University of Nebraska Kearney

Accounting/Finance Assessment Report 2006

Submitted Fall, 2006

Assessment Report
Department of Accounting and Finance
Academic Year 2005-2006

Assessment of outcomes in the Department of Accounting and Finance employs the direct measures of a major field test, evaluation of written and oral presentations in a senior capstone course, and employer evaluations of accounting interns, and employs the indirect measure of a senior exit survey.

Major Field Test. 

The Major Field Test program developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) was administered to accounting and finance students in the senior capstone course BMGT 495, Administrative Strategy and Policy.  The exam was given during finals week. The results, which are scored and provided by ETS, are compared to prior results and to a three year weighted average.  

* Accounting and Finance are combined in Spring 05 Semester since fewer that 5 Finance students took the test.
** Spring 03 and Fall 05 results are not available.

Outcomes:

Findings:  See chart above.

Interpretations:  The accounting and finance students perform well overall on the exam.  In the most recent year, they have scored at or above the 90th percentile in every topic on the exam.  They scored at or above the three-year weighted average scores in all subject areas as well.  The results indicate that the accounting and finance students are meeting the objective of having a working knowledge base in the functional areas of business, and possess the ability to integrate concepts of other business disciplines. Accounting and Finance students scored very high in their respective areas each semester. Accounting and finance students scored above the 95th percentile in the most recent test in both the accounting and finance subject areas.  This indicates that the students are meeting the objective of having a working knowledge of their respective discipline (accounting or finance).  Overall, the scores indicate that accounting and finance students are very competent in the core areas of business and within their respective discipline.  In addition, the exam measures students’ ability to analyze and solve problems, and understand relationships and interpret information related to the business field.  The scores indicate that the accounting and finance students are competent in their critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

Recommendations:  Accounting and Finance student performance has been excellent.  Faculty should continue to hold students to a high standard of performance within each course. The department should continue to emphasize the importance of a working knowledge of the functional areas of business and integrating concepts of other business disciplines with accounting and finance.  Several additional years of the Major Field Exam should be analyzed in the future to determine if any trends emerge indicating any areas of weakness. 

Senior Capstone Course- BMGT 495 Administrative Strategy and Policy. 

In addition to the Major Field Exam, which is administered in this course, students make oral group presentations and complete written business reports.  An interdisciplinary faculty panel of four faculty members evaluated three oral reports and written projects by random selection in the summer of 2005.  A large part of their report appears below.

Summer 2006 BMGT495 Assessment
Administrative Strategy and Policy

Assessment rubrics for written and oral communication available through each department’s assessment website were used to assess a sample of students.  One faculty member from each of the four business departments viewed and assessed three student group presentations and also assessed the written papers related to the presentations.  The rating methods, but not the content, for both the written and oral rubrics have been revised.  Therefore, these results are not readily comparable to any prior reports.  The following descriptions relate to tables below.

Written Communication:

Average ratings in all areas of the assessment of written communication were above the “Satisfactory” level.  However, some student groups met only minimal requirements in some areas – Writing Conventions for example.

Oral Presentations:

Student groups, on the average, were rated “Good” or higher for Integration, Technology, Appearance, and Content.  In all areas with similar descriptions, the groups scored higher in their oral presentations than in their written work.

Ratings:  3 – Exemplary, 2 – Good, 1 – Satisfactory, 0 – Needs Improvement, NA - Not Applicable

Conclusions: Although actual numbers cannot be compared to past results, a previous suggestion - improving integration of the business areas in both the written and oral communication skills - appears to have occurred.  Analysis still needs improvement in both. Speaking and Writing Conventions are problematical for some students.

Outcomes:

Findings:  See Chart above.

Interpretations:  Average Ratings for all Written Report measures were above Satisfactory.  The Best ratings came in Content, Organization, and Integration.  At least 50% of ratings in these categories were at the good or exemplary level.  The   Measures that rated lowest (but still satisfactory) were Analysis and Writing Conventions.  Average Ratings for Oral Presentations were above Satisfactory in all Measures and above good for Content, Technology, Integration, and Appearance.  At least 80% of ratings in those categories were at the good or exemplary level. Lowest ratings were in Analysis and Speaking Conventions.

Recommendations:  Business student performance in Oral Presentations and Written Reports is at an acceptable level.  Ratings suggest that improvement should be sought in Analysis and both Speaking and Writing Conventions.   

Senior Exit Survey. 

Educational Benchmarking (EBI) surveys all graduating CBT students.  The survey includes 66 questions grouped into 16 factors.  Results are compared to a group of six comparative institutions, to school in our same Carnegie classification, and to all all school participating in the survey.  This is the first year we have participated in the survey and so have no prior year data for comparison.  The following table summarizes results of factors and questions relevant to assessment of Department of Accounting and Finance efforts.  124 CBT students responded to the survey, a 50% response rate.  16 accounting students and 5 finance students responded.  Satisfaction is rated on a seven-point scale; seven being the most satisfied.

