OATdb Archive

2009 - 2010

Economics And International Business, Department Of

Goal
Outstanding Programs
Have outstanding Economics, International Business, and Business Analysis Programs

Objective
Develop Outstanding Economics International Business, And Business Analysis Programs
Excellence in Teaching, Research & Service

Indicator
Ranking In EBI Survey
The departmental programs are ranked in the top 25 percent of schools evaluated in the EBI survey.

Criterion
Attain 75th Percentile Ranking Of "Satisfaction With Quality Of Teaching" In Economics In EBI
EBI survey given to graduating seniors

Finding
Percentile Ranking EBI-Economics
Economics ranked 11 of 64 institutions, in the 83rd percentile

Criterion
Attain 75th Percentile Ranking Of "Satisfaction With Quality Of Teaching" In Business Analysis In EBI
EBI survey given to graduating seniors

Finding
Percentile Ranking EBI-Business Analysis
Business Analysis ranked 22 out of 64, in the 66th percentile

Criterion
Attain 75th Percentile Ranking Of "Satisfaction With Quality Of Teaching" In International Business In EBI
EBI survey given to graduating seniors

Finding
Percentile Ranking EBI-International Business
International Business ranked 8 of 64, in the 89th percentile

Indicator
Majors
Increase the number of department majors

Criterion
Department Majors Constitute At Least Two Percent Of Total Enrollment
At least two percent of the students enrolled in the university have declared economics or international business as a major.

Finding
Major Percent Of Enrollment
Department majors now total 197, or 1.3 percent of SHSU total.. This is an increase from 1.2 percent last year.

Indicator
Student Research
Student research is submitted each year for competitive awards.

Criterion
Two Student Papers Submitted Per Year
Papers submitted to conferences or journals

Finding
Student Papers Submitted To Conferences
No student papersw ere submitted to conferences this year.

Action
Increasing Majors
Developed slide presentation featuring advantages of majoring in Economics & International Business; department booth at Bearkat Weekend; department newsletter sent to current majors; sending letters of congratulations to "A" students in principles classes

Action
Student Research
Two faculty are mentors in the McNair Scholars program.  One product of this program is a student research program submitted for publication.  See list of mentors here:  http://www.shsu.edu/~mcnair/meet_mentors.html.

Objective
Excellence In Teaching
  1. Faculty will demonstrate their commitment to integrity in  teaching by:
  • Devoting adequate time preparing for each class presentation.
  • Arriving at class on time with material sufficiently designed to last the entire class period.
  • Adopting textbooks that are challenging, current, and reflect the learning abilities of our students.
  • Making class assignments that will challenge students to extend their learning beyond the classroom and the textbook.
  • Experimenting and developing new teaching techniques that will improve student learning.
  • Encouraging and working with our students to help develop their study skills to improve learning.
  • Using a grading scale and assigning grades in a way that reflects student learning.
Treating each student with respect and dignity

Indicator
Academically Qualified Faculty
All tenured and tenure-track faculty should be academically qualified

Criterion
All Full-time Faculty Academically Qualified (AQ)
All probationary faculty are AQ; all tenured faculty with at least 2 refereed articles and 2 refereed presentations are AQ

Finding
AQ/PQ Faculty
16 of 17 full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty are AQ

Indicator
Scores On IDEAS System
Every faculty member has a Discipline Adjusted score above 45 for the IDEA Diagnostic Form Report in all main categories

Criterion
Each Faculty Has A Discipline Adjusted Score Of At Least 45 On IDEAS
Each Faculty member has a disciplne adjusted score of at least 45

Finding
Discipline-adjusted Score On IDEAS
16 of 17 full-time faculty members have a weighted average score of 45 or better on the IDEAS system

Action
Continuous Improvement In Teaching
Classroom visitation by senior faculty; coaching sessions by department chair; documentation of best practices by high-performing faculty.

Action
Chair Evaluation Of Teaching
Department chair evaluation of teaching (FES 1) is now standardized across departments, resulting in greater transparency in faculty evaluation.

