The goal of the MBA degree is to develop business professionals prepared for leadership roles.
Objective
Communication
Graduates of the MBA program should be able to demonstrate language and content that suits the intended audience and organize content in a logical sequence.
Indicator
Communication Writing Assignments
Written assignments throughout the MBA courses will be assessed using a common rubric on four skills: 1) organization of ideas and content; 2) mechanics or writing; 3) professional format and use of conventions; and 4) professionalism. Students receive scores ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 = emerging skill and 5 = mastery of skill.
Criterion
Communication Metric
The average score on each of the four written communication skills should be at least 3.75 out of 5 (75%) for all MBA students
Finding
Communication Finding
97 students were assessed on communication - 74 in three online classes and 23 in two face to face classes. The average score on each learning objective skill for all MBA students was above 3.75. However, when comparing scores from online classes with scores from face to face classes, the online students scored less than 3.75 on skill 2-mechanics or writing and on skill 3-professional format and use of conventions. In addition, online students scored less than face to face students on all four skills.
Action
Communication Action
The MBA assessment committee will meet to discuss ways to improve student writing skills. Online tutorials have been developed to assist students with mechanics or writing, and these are currently available for student use.
Objective
Strategic Decision-making
Graduates of the MBA program should be able to consider different strategic options using available evidence through the lens of organizational goals and generate applicable solutions for business problems.
Indicator
Strategic Decision-making Writing Assignments
Written assignments throughout the MBA courses will be assessed using a common rubric on four skills: 1) perform environmental scanning; 2) identify and retrieve needed and relevant business information; 3) integrate and synthesize strategic information; and 4) generate plausible and innovative solutions to problems. Students receive scores ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 = emerging skill and 5 = mastery of skill.
Criterion
Strategic Decision-making Metric
The average score on each of the four strategic decision-making skills should be at least 3.75 out of 5 (75%) for all MBA students.
Finding
Strategic Decision Making Finding
98 students were assessed on strategic decision making - 77 in three online classes and 21 in two face to face classes. The average score on each learning objective skill for all MBA students was below 3.75. There was little difference between online student scores and face to face student scores.
Action
Strategic Decision-making Action
The MBA assessment committee will meet to discuss ways to improve strategic decision-making. Some course instructors scored consistently lower than other instructors, suggesting that there could be rater reliability issues.
Objective
Critical Thinking
Graduates of the MBA program should be able to distinguish relevant and non-relevant information regarding a business problem and develop a valid argument in support of a conclusion.
Indicator
Critical Thinking Writing Assignments
Written assignments throughout the MBA courses will be assessed using a common rubric on seven skills: 1) identify and summarize the problem/issue; 2) identify and present the student's own hypothesis, perspective, and position; 3) identify and consider other salient perspectives and positions; 4) identify and assess the key assumptions; 5) identify and assess the quality of supporting data/evidence; 6) identify and consider the influence of context on the issue; 7) identify and assess conclusions, implications, and consequences. Students receive scores ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 = emerging skill and 5 = mastery of skill.
Criterion
Critical Thinking Metric
The average score on each of the seven critical thinking skills should be at least 3.75 out of 5 (75%) for all MBA students.
Finding
Critical Thinking Finding
75 students were assessed on critical thinking - 11 in a face to face class and 64 in two online classes. The average score on each learning objective skill for all MBA students was above 3.75. The face to face students scored slightly lower than the online students on skills 5, 6, and 7, but the face to face students scored slightly higher than the online students on skills 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Action
Critical Thinking Action
The MBA assessment committee will meet to discuss ways to improve student critical thinking skills. The Texas Assessment of Critical Thinking Skills (TACTS) is a different assessment of critical thinking that has been used with MBA students to give more insight into areas for improvement.