Students Will Obtain A Broad Base Of Knowledge Of Marketing Principles
The goal of the BBA program in Marketing is to provide students with a broad base of knowledge in the Marketing discipline. The accomplishment of this goal is indicated by students achieving six learning objectives. Each objective is associated with a required course.
Objective
Students Will Be Able To Describe Marketing Core Concepts And Principles
Students who complete the BBA in Marketing will be able to describe the core concepts and principles of Marketing, including the elements of the marketing mix. The concepts and principles are included with the Indicator as a supporting document "15 Key Marketing Concepts."
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG3310 Fundamentals Of Marketing
The ability to describe Marketing Core Concepts & Principles will be assessed using questions embedded within exams. The core concepts and principles are represented by 15 Key Marketing Concepts. The 15 Key Marketing Concepts are provided as an attachment.
Criterion
Performance On Assessments In MKTG3310
Students' performance on embedded exam questions will indicate their understanding of the 15 Key Marketing Concepts. The average scores for Marketing BBA students will be 70% or higher. The average scores for students completing other degrees will also be 70% or higher.
Action
Assessment Is Scheduled For Fall 2015
Assessment will be completed Fall 2015.
Objective
Students Will Be Able To Summarize And Explain Consumer Behavior Concepts
Students who complete the BBA in Marketing will demonstrate knowledge of key consumer behavior actions (evaluation, acquisition, consumption, disposal), internal and external factors that influence consumer behavior, and the consumer decision making process.
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG3320 - Consumer Behavior
Student achievement of the learning objective will be assessed using questions embedded within exams and components of projects. Performance on aspects of the project will be assessed with grading rubric.
Assessment was completed during Fall 2014.
Criterion
Performance On Assessment In MKTG3320
Students' performance one or more projects and embedded exam questions will indicate their understanding of concepts stated in the descripton of this learning objective. The average scores for students will be 70% or higher.
Finding
Assessment Completed Fall 2014: MKTG3320
The average score for embedded exam questions across all course sections was 76.1%. In terms of number of students, 71.4% achieved this level of performance or higher. The findings indicate that students across all sections of the course are achieving the objective. Students performed better on these two topics that they had found challenging in the 2010 and 2012 assessment cycles: a) focusing on consumer behavior as a whole versus buying behavior alone, and b) understanding the differences between selective exposure, selective attention, and selective distortion.
Action
Actions To Be Taken Before Next Assessment
The assessment completed during Fall 2014 indicated an area that challenged students. They had some difficulty demonstrating their ability to apply how differences in situational influences can impact consumer behavior (e.g., temporal, physical, social, task definition, antecedent states). I am working to develop an in-class exercise to help students strengthen their skills in applying this concept. Additional course modifications will continue to be made as needed to ensure achievement of the objective.
The performance reported for Fall 2014 (76.1%) included results from a few students that were not completing a Marketing BBA. The next assessment will be completed Fall 2015 and the reporting of findings will be changed. It will indicate performance of Marketing BBA students without the other students' performance.
Objective
Students Will Be Able To Explain And Demonstrate Trust-Based Business-to-Business Relationship Selling Concepts
Students will be able to explain the principles of trust-based business-to-business relationship selling and demonstrate techniques to determine customers’ needs, address their concerns, and close sales.
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG3328 Professional Selling
Assessment will be based on students' performance on the written role-play assignments, in-class role-plays and embedded exam questions.
Criterion
Performance On Assessment In MKTG3328
The average scores for Marketing BBA students will be 70% or higher.
Action
Assessment Scheduled For Fall 2015
The learning objective related to MKTG3328 was added during Summer 2015. The first assessment will be completed during Fall 2015. The findings will indicate the performance of Marketing BBA students with results being separated from students' that are not completing a Marketing BBA.
Objective
Students Will Demonstrate The Ability To Collect And Interpret Market Research Data
Students who complete the BBA in Marketing will demonstrate the ability to be able to determine and communicate research needs to a professional researcher, evaluate a research report, collect and interpret their own research data, and make marketing decisions with research findings.
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG4350 Marketing Research
Assessment of Marketing BBA students' abilities and their understanding of concepts described in the objecive will be completed using questions embedded in exams and six written assignments.
Assessment was completed during Fall 2014.
Criterion
Performance On Assessment In MKTG4350
Students' performance on the written assignments and embedded exam questions will indicate their understanding of concepts stated in the descripton of this learning objective. The average scores for students will be 70% or higher.
Finding
Assessment Completed Fall 2014: MKTG4350
Twenty specific items (questions) were embedded on the three exams (post-test only design). The questions specifically covered both comprehension and application of each of the following concepts: primary vs. secondary research, quantitative vs. qualitative research, observation vs. survey research, exploratory vs. descriptive vs. causal research, sampling, reliability vs. validity, scale development, questionnaire design, univariate vs. multivariate data analysis, and appropriate data analysis using SPSS. In addition, seven written assignments covering these topics were given to students.
The average performance score on all twenty items (questions) that were embedded in the exams was 76.5%. This finding exceeds the criterion target performance level of 70%. Similarly, the average performance on the seven assignments that were given on these topics was 82.1%.
