CONSULTANT RECOMMENDATION REPORT
Planning and Review Committee
Consultant Recommendation
I.
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Retail Merchandising Management
Date of Review: Fall 2014
Program Director: Dr. Adel Mekraz
PRC Consultant(s): Dr. Kimberly Zagorski and Dr. Mark Fenton
Purpose of the Review: To assess the quality of the BS in Retail Merchandising
Management (RRM) Program as part of the seven-year cycle required of all degree
programs at UW-Stout.
Committee Findings: The PRC recommends continuation of the Retail Merchandising
Management program through the next scheduled reviewed in 2021-2022 and the
recommendations of the committee are implemented.
Abstract: The BS in Retail Merchandising and Management prepares students for
management-level employment in retail organizations in a variety of areas, involving the
management of stores, or areas within stores, buying products in national or international
markets, or may involve preparing visual presentations, advertising, special events, or
distributions. The RMM Program combines studies from 15 or more academic
departments to prepare students for a career in retailing and related fields and allows
students to pursue concentrations in: buying/management; fashion marketing; human
resource management; and store operations management. Students also may complete a
minor in business administration, art, journalism or others disciplines. The program of
study combines general education with retail and business courses to produce graduates
knowledgeable and competent in merchandising and management.
Retail courses include promotions, merchandise planning and control, and store
management, while business courses include economics, accounting, marketing,
international business and human resource management. The program requires hands-on
application of what has been learned in the RMM program 500+ hours of off-campus
internships or work in a student - operated specialty store at UW-Stout (the Niche).
II.
Process Followed for Current Review: The PRC consultants met with the program
director to review the procedures and offer assistance. Data regarding several aspects of
the program were collected from students enrolled in the Retail Merchandising
Management program, key faculty and alumni. The program director completed the selfstudy report and presented the report to the PRC. The data were analyzed and returned to
the program director and PRC members. The consultants then wrote the recommendation
report. This report was forwarded to the dean for his response. The PRC reviewed the
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dean’s response, approved the recommendation report and forwarded the report to the
Faculty Senate.
III.
Previous Review Year: 2007/2008
Previous Recommendations for Program Director:
1. Work with the department chair and the dean to ensure effective enrollment
management.
2. Work with the Dean Adekola to address the need for enhanced facilities/labs and
equipment.
3. Work with faculty and department chair to review the RMM curriculum in the
retailing/marketing coursework to address student concerns regarding coordination
and especially duplication. Monitor 2007 revisions for their impact on these concerns.
4. Work with faculty to maintain improvements in student advisement.
Response from Program Director:
1. Based on student demand for concentrations within the RMM program, the program
director will continue to provide the chair of the Department of Business with enrollment
projections for courses required and suggested in the program for planning future course
offerings. The program director will continue to work with the chair of the Department of
Business to avoid/decrease potential scheduling conflicts among single section BURTL
and other BU courses.
2. The program director will develop and submit a lab modernization proposal for the
Visual Merchandising/Promotions Laboratory to improve the current facilities assigned
in HE-345/347. Along with the Dean and Department Chair, the program director will
work toward centralizing the Retail Laboratory (Niche) and Visual Merchandising/
Promotions Laboratory in the Micheels Hall General Access Lab space that was
previously offered when the lab ceases to exist.
3. The Program Director will work with other retail faculty and the chair of the
Department of Business to align course content with approved course objectives and,
when appropriate, revise courses to eliminate overlap/duplication and ensure that
concepts of consumer behavior, marketing and leadership development are appropriately
introduced in lower level courses and applied/expanded in subsequent courses. Primary
courses to be addressed will be those mentioned in the student survey, including:
BURTL-127 Basic Merchandising
BURTL-212 Trend Forecasting
BURTL-329 Retail Promotions (includes Advertising)
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BUMKG-385 Target Marketing
BURTL-417 Social Psychological Aspects of Clothing
4. The program director will provide leadership and the department chair will
communicate advisement expectations to RMM faculty. Regular meetings with the retail
faculty advisors have already begun in an effort to enhance academic advising for RMM
majors. Current RMM seniors will be surveyed to identify specific areas of concern and
improvements they would like to see in the advisement process. Retail faculty advisors
will continue to be encouraged to attend the group advisement meetings held on
Advisement Day to take advantage of the information provided by the Program Director
and to improve visibility for their academic advisees. All retail faculty advisors will
continue to receive advisement related emails sent out by the Program Director to all
RMM majors. To further assist the retail faculty advisors, the program director will
develop a step-by-step narrative to accompany the advising tools used by the RMM
majors, including:
a. Program Plan Sheets for each academic year
b. Eight-Semester Sequence for each of the eight possible concentrations
c. Projected Course Rotation Schedule for professional courses
d. Graduation Plan Sheet
e. Retail Work Experience Form
f. Frequently Asked Questions Sheet for Program Plans Prior to 2007
g. Frequently Asked Questions Sheet for 2007-2008 Program Plans and beyond
h. Gen. Ed./Ethnic Studies/Global Perspectives Requirements
Previous Recommendations for Department Chair:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Work with the program director and the dean to ensure effective enrollment
management.
