annual curriculum report is submitted to the University Curriculum Committee. The report consists of requests for new courses as well as  changes (e.g., new title, new numbering, etc.) to be made to existing courses.  The report will also provide justifications for the requested changes.

Criterion
The COBA Curriculum Report Must Be Completed By September 21, 2009.
The COBA Curriculum Report must be completed prior to the submission deadline so that it can be reviewed and checked for errors.

Finding
Submission Of The COBA's Curriculum Report To University Curriculum Committee
The College submitted its report prior to the deadline.  The College is seeking to add five (5) new courses to its curriculum.  Two of the courses are designed to serve the need of the College's study abroad efforts while the remaining three (3) courses are designed to meet the need to include courses related to managing technology.  The report was approved by the Academic Affairs Council.  The request for new courses was submitted to and approved by the Board of Regents in February 2010.  The courses will be added to the College's inventory.

Indicator
MS In Project Management - Draft Proposal
The faculty in the Department of Management and Marketing are pursuing the creation of a MS in Project Managment.  A final proposal is due by mid-September.  The creation of a draft proposal this acadamic year will allow for a thorough review of the poposal.

Criterion
Completion Of Draft Proposal
A completed draft proposal will reflect the efforts of developing an appropriate curriculum.  Furthermore, it will include a discussion of the need for the program and the exisitance of resources.

Finding
Exploratory Meeting
On Wednesday, December 2, a group of faculty most closely connected to the proposed MS in Project Management degree program met with the Dean and Chair of the Department of Management and Marketing.  Issues related to admission criteria, target group, curriculum content, and documenting need for the program were discussed.  Consensus was not achieved on the target group and admission standards.  The faculty will meet for additional discussion.  After they reach a consensus, a draft proposal will be developed.

Finding
Draft Proposal
During the 2010 Spring semester the faculty developed a proposal for the MS in Project Management degree.  The proposal was submitted to the dean's office in April and is being reviewed.


Action
Program Reviews
To promote a more consistent process and to connect the curriculum review process to the colleges Assurance of Learning efforts, the college will institute a formal program review process.  It is hoped that guidelines will be developed in early fall 2010.  The Busines Foundation and the MBA program will be the first two "programs" reviewed.

Action
Develop Academic Support Material To Promote Greater Teaching Effectiveness
 To pursue continuous improvement in teaching the college's Teaching Effectiveness Committee has been charged with (1) identifying topics that students seem unmotivated to learn and obtain testimonials on the value of the topic to help serve as motivators, (2) identifying "bottlenecks" in the curriculum (topics that have to be re-taught in subsequent courses) and (3) work with the faculty to develop tutorials for the bottleneck topics.  These resources should help the faculty become more effective educators and, at the same time, allow them to set higher standards for the accompanying student learning objectives.


Objective
Seeking Stakeholder Input
The organization is best served by seeking input from the leadership team, the faculty, and alumni/employer representatives with the realization that each group contributes from its own perspective and expertise.


Indicator
Posting Of Minutes
Providing the minutes in an accessible fashion promotes and allows for the various stakeholders to be aware of college initiatives and creates an environment that encourages input.


Criterion
Posting Of Minutes
The minutes from each meeting of the Leadership Committee will be posted shortly after they are reviewed at the subsequent meeting of the Leadership Committee.  The availability of these minutes will allow the faculty and other stakeholders to access information about issues that are impacting the effective administration of the college.

Finding
Posting Of Minutes
The minutes from the Leadership Committee meetings are posted on the college's website.  The faculty and other stakeholders have easy access to information allowing them to keep abreast of issues impacting the administration of the college.

Indicator
Discussion Forums
Meetings with faculty, advisory council members, student leaders, alumni, and/or potential employers provide forums for input.

Criterion
Hold At Least Two Faculty Meetings Per Academic Year
Faculty meetings provide a forum to share intiatives and seek input from the faculty.  At the minimum, there will be a fall and spring faculty meeting.

Finding
Faculty Meetings
Seeking faculty input and keeping the faculty informed are key contributors to the effective administration of the college.  A variety of meetings were held.

