STUDENT LEARNING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
SUMMARY FORM AY 2011-2012
Degree and
Program Name:
Bachelor of Science in Business – Business Core
Submitted By:
Richard Flight
Assessment Coordinator, School of Business
Please complete a separate worksheet for each academic program (major,
minor) at each level (undergraduate, graduate) in your department.
Worksheets are due to CASA this year by June 15, 2012. Worksheets
should be sent electronically to kjsanders@eiu.edu and should also be
submitted to your college dean. For information about assessment or help
with your assessment plans, visit the Assessment webpage at
http://www.eiu.edu/~assess/ or contact Karla Sanders in CASA at 581-6056.
PART ONE
What are the learning
objectives?
1.
How, where, and when are
they assessed?
What are the expectations?
What are the results?
Committee/ person
responsible? How are
results shared?
Demonstrate basic knowledge of functional areas of business.
1.1. Demonstrate knowledge of
basic financial and managerial
accounting terminology, theory,
and principles.
ETS Major Field Test in
Business administered each
semester in BUS 4360
Students’ mean score will
be at or above the national
mean
 EIU Mean: 45.5 %
 National Mean: 44.0%
1.2. Demonstrate knowledge of
basic finance terminology,
theory, and principles.
ETS Major Field Test in
Business administered each
semester in BUS 4360
Students’ mean score will
be at or above the national
mean
 EIU Mean: 46.5 %
 National Mean: 42.8 %
1.3. Demonstrate knowledge of
basic management terminology,
theory, and principles.
ETS Major Field Test in
Business administered each
semester in BUS 4360
Students’ mean score will
be at or above the national
mean
 EIU Mean: 59.0 %
 National Mean: 57.3%
1.4. Demonstrate knowledge of
basic marketing terminology,
theory, and principles.
ETS Major Field Test in
Business administered each
semester in BUS 4360
Students’ mean score will
be at or above the national
mean
 EIU Mean: 59.0 %
 National Mean: 55.1%
Associate Chair coordinates
administration of ETS Major
Field Test and organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
Associate Chair coordinates
administration of ETS Major
Field Test and organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
Associate Chair coordinates
administration of ETS Major
Field Test and organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
Associate Chair coordinates
administration of ETS Major
Field Test and organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
2.
Recognize and analyze ethical and legal issues in the business decision-making process.
2.1. Articulate relevant ethical
principles and values from
the perspectives of various
business stakeholders and
apply those theories in
making and assessing
business decisions;
2.2. Compare and contrast the
characteristics of business
structures/legal entities;
 Embedded test questions
were used in BUS 2750.
 Written case assignment
were used in all sections of
BUS 4360
Embedded objective test
questions administered each
semester in BUS 2750
Students will score 70%
or better on embedded
test questions.
At least 70% of the
students will score
proficient or better
based on ethics rubric.
70% average scores on
questions across all
sections
Average Scores:
 BUS 2750: 69.4 %
 BUS 4360: 68.0 %
Average scores across all sections:
68.5 %
Average scores across all sections:
2.3. Apply fundamental
principles of tort, contract,
agency, intellectual
property, and employment
law in analyzing business
decisions;
Embedded objective test
questions administered each
semester in BUS 2750
70% average scores on
questions across all
sections

