DEAN’S RESPONSE
Planning and Review Committee
Program: B.S. Business Administration
College: College of Management
Year: 2014-2015
Recommendations for the Program Director:
Issue/Concern: Identify key courses, instructors, and teaching strategies that enhance program graduate
cultural and linguistic competence across their life and work domains.
Response from Program Director:
There are several courses which students may select from. This includes International Business (BUINB260), International Management (BUINB-367), International Marketing (BUINB-485), and International
Economics (ECON-480). Students taking the international business emphasis area will take most if not all
of these courses. Each course has content related to developing cultural competencies. BSBA students are
required to select from one of these courses. The majority of students select International Business. This
course does have a modest amount of culture related content, but not an extensive amount. Quite often,
the amount of content and subsequent conversation and/or supplemental content is up to the individual
instructor as long as the related course objective has been met. Students who go on to take International
Management have a significant level of cultural content as well as those taking International Marketing.
Issue/Concern: Advance graduate insight and competency in the areas of international/global business
beyond the designated BUINB 260 or BUINB 485 courses.
Response from Program Director:
It would be difficult to add a considerable amount of content relating to increasing cultural competence
in existing courses where appropriate. However, there are courses which incorporate some aspects of
international business. All BSBA students take BUMGT-304 (Principles of Management), which has one
chapter introducing international business. This may provide for an opportunity to work with current and
future faculty teaching BUMGT-304 to incorporate content with a higher level of cross cultural
awareness as it affects business. In recent years the business department has hired two well qualified
instructors who are from other countries. Both of these instructors incorporate relevant international
business experience into their respective courses. The current program director is a strong supporter of
international education and works closely with the Office of International Education to promote short
and long-term study abroad opportunities for students in the BSBA program.
Issue/Concern: Identify explicit integrated global connections across all business courses to advance
international/global content beyond a singular course.
Response from Program Director:
As noted earlier, there are four courses dedicated to international content students may select from. They
are required to take one, but if planed right, they could take all four without increasing credits to degree.
The program director will address this issue of concern with program faculty to determine opportunities
to integrate global connection content in the appropriate courses. This would include principles courses,
as well as courses with leadership and inclusivity content.
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Issue/Concern: Identify faculty that can competently teach accounting for students that don’t become
accountants—rather need the competency to drive business management and tactics to measurably affect
the desired business objectives.
Response from Program Director:
The recommendation of selection of faculty is done by a search and screen committee. The program
director does not serve on all search committees. The business department requires accounting faculty to
have CPA or CMA licensure as well as instructional experience. Students are required to take 3 BUACTXXX courses. All take BUACT-206 (Introduction to Financial Accounting) and BUACT-207 (Introduction
to Corporate and Managerial Accounting). These or similar courses are required of business students in
similar programs noted in the BSBA Self-Study. BSBA students also are required to take a third course.
BUACT-312 (Cost Accounting), BUACT-320 (Income Tax Accounting), or BUACT-335 (Accounting for
Management Decisions). If students were in an accounting degree program, these would be first year
courses. There has been considerable turnover of accounting faculty since the previous PRC review. The
program director is confident the current accounting faculty are meeting the expectations of those
employers who hire BSBA graduates. However, this concern will be brought up in a meeting with the
accounting faculty for discussion.
Issue/Concern: Increase number of faculty allocated to accounting courses to reduce high
faculty/student ratio to positively affect student competence.
Response from Program Director:
The accounting faculty serve multiple programs including at least three that were not in existence during
the previous PRC review. To the extent possible, the department chair opens additional sections. The
business department is currently conducting an approved search for two accounting faculty members to
fill in positions previously held by faculty who have retired. It is unknown if additional full time
equivalent positions will become available.
Issue/Concern: Distribute student advisement across business faculty to create a culture of student
belonging in an effort to positively affect student retention recruitment.
Response from Program Director:
Student advisement is spread evenly across faculty in the BSBA program. New faculty are not assigned
advisees until after their first year in the department. In addition, in the fall 2014 term, additional faculty
from the operations and management department have taken on advisement roles for BSBA students. This
has reduced the ratio of students per faculty member for advisement purposes. Seniors in the BSBA
program are assigned to the program director. This also reduces the ratio of student to faculty advisor.
Issue/Concern: Continue student recruitment and retention strategies that attract students that can meet
the rigor of industry and accreditation demands.
Response from Program Director:
In 2014, the program director met with University Marketing to develop a marketing plan/budget. The
program is continuing to address opportunities to move forward with program specific marketing in
addition to university recruitment efforts. In the next advisory board meeting, program marketing efforts
is scheduled as the main topic for discussion and planning purposes.
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Recommendations for the Department Chair:
Issue/Concern: Work with the program director to access key instructors in an effort to target courses,
experiences and strategies that advance graduate cultural and linguistic competence across their life and
work domains.
Response from Department Chair:
The Department Chair will work closely with the Program Director to see that appropriate learning
experiences to advance cultural and linguistic competence are embedded in key courses within the
Department of Business.
