General Business graduates will be capable communicators and competent business decision makers.

Students will be able to compose effective business messages using accepted standards of English grammar and punctuation, sentence structure and paragraph design.

Business communication faculty will conduct a preliminary assessment of samples of student writing in online and face-to-face business communication courses (BUAD  3335W).  The composite performance of the students, as measured by a faculty developed rubric, will indicate communication competency level and will provide insight into the effectiveness and consistency in instruction of online versus face-to-face delivery methods.

At least 80% of sampled students must meet expectations on the Writing Assessment Rubric.  The rubric was developed by the business communications faculty and has three performance elements:  format, content/organization, and writing.  Reviewers will indicate whether the student writing samples exceed, meet, or are below standard expectations in each area, and will further compare the results of the online and face-to-face samples to determine effectiveness and consistency in course delivery formats.

A total of 102 student writing samples from four sections of BUAD 3335W were examined during the Spring Semester of 2015 using rubrics specifically developed for assessment purposes.  These rubrics reflected the percentage of students who performed above expectations, met expections, or perfomed below expectations in the categories of format/design, organization, content, and grammar/mechanics .  

Two sections were online courses taught by two experienced business communication faculty members who worked together to ensure course consistency in the format, delivery, and grading of the course content; two sections were F2F courses taught by the same faculty in the same manner and style to determine the efficacy of online and F2F delivery methods. 

The business message evaluated was a persuasive strategy, the third of a series of three required business strategy messages (direct, indirect, and persuasive).  The combined results for all 102 samples indicated
that in format/design, 83.3 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 16.6% of students were below expectations in this area.  In organization, 78.3 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 21.5% of students were below expectations in this area.  In content, 80.3 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 19.6% of students were below expectations in this area.  In grammar/mechanics, 52.1 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 48% of students were below expectations in this area. 

The F2F sections were then examined independently of the online sections.  In format/design, 81% of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 16.6% of students were below expectations in this area.  In organization, 85 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 21.5% of students were below expectations in this area.  In content, 77 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 19.6% of students were below expectations in this area.  In grammar/mechanics, 52 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 48% of students were below expectations in this area.

The online sections were then examined independently of the F2F sections.  In format/design, 86% of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 14% of students were below expectations in this area.  In organization, 71 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 29% of students were below expectations in this area.  In content, 83 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 16.7% of students were below expectations in this area.  In grammar/mechanics, 54 % of students either performed above expectations or met expectations; 47% of students were below expectations in this area.


Comparatively, in the area of format, both online and F2F students either met or exceeded expectations, scoring 80% or better in that category.  Course content delivery in the area of format appears to be satisfactory. 

In the area of organization, F2F students either met or exceeded expectations, scoring 80% or better in that category. Online students, however, scored under 80%, indicating that some adjustments need to be made for course content delivery in the area of organization.

In the area of content, F2F students either met or exceeded expectations, scoring 80% or better in that category. Online students, however, scored under 80%, indicating that some adjustments need to be made for course content delivery in the area of organization.


Grammar and mechanics continue to be a challenge for Sam Houston students. Fifity-two percent of face-to-face students met or exceeded expectations in this area, and 54% of the online students met or exceeded expectations (a few percentage points up in both categories from the previous year). However, 48% of F2F students scored below expectations, and 47% of the online students scored below expectations; these low percentages indicate indicating that adjustment need to be made for course content delivery in grammar/mechanics in both the online F2F classes.

 

Business Communication faculty have reviewed and recommended a new textbook (Peter Cardon's Business Communication:  Developing Leaders for a Networked World, 2nd Ed.) for the BUAD 3335W course.  The text will be adopted by the online and F2F faculty who participated in the 2014-15 assessment, and beta-tested in two sections of online and two sections of F2F BUAD 3335W courses in the Fall Semester of 2015.  The text contatins better examples of sample documents which the instructors hope will raise scores in the areas of organization and content.  In addition, McGraw-Hill's Connect (textbook ancillaries) contains robust grammar/mechanics online drills and exercises that the students can work through at their own pace and at varying skills levels to develop their knowledge and application of grammar/mechanics skills.

Students will be able to speak effectively before a group by connecting with the audience and organizing and presenting the topic accordingly.

General Business degree candidates will make several oral presentations in the required communication course. Samples of presentations will be videotaped and evaluated. The composite performance of the students, as measured by a faculty developed rubric, will indicate the oral communication competency level.

At least 80% of sampled students must meet expectations on the oral presentation rubrics. The rubrics that will be used to evaluate students in GBA 389 have been developed by the business communications faculty. Each faculty member will apply the rubrics when evaluating students in a GBA 389 course.

Key Course Objectives Assessed

To build on language skills of writing, grammar, and punctuation in conjunction with business foundation courses to enable students to develop effective business communication skills to solve business problems. 

• Develop a foundation and principles for successful communication.
• Adapt language and style in various letter- and report-writing situations.
• Construct clear sentences and paragraphs using accepted standards of English grammar and punctuation, with emphasis on variations in sentence structure and effective paragraph design.
• Compose effective business letters.
• Develop and employ effective writing strategies that maintain goodwill and are tactful, courteous, and positive.

 

The goal of the General Business program is to provide students with a broad base of knowledge in business. 2301, 3355.

Students who complete the BBA in General Business will demonstrate knowledge of the core concepts and principles of business law and of legal environments.

