DEAN’S RESPONSE
Planning and Review Committee
Program: B.S. Retail Merchandising & Management
College: College of Management
Year: 2014-2015
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. Recommendation: Work with the department chair to develop an advising approach that
reduces the advisement load for the Program Director.
Response from Program Director:
Student advisement load remains to be challenging in light of the number of retail faculty
members available to perform advisement. However, some assistance has been provided by
the department chair that consists of two non-retail Business Department faculty members
who are advising 30 students each. This has been helpful.
2. Recommendation: Continue the discussion with advisory board members and UW-Stout
professionals to develop a new concentration in online retailing.
Response from Program Director:
The inclusion of online retailing content and/or the introduction of an online retailing
concentration requires at least two more years before implementation. This is a new area for
all traditional university programs teaching retail. The Program Director will seek the
assistance of advisory board members as he explores this area, and is certain the department
and college will be supportive in recruiting faculty members with the necessary expertise to
teach the relevant courses.
3. Recommendation: Consider including BUMKG-391 (Social Media Marketing
Management) as a required or optional course for all RMM students.
Response from Program Director:
The Social Media Marketing course will be added to the list of advanced marketing courses
starting fall 2015, and the Program Director will consider making it a required course in
future program changes particularly as we develop more content relating to online retailing.
PRC Deans Response BS-RMM 2014-2015
Page 1
4. Recommendation: 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.
Response from Program Director:
Finding the additional space for a new computer lab is important and challenging, but just
as important and challenging is comping up with the funds of $5000-$6000 to purchase the
necessary software that will facilitate teaching students about store design and layout.
5. Recommendation: 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.
Response from Program Director:
More high school visits will be planned by the Program Director this spring 2015 semester
and for the many semesters to come, as the visits have been successful. The assessment of
university marketing was that the program needs more in the area of leads nurturing not
leads generation, as there are plenty of leads and interests to pursue.
Recommendations for the Chair of the Business Department:
1. Recommendation: 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.
Response from Department Chair:
Given the significant cut in state funding that is anticipated for the 2015-17 biennium, there is little
hope of additional instructional FTE allocations to the Department of Business. However, the
Department Chair will work within what is allowed by the university to provide instructional
expertise needed to meet the demand for courses in the proposed online retailing concentration
through recruitment of new and/or professional development of existing faculty and staff. When the
new concentration proposal is brought to COM Council for consideration, the Chair will carefully
consider the impact of the proposal on the instructional resources of the Department of Business and
voice any concerns during the discussion.
2. Recommendation: 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.
Response from Department Chair:
The Department Chair will work with the Program Director to explore possible options for making
retail-related software available in key business courses delivered for the RMM program for use in
designing store layouts and assortment plans. This initiative will include consideration of whether
additional lab space would be needed and other alternatives for increasing student competencies in
the use of such software.
PRC Deans Response BS-RMM 2014-2015
Page 2
3. Recommendation: Continue to support the Program Director in student recruiting and retention
efforts. Establish a defined process for student retention.
Response from Department Chair:
The Department Chair will work with the Program Director to identify current barriers to student
retention that may exist within the Department of Business and appropriate actions that department
faculty and staff should take to support student retention. Addressing these issues will be a
departmental goal for the 2015-16 academic year.
Recommendations for the Dean of the College of Management: Dr. Abel Adekola
1. Recommendation: 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.
The Dean will work with the Department Chair to secure faculty and/or academic staff if the
program grows to a point where additional faculty are needed. Given the Provost’s recent
release of Dr. Renee Howarton’s position in the business department, the dean could work with
the department chair to secure a tenure track replacement. On the other hand, with the current
Wisconsin budget situation, tenure-track faculty positions are a second option, so adjunct staff
could potentially be hired as an interim solution. Another interim solution may be to increase
class sizes slightly.
2. Recommendation: Work with the Program Director, Department Chair, and University
Marketing to increase marketing efforts to a wider geographic audience to increase enrollment.
The Dean’s Office will work to provide RMM student trend data and demographic information,
as well as data on students who have dropped out. This data will provide contact information to
inquire if prior students not earning the final degree may be interested and encouraged to
complete their degrees. Additionally, planned digital marketing efforts nationwide will provide
more exposure to College of Management programs.
3. Recommendation: 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.
The Dean’s Office will work with the Department Chair and Program Director to identify required
course lab modifications and submit requests through the current lab request process and the Space
Committee as appropriate when those applications are advertised and collected in the regular space
planning cycle..
PRC Deans Response BS-RMM 2014-2015
Page 3