Student Achievement Assessment Committee

Learning Outcomes:

MBA Learning Objectives
1. Know the fundamentals of business well including the core areas as defined by the AACSB.
2. Understand the domestic and global business environments including the social, political, legal, environmental, and technological issues that impact business.
3. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
4. Appreciate the value of diversity and ethical behavior.
5. Engage problems creatively and cross-functionally.
6. Work well in teams, both as members and leaders.
7. Understand and adapt to the personal and organizational implications of change.
8. Have the ability to learn on her/his own, continuously.
9. Employ collaboration and teamwork strategically to achieve commitment and success.
10. Anticipate change and know how to lead and achieve change in organizations.
11. Communicate effectively as leaders.

Annual Report

1. Learning (or Service) Outcomes assessed this year:

Self-Report Measures (SRM)
1. Gaining factual knowledge in the required MBA courses
2. Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, and theories
3. Learning to apply course material (to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions)
4. Developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view that are closely related to the courses
5. Acquiring skills in working with others as a member of a team
6. Developing creative capacities
7. Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of intellectual activity
8. Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing
9. Learning how to find and use resources for answering questions or solving problems
10. Developing a clearer understanding of and commitment to personal values
11. Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view
12. Acquiring an interest in learning more by asking one’s own questions and seeking answers

2. Assessment Methods and Procedures:

The MBA Committee initiated a pilot program involving the course evaluation system developed by the IDEA Center of Kansas State University. The evaluation form incorporates 12 self-report measures of learning, which relate to the learning objectives of the Executive and Dana MBA programs (see attached Table 1). The assessment was conducted in all required courses taught in the Executive and Dana MBA programs beginning with the 2002-2003 academic year. The assessment feedback includes both course-by-course means and external benchmarks for each of the assessment items. The feedback was shared with the individual faculty members, and their department chairpersons.

The assessment system requires faculty members to complete a “faculty information form” that requests information on the pedagogy employed in the course and the learning outcomes that are rated as essential or important for the course. In the event that a faculty member fails to rate the learning outcomes, all 12 learning outcomes are assumed to be rated as important. Two means are reported for each faculty member on each essential or important learning outcome: a raw mean and adjusted mean. The adjusted mean takes into account the class size and self-reported measures of student work effort and student desire to take the course. Generally speaking, adjusted mean scores are lower than raw mean scores.

3. Inferences from Assessments:

In fall 2002, three courses (MBA 607, 608, and 610) met or exceeded the benchmark means on half or more of the learning outcomes rated as essential or important for the course. The overall performance on each of the 12 learning outcomes was low when compared to the national benchmarks for similar courses. The performance was particularly weak on developing specific course-related skills and competencies (SRM4), acquiring skills for team work (SRM5), developing creative capacities (SRM6), gaining a broader appreciation of intellectual activity (SRM7), and oral and written communication skills (SRM8).

In spring 2003, four courses (STAT 601 and MBA 607, 608, and 609) met or exceeded the benchmark means on half or more of the learning outcomes rated as essential or important for the course. The overall performance on each of the 12 learning outcomes was much stronger. The overall scores improved on seven learning outcomes, remained stable on three outcomes, and declined slightly on two outcomes. Although the four weakest outcomes from fall remained the weakest, improvement was shown on three of the four outcomes.

4. Actions Taken/Program Improvements:

The assessment results were shared with the faculty members and department chairs responsible for the courses. In some cases, the faculty members assigned to teach the MBA courses were changed from fall to spring as a result of the feedback. Individual faculty members also made adjustments in their courses, both in content and pedagogy.

The MBA Committee approved the following actions for 2004-2005:
• The MBA Committee will ask the departments to review the master syllabi for all MBA required courses and identify which AACSB required topics are to be emphasized in each course.
• The MBA Committee will work with departments to determine which learning outcomes are to be emphasized in each required course.
• The MBA Committee will identify at least two learning outcomes for assessment and select assessment methods for each.
• The MBA Committee selected three additional assessment tools for use in 2004-2005:

• EBI student exit surveys
• Survey of faculty and student perceptions of topic coverage
• IDEA Center system for the required courses in all MBA programs, effective with summer semester 2004.