Assessment will be made using embedded questions on each unit examination. The embedded questions will gauge the students' performance on concepts, principles and functions of business law. The embedded questions were created by the business law faculty and include questions from each of the four core areas in the course. BUAD 3355

The class average on individual embedded questions will be 75% correct. The business law course is divided into four core units. Each business law faculty member will include imbedded questions on each unit's examination. BUAD 3355/GBA362

 

The GBA faculty has broken the course into four (4) core units. The GBA faculty determined that they would select embedded questions for each unit. The embedded assessment questions for this academic year were drafted last year by the GBA faculty members and were rewritten to adjust for possible misinterpretation by students.  This process of assessment question review occurs on an annual basis during the spring semester.

The students’ assessment data was collected by GBA majors and Non-GBA Majors in two separate sections. GBA majors improved from the previous assessment cycle. In the first section GBA majors outperformed non-GBA majors achieving an average correct of seventy-seven percent (77%) compared to seventy-four (74.8%) percent by non-GBA majors. In the second section GBA majors scored seventy-six percent (76.3%) compared to the non-GBA majors' score of seventy-one percent (71.1%). Since not all of these scores exceeds the goal of seventy-five percent (75%) correct in the core competency areas a review of the questions and course focus will be done. In the previous cycle a decision was made to divide the common law contracts area into two units. The belief was that by further breaking down the material into manageable segments that students' retention and understanding of the material would increase. This decision appeared to have yielded positive results as students in all majors improved dramatically in this area of the course in the previous assessment cycle.  After the current assessment data was reviewed the faculty members need to further analyze whether the breakdown into two common law units was indeed helpful.  Students continue to struggle with the legal terminology that is used in the course.  In addition, true understanding of the concept is tested by using application based questions which are challenging for many students. 

The BUAD 2301/GBA 281 course focuses on the legal environment in business, particularly how the law effects business development and creation. This course is divided into five core units. Assessment will be made using pre and post exam questions in each of the courses five core unit examination. The pre and post exam questions will gauge the students' performance on concepts, principles and functions of legal environments. The embedded questions include questions developed by the legal environment faculty.

The class average on individual embedded questions will be 75% correct. The business law course is divided into five core units. Each business law faculty member will include imbedded questions on each unit's examination. BUAD 2301/GBA 281

The assessment and analysis is done using a pre and post tests to determine whether the students have made advances in the core learning objectives. The course is divided into five core units and the pre and posttests cover questions from each of the courses core units. The questions were developed by the entire faculty that teach this course.

The students of BUAD 2301 Legal Environment courses took a pre-test at the beginning of the semester and achieved an average 48.4% correct for all five units tested. On the post test there were significant gains in the students learning outcomes. In the Origins of Law unit, GBA Majors scored 85.3%, Non-GBA Business Majors scored 83.1% and Non-Business Majors scored 79%. The faculty believes that this increase is based in part on the increased time in this area of the curriculum.  Since the assessment process began six years ago, there has been a continual focus on this very difficult area for students.  The Origins of Law unit is the foundation for the course and as a result of the assessment process, faculty have learned that if students do not perform well on this first unit they struggle with the remaining material all semester. 

The second, area of significant increase in performance was in the Business Entities section. In past semesters this was an area of difficulty for students. Instructors reorganized the core material in this unit. This change increased student performance in this unit. All majors scored a 52.4% on the pretest. GBA majors improved on the post test with a score of 86%. Non Business majors had an increase and scored 82%. The Non-GBA Business majors improved with a score of 78%.  This assessment cycle, as in prior cycles, the Business Entities Unit is a challenge for a majority students.  The faculty created a hands-on application based assignments for students.  Students are currently required to actually work through how to form a particular business entity.  It is believed that this change in the curriculum has helped students improve in the course.

BUAD 3355:  To aid in the continued improvement of both GBA and non-GBA students in the common law contracts course, the Business Law faculty will work to develop additional online study aids to assist students in key areas of the course.  The assessment data from the previous cycle indicated that student improvement had occurred.  However, in this assessment cycle the data showed that student performance in the assessed areas declined slightly.  A review of the instructional approach will occur to determine the reason for the slight decline.

BUAD 2301:  This assessment cycle, as in prior cycles, the Business Entities Unit is a challenge for a majority students. The faculty created more hands-on application based assignments for students. The faculty continue to create new ways to engage the students by creating new and improved projects that require the students to engage in the course assignments.  The thought is that by having students actually work on projects that are relevant to the area of study it will assist them in the learning process.

General Business students will be satisfied with the instruction that they receive.

General Business students will be satisfied with the level of instruction that they receive.

The department, college, and university utilize the IDEA System as part of its evaluation of classroom performance. The IDEA System, developed by the IDEA Center at Kansas State University, is a nationally normed, validated and reliable measure of classroom performance based on up to 12 learning objectives. The IDEA scores can be compared to institutional norms or discipline norms across all institutions that use the IDEA system. The normed T-score provides data on the overall effectiveness of classroom performance.

General Business faculty will have an IDEA score average of 50 (the national norm) in at least one course taught.

 The IDEA form calculates a score based on many factors; teaching effectiveness, students willingness to learn, instructor's preparedness are just a few of the factors used. The students’ evaluations are then compared with other faculty across the country in the same discipline. Based on the student answers and the performance of other faculty across the nation a score is computed for each faculty member. The fifty (50) percent mark is the benchmark used to indicate that a faculty member is a successful instructor.

Faculty members in the Business Communication and Law areas exceeded the established goal of achieving a fifty (50) percent or average score in all face to face course. Based on teaching load and the number of faculty in these two respective areas, the results were actually fifty percent higher than the goal. The faculty achieved a fifty (50) percent or average score in at least 1.5 courses taught.

  The General Business faculty strives to continuously improve their teaching effectiveness. To this end the faculty raised standards for the 2015 - 2016 academic year, requiring that all faculty maintain a 50% average for all face to face courses taught.

In addition, all faculty and particularly those with weaker teaching effectiveness, will be advised of the college's teaching improvement workshops.