Examine student concerns about limited course offerings and too-large numbers of
students.
Work with the dean to address the need for enhanced facilities/labs and equipment
Work with faculty and program director to review the RMM curriculum in the
retailing/marketing coursework to address student concerns regarding coordination
and especially duplication.
Response from Department Chair:
1. Dialogue with the program director and in consultation with the dean, a plan is in
process to ensure effective enrollment management. In the past, the students’ concern has
been about the limited course offerings and the large numbers of students in some classes.
The following are the plans to alleviate these concerns:
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a. With the assistance of the dean, the department has gained additional resources
through Access to Learning for student help and for graduate assistantships in high
demand areas of the RMM such as the Niche and the lab for visual merchandising
and promotions.
b.
The department has requested an additional .75 FTE through the Tuition Based
Positions offered annually via the Provost’s Office. This will support a position for the
additional course sections of high demand courses in the Business department.
c. The dean, on behalf of the business department, has also requested additional
funding in the 2009-11 DIN for the purpose of recruiting a series of visiting
professors, as needed, which could be used to bring in industry experts in the area
of retail merchandising management.
2. To address the need for enhanced facilities/labs and equipment, the Chair met with
both the RMM program director and the College dean to agree on the following steps:
a. Complete a Lab Modernization in the fall of 2008 to address concerns in the Visual
Merchandising and Promotions laboratories.
b. Work towards a long term objective of centralizing the RMM facilities by locating
the Niche, the Visual Merchandising and Promotions laboratories in the Micheels’ Hall.
3. To address students concerns regarding coordination and course duplication, the
Chair and the program director, in consultation with faculty members, have worked out
the following modalities:
a. RMM courses are now scheduled to be offered during the summer/WinTerm
sessions.
b. Attempts are being made to offer courses in a manner that provides instructional
effectiveness and efficiency with adequate management of resources.
c.
The chair will coordinate a review of the professional courses required in the
Retail Merchandising and Management program to address the concern of course
duplication.
Previous Recommendations for Dean:
1. Work with the program director and the Department Chair to ensure effective
enrollment management and/or adequate staffing. Examine student concerns about
limited course offerings and too large numbers of students.
2. Work with the program director and the Department Chair to address the need for
enhanced facilities/labs and equipment.
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Response from Dean:
1. As presented in this report, the Retail Merchandising and Management has shown
consistent program enrollment over the past 5 years. Four full time faculty deliver the
professional core for the program; the faculty in the Department of Business also provide
significant support to the program. The college has applied for and been successful
obtaining additional resources through Access to Learning. These resources have been
used to provide student help and graduate assistantships in high demand areas of the
RMM program including the student run enterprise, the Niche, and the visual
merchandising and promotion laboratories.
The college has also made a request for a .75 FTE through the Tuition Based positions
offered annually through the Provost’s Office. An additional position allocated to the
Business department would allow for additional course sections of high demand
courses. The dean has also requested additional resources in the 2009-11 DIN to
support a visiting professor in the business department. This could be used in the RMM
program to bring in industry experts to participate in classes as guest lecturers and
visiting professors.
To meet increased student demand, many of the RMM courses are offered during
summer session and WinTerm. The response to these offerings has been very
positive and enrollments have been healthy. This appears to elevate student
concerns about limited course offerings. Regarding class size, every attempt is made
to offer courses in a manner that provides instructional effectives as well as
efficiently manage resources.
