April 28, 2008 TO: Janice Coker, Associate Vice Chancellor FROM: Carol Mooney, Interim Dean College of Technology, Engineering & Management RE: Response to the Program Review Committee – B.S. Business Administration Attached you will find the responses from the Program Director of the B.S. Business Administration, the Chair of the Business Department and the Dean of the College of Technology, Engineering & Management related to the recent review of the B.S. Business Administration Program. Recommendations for the Department Chair 1. Work with the Dean and the Program Director to address concerns about class sizes and numbers of sections offered. Consider advocating for enrollment caps and/or additional FTEs. Work to address the program’s unsustainable reliance on faculty overloads. 2. Work with the Dean and the Program Director to address concerns about faculty recruitment and retention. Consider advocating for salaries that more closely approximate the national average. Consider dropping Ph.D. requirements for the position in Accounting. 3. Work with the Dean and the Program Director to address need for more time and support for faculty research, as this will be an important factor in the program’s pursuit of accreditation with the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. 4. Work with the Dean to address concerns about the need to maintain and improve resources, such as up­to­date textbooks, classroom desks and projectors. Hopefully, the construction of the new Science Wing will partially alleviate some classroom availability and classroomenvironment concerns. Response from the Chair of the Business Department 1. It is currently the University’s policy not to have enrollment caps on the business program. It is, however, important to secure additional FTE allocations to address the concerns of class sizes and numbers of sections offered by the Business Administration Program. The Chair, in consultation with the Program Director, has requested the assistance of the Dean to provide the department with additional FTEs which has inclined her to put in a request to that effect. The areas that currently need redress, according to the Program Director, are accounting, management information systems and principles of management classes. Additional FTEs will alleviate overload overdependence in meeting students’ registration demands. 2. It has been an ongoing challenge for the Department of Business Administration to recruit for its faculty members. This is due to the department’s non­competitive salary offerings, which have been supported by several data as presented to the Chancellor and Provost. The Chair will work with the Dean to address this issue as follows: a. Provide a strategic plan to implement the proposal presented to the Chancellor andProvost regarding business faculty salary alignment with peer institutions. b. Re­examine the need for PhD requirements for the accounting position. Some institutions accept a CPA with a Masters in Taxation as a terminal degree for Accounting Professors recruiting and tenure decisions.
1 3. Considering the fact that Stout is not a predominantly research institution, it is, however, very important to address the department’s shortcomings of research activities. This is more important as the department prepares itself for accreditation with the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. The Chair plans to diligently work with the Dean to ask for and develop a system to support faculty in the following areas: a. Continue funding annual professional memberships of business faculty members. b. Adequately fund business faculty to attend and present scholarly papers at professional conferences. c. Encourage business faculty members to collaborate with peers on scholarly activities. 4. In addressing the fourth recommendation of the PRC to the Chair, the Chair in consultation with the Program Director will set up an ad­hoc committee made up of representatives and lead instructors of business courses to review the currency of textbooks. It is hopeful that withthe slated construction of the new Science Wing the department has classroom space allocations that will address the current technological outdated classrooms. In addition, faculty will be consulted when lab modification and technology upgrade proposals are announced. Recommendations for the Program Director 1. Continue efforts to strengthen the emphasis areas available to students through the development of related minors. Continue development of emphasis area in Supply Chain Management. 2. Work to communicate effectively with students regarding the critical importance of accounting courses in Business Administration programs. 3. Support the efforts of the Department Chair to control class sizes and provide sufficient sections of courses to meet student needs. 4. Support the efforts of the Department Chair to advocate for sustainable teaching loads, research support, and attractive salaries for incoming faculty and to address concerns about failed searches and faculty recruitment. 5. Continue pursuit of accreditation with the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. Response from the Program Director 1. The program director is developing a Master Book to include all minors that a business student might choose to complete his/her degree. A student can select a minor by leveraging the emphasis area,business selectives and electives. The prepared minor options included in the Master Book will list the courses needed to complete a specific minor and how they fit into the business program. These are presented by the program director in the Introduction to Business class with an explanation of how this could strengthen thedegree and employment opportunities. The Master Book will be available to students via their advisor, the program director and online. Updating this material will be an ongoing project as we continually add minor programs at UW­Stout. 2. In the Introduction to Business course, the overall structure of the degree program is presented, including the business core and the strength provided by the accounting courses. A comparisonof other business degrees to our peer institutions including the polytechnic universities will also be presented. The business program is developed to
2 givestudents a well­rounded background to prepare them for a career path in the business world. No matter what their chosen career path, accounting is critical as it is the language of business. The accounting information is needed to record financial position and develop future goals. This is confirmed in all of theaccounting courses. 3. The Department Chair and the program director will continue to monitor needs of department courses. The department chair and program director will work diligently to add sections where there seems to be an overwhelming need. Backlogs will be monitored, especially those that prevent students from completing their degrees in an efficient manner. 4. Collaboration is occurring, with the Department Chair communicating to the Dean, the Provost and the Chancellor to make them aware of the ongoing challenges to recruit and retain faculty in the Business department. The department is currently seeking to fill an academic staff accounting position and a tenure­track management position. In the fall, the tenure­track accounting faculty search will be reopened. The department successfully filled a tenure­track marketing position. All of these are stated needs for the Business department as we continue to work toward meeting the needs of students as well as maintain the excellence of the program. 5. At the present, UW­Stout’s Business program and faculty are aligned with the ACBSP. In June, the department chair and program director will travel to the 2008 Annual Conference in New Orleans to learn more about the organization and the accreditation requirements. This will be accomplished by attending sessions on Teaching Excellence, Re­growth of Curriculum Alignment and Assessment Process and the Accreditation Process Track. Recommendations for the Dean 1. Support the efforts of the Program Director and Department Chair to sustain current quality of instruction. Remain mindful of high faculty/student ratios, faculty salaries, research support, and other challenges to recruitment and retention of quality instructors. Consider enrollment management, additional FTEs and other options for keeping this valuable program fully staffed. 2. Support the efforts of the Program Director and Department Chair to seek accreditation with the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs. Response from the Dean 1. Quality instruction is paramount to the business department as well as the college. Being attentive to faculty workloads is integral to this core value. Being mindful of the number of overloads assigned to faculty as well as the continued increase of student enrollments in classes is a priority of the department and the college. A number of strategies are being put in place to address these concerns. The department of Business delivers courses that are used by programs throughout the university. Staffing adequate sections is challenging. The department has increased winterm and summer session offerings to meet demand. Despite the increased use of these terms, each semester yields wait lists for a number of courses. The department chair and program director have identified accounting, management information systems and management as high demand areas. The dean will work with the department chair to develop a hiring plan that includes both academic staff for flexibility and tenure track to build the faculty. In addition, a plan to address compression and salary issues of the business faculty is under development. The chair along with a senior faculty member have made a proposal
3 to the Chancellor and Provost that requests consideration and support to align salaries of the business faculty with that of peer institutions. This is integral in the efforts to recruit and retain faculty in the business department. 2. The dean supports the movement to align Stout’s Business Administration with the ACBSP (Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs). The department chair and program director will be attending the annual conference of the ACBSP in July 2008. A plan will be developed that includes a timeline for securing full accreditation with the ACBSP. Budget will need to be developed that incorporates support for increased research and scholarly activities of the faculty. The dean’s office will provide support to the program director to develop the self­study and prepare for the subsequent onsite visitation.
4