Business Administration Assessment Report 2013-2014
Prepared by
Dr. Donald L. Crooks Chair
Dr. Richard LaRocca Director of Assessment
1. What are the learning goals and/or specific learning outcomes for the
students in the department?
The Business Department’s goals are to provide the academic and practical
skills necessary to enhance business knowledge at all learning levels. The
department seeks to continue to develop student learning to enhance
business concepts and theories which are necessary for graduates to succeed.
The department looks to prepare students to be effectual communicators of
real world business constructs and ideas via oral and written presentations and
the subsequent critical feedback provided from instructors. The department
also looks to provide students with the ability to develop critical thinking and
decision making skills which are necessary for today’s business environment.
We believe that it is imperative for our students to be able to implement
effective actions based upon the synthesis of the data presented to them.
2. How are learning goals/outcomes made evident and discussed with
students?
a. At the department or academic program level?
b. At the course level?
The department voted to implement learning/assessment tools at the course
level several years ago to help students improve oral and written skills with the
addition of rubrics to any and all oral and written presentations. At the course
level, before each class, the students are given copies of the rubrics explaining
how they will be graded. An anonymous copy is submitted to the
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Department’s Administrative Assistant, and the data is included in the
cumulative data files in order to provide quantitative assessment data for the
department. The graded oral and written rubrics are then given to the
students to provide feedback in order to help them assess their oral and
written skills and help determine the areas needed for improvement. Copies of
rubrics may be found in the Appendix.
An exam, CompXm, was added to the senior RFT Capstone course and all MBA
programs as part of a virtual simulation pertaining to a corporation with 5
products and 5 competitors. The CompXm measures cumulative knowledge
gained over the 4 years of matriculation for undergraduates and varies for
MBA students depending on the program they are enrolled in. This allows the
department to gage year-over-year changes for each academic program level
at the time of completion of the degree.
Going forward, the CompXm has the ability to assess and quantify students’
critical thinking skills. This will allow the department to assess year-over-year
critical thinking scores and provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses
of these skills being developed by our students.
This past year the department added an undergraduate Management Lab MG
201L) to MG 201. This lab will provide students with the ability to enhance
practical application of management practices by managing a business
enterprise via an on-line simulation.
The Masters of Science in Accounting has its own individual assessment tools,
which are different from the MBA’s assessment tools. They include a
comprehensive accounting instrument, which is a cumulative accounting exam.
This exam has a satisfaction target score which has been set at 55.
The Student Advisory Council (SAC) is a newly formed committee intended to
seek student advice which will be considered by department faculty for
adaption into our programs. In the spring semester, 15 undergraduate
students served on this committee. Several student suggestions were accepted
by the department for incorporation into our undergraduate program.
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Suggestions brought before the department for serious suggestion include
scheduling of senior learning community courses, and making scheduling of
the required senior practicum more viable for our students.
Provide data that documents assessment of department/major student
learning goals. If General Education goals have been assessed include
relevant data as well.
Results for rubric scores and CompXm for the past 5 years are shown below.
Undergraduate Assessment Data
CompXm scores have a range of 100-1000
590 564
700 722 676
09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
UG Comp XM
UG Comp XM
4
Undergraduate Writing Rubrics have a scale of 1-5
Undergraduate Oral Rubrics have a scale of 1-10
3.85
3.54 3.49
3.71 3.75
09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
Undergraduate Written
Total Score
8.76
8.38 8.45
9.21
8.57
09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
Undergraduate Oral
Total Score
5
Undergraduate Exit Survey has a scale of 1-5
3.74
3.79
3.95
3.60
3.65
3.70
3.75
3.80
3.85
3.90
3.95
4.00
Category 1
Category 1 Measurement of Quality of Business Foundation Courses
2012
2013
2014
3.84
4.04 4.02
3.70
3.75
3.80
3.85
3.90
3.95
4.00
4.05
4.10
Category 2
2012
2013
2014
Category 2 Measurement of Capstone, Practicum & Intership Quality
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Graduate Assessment Data
MBA CompXm Scores have a range of 100-1000
4.21
3.82
4.20
3.60
3.70
3.80
3.90
4.00
4.10
4.20
4.30
Category 3
2012
2013
2014
Category 3 - Measurement of Faculty Advisement, Knowledge
505 506
593 650
608
743
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
08-'09 09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
MBA CompXM Scores
7
MBA Writing Rubrics have a scale of 1-10
MBA Oral Rubrics have a scale of 1-10
6.64
7.88 7.82
8.74 8.50
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
MBA Written Assessment
7.89
8.22
8.59
8.91
8.67
7.2
7.4
7.6
7.8
8
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
9
09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
MBA Oral Assessment
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MS in Accounting
3. Describe curricular and /or pedagogical changes made during the year
based on assessment results from the current or previous years.