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


Torts: 84.1 %
Contracts: 83.0 %
IP: 70.5 %
Employment: 85.9 %
Agency: 74.5 %
Assignment developed or
selected by BUS 2750 and
BUS 4360 faculty (submitted
to Business Curriculum
Committee for review);
results reported to Business
Curriculum Committee.
Faculty teaching BUS 2750
develop questions
(submitted to Business
Curriculum Committee for
review) and administer each
semester; Dr. Denise Smith
organizes and reports results
to Business Curriculum
Committee
Faculty teaching BUS 2750
develop questions
(submitted to Business
Curriculum Committee for
review) and administer each
semester; Dr. Denise Smith
organizes and reports results
to Business Curriculum
Committee
3.
Understand the role of technology in organizations and use technology effectively.
3.1. Demonstrate competency in
business productivity
software (e.g., Microsoft
Office);
Excel and Access hands-on
tests administered in BUS 1950
in FA10 and SP11
70% average scores on
both exams across all
sections
3.2. Effectively use technology
tools to analyze business
information (e.g.,
spreadsheets, databases,
financial calculators);
 Embedded capital
budgeting final exam
problem in BUS 3710.
 Embedded case analysis in
BUS 3950
70% average scores on
all questions across all
sections
3.3. Analyze, design, and develop
a small relational database
using a current
development methodology.
Database design and
development project in all
sections of BUS 3500 in FA10
and SP11
70% of students will
score proficient or better
based on Database
Rubric
Average scores across all sections
 Excel: 85.0 %
 Access: 90.0 %
BUS 3710 problem average scores
(from 178 samples): 68.1 %
BUS 3950 case: 67.0 %
Results of all database projects
 89.4 % of students scored
proficient or better
Faculty teaching BUS 1950
administer tests; BUS 1950
coordinator organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
Faculty teaching BUS 3710
develop questions (submitted to
Business Curriculum Committee
for review) and administer; Dr.
Patrick Lach organizes and
reports results to Business
Curriculum Committee
Faculty teaching BUS 3500
develop project (submitted to
Business Curriculum Committee
for review) and assess using
Database Rubric. MIS Assistant
Chair organizes and reports
results to Business Curriculum
Committee.
4.
Communicate effectively.
4.1 Write effective business
communications
appropriate for the
audience;
4.2. Prepare and give a formal
oral presentation
appropriate for the
audience;
 Embedded writing in
assignment in BUS3950 in
FA10 (2 sections) and SP11
(4 sections)
 Sampling of business
student submissions to the
Electronic Writing Portfolio
(samples taken from
submissions during calendar
year 2010)
70% of students will score
proficient or better based on
School of Business Writing
Rubric
Based on a sample of 70
students, 65.5 % scored
proficient or better
Embedded oral presentation
in selected sections of BUS
3200 and BUS 4360 in FA10
and SP11
[See Part III for discussion of
pilot of pre/post assessment
in BUS 3200]
70% of students will score
proficient or better based on
School of Business Oral
Presentation Rubric
The data based on a sample
from BUS 3200 is still being
assessed at this time.
 Faculty teaching BUS
3950 assess assignments
and forward copies of
assignments and results
to Chair of the Business
Curriculum Committee.
 Faculty committee
evaluates sample of
assignments and reports
results to Business
Curriculum Committee
 Associate Chair arranges
taping of presentations
 Faculty committee
evaluates sample of
taped presentations and
reports results to
Business Curriculum
Committee
PART TWO
Describe what your program’s assessment accomplishments since your last report was submitted. Discuss ways in which you have responded to
the CASA Director’s comments on last year’s report or simply describe what assessment work was initiated, continued, or completed.
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The School of Business continued to integrate the work of the Curriculum Committee and the new Assessment Coordinator during this
year. The Assessment Coordinator was a new position assigned to a faculty member as it was deemed appropriate for a single individual
to be a coordinator of our assessment process. As an ex officio member of the Curriculum Committee the Assessment Coordinator has
full access to and support of the committee. As in the past the committee continues to be tasked with ensuring that the assessment
process is followed and that appropriate assessment data are collected, analyzed, interpreted and acted upon. The Assessment
Coordinator manages this process which includes communicating with faculty, administration, and the committee on a regular basis. In
addition to coordinating local assessment activities the Assessment Coordinator represented Eastern at the annual AACSB Conference in
Houston, TX. This next year we anticipate a new Assessment Coordinator, which with a smooth transition, demonstrated that our
process is robust and sustainable.
The Curriculum Committee initiated the process of assessing and re-writing (where needed) the course learning goals. One outcome of
this task was to align course content with our stated assessment learning goals. Such curriculum learning goal mapping is a vital task
within the assessment process. Once finished the Curriculum Committee can evaluate where each learning goal is emphasized, thus
targeted reinforcement and better measures will be attainable.
The committee considered different data sources which may be used as indirect measures to buttress existing direct measures. Such
measures include senior surveys and employer internship evaluations.
The entire business faculty continued to demonstrate strong buy-in as significant members actively participated in the assessment
process. During the fall semester the Assessment Coordinator reported to first the faculty council then to the full faculty at the fall
faculty meeting. Also during the fall, the faculty engaged in a two-day Brown Bag Lunch session concerning the development of in-class
communication activities. Finally, in both the fall and spring faculty actively collected assessment data and also assessed the data used in
this and other reports.
As a result of last year’s assessment of our ethics learning goal and the desire to assess higher-level learning outcomes an Ethics Rubric
was developed by the Curriculum Committee and is now under review by faculty in BUS 4360.
Given our desire to encourage and develop the awareness of ethics related issues we engaged in a school-wide, week-long ethics
awareness week.
Upon the recommendation of the Assessment Coordinator and the Curriculum Committee a Critical Thinking learning goal was
developed and adopted.
Learning Goal 5: Apply critical thinking skills to reach sound business decisions.
5.1 Clearly identify and articulate issues in structured or unstructured business situations;
5.2 Effectively apply analytic tools for business decision-making;
5.3 Effectively use decision-making processes to reach appropriate business decisions.
We anticipate that this learning goal will be measured in our capstone course as well as Operations Management. Currently faculty in
Operations Management assess critical thinking, thus example cases have been gathered and are suitable for pilot testing. Over AY13
appropriate measures will be identified and data will be collected through AY14 after which our initial assessment may be made.
PART THREE
Summarize changes and improvements in curriculum, instruction, and learning that have resulted from the implementation of your assessment
program. How have you used the data? What have you learned? In light of what you have learned through your assessment efforts this year and
in past years, what are your plans for the future?
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Based on data collected for Learning Objective 1.1-4, the Curriculum Committee plans to evaluate where cross-disciplinary opportunities
exist in course syllabi. The reinforcement of business concepts across multiple courses is expected to reinforce student’s understanding
and application of key discipline skills. In general, the data supports a well-rounded program when compared to other institutions that
use the ETS exam.
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Based on ethics data collected the Curriculum Committee is challenged to develop a more systematic approach to ethics in the core
curriculum. We have learned that while students generally learn ethical theory and principles in BUS 2750 it is necessary to continue to
reinforce those concepts so that by the capstone course they are able apply what they know.
 Analysis and coordination of ethics related issues in both Principles of Marketing and Principles of Management will provide two
valuable points of re-emphasis for students as they apply ethical concepts beyond BUS 2750. Thus, the Committee will identify
assessment opportunities in these courses.
 The implementation of the new ethics rubric will be made in case assignments particularly in BUS 4360.
 The faculty teaching BUS2750 Legal and Social Environment of Business will continue to be encouraged to work together to embed
questions and coordinate efforts as they instruct students in ethics.
 The Curriculum Committee will review ethics coverage in the core curriculum (data were collected in SP11 by the Holley Ethics
Professor) and make changes if needed, including changes in assessment.
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We continue to observe sub-standard scoring in written communication. To address issues associated with the communication learning
goal the Curriculum Committee will seek to engage in the following:
 Adopt a school writing standard. The ability to communicate is a critical display of one’s academic and social development.
Employers as well as a knowledgeable culture insist that college graduates be able to write and speak effectively. Therefore, the
School of Business will work to develop a standard by which we expect our students to abide.
 Utilize the University Writing Center and track student usage rates.
 Measure oral communication in BUS 4360.
 Pursue the development of a School of Business Presentation Lab.
 Investigate an Oral Communication module/seminar.
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Since the Curriculum Committee added the new Critical Thinking learning objective the process of assessing the objective will begin this
year and consist of the following:
 Identify appropriate courses from which to take measures.
 Pilot class embedded assignments already in place in BUS 3950.
 Refine measures such as rubrics.
Attachments:
Ethical Analysis Rubric
Quantitative analysis rubric (first draft)
School of Business Ethics Evaluation Rubric (approved by School of Business Curriculum April 10, 2012)

