Western Carolina University
Project Management
Department of Management and International Business
Project Management Master’s Degree Program (MPM)
College of Business
Annual Assessment Report for 2007-2008
Primary Contacts Names/Info:
Jeanne Dorle
Project Management Program Director
828-227-3603
Jerry Kinard
Head, Department of Management and International Business
828 227-3544
Introduction and Background
The Master of Project Management Program consists of six six-credit courses. All six courses are required. The program is offered completely online and is designed for project managers with full time jobs. To evenly distribute the course load, the program operates on a twelvemonth calendar. Students typically take one six-credit course each trimester (fall, spring, summer) and complete the program in two years. There is a scope and sequence to the six courses and students typically complete them in the recommended sequence.
Assessment Procedures
During 2007-2008, the program faculty focused on developing and implementing appropriate program performance measures that could be reliably administered in an online environment.
The faculty determined that it would be appropriate to development one measure for use approximately halfway through the program and one measure administered at the end of the program. This required some thoughtful adjustments to the content of the affected courses, since it did not seem practical to conduct program assessment procedures outside of the online course environment. The faculty also wanted to make sure that these activities had value to the students as well as to the program.
Mid-Program Assessment Process
By the time the students complete the first three courses, they should be able to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of what is required to develop a detailed project plan and demonstrate that mastery when given a realistic project to plan. To assess their ability to accomplish this, a special case study was developed and added to the fourth course as the mid-term case study.
The case study is attached to this report. Instructors teaching the course will grade the case study during the course as part of the student evaluation for the course.
The modified course was taught for the first time in the spring semester. The program faculty is currently in the process of finalizing the rubric that will be used to evaluate the submissions from a program performance perspective. Using this new rubric, each member of the project management faculty will participate in completing blind evaluations of the project plans. The rubric should be finalized by the end of the summer session and a workshop will be help early fall to conduct the evaluations and determine the necessary program adjustments.

End of Program Assessment Process
A slightly different approach was used for the end of program assessment. A major adjustment in the final course was made to add a requirement for each student to produce a project management manual and present that manual to an executive steering committee (the program faculty acting in that role using the audio chat capabilities of Wimba). Instructors teaching the course will evaluate the manual within the course as part of the student’s performance for the course.
That course is being taught in its modified format for the first time this summer. The “Overview of the Project Manual” assignment is attached to this report. The manual is to be completed by
July 16 th so that there will be time for the “virtual” oral presentations. The rubric for evaluating the oral presentations will be finalized in time to be used by the faculty during the presentations.
A third rubric is being finalized this summer to use in evaluating the project management manual from a program performance perspective. At the same workshop mentioned in the Mid-
Program Assessment section, the faculty will conduct blind evaluations of the manuals. Once the data from the two sets of program performance assessments are compiled, the faculty will meet to discuss the results and the implications of the findings. Emphasis will be placed on highlighting what the program should continue to focus on as well as on where adjustments to improve the program effectiveness should be made.
At the end of the last course in the program, each student is required to submit his or her overall perceptions of the program. Their views of the strengths and weaknesses of the program, the appropriateness of the topics covered throughout the program and the strengths and weaknesses of the online environment will also be given serious consideration in the formal review of the program’s effectiveness.

Midterm Case Study
North Carolina Green Business Fund 2008-01 Solicitation Program invites small business to submit proposals for projects. These projects must consider development and commercialization of promising and innovative green technologies. For details about these technologies, please review the document posted under learning module 9. Further, to learn more about general information about the program, please visit the website: http://www.ncscienceandtechnology.com/NCGreenBusinessFund/Solicitation_F
Y0708GBF.htm
The intent of this solicitation is to convert research and development activity into innovative commercial applications, to fund activities that can lead to important new technologies, major breakthroughs, or innovative new or next-generation products, processes or services, by encouraging cutting edge high quality scientific, engineering, and development activities.
Your organization is a qualified small business located in North Carolina and is preparing to respond to the solicitation. The project sponsor has chosen you to be the project manager and asked you to submit the following documents, with a goal to make it a winning proposal.
• Updated Project Charter (limited to one-page)
• Project Plan for Approval (total five pages)
1. Scope baseline (must also include WBS with two-three
WBS levels of deliverable elements only)
2. Cost baseline
3. Time Baseline with high level Network
4. Risk identification and risk management plan
5. Procurement Management Plan
• Analysis of the applicable legal environment (all applicable laws must be considered). Your analysis must include Agency
Relationships, Contract Clauses, Intentional Torts, Negligence and, Strict Liability, Federal, State, and Regulatory Compliance
(limited to one-page)
• Project Manager’s role and responsibilities towards the employer, key stakeholders, and the team members from the project and legal perspectives. (limited to one-page)
In addition to the above documents, you are allowed to submit executive summary (limited to one-page), if you choose to. It is critical that all these documents are coherent and do not contradict with each other. Organize and format your submission that demonstrates effective communication; be sure to submit adequate information to make it meaningful. Your small business may already have standard forms for some of these documents in which case you will have to adopt them to meet specific project needs.