Accounting 

Finance 

Outcomes:

Findings:  See chart above. 

Interpretations:  Business students provided assessment of their experience at UNK and  self assessment in the areas of Communication and Teamwork Skills, and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills. Raw scores were above 4 for all significant measures. Accounting and Finance students were in general satisfied with their education.  However, in some areas students were much less satisfied than were students at the comparison group of institutions.

Accounting.   In the 2005/2006 academic year, accounting students were satisfied with the quality of instruction in both required courses and in courses in their specific major.  They were satisfied with their advisors and with learning outcomes.  On the other hand the students were less satisfied than the comparison group with student organizations and leadership opportunities and with placement and employment contacts.

Finance.  In the 2005/2006 academic year, finance students were satisfied with faculty responsiveness and the learning objectives of critical thinking and problem solving.  They were less satisfied than the comparison group with quality of faculty and instruction in their major courses. Like the accounting students, they were less satisfied than the comparison group with students organizations and placement.  In addition, they were less satisfied than the comparison group with learning outcomes in communication and teamwork and with advising. These results are a little difficult to interpret.  There are only two full-time finance faculty and only 5 finance students took the survey.  However, it appears there may be substantial dissatisfaction among finance students.  These numbers will need to be monitored from year to year to see if the indications hold.

Recommendations: We plan several initiatives within the department that may help to improve areas in which students have manifested some dissatisfaction.  The Accounting Society is making the transition to Beta Alpha Psi, the national accounting fraternity.  Beta Alpha Psi will increase student involvement and opportunity for leadership and should increase student contact with professionals and potential employers.  The department has begun an initiative to increase contact and interaction with the professional community that should give students more contact with local accounting and finance professionals, both in the classroom and in other non-classroom settings.  The department is planning to implement a common final exam for the first finance course.  The common final will help assess whether students advancing to higher level courses in the major are well prepared for an in-depth study of finance. A more coordinated effort by faculty may produce more consistency between classes and greater satisfaction among students.

Internships.  

Accounting and Finance students completing business internships are evaluated by their supervisor using the evaluation form developed for assessment purposes.  Students were evaluated in twenty areas and given an overall rating.  The supervisor rated the student interns, using a five-point scale, with 5 representing ‘Excellent’ and 1 being ‘Weak’. The results are contained in the following chart.

Findings: See above chart.

Interpretations:  The overall scores evaluating interns by employer/supervisor were very good.  Student skills scores were at least 4 on a 5 point scale for all areas.  For the 2004/2005 the highest ratings were in the areas of Relationships/ Attitudes (working well with clients and showing enthusiasm), Academic preparedness (learning readily and having appropriate education/background), and Written Communication.  The lowest ratings were in the areas of Listening to Instructions and Independent Decision-Making,  However, the scores in these areas are still quite good, 4.33 on a 5 point scale. The Overall Performance rating of the interns was 4.67 on a 5 point scale.  Employer/supervisor evaluations indicate that accounting and finance students possess a working knowledge of their discipline, and are competent in their oral and written communication skills, critical thinking, problem solving and use of technology.

Recommendations:  The ratings of student interns were high.  Students should be encouraged to pursue internship opportunities.  The department may want to review current curriculum and course assignments in an attempt improve students’ problem solving techniques.

Assessment of the Assessment Process

The use of the Major Field Test is working well as an assessment tool and should be continued.  Breaking down scores for specific emphasis areas (i.e. accounting and finance students) that began Fall 2001 should continue.  This exam is currently providing useful assessment data for the department. 

The Senior Capstone Course, BMGT 495 is a logical course for assessment to occur.  However, the current methods being employed to assess written and oral communication in the course use such small numbers, are evaluated inconsistently from year to year, and do not indicate accounting and finance student performance, that it is difficult to make any assessment of the department performance from these measures.  

The Internship Assessment measure, which consists of an employer/supervisor evaluation of student intern performance is providing useful information and should be continued. 

The senior exit survey is providing useful information and should be continued.  It will become more useful in the future when we can compare between years and note trends. 

We have plans to add common final exams in the business core courses offered by the department.  These should prove better assessment data than we currently have.  We also plan to develop assessment exams to be given in a senior class in accounting and finance. These exams will test overall learning goals for each of the majors and will supply information superior to what we currently get. 

The department is currently working with the other three departments within the business discipline and the Director of Assessment to improve department assessment and to also better coordinate the assessment measures that are common to the four departments that comprise the business discipline.