Economics And International Business, Department Of
Goal
Promote The Development And Maintenance Of Quality Academic Programs
The Department of Economics and International Business supports the College's and the University's goal of high quality academic programs.
Objective
Continue Refining The Assurance Of Learning Process
As part of the department's commitment to continuous improvement, it will continue to refine and adapt its Assurance of Learning (AoL) process for courses and degree programs housed within the department.
KPI
Refine Assurance Of Learning Process
The department will document changes it has undergone to adapt and refine its Assurance of Learning Process.
Result
BANA 2372 Final Exams
The professors teaching BANA 2372 have agreed to have seven to ten questions on the Final Exam that are common to sections of the class. This makes it much easier to gather assessment data.
Action
Need For Some Common Final Exam Questions For All Multi-Section Courses
Courses which have multiple sections should have some final exam questions in common. Getting agreement among the faculty about which questions are to be in common, is the challenge.
Objective
Perform Preliminary Reviews Of Degree Programs Housed In The Department
In anticipation of more formal reviews of the degree programs found in the College of Business Administration, the department will undergo preliminary reviews of the BBA in Economics degree and the BBA in International Business degree.
KPI
Complete Preliminary Reviews Of Degree Programs
The department will complete initial reviews of the BBA in Economics and BBA in International Business degree programs.
Result
What We Have Learned So Far.
1) The economics enrollment as a percentage of total business enrollment has been stable over last 10 years with the share ranging between 0.83% in Fall 2005 and 2.29% in Spring 2010
2) The average SAT score for Econ majors has been consistently above the average for all business majors. The average score for Econ during 2004-2014 was 1,097 as compared to 1,001 for all business majors
3) The average GPA for Econ major has been higher (3.16) than for all business majors (2.88) during 2004-2014
4) In comparison with Econ majors in other schools (including our peers and aspirant schools) our Econ majors may be disadvantaged in not being required to have a quantitative courses.
5) Econ majors who want to attend graduate schools do not receive enough quantitative training in our program.
6) The existing program structure is somewhat restrictive in terms of the choice of electives as the students have to choose from certain groups of courses.
Action
Recommendations
1) Inclusion of a quantitative requirement.
2) In addition to ECON 4365, the committee proposes another quantitative course in basic econometrics (ECON 4362: Econometrics for Business)
3) The students will have more flexibility in choosing electives
4) In consultation with the Department of Mathematics, the committee proposes to create a mathematics minor that includes courses that are consistent with American Economic Association's recommended courses. Students who would like to go to graduate school will have the option to take mathematics minor
Goal
Support The Recruitment And Retention Of A Productive, High-Quality Faculty
In support of the University's and College's missions, the Department will develop and maintain quality academic programs.
Objective
Maintaining AQ And PQ Percentages
Policies will be implemented to help ensure that AACSB guidelines for the percentage of classes taught by Academically Qualified (AQ) and by both Academically Qualified and Professionally Qualified (PQ) faculty continue to be met.
KPI
Maintenance Of AQ/PQ Percentages
The department will ensure that the number of course sections taught by AQ (academically qualified) and PQ (professionally qualified) meets or exceeds AACSB guidelines.
Result
Faculty Overloads Help Maintain AQ/PQ Percentages
Even though the Department was short faculty during the 2014/2015 academic year, we were able to maintain the number sections taught by AQ/PQ faculty. This was done by having several faculty teach overloads.
Action
Identify And Hire Additional Adjunct Faculty
Due to increasing enrollments, faculty development leaves, and having 3 open positions in the department, we need to identify and hire adjunct faculty.
Objective
Provide Funding For Development And Professional Travel
To encourage greater research productivity and the professional qualifications of the faculty, funding will be provided for faculty development and for presentations of scholarly works at professional and academic venues.
KPI
Provide Funding For Travel And Professional Development
The department will provide funding to support faculty travel to present papers at academic and professional conferences and for professional development opportunities.
Result
32 Research And Development Trips Were Funded In 2014-2015
During the 2014-2015 academic year, 47 trips were scheduled through the university. Six of the 47 were for job candidates coming to campus for interviews. Five of the 47 were later cancelled. Four of the 47 were to Boston for recruiting at the AEA conference. The 32 remaining trips were for presenting academic research or in support of developing research.
Action
Future Travel Plans
During the 2015-2016 academic year we hope to save travel money by conducting more Skype interviews before inviting candidates to campus or making arrangements to meet them at the national conferences.
Objective
Recruit New Faculty
During the 2014-2015 academic year, we will attempt to find a new faculty member to fill the position vacated by Dr. Blackburne.
KPI
Attend The January 2015 American Economic Association In Boston To Recruit New Faculty.
The American Economics Association (AEA) will hold its national conference in Boston, Massachusetts in January, 2015. We will arrange to interview candidates there and the select the best to come to Huntsville for a campus interview.
Result
Faculty Hire Resulting From Participation In The January 2015 AEA Meeting.
The January 2015 AEA meeting was attended by four representatives of the department: Mark Frank, Christian Raschke, Mark Tuttle, Doug Berg. Ten candidates were interviewed. Two were invited to campus. In addition we invited two candidates that were from local institutions (TAMU and UH). We were not successful in hiring any of the candidates that we interviewed in Boston. We did hire one new professor (Dr. Zijun Luo) in the AEA Job Scramble which opened in May 2015.
Action
Hire Additional Faculty In 2015-2016
As a result of two faculty members not getting tenure and one tenured faculty member leaving for another job, we will be recruiting for 3 open positions in 2015-2016.
Goal
Provide An Environment Supporting Students' Professional And Academic Success
As a department that houses professional degree programs, the Department of Economics and International Business is cognizant of its responsibility to promote its students' growth both inside and outside of the classroom. Toward that end, the college desires to create an environment that supports students’ professional and academic success.
Objective
Expand Online Course Offerings
To meet student needs and demands for a variety of course options, expand the number of online offerings of courses offered by departmental faculty.
KPI
Expand Online Course Offerings
The department will expand the number and frequency of courses offered through distance (online) education.
Result
Online Sections Increased
We offered 11 online sections during the Fall 2014 semester and 10 online sections in the Spring 2015 semester. During both semesters, each section was a different subject.
Action
Have Multiple Online Sections Of The More Popular Classes
We need to increase the number of online sections available for BANA 2372, BANA 3363, ECON 2301, and ECON 2302. These are courses that all business majors must take and are consistently in high demand.
Goal
Enhance External Recognition Of Quality
External recognition of quality enhances the department's ability to attract quality students, faculty, and prospective employers for its graduates.
Objective
Identify And Promote Points Of Excellence
Identify and promote points of excellence from within the department.
KPI
Identify And Promote Points Of Excellence
The department will identify and promote points of excellence within the department.
Result
Economics Professors Achieve Recognition
During this academic year, Dr. Mark Frank was interviewed on National Public Radio several times about his research on income inequality.
Dr. Hiranya Nath received a grant from International Growth Centre based in the London School of Economics and Political Science for a research project entitled 'Why is Assam left behind in India`s economic boom? A behavioural perspective on the effect of conflict'. His collaborators in this project are: 1) Dr. Dipanwita Sarkar (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
2) Dr. Asadul Islam (Monash University, Australia)
3) Dr. Ratul Mahanta (Gauhati University, India)
4) Dr. Raju Mandal (Assam University, India)
Action
Find New Ways To Enhance The Reputation Of Our Department
The faculty will discuss this topic during the next academic year. Hopefully we can identify specific actions that we can take to enhance the reputation of our department and our degree program.