College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY2006-07
Section 1 – Progress Update
Strategic Planning. The College’s Vision and Mission Statements were revised in spring 2006
with the active involvement and participation of all College stakeholders – students, faculty,
administrative personnel at both the College and University level, and members of our
external community. We view these as living documents, subject to periodic review and
revision. The documents drive our strategic plans, annual action plan and resource allocation
decisions. These documents are also the motivating force for creative expansions of our
programs, including curricular innovations, faculty recruitment and development, instructional
enhancement, and community outreach. By providing clear areas of focus, our Vision and
Mission Statements form a solid operational basis for College decision-making.
Vision Statement - We will be the choice of Southern California’s businesses and
governments for college graduates, business solutions, and professional development.
Mission Statement - We create and apply knowledge that transforms student
lives, develops business leaders who shape the regional economy, and advances the
intellectual capital of our diverse region.
AY 2006-07 was the final year of a five-year strategic plan launched in 2002. The
guiding themes of the plan included Program Quality, Balance of Theory and Practice and
Technology Integration. All action items and resource allocation decisions were based on
these principles.
Program Quality. Curriculum development, faculty resource plans and programmatic
continuous improvement were major initiatives this past year.
Curriculum development: Ethics Coverage – A matrix charting ethics coverage
by core course was completed tracking where the subject is introduced, developed and
mastered within the BA, Business Administration program. Course-embedded assessments
were conducted on the subject at both the undergraduate and graduate level. In addition,
to ensure students understand ethical behavior standards, a quiz was developed and
administered to incoming students (transfer and freshmen). Students needed a score of 80
percent or higher before they could register for classes.
Curriculum development: Adapting to Market Needs - A business communication
course was developed specifically for accounting students so they can work on industryspecific documents. Service learning components were developed for business
communication and marketing developed a course on services marketing.
Economics worked to implement SAS into the curriculum and started building ties with
health and human services through the Center for the Study of Economics of Aging and
Health. Finance approved an upper-division capital markets and fixed income analysis
course and Management developed a new leadership course.
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY 2006-07
Faculty resource plan - In total, 11 full-time tenure-track and two full-time
lecturers were hired during the 2006-07 academic year. All departments were successful
in hiring new faculty. Maintaining AACSB mandated AQ/PQ ratios is a major commitment
for the College and a number of programs were used to support faculty research
activities.
Programmatic continuous improvement efforts – A council consisting of all core
course coordinators, the associate deans and department chairs was created to ensure
learning objectives were covered appropriately throughout the program and to identify
opportunities for integration. The council reviewed all core course syllabi and developed a
program matrix charting where each objective was taught. The group also participated in
an assessment workshop (Mary Allen was the workshop leader) and an assessment
conference (Trudy Banta was the keynote speaker). The first year of a two-year
assessment program was completed. The table below provides an outline of the actions
taken.
ECON 315
FIN 320
MGMT 246
MGMT 518
ECON 515
ISDS 265
MGMT 449
MGMT 516
ISDS 514
Course-embedded Assessment Activities
Fall 2006
Problem solving and critical thinking
Problem solving and critical thinking
Ethical awareness
Ethical awareness and legal environment knowledge
Problem solving and critical thinking
Spring 2007
Information technology skills
Functional knowledge, global awareness and economic and legal environment
Written and oral communication skills
Information technology skills
Closing the Loop Efforts. Based on the assessments conducted in 2005-06, efforts
to improve students’ written communication skills included offering Friday classroom tutorial
sessions, a writing certificate program for at-risk students, and one-on-one tutoring
assistance. After first reviewing the results of the 2005-06 technology skills assessment,
there was concern about students’ ability to interpret regression. However, after further
study it became apparent that the regression techniques assessed were not part of the
program curriculum. Problem-solving skills and analytical thinking skills taught in the
classroom were assessed during the fall 2006 semester in Finance 320 and Economics
315. As a result of these assessments, a best-practice teaching workshop was held for
Economics 315 professors and work will be done on the Finance 320 final exam to more
properly measure specific objectives. Finance 320 may also change the textbook to
better meet the needs of students.