Action
Actions That Will Be Taken Before Next Assessment
The assessment completed during Fall 2014 revealed that the criterion level of 70% was achieved. However, the performance on some of the concepts included in the overall performance score fell below 70%. These concepts are qualitative research, causal research, reliability, validity, univariate statistics, multivariate statistics, ANOVA, and regressions analysis. While students have demonstrated significant improvements from the previous assessment in 2012, these parts of the course curriculum have been earmarked for increased focus and particular attention in future offerings of the course. Several “new” assignments have been created since the last assessment in Fall 2012. These will be used again and refined as needed. Additional assignments will be created to help students better understand the concepts where performance was less than 70% and more lecture time will be focused on the concepts.
The findings reported for Fall 2014 include results from students that were not completing a Marketing BBA. The next assessment will be completed during Fall 2015 and the reporting of findings will be changed to reflect the performance of Marketing BBA students without the other students' performance included in the calculations.
Objective
Students Will Be Able To Summarize And Explain Global Marketing Concepts
Students who complete the BBA in Marketing will be able to summarize and explainthe global nature of business today and the forces shaping the evolution of the global market, and recognize the process of extending from domestic business operations into global markets.
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG4340 International Management And Marketing
Student achievement of the learning objective will be assessed using questions embedded within exams. Assessment was completed during Spring 2015.
Criterion
Performance On Assessment In MKTG4340
Students' performance on embedded exam questions will be assessed. The average scores for students will be 70% or higher.
Finding
Assessment Completed Spring 2015: MKTG4340
A comprehensive Final Exam included questions assessing students' understanding of twenty concepts related to managing businesses in global markets and multi-cultural societies. The findings are based on the performance of ten students completing a Marketing BBA. They scored 83% on all questions. Of these, they scored above the 70% criterion on 15 of the 20 key concepts.
Action
Actions To Be Taken Before Fall 2015 Assessment
The assessment during Spring 2015 was completed by evaluating student scores on questions that are embedded in the Final Exam. Four of the five concepts where students' scores did not meet the criterion for acceptable performance are covered during the first part of the course. It is hypothesized that the students did not remember or review for these concepts prior to the Final Exam.
Two steps will be taken during the next session to ameliorate this issue: (1) More time will be spent when lecturing on these topics, including some type of “high involvement” or experiential exercise, aimed at helping the students retain the key ideas about each concept, and (2) Prior to the Final Exam, more time will be spent on reviewing the concepts from the first part of the semester. The next assessment will be completed Fall 2015.
Objective
Students Will Be Able To Explain Strategic Concepts, Demonstrate Knowledge Of The Impact Of Marketing Decisions, And Devise A Strategic Plan
Students who complete the BBA in Marketing will be able to explain specific marketing concepts, demonstrate knowledge of the impact of strategic marketing decisions on the firm, and devise a Strategic Marketing Plan.
Indicator
Assessment In MKTG4390 Strategic Marketing Management
Assessment will be based on student performance on discussion questions and projects. Performance on aspects of the projects will be evaluated with a grading rubric.
Assessment was completed during Spring 2015.
Criterion
Performance On Assessment MKTG4390
The average scores for Marketing BBA students on discussion questions and projects will be 70% or higher.
Finding
Assessment Completed Spring 2015: MKTG4390
In total, fifty-four students pursuing a Marketing BBA completed six assignments that were graded to determine performance in relation to the criterion. All assignments were graded above the 70% criterion. The assignments and scores are presented below.
(1) Marketing Strategy Document: Students worked in groups of 3 – 4 to develop a description of the strategy used for the Marketing Simulation Game. Percent to the right is the average grade on the Marketing Strategy papers. Score: 93%
(2) Essay question on Final Exam: Describe why marketing is important to the firm. Score: 95%
(3) Three essay questions on Final Exam: Name, discuss, and give an example of the 3 basic strategic decision-making areas. Score: 88%
(4) Problem on Final Exam: Calculate a simple ROI on a marketing program. Score: 95%
(5) Three essay questions on the Final Exam: Articulate and provide examples of marketing strategies. Score: 87%
(6) Short-answer questions (11) on the Final Exam: Basic knowledge of marketing strategy terminology. Score 96%
Action
Actions To Support The Spring 2016 Assessment
The next assessment will be completed Spring 2016. A Critical Thinking Paper exercise will be introduced to support learning. This activity is described below. Critical Thinking Paper on Marketing Strategy
Students do a good job with rote memorization of marketing terms. However, when students work in teams, some tend to let others do the “intellectual heavy lifting”. In doing so, they miss out on:
- Thinking integratively about strategy
- Applying strategy to real-world examples
Thus, these students are less prepared to answer these integrative essay questions on the Final Exam. To ameliorate this problem, I will administer an in-class written critical thinking assignment at the midpoint of the marketing simulation game, where each individual student will have to outline the marketing strategy of the group.
This should shore up each individual student’s understanding of the marketing strategy and how it is playing out.