2. The RMM program director and the Business department chair have met with the
dean to identify the most critical needs related to facilities and lab equipment. A Lab
Modernization request will be completed in the fall of 2008 to address concerns in the
Visual Merchandising and Promotions laboratories. Long term, it is most desirable to
secure permanent space in Micheels Hall and relocate the Niche and the Visual
Merchandising and Promotions laboratories. This would centralize the RMM facilities
and align faculty in reciprocity to the labs and students they serve.
IV.
Current Year Program Review: 2014-2015
Program Strengths-Indicate Source:
1.
2.
Recognizing BUSCM-338 Principles of Logistics has provided difficulties for some
RMM students, the program director worked with the supply chain program
director and department chair to begin logistics tutoring. Working across the
curriculum is a strength for any program.
The increase in instruction from a global context standpoint. A new faculty member
(Dr. Chida) has been leading discussions on textiles and clothing in China and
Africa has moved the RMM program in a positive direction in terms of increasing
diversity content in RMM courses. Most recently, Dr. Chida led a panel of faculty
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
members with African heritage to show students traditional African clothing.
Increasing diversity content may also be an important component of retention
activities.
As noted in the previous PRC report, the RMM program needed to
update/modernize the visual merchandising lab and the Niche. Both have been
done. However, both remain in Heritage Hall as permanent space has not been
located in Micheels hall.
Earning accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and
Programs is significant.
Having a 98% placement rate.
The major program revision for the fall 2013 term and multiple course revisions
have been addressing issues surrounding content duplication. RMM instructors are
continuing the course revision efforts.
Increasing offerings of RMM courses during WinTerm and summer as noted in the
previous PRC report has been impactful.
Working with multiple entities across campus such as the library, Student Disability
Services, MSC Event Services and the Writing Center clearly point out the RMM
program is student centered.
Offering multiple concentrations for RMM students to select from provides for a
unique recruiting opportunity compared to similar programs without concentrations.
Continued ties to major players within the retail industry such as Kohl’s, Target,
Macy’s, etc. as well as vendors within the industry provides for student co-op
opportunities and professional development of faculty.
Issues of Concern
1. Recent changes within the RMM faculty, including the penultimate program director
becoming Chair of the Business Department and the reassignment of another within
the Provost’s Office puts a strain on the program director in terms of advisement
time.
2. The bi-annual assessment in major exam should be incentivized to increase
participation and from the standpoint of student achievement. Completing the
assessment in major exam is not a condition of graduation.
3. The program director is in the process of developing an online retailing concentration
for the RMM program. This may increase the need for additional FTE.
Recommendations for the Program Director:
1. Work with the department chair to develop an advising approach that reduces the
advisement load for the program director.
2. Continue the discussion with advisory board members and UW-Stout professionals to
develop a new concentration in online retailing.
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3. Consider including BUMKG-391 (Social Media Marketing Management) as a
required or optional course for all RMM students.
4. Work with the department chair and the dean to identify additional lab space for a
computer based lab with retail related software dedicated for designing store layouts,
designs and assortment plans. Multiple RMM courses would benefit greatly from
such a lab.
5. Continue marketing efforts in terms of high school visits by program students and the
program director. Continue to work with University Marketing to develop a program
marketing plan.
Recommendations for the Chair of the Business Department: Dr. Kathy Cochran
1. With the addition of an online retailing concentration, if demand is significant
enough, it may be necessary to seek instructional staff with related experience in their
professional background.
2. Work with the program director and RMM program faculty to identify what would be
needed in a dedicated lab as noted in number 4 of the recommendations to the
program director.
3. Continue to support the program director in student recruiting and retention efforts.
Establish a defined process for student retention.
Recommendations for the Dean of the College of Management: Dr. Abel Adekola
1. If the RMM program grows in size, adding an additional FTE position may be
appropriate. The Dean of the College of Management will need to work with the
department chair to determine how to best fill a position.
2. Work with the program director, department chair, and university marketing to
increase marketing efforts to a wider geographic audience to increase enrollment.
3. Work with the department chair, program director, and others as necessary to identify
additional lab space dedicated to the RMM program’s need for technology and software
related to designing store layouts, designs and assortment plans. Multiple RMM
courses would benefit greatly from such a lab.
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