August 24 - Fall Faculty/Staff meeting
September 12 - GBA/FIN Retreat (dean addressed issues on assessment, promotion/tenure)
September 30 - COBA graduate faculty meeting
October 13 - Online MBA meeting
February 4 - Spring Faculty/Staff meeting
March 3 - Meeting with faculty interested in online courses
March 8 - SAP meeting
May 9 - GBA/FIN Faculty, Year in Review meeting





Criterion
Hold At Least Two Advisory Council Meetings.
The advisory council provides input on a wide variety of issues to include fund raising, recruiting of students, employment contacts for students, and review of policies, procedures, and other college documents.  Additionally, the Council serves as a sounding board for identifying key items that need to be included to help our students be marketable. The Council will meet at least twice a year.

Finding
Advisory Council Meetings
The COBA's Advisory Council meet in both the fall (Oct. 2) and spring (April 23) semesters.  These meetings allow for a sounding board with successful businessmen and businesswomen, promoting a more effective administration of the college.  Topics included in the discussions ranged from seeking stakeholder input on policies, curriculum, fundraising, employment opportunities for students, recruitment, and marketing, among other issues.


Criterion
Hold At Least Two Meetings With Student Leaders.
Student input on current and proposed policies, guidelines, and other college initiatives is vital.  The dean will meet at least twice a year with student leaders (e.g., presidents of professional student ogranizations, student government assiciation members, etc.).

Finding
Student Meetings
Two meetings, one informal and one formal, were held.  In the fall, the College hosted a COBA Student Organization Cookout on Sept. 10.  At this event the college's student professional organizations setup booths to inform and recruit students.  The dean visited each booth to learn about the organizations and allow the students an opportunity to provide input to the college leadership.  In the spring semester (March 4), the dean hosted a Student Leadership Breakfast.  The president of each of the college's 10 professional organizations were invited.  During the breakfast, the dean and associate dean sought input from the students as to concerns, plans, and aspirations they have.  The dean and associate dean also used the event to inform the student of current and potential college initiatives (online courses/programs and differential tuition) and seek their reaction to these initiatives.

Action
Expand Scope Of Posting Of Minutes
The faculty expressed appreciation of having access to the minutes.  Ready access to the minutes also proved to be a great resource in helping keep assignments and projects on task.  The concept of posting minutes from the Leadership Team Committee meetings will be expanded to other key committees.

Action
Increased Communication With Faculty
To more effectively communicate with the faculty and to promote greater shared governance the Office of the Dean will not just post Leadership Committee minutes, it will distribute the minutes to the faculty via e-mail.  Additionally, on a regular basis (at least once a month) the dean will create a brief newsletter outlining actions and efforts that are being taken and/or considered that impact the college.  Opening additional lines of communication should improve the quality and quantity of input from and to the faculty.

Goal
Promote Efficient And Effective Administration Within The College Of Business Administration.
The College must efficiently and effectively monitor its efforts to ensure its departments are being administered in a professional and appropriate manner.


Objective
Policy Review And Creation
The policies and procedures of the College create the parameters within which the College operates.  The policy and procedures are designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the College.  To this end, the Dean is charged with the regular review of existing policies and procedures.  Such a review requires that the Dean involve key stakeholders in the review.


Indicator
Identification Of Policies To Be Reviewed
The COBA Leadership Committee shall identify policies which need to be reviewed.

Criterion
List The Policies To Be Reviewed
During the summer retreat, the leadership committee will identify the policies to be reviewed during the upcoming academic year.

Finding
Identification Of Policies To Be Reviewed
The Leadership Team decided the following needed to be done. (1) review the mission statement, (2) create an Intellectural Contrbitution Policy (3) review the college's promotion and tenure policy.


Indicator
Number Of Policies Reviewed
The number of policies reviewed, in actual numbers and relative to the number planned to be reviewed, is indicative of the level of success.


Criterion
Number Of COBA Policies Reviewed
100% of the policies identified to be reviewed have been reviewed.


Finding
Mission Review
The mission review ad-hoc committee made recommendations to the mission.  The Leadership Team accepted most of the recommendations and made a few additional changes.  The final draft was presented to the faculty at the Spring Faculty Meeting and the Advisory Council at its spirng meeting.  The Advisory Council approved the changes.  The faculty was given the opportunity to submit any additional recommendations.  With none submitted, the faculty will make a final vote on the mission at the 2010 fall meeting.

Action
Policy Identification
At the 2010 Strategic Planning Retreat, members of the Leadership Team will identify the COBA policies that will be reviewed in the 2010-2011 AY. 

Objective
Support Of Presidential And Provost Initiatives
The Dean is charged with supporting initiatives set by either the President or Provost.  It is the Dean’s responsibility to handle the administrative requirements to support these initiatives.  The Dean is also charged with making sure the department chairs are aware of and supportive of these initiatives.

