Cover/Signature Page – New Programs Follow-up Report Template
Institution Submitting Request: Utah Valley University
Program Title: Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Finance
School: Woodbury School of Business
Department: Finance and Economics
Recommended Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code1: 52.0801
Board of Regents’ Approval Date: 07/17/2009
Proposal Type (check all that apply):
R401-4
Items submitted will be reviewed by OCHE and posted on
a website for PRC member review. If there are any
issues, the proposal will be returned for
clarification/correction. If no issues, the proposal will be
returned with a note of approval and the request will be
placed on the General Consent Calendar of the next
Regents’ agenda.
Section
Item
#
Three-Year Follow-Up Report of
4.1.10
Recently Approved Programs
Two-year Follow-up Report of Fast4.3.3
tracked Certificate
Chief Academic Officer (or Designee) Signature:
I certify that all required institutional approvals have been obtained prior to submitting this request to the
Office of the Commissioner.
______________________________________
Signature
Date: 08/31/2012
Printed Name: Ian Wilson
1
CIP codes must be recommended by the submitting institution. For CIP code classifications, please see http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Default.aspx?y=55.
Report – Third-Year Report Template
Utah Valley University
Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Finance
06/22/2012
Program Description
The Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Finance were approved by the Board of Regents
on July 17, 2009. The first students were admitted into the program fall semester 2009. The program is
designed to provide students with a variety of intellectual and applied skills in order to prepare them for
significant professional careers in business, banking, investment, insurance, actuarial science, real estate,
and teaching and research in the academic community. Graduates have been placed in both public and
private sector organizations and several students have also chosen to do graduate work in finance and
other related business disciplines.
Enrollment and Revenue Data
Prior to
Program
Implementation
Departmental/Unit
Enrollment and
Staffing Data
Total Department
Student FTE
(Based on Fall Third
Week Data)
Total Department
Faculty FTE
(A-1/S-11/Cost Study
Definition)
Student FTE per
Faculty FTE
(from Faculty FTE and
Student FTE above)
Program Level Data
Total Number of
Declared Majors in
Program
Total Number of
Program Graduates
Departmental Revenue
Total Revenue to
Department
(Total of Funding
Categories from
R401 Budget
Year 1
2009-10
Year 2
2010-11
Year 3
2011-12
Est.
Actual
Est.
Actual
395
398.6
377
399
456
13.6
14
14.3
14
15.5
14
17.8
29.05
28.48
26.37
28.50
29.42
28.58
27.08
X
18
28
38
154
45
212
X
n/a
1
n/a
11
n/a
n/a
Est.
Actual
Est.
Actual
Est.
Actual
1,569,780
1,549,117
1,570,090
1,962,949
1,570,412
n/a
1,561,538
Est.
400
Actual
482
Projection Table)
Departmental
Instructional Cost
per Student Credit
Hour (per
Institutional Cost
Study Definition)
4,340
X
3,942
X
3,908
X
n/a
Institutional Analysis of Program to Date
There are four full-time faculty specifically assigned to support the finance degrees. All four have Ph.D.’s
and meet the Academically Qualified (AQ) or Professionally Qualified (PQ) standards specified by the
Woodbury School of Business (WSB) accreditation requirements. In addition, there is a breadth of skill
sets among those faculty members; which enable students to learn from individuals who have specialized
skills not only in corporate financial management but also in investment theory, financial institutions,
international finance, and other specialized topics such as derivative securities, and other quantitative
financial courses. Many of our finance students can also enroll in courses with the allied economics faculty,
where they have access to advanced quantitative analytical courses such as mathematical model building,
econometrics, game theory and related topics.
The first educational objective outlined in the assessment process described in the R401 proposal for this
degree was that students should “have basic discipline knowledge…and...apply that knowledge”. Between
2009 and 2011, WSB students completing the Senior Exam, which is administered by the school as a part
of an overall program assessment process, have not been as proficient as the faculty would like to see in
demonstrating that capability. As a result, there is a commitment by the Finance faculty to seek to improve
the quantitative and discipline specific skills to meet that objective. During a WSB Assessment process
conducted in April 2011, the faculty recommended a more rigorous math prerequisite for students in
quantitative courses such as those that characterize the finance degree. That included a subsequent
decision to recommend the upgrading of the content and rigor of a MGMT 2240 class in business calculus
for finance majors.
At the same time, the WSB has administered a Business Simulation Program to its graduates over the last
three years that includes a significant element of financial analysis as a part of that process. Although it is
not possible to distinguish finance graduates from WSB graduates in general, the scores of WSB graduates
have been quite remarkable contrasted to national students completing this business simulation. WSB
teams have consistently ranked in the top ten percent of students completing the simulation. For example,
in the Spring of 2009, 64% of WSB graduates were in the top ten percent, nationally and in subsequent
instances of this process WSB graduates continue to be strongly represented at about that same level.
During that same 2011 assessment process outlined in the previous paragraph, the faculty recommended
some improvements in the effort to assess written communication efforts of WSB students, and here again
specialized tutoring in writing has been implemented for the capstone strategy class which finance students
are required to take.
Department faculty workloads have been adjusted so full-time faculty are teaching the basic finance course
(FIN 3100) during the summer session, when many students take this as their beginning course in the
discipline. There is evidence this will upgrade the rigor of those courses which were formerly taught by
adjunct faculty who had less experience and commitment to encouraging students to achieve higher levels
of academic rigor in their financial management learning. The fourth full-time faculty member was hired for
Fall 2012, and it is anticipated that this level of faculty support, along with allied faculty, will enhance the
effort to upgrade the rigor of courses in the program and at the same time meet the anticipated growth of
student enrollment over the next several years.
Students in the finance degrees have access to a state of the art finance lab, which provides a variety of
industry software that enables students to become familiar with the types of analyses conducted by
professionals in the industry. Finance majors have also had the opportunity to participate in industry
conferences that allows them to network with professionals and experience the types of activities they will
encounter after graduation. The program has recently developed an opportunity for finance majors to
participate in paid internships that will further prepare them for their professional careers. A parallel
financial planning program has also been developed in the department that expands the number of
curriculum opportunities for finance majors.
Employment Information
Term Graduated
Spring 2010
Fall 2010
Spring 2011
Summer 2011
Graduate School
1
1
Employed in Field Employed Other
1
3
3
2
1
Unknown