Based upon the collected data of the rubric results, the department sought out
to continue to improve upon the oral and written presentation skills needed to
further our students’ careers. Areas needing improvement are addressed and
stressed during the introduction of the next class/course and are encouraged
to be pursued throughout the semester.
A Management Lab has been added to MG 201 Management which now
provides students with the ability to enhance practical application of
management practices by managing a business enterprise via an on-line
simulation. The data should provide the department with a foundational
benchmark to assess change in critical business skills currently being measures
in the CompXm in the undergraduate senior year.
The department has voted to add and implement Turn It In, an on-line
technology which aides in helping students define and highlight potential
56.13
54.73
61.18
56.63 57.44
55.75
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
08-'09 09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14
Comprehensive Accounting Instrument
9
plagiarism issues in their term and thesis papers. This service should enhance
the student’s ability to measure the originality of their work while trying to
eliminate potential plagiarism issues.
A department-wide consensus and effort has been made to ensure that all
students (on the graduate and undergraduate levels) have the ability to
demonstrate proficiency in business software such as Excel, Word and
PowerPoint to solve business problems. An effort has been made to promote
the use of these programs throughout the course offering.
4. Describe curricular and/or pedagogical changes desired or being planned,
if needed or as indicated by assessment results from prior years.
a. The department has added an Employer survey to the EBI Alumni survey in
order to “close the loop” for assessment purposes. By “closing the loop”,
we can now receive direct feedback from alumni employers about our
alumni in the workforce. The survey should provide us with a clearer
understanding of how prepared the Business Department’s alumni are
within the workforce. We hope to obtain information about their skill levels,
success, strengths and weaknesses in order to better structure the
curriculum and pedagogy necessary to give our department’s graduates the
ability to thrive and compete.
b. Post scores from each area of the oral and written rubric assessments for
each professor to view. Discuss at department meeting each semester and
via email to adjuncts what oral and written strengths and weaknesses have
been revealed from the rubric scores and encourage faculty to focus on the
areas that need attention.
c. Establish better communication protocols between students and professors
so as to reduce turnaround times of all correspondence and create a better
communicative environment.
d. Increase the academic rigor of each program based upon the assessment
data feedback and adapt each program to the changing business
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environment so as to ensure that our graduating students have the
necessary skills needed to pursue further academic and professional
careers.
e. Address and define plagiarism at the beginning of each course and identify
to students the resources available at the library. Turn It In will be available
throughout the department’s course offerings.
f. Establish protocols necessary to assure no classes are taken without the
proper required prerequisites needed.
APPENDIX
Table of Contents
Business Administration Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric………………………………………………11
Business Administration Department Rubric- Informal/Formal Writing Scoring Sheet……….......13
MBA Programs Business Administration – Informal/Formal Writing Scoring Sheet………………….25
MBA Programs Business Administration Department Rubrics– Informal/Formal Writing Scoring
Sheet…………………………………………………………………………………….........................................16
Business Administration Rubric – Informal/Formal Writing: Professor/Student Explanation
Guide……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18
MBA Programs Business Administration Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric……………………….19
Business Administration Undergraduate Survey……………………………………………….........................21
MBA Programs Business Administration Graduate Survey………………………………….......................23
11
Business Administration Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric
12
13
Business Administration Department Rubric
Informal/Formal Writing Scoring Sheet
14
15
Wagner College MBA Programs
Business Administration – Informal/Formal Writing Scoring
Sheet
16
Wagner College MBA Programs
Business Administration Department Rubrics
Informal/Formal Writing Scoring Sheet
17
18
Business Administration Rubric
Informal/Formal Writing: Professor/Student Explanation Guide
19
Wagner College MBA Programs
Business Administration Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric
20
21
WAGNER COLLEGE
Department of Business Administration
Undergraduate Survey
This survey is intended to assess your level of satisfaction with the instruction you received in required
courses for your major in Business Administration. Please indicate your agreement with the following
statements using the following scale:
5 Strongly Agree 4 Agree 3 Neutral 2 Disagree
1 Strongly Disagree
1 The material covered in AC 101 and AC 102 provided a
good foundation in Accounting for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
2 The material covered in FI 201 provided a good
foundation in Finance for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
3 The material covered in MK 201 provided a good
foundation in Marketing for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
4 The material covered in MG 201 provided a good
foundation in Management for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
5 The material covered in BU 201 provided a good
foundation in Business Law for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
6 The material covered in EC101 and EC 102 provided a
good foundation in Economics for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
7 The material covered in MA 108 provided a good
foundation in Statistics for a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
8 BU401 Business Policy and Strategy served as a good
capstone course, demonstrating the integration of all of
the business disciplines.