Indicator
Creation/Maintenance Of The Colleg'e Strategic Plan Aligned With University Goals
In the process of creating the strategic plan for the college, the Dean will align the goals of the College with the goals of the University.

Criterion
Completed Strategic Plan
During the summer retreat, the Leadership Team will review the previous year's strategic plan and outcomes, and finalize the plan for the upcoming year.


Finding
Creation Of Strategic Plan
During the late summer of 2009, the Leadership Team developed a SWOT analysis to serve as a starting point for the creation of strategic plan.  The SWOT analysis was distributed to the Strategic Management Advisory Committee (SMAC), a faculty committee.  The SMAC was charged with the task of developing a faculty driven strategic plan.  The SMAC completed their document in April 2010.  The Leadership Team will review the document at the 2010 Strategic Management Retreat and develop the final strategic plan.


Indicator
Presidential Performance Indicators
The President has identified key performance measures that align with his goals for the University.  The College's performance on these measures provide insight as to how well the College is contributing to the goals the President has set.


Criterion
Proportional Contribution To The Goals Set By The President/Provost
The president and/or provost will set performance targets.  The College will measure itself against these.


Finding
Submission Of COBA's Data For The Presidential Performace Indicators
The College submitted data on the two requested metrics - percentage of faculty above the IDEA norm in at least one class (related to teaching effectiveness) and the number of faculty serving as editors of peer reviewed journals (relates to research and institutional reputation. 

Action
Implementation Of An Online MBA Program
One of the presidential initiatives is to increase graduate enrollments.  Toward that end, the COBA has initiated an online MBA program with an implementation date of fall 2010.  A sequence of classes has been created and publicized.  In conjunction with the DELTA Center, the COBA faculty are creating the online version of the courses.  It is anticipated that 20-25 additional graduate students (an 8-10% increase) will be enrolled in the program for the fall 2010 semester.  A marketing plan comprised of radio ads and television commericials has been initiated to promote the program.

Objective
Provide Support To Departmental Chairs In Meeting Their Goals And Objectives.
The College is dependent on the Dean and Departmental chairs to put into effect the operational plans for the College.  The Dean seeks to enable the Chairs to succeed by providing appropriate levels of advice and support.


Indicator
Resource Availability
Providing resources to the departments contributes to their success.  Resources include travel funds, discretionary funds, capital equipment funds, etc.


Criterion
Funding Levels
Funding levels will match or exceed those from the previous year.


Finding
Maintained Departmental Funding
Even though the operational budget of the college was dramatically decreased due to budgetary shortfalls, the dean's office did not reduce the operating budgets of the departments.  This maintenance of funding at the departmental level allowed the departmental chairs to effectively support initiatives and activities within their departments.

Finding
Budgetary Training
The departmental chairs were fully informed about the college budget.  This training serves to improve the effeciency of the department chairs as they now understand how their activiites and requests impact the other departments within the college.  With their increased knowledge about the budget, the chairs' input is now being sought on a broader level of fiscal matters.

Action
Resource Planning
The Leadership Team will use the upcoming 2010 Strategic Planning Retreat to outline how to best use its resources for the 2010-2011 AY.  Issues to be discussed include limitations on travel, how much of the college's gift money should be used as part of the college's operating budget, how to best utilize distance learning fee funds, and fundraising opportunities.


Objective
Seeking Stakeholder Input
The organization is best served by seeking input from the leadership team, the faculty, and alumni/employer representatives with the realization that each group contributes from its own perspective and expertise.


Indicator
Posting Of Minutes
Providing the minutes in an accessible fashion promotes and allows for the various stakeholders to be aware of college initiatives and creates an environment that encourages input.


Criterion
Posting Of Minutes
The minutes from each meeting of the Leadership Committee will be posted shortly after they are reviewed at the subsequent meeting of the Leadership Committee.  The availability of these minutes will allow the faculty and other stakeholders to access information about issues that are impacting the effective administration of the college.

Finding
Posting Of Minutes
The minutes from the Leadership Committee meetings are posted on the college's website.  The faculty and other stakeholders have easy access to information allowing them to keep abreast of issues impacting the administration of the college.

Indicator
Discussion Forums
Meetings with faculty, advisory council members, student leaders, alumni, and/or potential employers provide forums for input.