The
most
important
thing
in
communication
is
to
hear
what
isn't
being
said.
‐Peter
Drucker
Having
 gone
 through
 five
 courses
 in
 the
 program,
 you
 have
 more
 knowledge
 about
 the subject
and
our
expectations
in
terms
of
quality
and
content
of
your
submissions.
Therefore,
I
 would
 expect
 a
 higher
 standard
 as
compared
to
PM650
 course.
 To
 begin
 with,
 please
be warned
that
I
would
expect
higher
quality
of
content
and
presentation
in
your
submissions.
Further,
 as
 emphasized
 throughout
 this
 program,
 communication
 is
a
critical
success
factor of
projects
and
project
management;
the
written
communication
assumes
great
importance and
it
is
put
to
test
using
two
semester‐long
assignments.
One
of
them
is
writing
a
project management
manual,
which
will
be
discussed
in
this
learning
module.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
2.
3.
4.
About
the
Manual
The
manual
should
demonstrate
meaningful
application
of
all
the
concepts
that
were
taught in
 this
 program.
 In
 other
 words,
 the
 document
 should
 serve
 as
 a
 testimony
 to
 your understanding
 of
 the
 project
 management
 concepts
 and
 your
 learning
 of
 the
 core competencies
required
for
managing
projects
successfully.
The
project
management
manual
is
expected
to
cover
all
the
following
knowledge
areas
and
life
cycle
phases
outlined
in
PMBOK.
However,
your
work
should
be
completely
original
and should
 not
 resemble
 PMBOK
 in
 terms
of
content,
models,
 and
 templates.
 You
may
discuss with
 the
 PMO
 of
 your
 organization,
 if
 it
 exists.
 You
 may
 also
 conduct
 surveys
 or
hold discussions
with
project
managers
within
your
organization.
Project
Phase
Knowledge
Area
Scope
Cost
Schedule
Contracts
Risk
Quality
Team
Development
Communications
PM
Office
Initiating Planning Executing
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Monitoring
&
Controlling Closing
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

10.
Integration X X X X X
I
suggest
that
you
may
organize
your
manual
based
on
the
four
project
phases
shown
above.
However,
I
encourage
you
to
be
creative
and
you
are
at
liberty
to
deviate
from
the
project phases
 in
 organizing
 the
 manual.
 In
 addition
to
 developing
 detailed
 project
 management processes
 in
 every
 project
 phase,
 it
 is
 desirable
 to
 develop
 templates
 or
 forms
 that
 meet specific
 needs
 of
 your
 organization.
 The
 content
 should
 serve
 as
 a
 reference
 for
 project managers
and
it
should
set
standards
for
project
management
practices
in
the
organization.
While
 developing
 the
 manual,
 I
 strongly
 recommend
 to
 explore
 and
identify
promising project
management
practices
within
your
organization.
It
is
not
necessary
to
change
these best
 practices
 if
 you
 feel
 strongly
about
them;
you
 may
 adapt
 them
 as
 they
are.
However,
you
may
consider
augmenting
them
further,
if
you
identify
a
need
to
do
so.
Important
Requirements
The
manual
should
be
completely
original;
duplication
of
the
PMBOK
is
not
acceptable.
The manual
 should
 reflect
 your
 critical
 thinking,
 analysis,
 and
 application
 of
the
basic
concepts that
 you
 have
 learned
 in
 this
program.
Your
 templates,
 recommendations,
 and
guidelines must
 be
 original,
 practical,
 and
 factual
 rather
 than
 some
 general
 statements,
which
are often
 vague
 and
 subjective.
 The
 manual
 should
 present
 new
 perspectives,
 new
ideas;
it should
 reflect
 your
 unique
 knowledge.
It
 should
 demonstrate
 your
 ability
 to
 analyze
and synthesize
the
relevant
material
needed
for
managing
projects
successfully.
Finally,
it
should be
a
comprehensive
reference
for
managing
projects.
Grading
Criteria
Your
 submission
 will
 be
 graded
 on
 the
 basis
 of
 substance,
 content
 value,
 clarity
of communication,
 and
 organization
 of
 the
 content.
 Volume
 is
 not
 definitely
 the
criteria
for grading
but
your
understanding
and
knowledge
of
the
content
 are
 considered
important
in
evaluating
your
submission.
Required
Format
for
the
Manual
The
 required
 size
 of
 your
 submission
 is
 20
 to
 25
 pages
 (not
 including
 appendices
 and introduction),
single
line
spacing,
font
Times
New
Roman,
font
size
not
less
than
12
points.
Pages
beyond
the
limit
will
not
be
read.
Project
Management
Manual
Deliverable
Schedule
Week
4
You
should
submit
outline
in
which
you
will
present
the
introduction
and
the
table
of contents.
The
Introduction
should
outline
the
purpose
and
objectives
of
the
manual, how
 it
 should
 be
 used,
 and
 the
 scope
 of
its
use.
 
For
 each
 chapter,
 you
should provide
the
outline
in
a
paragraph
or
two.
Due
on
4
June
2008.
Week
7
Rough
 draft
 for
 review
 should
 be
 ready.
 The
 draft
 should
 include
 all
the
chapters

listed
 in
 the
 Table
 of
 Contents.
 The
 faculty
 will
 review
 your
 draft
 and
suggest improvements
and
changes
as
necessary
in
the
final
version
of
the
manual.

The
final version
 of
 the
 manual
 will
 be
 compared
 to
 the
 rough
 draft
 to
 see
 if
suggested recommendations
have
been
made
or
not.

If
no
revisions
or
edits
or
necessary,
most of
your
work
will
have
been
completed
at
this
point.
Due
on
25
June
2008.
Week
10
The
 final
 version
 of
 the
 Project
 Management
 Manual
should
be
submitted.

 Due
 on
16
July
2008.
Additional
Information
If
you
have
any
questions
about
this
assignment
please
contact
me
within
the
WebCat
email or
 post
 your
 question
 in
 the
 Project
 Management
 Manual
 Forum.
 
 Based
 on
 how
our discussion
 evolves
 in
WebCat,
 I
 may
 modify
 the
 requirements
 for
 the
manual.
I
encourage you
to
provide
comments
and
suggestions
in
the
discussion
forum
created
for
this
purpose.