Identifies
dilemma
Exemplary
Describes the dilemma in detail
having gathered pertinent facts.

Acceptable
Identifies the dilemma, including
pertinent facts.

Unacceptable
Vaguely describes the dilemma.
Weight ____

Determines who should be involved
in the decision making process and
thoroughly reflects on the
viewpoints of stakeholders.

Determines who should be involved
in the decision making process and
accurately identifies all stakeholders

Insufficiently describes who should
be involved in the decision making
process.

Analyzes multiple alternatives and
evaluates each on the basis of
ethical principles in the context of
stakeholder welfare.

Analyzes at least two alternatives
and predicts their associated
consequences.

Begins to appraise the relevant facts
and assumptions and identifies no
alternatives.

Chooses an action justified by
arguments and reason, taking
reasonable counter-arguments into
account.

Chooses an action justified by
arguments and reason.

Fails to identify and describe an
appropriate action.
Identifies
Stakeholders
Weight ____
Analysis
alternatives
and
consequences
Weight ____
Chooses Action
Weight ____
Quantitative Reasoning Rubric
Objectives
Emerging
1------------------------2
Infrequently selects the correct
mathematical procedures to
analyze data.
Developing
3------------------------4
Generally selects the correct
mathematical procedures to
analyze data.
Mastering
5------------------------6
Consistently selects the correct
mathematical procedures to
analyze data.
Analysis
Infrequently performs the analysis
correctly.
Generally performs the analysis
correctly.
Consistently performs the analysis
correctly.
Interpretation
Infrequently interprets quantitative
measures accurately.
Generally interprets quantitative
measures accurately.
Consistently interprets quantitative
measures accurately.
Application
Infrequently utilizes quantitative
measures to make informed
decisions in a variety of contexts.
Generally utilizes quantitative
measures to make informed
decisions in a variety of contexts.
Consistently utilizes quantitative
measures to make informed
decisions in a variety of contexts.
Selection
Comments:
Total:
[Adapted from rubric developed at St. John’s University]
Score