Criterion
Hold At Least Two Faculty Meetings Per Academic Year
Faculty meetings provide a forum to share intiatives and seek input from the faculty.  At the minimum, there will be a fall and spring faculty meeting.

Finding
Faculty Meetings
Seeking faculty input and keeping the faculty informed are key contributors to the effective administration of the college.  A variety of meetings were held.

August 24 - Fall Faculty/Staff meeting
September 12 - GBA/FIN Retreat (dean addressed issues on assessment, promotion/tenure)
September 30 - COBA graduate faculty meeting
October 13 - Online MBA meeting
February 4 - Spring Faculty/Staff meeting
March 3 - Meeting with faculty interested in online courses
March 8 - SAP meeting
May 9 - GBA/FIN Faculty, Year in Review meeting





Criterion
Hold At Least Two Advisory Council Meetings.
The advisory council provides input on a wide variety of issues to include fund raising, recruiting of students, employment contacts for students, and review of policies, procedures, and other college documents.  Additionally, the Council serves as a sounding board for identifying key items that need to be included to help our students be marketable. The Council will meet at least twice a year.

Finding
Advisory Council Meetings
The COBA's Advisory Council meet in both the fall (Oct. 2) and spring (April 23) semesters.  These meetings allow for a sounding board with successful businessmen and businesswomen, promoting a more effective administration of the college.  Topics included in the discussions ranged from seeking stakeholder input on policies, curriculum, fundraising, employment opportunities for students, recruitment, and marketing, among other issues.


Criterion
Hold At Least Two Meetings With Student Leaders.
Student input on current and proposed policies, guidelines, and other college initiatives is vital.  The dean will meet at least twice a year with student leaders (e.g., presidents of professional student ogranizations, student government assiciation members, etc.).

Finding
Student Meetings
Two meetings, one informal and one formal, were held.  In the fall, the College hosted a COBA Student Organization Cookout on Sept. 10.  At this event the college's student professional organizations setup booths to inform and recruit students.  The dean visited each booth to learn about the organizations and allow the students an opportunity to provide input to the college leadership.  In the spring semester (March 4), the dean hosted a Student Leadership Breakfast.  The president of each of the college's 10 professional organizations were invited.  During the breakfast, the dean and associate dean sought input from the students as to concerns, plans, and aspirations they have.  The dean and associate dean also used the event to inform the student of current and potential college initiatives (online courses/programs and differential tuition) and seek their reaction to these initiatives.

Action
Expand Scope Of Posting Of Minutes
The faculty expressed appreciation of having access to the minutes.  Ready access to the minutes also proved to be a great resource in helping keep assignments and projects on task.  The concept of posting minutes from the Leadership Team Committee meetings will be expanded to other key committees.

Action
Increased Communication With Faculty
To more effectively communicate with the faculty and to promote greater shared governance the Office of the Dean will not just post Leadership Committee minutes, it will distribute the minutes to the faculty via e-mail.  Additionally, on a regular basis (at least once a month) the dean will create a brief newsletter outlining actions and efforts that are being taken and/or considered that impact the college.  Opening additional lines of communication should improve the quality and quantity of input from and to the faculty.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

Plan for continuous improvement With the hiring of a new dean, the College of Business Administration actively sought input, both quantitative and qualitative, to assess its current effectiveness and help develop a strategic plan for the next one to five years.  Qualitative sources included meetings with the faculty (on an individual and group level), students, and key external constituents (e.g., Advisory Council members, employers, alumni).  Quantitative measures included nationally-normed teaching effectiveness measures, performance indicators (e.g., publications, editorships, etc.), and budgetary data.  Feedback from the faculty indicated the need to improve channels of communications.  As such, meetings were held to inform the faculty of issues and solicit input and minutes from the Leadership Team meetings were posted online.  Previously existing feedback from external reviewers representing the college’s accrediting agency indicated the need to promote a higher quality of intellectual contributions (ICs)from the faculty.  Thus, the faculty were engaged to provide suggestions for an IC policy; the departmental chairs created the first ever report on the impact of their facultys’ ICs (the reports will serve as a benchmark against which future productivity can be evaluated); and review of the faculty evaluation system indicated the need to revise the system to provide more effective incentives toward the production of higher quality ICs.  To meet the presidential initiative of increasing graduate enrollment, the college is initiating an online MBA program to go into effect for the 2010 fall semester.  To facilitate the goal of offering a high quality curriculum the college will start a formal periodic curriculum review.  The guidelines to effectively implement the review are in the process of being created.