Objective
Excellence In Research
Research informs teaching.  Every member of the department is expected to be intellectually active.  Contributions to intellectual activity may include journal articles; presentations to conferences, seminars, and outside groups; funded grants for research; and works of practical application such as consulting.

Indicator
Faculty Intellectual Contributions
Includes refereed journal articles, presentations, and other published work

Criterion
Published Articles
Each faculty member will submit at least one article or case study to a refereed journal each year

Finding
Actual Published Articles
The department published 37 articles in refereed journals during 2009, an average of 2 per tenure/tenure track faculty

Indicator
Articles In Tier 1 Or 2 Journals
The department is commited to increasing the quality of its intellectual contributions

Criterion
Published Articles In Tier 1 Or 2 Journals
The department seeks to have at 6 tier 1 or 2 journal articles published each year

Finding
Actual Published Articles In Tier 1 Or 2 Journals
The faculty published 7 articles in tier 1 or 2 journals in 2009

Indicator
Invited Presentations
Invited presentations indicate that the faculty have made contributions noteworthy enough to draw the interest and finacial support of our colleagues at other institutions 

Criterion
Number Of Invited Presentations
We hope to have 5 invited presentations at outside venues each year

Finding
Actual Invited Presentations
Three faculty were invited to give presentations at other universities in 2009

Indicator
External Grants
The department seeks funded research to support faculty intellectual inquiry and to obtain release time

Criterion
Number Of External Grants
The department seeks to have at least three faculty working on external grants

Finding
Actual Number Of External Grants
Three faculty were working under external grants during 2009

Action
Encouraging Faculty Research
Faculty seminar and brown bag series; working papers now posted to SSRN and Repec working paper series; department working papers now on website @: http://www.shsu.edu/~tcq001/workingpapers.html.

Objective
Excellence In Service
Service is an important component of departmental contribution to the college and to the university.  The department seeks to follow the Sam Houston State University motto of " A Measure of a Life is its Service"

Indicator
Scores On FES 4
FES 4 is the measure of service used for faculty merit and promotion

Criterion
Scores On FES 4
All faculty will score at least 100 on FES 4

Finding
Actual Scores On FES 4
14 of 15 reporting faculty scored 100 or more on FES 4

Indicator
Representation On University Committees
the department gains from the visibility of service on University Committees

Criterion
Percentage Of Faculty Serving On University Committees
At least 50 percent of the faculty will serve on University Committees

Finding
Actual Representation On University Committees
10 of 17 eligible faculty serve on University committees

Indicator
Professional Organizations
The department encourages faculty to join professional organizations in their fields.

Criterion
Percent Of Faculty As Members Of Professional Organizations
Each member of the faculty will be a member of a professional organization

Finding
Actual Membership In Professional Organizations
All members of the faculty are members of professional organizations

Indicator
Officer Or Leadership Position With Professional Organization
The department encourages the faculty to seek leadership roles in professional organizations.  This is also one of the University President's indicators

Criterion
Percentage Of Faculty Serving As Officers Or In Leadership Roles In Professional Organizations
  1. At least 20 percent of the faculty will hold a position as officer or other leadership position in a professional organization related to their teaching/research field.

Finding
Actual Leadership In Professional Organizations
2 of 17 (11.7%) faculty serve as officers or in leadership roles

Action
Excellence In Service
Department committees established for recruitment, assessment, & curriculum review. 


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

Plan for continuous improvement A Closing the Loop Meeting was held on 3.2.2010 (Tuesday) An Assessment report (“Online Assessment Tracking Database’) was distributed to all present. The report was organized into three (3) sections: departmental goals, goals in the economics program, and goals in the international business program. The degree goals should be faculty driven (i.e. from the bottom up, not determined solely by the department chair).  To increase majors, the department has developed a slide presentation for orientation and will have a department booth at the Bearkat Weekend and created a newletter for current majors. To improve student research, the department is working with the McNair program to mentor students on research projects.  To improve teaching, the department will implement classroom visitations by senior faculty and coaching sessions by the chair for those who need it.  To encourage research by faculty, the department implemented a brown bag series.