The fall 2006 assessment of students’ legal and ethical awareness led faculty to conclude
that students need to improve their knowledge in these areas at the undergraduate and
graduate levels. A review of textbooks and test questions will be made at both levels and
an ethics exam is now required for newly admitted transfer students and current students
declaring a concentration. As stated earlier, students are required to pass with a minimum
score of 80 percent before registering for classes. This type of exam is also under
consideration at the graduate level.
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
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College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY 2006-07
BA, International Business. This program shares many of the same learning
objectives and core courses as the BA, Business Administration. The foreign language and
culture objectives are covered in courses offered through the College of Humanities and
Social Sciences and a plan to chart student learning effectiveness in these areas was
developed over the past academic year. All language concentrations include four juniorlevel courses which relate to business and culture as well as a business internship totaling
15 upper-division units.
Graduate Programs. All of the AACSB-accredited Masters of Science programs for
the College (Information Systems, Accountancy and Taxation) developed courseembedded assessment plans and collected data on a number of learning objectives over
the past academic year.
Graduating Senior Surveys. Surveys were collected from students who graduated in
January 2005, June 2006 and August 2006 to gather perceptions on program quality,
advising and career services and other student-related services (e.g. – student clubs,
computer labs, internship office, tutoring and mentoring programs). From the 1,646
graduating students, 274 responded for a 17 percent response rate. Overall student
satisfaction was 3.95 (out of 5); this figure is the same as 2005. One area that shined for
the College was our graduating seniors’ response to the question: “What was your
primary reason for choosing the College of Business and Economics?” As illustrated in the
table below, College scored higher on “Reputation” and “Concentration/Major” than in
2005.
Graduating Senior Survey Responses Relating to Reputation (Max = 5)
Factor for Choosing CSUF
2005
2006
Reputation
Concentration/Major
3.84
4.14
3.97
4.33
Balancing Theory and Practice. Experiential learning opportunities were made available
to students through internships and live field cases. Accounting offered 8-week internships
with area accounting firms. Internships are required of International Business students
resulting in approximately 50 internships per semester. In Marketing, about 20 students
per semester participated in internships. Live field-cases were used in a number of
Management and Business Communication sections.
Technology Integration. Classroom computer labs were updated to be sure state-of-theart equipment and software applications were integrated into the curriculum. Specifically,
seven labs, two server rooms and two student employee areas were updated with
hardware and software.
Across all Themes. External relationships with the business community continue to be
developed to support program needs. For example, contacts have been made with the
insurance industry and Finance faculty are currently responding to the needs of this
industry through curriculum and service. For 2006-07, the College’s fund-raising goal was
$3.3 million, but as a result of receiving a number of very substantial gifts, actual cash
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
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College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY 2006-07
receipts totaled $4.685 million. Thirteen high-level alumni and business friends serve on
the Capital Campaign Cabinet working to raise a total of $20 million by December
2008.
Along with the Cabinet, the College receives external support and guidance from the
Dean’s Advisory Board. Board membership is limited to chairpersons, CEOs and
presidents. Twenty-seven people currently serve paying an annual membership fee of
$5,000. The College also has an extensive business network through the Executive Council.
Approximately 65 local and regional business executives serve with over 45 percent of
the membership serving as sponsors (members who pay well above the basic annual
membership fee of $500).
To help with outreach and visibility efforts, the nationally-acclaimed marketing firm,
Lipman Hearne, was contracted to develop a marketing plan for the College. A
comprehensive, coordinated marketing plan is to be launched fall 2007.
Lastly, to ensure students and faculty have state-of-the-art facilities to improve learning
and research endeavors, the construction of Steven G. Mihaylo Hall, the College’s new
$87.5 million, 190,000 square foot building, is on schedule for fall 2008 occupancy.
Section 2 – Priority Update
In 2006-07 our guiding themes were revised to better reflect the College’s commitment to
progress from “providing accessible and affordable education” to “creating and applying
knowledge that transforms student lives, develops business leaders who shape the regional
economy and advances the intellectual capital of our diverse region.” Our guiding themes
are program quality, balancing theory and practice, and expanding our outreach and
visibility.
