Masters of Business Administration

Masters of Business Administration

Results of Assessment

2003-2004 (submitted 10/11/04)

I. MBA Program Learning and Student Success Goals.

The learning and student success goals formulated for the MBA Program include the following:

1. Graduates will be able to demonstrate graduate-level competency in both oral and written communication skills including ability to plan, organize, research and present reports using current technologies.

2. Graduates will have an ongoing, professional, and interactive relationship with the business community in the University’s service area, enhancing their networking skills and professional employment opportunities.

3. Graduates will exhibit a graduate-level knowledge of theoretical concepts, ideas, and topics in each of the following areas:

a. Ethics
b. Organizational Behavior
c. Financial Management
d. Marketing Management
e. Logistics and Operations Management
f. Management Accounting and Control
g. Global Macroeconomics
h. Information Technology in the Enterprise
i. Strategic Management.

4. Graduates will become proficient in interpersonal/human relation skills while acquiring the ability to effectively work in a team environment.

5. Graduates will be offered opportunities for placement in positions befitting their graduate-level education and with competitive salaries.

II. Assessment & Feedback Instruments.

The following assessment & feedback instruments were implemented in academic year 2003-4:

1. Assessment methods:

a. MBA-specific course evaluations
b. graduate exit survey
c. Alumni focus group held with Spring-Summer 2003 graduates in November 2003
d. new student employment interest surveys administered during new student orientations held in January and July 2003
e. standardized learning outcomes assessment using nationally- benchmarked data (ETS MBA Major Field Survey) in capstone Strategic Management course - March and August 2003 (results are summarized below). The benchmarked results indicate that WSU MBA student scores compared very favorably with those of students from other institutions overall and in the learning goals outline above, even as the number of participating institutions (nationally and internationally) has steadily increased since the introduction of the MFT-MBA program. The results for the WSU MBA Program are summarized in the table below:

Date of MBA-MFT Administration	Institutional Mean Raw Score Distribution (percentile)	Assessment Indicator 1: Marketing	Assessment Indicator 2: Management	Assessment Indicator 3: Finance	Assessment Indicator 4: Managerial Accounting	Assessment Indicator 5: Strategic Integration
August 2002	99^th percentile	99^thpercentile	94^th percentile	99^th percentile	99^th percentile	99^th percentile
March 2003	94^th percentile	94^th percentile	94^th percentile	94^th percentile	88^th percentile	94^th percentile
August 2003	90^thpercentile	95^thpercentile	95^th percentile	85^thpercentile	90^thpercentile	90^thpercentile
March 2004	85^thpercentile	95^thpercentile	90^thpercentile	80^thpercentile	85^thpercentile	90^th percentile

2. Faculty feedback: results of assessments were shared with faculty and department chairs, including course evaluations, departmental rankings of evaluations and grade distributions, and external benchmarking data (ETS MBA Major Field Test results).

III. Program Changes/Future Plans.

Program changes based on assessment results include:

1. Feedback from our focus group indicated ongoing concerns about the 8-week format of the Foundations course Quantitative Methods (4 cr. hrs.). Beginning in the Fall 2004 Semester, the course has been changed to two, 8-week 3 credit hour courses. Assessment will continue using follow-up interviews, focus group results, and the use of the standard MBA course assessment instrument.

2. Feedback from our focus group and informal conversations with students indicated an ongoing desire for more MBA elective course choices. One new elective course was added to the curriculum during 2003-4: Business & Environmental Sustainability. Two additional electives were added to the 2004-5 schedule: International Marketing and Project Management. In addition, an additional section of the Negotiations elective was added to the Spring 2004 schedule in response to previous high demand for the course.

3. With the addition of the Project Management elective, the WSU MBA Program now offers four electives in the area of logistics / operations management, amounting to an informal area of emphasis for students wishing to specialize in this area. The courses include Applications of Decision Modeling, Managing & Improving Quality, Business & Environmental Sustainability, and Project Management.

4. Focus group discussions indicate an continued desire for career placement services. In addition to the ongoing assistance provided to our students by the WSU Career Services Office, during 2003-4 two additional career placement services were initiated:

a. A non-credit MBA career development seminar series was offered during the Fall Semester of 2003.
b. The WSU Career Services Center has begun planning for an MBA recruiting / employer networking event in conjunction with three other MBA Programs in the region. The event is schedule for January, 2005.

5. An Access database was constructed for the MBA Program during the Spring 2003 semester, and the MBA Department Secretary entered student data during 2003-4. This database enhances the ability of the MBA Enrollment Director to track student performance, time to degree completion, and communication with MBA students.