5 4 3 2 1
9 The 100-hour practicum required in BU 400 was an
integral part of my experience as a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
10 The senior thesis requirement in BU 400 was an integral
part of my experience as a business major.
5 4 3 2 1
11 The career development activities in BU 400 helped me
transition from college to career/graduate studies.
5 4 3 2 1
12 I am satisfied with the advisement I received from my
faculty advisor.
5 4 3 2 1
13 The Business Department faculty possesses a high level
of knowledge in their respective disciplines.
5 4 3 2 1
14 The Business Department faculty were accessible to
students and responsive to their needs.
5 4 3 2 1
15 Answer only if you took BU 211: The material covered 5 4 3 2 1
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in BU 211 provided a good foundation in international
business for a business major.
16 Answer only if you took BU397/497: My Internship
experience enhanced my business skills/knowledge.
5 4 3 2 1
17. What are the major strengths of the Business Administration Department (i.e., what do we do well)?
18. What would you like to see changed/improved; what are we missing?
19. Additional Comments:
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Wagner College Traditional MBA
Graduates’ Survey
QUALITY OF THE TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAM
Rate each of the following components of your program, based on your entire educational experience
as an MBA student:
Please use the following to rank each component:
a. Poor b. Fair c. Good d. Excellent e. Outstanding
1. Faculty Knowledge
2. Faculty responsiveness to students
3. Talent level of the students in the TMBA Program
4. Cooperative atmosphere among students in my cohort
5. How helpful was the Program Director’s involvement in the Program to improving your MBA
experience?
a. Not helpful
b. Somewhat not helpful
c. Somewhat helpful
d. Helpful
e. Very helpful
6. Class schedule
a. Not convenient
b. Somewhat not convenient
c. Somewhat convenient
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d. Convenient
e. Very convenient
Please use the following to rank the facilities in questions 7-12:
a. Poor b. Fair c. Good d. Excellent e. Outstanding
7. Class rooms
8. Library
9. Computer labs
10. Sports complex
11. Dining hall/catering
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
12. Information provided on the website/information kits
a. Completely irrelevant
b. Lacking
c. Somewhat lacking
d. Complete
e. Very thorough
13. Access and responsiveness of staff
a. Poor
b. Fair
c. Good
d. Excellent
e. Outstanding
14. Overall ease of the application process
a. Poor
b. Fair
c. Good
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d. Excellent
e. Outstanding
CURRICULUM
In your opinion, how important was each of the following courses to providing you with relevant
business education?
Please use the following to rank each course:
a. Not important
b. Somewhat not important
c. Somewhat important
d. Important
e. Very important
15. Statistics for Managers
16. Financial and Managerial Accounting
17. Managerial Communication
18. Law and the Manager
19. Economics for Managers
20. Strategic Management
21. Strategic Leadership
22. Managing Organizational Change
23. Business and Economics Forecasting
In your opinion, how well was each of the following courses instructed?
Please use the following to rank each course:
a. Not well at all
b. Somewhat not well
c. Somewhat well
d. Well
e. Very well
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24. Statistics for Managers
25. Financial and Managerial Accounting
26. Managerial Communication
27. Law and the Manager
28. Economics for Managers
29. Strategic Management
30. Strategic Leadership
31. Managing Organizational Change
32. Business and Economics Forecasting
How satisfied are you with the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities you developed in each of the
following?
Please use the following to answer questions 40-42:
a. Not satisfied
b. Somewhat not satisfied
c. Somewhat satisfied
d. Satisfied
e. Very satisfied
33. Computer skills – Excel/PowerPoint/Word
34. Communication skills - Oral communication
35. Communication skills - Written communication
CONCENTRATION
How satisfied were you with…
Please use the following to rank each criterion:
a. Not satisfied
b. Somewhat not satisfied
c. Somewhat satisfied
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d. Satisfied
e. Very satisfied
36. Number of courses offered within your concentration
37. Professors that taught within your concentration
38. Overall satisfaction
EXPECTATIONS FROM THE MBA DEGREE
I believe that my MBA degree would provide me with…
39. The opportunity to get a better job in the future a. Yes b. No
40. Credentials I need to increase career options a. Yes b. No
41. The chance to make more money a. Yes b. No
42. When you compare the total monetary cost of your graduate business program to the quality of
education you received, how would you rate the overall value of your MBA degree?
a. Poor
b. Fair
c. Good
d. Excellent
e. Outstanding
43. Would you recommend Wagner to someone who has decided to pursue a Traditional MBA
degree?
a. Yes
b. No
Thank you for completing the survey!
Good luck!