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 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
GBA 389 Results
Results gathered by major from students in the GBA 389 course.The findings illustrate a general lack of basic writing skills in the areas of grammar, mechanics and paragraph development. The objectives of this course build upon fundamental writing skills, which should be a prerequisite for the GBA 389W course. However, as the result of the students’ lack of basic writing skills, a significant portion of the course must be devoted to basic writing instruction in the areas of grammar, mechanics and paragraph development. If students entered the course with the required prerequisite knowledge then the course could better address various business communication issues.
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
Oral Communications
The findings illustrate that surveyed students performed consistently, as the majority met or exceeded expectations in the area of PowerPoint slide design and delivery. However, the area of presentation content is an area of weakness for the majority of students. The GBA faculty believes, as stated previously, that students are generally unskilled at developing original thought and in critical thinking skills.
Action
Actions For The Improvement Of Communications
As a result of the assessment process, GBA 389W instructors have included in the course curriculum a pre - and post - semester basic grammar assessment test. In addition, students are required to take on-line writing skills assessment which addresses the areas of grammar, mechanics and paragraph development. Based on individual scores students are then required to participate in area specific training and review. Students are also encouraged to visit the on-campus Writing Center for further reinforcement of these principles.
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
Spring 2010 TACTS Results
The TACTS exam was administered to 222 undergraduates during the Spring 2010 semester. BAN 232 students averaged 14.3 correct repsonses with a standard deviation of 3.32. BAN 363 students averaged 17.6 correct responses with a standard deviation of 3.9. MGT 475 students averaged 15.7 correct responses with a standard deviation of 4.1. The differences in average scores are not statistically significant.
There is a problem in the way the TACTS exam is administered. We have not controlled for incentives or the lack of incentives from class to class or the way the instructor presents the exam to the class. This inconsistency inhibits our ability to compare results between classes.
Action
Critical Thinking Test Consistency
One possible solution to this problem is to rank each individual's performance within the pool of people taking the exam. Then we could send an email message to the student's with their percentile ranking. This might appeal to the student's pride and therefore provide a greater incentive to perform well on the exam.
Objective
Students Should Demonstrate Competency In The Core Areas Of Business Knowledge
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 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.
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 2009. 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.
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 in the Fall of 2009. 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
Final Exams in BAN 232 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
BAN 232 Results
The BAN 232 final exam covers commonly used functions (linear, quadratic, exponential), Derivatives, Probability, Descriptive Statistics, and Sampling Distributions. Students did well in all of these areas except a) constrained optimization problems and b) sampling distributions. These two topics have in common the fact that they are introduced to the students just before a scheduled exam. Because they haven't kept up with the homework, they are rushing to get caught up for the exam and therefore don't have alot of time to devote to the last topic before the exam.
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 2009. 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 2009 ECO 234 Macroeconomics Assessment
Ten questions were embedded in the final exams for two different sections of ECO 234 Macroeconomics. Thirty-six students answered the questions and the average score was 6.3 which translates into 63%. The most commonly missed questions were about the money supply, the role of the Federal Reserve, and business cycles.
Finding
Fall 2009 ECO 233 Microeconomics Assessment
A set of fifteen questions was administered to the microeconomics classes of six different professors. Some of the professors provided grade incentives for answering the questions while others did not. Those classes where incentives were provided had higher scores than the other classes. The questions with the worst scores concerned a) long-run equilibrium in a perfectly competitive market, b) the significance of a highly elastic supply curve, and c) the identification of the short-run shut down quantity.
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%.
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.
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 2009. 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 2009 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.
Action
BAN232 Examinations
Because students are a) not keeping up with their homework and b) missing the important topics covered right before the exam we need to make some changes. The first proposed change is to make all exams comprehensive. This will provide an incentive to students to keep up with the topics even after the first exam. The second proposed change is to stagger the end of the material to be covered on the exam and the exam date itself. This would allow the students more time to absorb the material before being tested on it.