Issue/Concern: Support curriculum development designed to embed international/global business and
industry competency across all business functions.
Response from Department Chair:
Although the Department of Business has long supported international educational experiences, a new
initiative will be launched during the 2015-16 academic year to infuse learning experiences across the
business curriculum specifically designed to increase international/global business competencies.
Issue/Concern: Work with program director to hire and retain qualified faculty that can measurably
affect the desired accounting competencies that drive business management and decision-making.
Response from Department Chair:
Even though the projected decrease in state funding could dramatically impact UW-Stout’s ability to
attract and retain faculty, the Chair of the Department of Business will continue efforts to hire qualified
accounting faculty/staff with proven decision-making and teaching/training experience in business at
competitive salaries.
Issue/Concern: Allocate sufficient key program faculty to reduce high faculty/student ratio to positively
affect student competence.
Response from Department Chair:
Although the decrease in state funding projected for the 2015-17 biennium may deliver negative impacts
that are outside the department’s, the Department Chair will strive to keep the Student to Staff Ratio
within the Department of Business comparable to those of our peer institutions, benchmarking the metrics
used (Percent of classes with <20 students & Percent of classes with ≥ 50 students) in the “Best Colleges
Rankings” by US News and World Reports.
Issue/Concern: Work with the program director to distribute student advisement across business faculty
to reduce advisor to student advisee ratio.
Response from Department Chair:
Because programs are tied to a college and not a particular department, the Chair of the Department of
Business has worked and will continue to work with COM Administration to identify appropriate faculty
& staff within the college to assist with student advisement for COM programs to prevent excessive
numbers of advisees (≥ 50) assigned to academic advisors who do not have a portion of their workload
specifically allocated for advisement (e.g. program directors.) These efforts include the advisement of
Business Administration majors.
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Issue/Concern: Support program director student recruitment strategies to attract program students that
can meet the rigor of industry and accreditation demands.
Response from Department Chair:
Ongoing curriculum development efforts within the Department of Business have addressed course
revisions for key courses identified by the Business Administration program director in 2013. All course
revisions are reviewed by the program director and suggestions/comments/concerns are addressed before
the revisions are approved by the department and forwarded on for approval at the college and university
levels. All courses offered through the Department of Business will be revised on a seven-year rotation,
with all existing courses brought in line with this schedule by the start of the 2016-17academic year. This
departmental initiative is primarily undertaken to increase rigor and consistency across all course
sections and meet the demands of industry and the discipline-specific accrediting body, the Accreditation
Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP.) As follow-up to each course revision, lead faculty
in the various common professional core (CPC) areas identified in the summative direct assessment
measure in the Business Administration program, the Comprehensive Peregrine CPC Exam, will work in
teams beginning in the fall of 2015 to facilitate the continuous improvement of student competencies in
these CPC areas, as required for ACBSP accreditation, within the 7-year rotation cycle.
Recommendations for the Dean:
Issue/Concern: Financially support the Program Director and Department Chair to assist key instructors
to identify and explicitly refine and/or modify courses; experiences and strategies that enhance graduate
cultural and linguistic competence life and work domains.
Response from Dean: The Program Director and Department chair currently have budgets to support
instructors. Departments and instructors are expected to update courses regularly as needed and, if
future funding allows, can be paid summer contracts to refine and modify courses.
Issue/Concern: Financially support the Program Director and Department Chair to identify curriculum
development to embed international/global business and industry competency across all business
functions.
Response from Dean: The Program Director and Department chair currently have budgets to support
instructors. Instructors are expected to update courses regularly as needed and, if future funding allows,
can be paid summer contracts to refine and modify courses. There is also a process for curriculum
updates within the department and COM Council prior to approval by the Curriculum Instruction
Committee (CIC). Additionally, in partnership with the Office of International Education (OIE), COM
has initiated the COM International Committee to promote and organize international opportunities for
faculty and students.
Issue/Concern: Financially support the Program Director and Department Chair to secure resources and
support staff to
a. Hire and retain qualified faculty that can measurably affect the desired accounting competencies
that drive management and decision-making.
b. Distribute student advisement across business faculty to reduce advisor to student advisee ratio.
c. Sustainably drive student recruitment strategies in an effort to attract and retain program students
that can meet the rigor of industry and accreditation demands.
Response from Dean:
a. There is currently an opening and search committee in place to hire additional accounting faculty
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for Fall 2015.
b. Beginning in the 2014-2015 academic year, student advisement was distributed across the
Business Department faculty as well as Operations & Management Department faculty.
c. Recruitment has been supported by the program and minimal outreach marketing efforts with
Advisory groups and co-op contacts at this time. COM is currently focusing on digital marketing
efforts and recruitment efforts in conjunction with Admissions for potential students visiting oncampus. An Assessment Coordinator is in place to ensure COM’s rigor and accreditation
requirements are met.
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