COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Curriculum Committee
November 27, 2012
2:00 p.m.
Page i of ii
2012-13 #5
Present
E. Towell (chair), L. Matuszewski, J. Johnson, J. Burton, V. Krishnan, C. Petersen, J.
Bruce, L. Williams, A. Buhrow
Action on Minutes
The minutes from the Fourth Meeting, October 30, 2012, were approved as presented.
Assessment Updates –
MS Excel Skills, Oral
and Written Business
Communication
Amy Buhrow presented recommendations from the Assurance of Learning Team as
listed below:



MS Excel Skills – Learning objectives covered in the lower-division
curriculum were eliminated in 2010. However, assessment continued for the
former learning goal: Our graduates will demonstrate technological expertise
and the learning objective: COB undergraduate majors will be expected to
demonstrate the ability to create and use spreadsheets as part of a decision
support system. In Fall 2012 the MS Excel skills of the students who had taken
OMIS 259 as freshmen were assessed in OMIS 351 and ACCY 320. Overall
assessment results showed statistically significant improvement. Therefore, the
College Curriculum committee approved the following recommendation from
the A-Team: Results suggest improvement in student performance after the
addition of OMIS 259 as a required lower division course for both native and
transfer students. The A-Team recommends discontinuing the MS Excel
assessment quiz as improved student performance is indicated and spreadsheet
skills are no longer a College learning objective.
Oral Business Communication at the Rockford Campus – Learning goal:
Our graduates will be effective written and oral communicators and learning
objective: College of Business graduates will be able to deliver a business
presentation using the appropriate technology. An update was given of the
results for assessment of oral business communication which took place in
UBUS 311 at the Rockford campus (AACSB specifies that assessment must
take place at every location). During the Spring 2011 and 2012 semesters, the
UBUS 311 team assessed students’ individual presentation abilities as part of a
group presentation. The team used the College rubric for grading and
assessment purposes. The results showed students scored above the target (75%
level) overall and in each primary trait area. Since all items were above the
target, the A-Team’s recommendation was to continue to monitor performance.
Written Business Communication – Learning goal: Our graduates will be
effective written and oral communicators and learning objective: (1) College of
Business graduates will be able to create common business documents and (2)
College of Business graduates will be able to analyze business situations and
respond with the appropriate channel, form, content, and format. Student
writing was evaluated in MGMT 346 and in the Finance Department using the
College writing rubric during the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2011 and during
Spring 2012. Data was analyzed using a target performance level of 75% Will
Meet or Exceed Expectations. Writing Strategy was the only primary trait
falling short of the target (67.27%). The MGMT 346 faculty indicated that
Writing Strategy has historically been a difficult concept for students to master,
and they are constantly changing the amount of time allocated and methods
used to address it. Given their feedback, the A-Team recommends the College:
(1) Continue to emphasize writing strategy in MGMT 346 and throughout the
Finance curriculum and (2) Continue to monitor the assessment results.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Curriculum Committee
November 27, 2012
2:00 p.m.
Page ii of ii
2012-13 #5
OMIS 485/OMIS 694
OM&IS presented a revision to its undergraduate and graduate topics courses which
would allow concurrent enrollment in multiple sections during a semester when topics
vary. These changes to OMIS 485 and OMIS 694 were approved by the committee. (See
page 1 of 1)
Double Majors Within
the College of Business
The committee discussed whether students should be allowed to declare a double major
within the College of Business. Additional data will be gathered with discussion to
continue at the next meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 2:56 p.m.
Minutes approved: January 22, 2013
_______________________________________
James Burton, Assistant Faculty Chair/Secretary
JB:cw