Program Quality. This guiding theme encompasses efforts required to ensure academic
programs are of the highest caliber, meeting AACSB standards and the demands of the
marketplace, to build Orange County’s future business leaders. Elements of this principle
include Objectives
Outcome Measures / Quality Indicators
Curriculum Development
Ethical Awareness
1. require all undergraduate students to pass (score 80% or higher) ethics
awareness quiz before registering for classes
2. create and implement ethics quiz at graduate level
Curriculum Integration
Working through the Core Course Coordinator Council (C4) –
1. Continue curriculum integration efforts of core courses
2. Develop and implement two integrated honors program modules
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
1.
2.
Student pass rate
Implementation of quizzes
1 Number of integrated core courses
2. Number of integrated honors
program modules
4
College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY 2006-07
Interdisciplinary and / or Intercollegiate Program Development - develop integrated
programs. Examples include: a joint MS – Marketing/Communications, joint
undergraduate concentration in Accounting/Finance and a joint undergraduate
concentration in Insurance/Risk
MBA – develop a full-time MBA program; develop an Insurance/Risk concentration
1.
2.
Development of Programs
Number of new programs
1.
2.
Program development
Concentration development
1.
Completion of 2nd year of two-year
plans
Implementation of identified actions
to improve student learning
Continuous Improvement Efforts
Programmatic Course Embedded Assessment – continue with efforts and plans as
scheduled for each AACSB-accredited program
2.
Faculty Resource and Development Plans
Recruitment – support departmental faculty recruitment efforts
1.
Number of new hires by department
Research – provide research grants, salary supplements and resources where
appropriate; maintain release time policy
1.
2.
Professional Development – fund College-based best practice and / or research
workshops
Facilities and Technology Plans
1.
Number of grants given
Type and number of salary
supplements
Type and number of resource
allocations
Administration of current release
time policy
Number and type of workshops
State-of-the-art Instructional Facilities for Instruction, Research and Collaboration create and maintain required space
Technology Integration and Support – maintain current labs, create labs in Mihaylo
Hall and provide for faculty and staff training needs
1.
Mihaylo Hall – fall 2008 completion
2.
3.
Upgraded computer labs
Creation of 9 new computer
classrooms in Mihaylo Hall
Number of new software
technologies integrated to enhance
classroom instruction and research
Training opportunities offered to
staff and faculty
3.
4.
4.
5.
Balancing Theory and Practice. Preparing graduates to work effectively in today’s
business world requires a focus on developing opportunities for practical and applicable
work experience. Efforts in this area include –
Objectives
Outcome Measures / Quality Indicators
Career Development
Placement Efforts – develop and implement plans for placement of honors and
graduate students
Internships and Service Learning – develop learning opportunities in select areas
1.
2.
1.
Completion of surveys
Implementation of service
Implementation of curriculum linking
Advanced Business Communication
and select Marketing courses with
Service Learning
Expanding Outreach and Visibility. Specific efforts are needed to secure funding to
position the College as a leader in business education. State funding is not adequate to
support activities over and above the basic instructional needs of faculty and students.
Efforts to fund research efforts, program development, student scholarships and facilities
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
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College of Business and Economics
California State University, Fullerton
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report
AY 2006-07
development are necessary. Along with external funding sources, solid, meaningful
relationships are needed with the business community to ensure that curriculum is up-todate and students are given the networking opportunities necessary to succeed. Lastly,
positioning the College in the marketplace as Southern California’s choice for college
graduates, business solutions and professional development requires an integrated
marketing program. Efforts in these areas include –
Objectives
Outcome Measures / Quality Indicators
Development
Capital Campaign - complete the final 18 months of the College’s Capital Campaign;
very specific money targets are in place
Outreach
1.
Successful and timely completion of
the campaign
Advisory Boards – further cultivate the Dean’s Advisory Board, the Executive Council
and boards for various centers of excellence
1.
Number, corporate and community
profiles and participation of board
members
Outreach Events – with the University celebrating its 50th anniversary, hosting specific
outreach events will take on special significance
1.
Open House, Professor for a Day,
Salute to Business Leaders, etc.
1.
Timely implementation of
comprehensive marketing
campaign
Marketing
Marketing Campaign – implement the College’s first marketing campaign starting fall
2007
AACSB Annual Maintenance Report, AY 2006-07
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