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 2 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 3 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 5 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 6