University of Nebraska Kearney

MBA Graduate Program Assessment Report 2006
Submitted Fall, 2006

MBA Program Assessment
College of Business and Technology

Submitted December 1, 2006

Prepared by:
David K. Palmer
Director, MBA Program & Associate Professor of Management

1. Program Enrollment: Number of MBA Students

As of October 31, 2006 the Graduate Office listed 68 students as fully admitted to the MBA program (code 1213). This does not included students who have been admitted as “Pre-MBA” (code 1219) status.

Explanation of Pre-MBA Status: Students who hold a baccalaureate degree must be admitted through the Graduate Office before they can take any courses at UNK (even if they did their undergraduate work at UNK). Students admitted into Pre-MBA status can take courses at the undergraduate level, and up to six credit hours of graduate course work that could eventually apply toward the MBA. This status is particularly useful for students who need to complete MBA Program Prerequisites (i.e., Calculus, Statistics, Computer Application Skills), or any of the MBA Supporting Core (e.g., Accounting 1, Microeconomics, Business Law). This status allows students to take courses before they are fully admitted, which requires achieving the appropriate GMAT score and undergraduate GPA, as well as the completion of the MBA Application including its essays, and the submission of two letters of recommendation. It is worth noting that students do not need to complete all of the supporting core or program prerequisites before they can be admitted as MBA students (1213). It is possible for students in 1213 status to take Program Prerequisite or Supporting Core courses. (In the event of a 1213 student who needs Program Prerequisite courses, then his or her admission would be conditional upon completing the necessary coursework.)

Status of Students Listed as Admitted (code 1213)

Given the part-time structure of the MBA Program it may be reasonable to assume that there are 40 students (1213) actively pursuing a degree – this was arrived by simply combining the 2006-2007 and 2005-2006 data. The other 28 students represent students that have either left the program, or have lapsed and need to be contacted and reenrolled if they still intend to pursue an MBA at UNK (reengaging with these students represents an opportunity to grow the program). Students have ten years within which to complete their degree.

2. Program Objectives

Mission

Students graduating from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a degree administered by the MBA Program will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and values associated with an educated citizenry, including:

1. a working knowledge base in the functional areas of business.
2. the ability to integrate concepts of the various business disciplines.
3. competency in:
   1. communications
   2. critical thinking
   3. problem solving
   4. use of technology
   5. ethical and global issues
    

(from the website http://www.unk.edu/academicaffairs/assessment/index.php?id=5391)

3. Instruments Used

The assessment instruments used are available at the following website: http://www.unk.edu/academicaffairs/assessment/index.php?id=5178 

Graduate Program Assessment: Assessment Plan

Direct Measure

1. Written Paper

All MBA students must take the capstone course BMGT 892, Administration Policy, at the end of their program. In this course, students complete the following paper which will be gathered and used for assessment purposes BMGT 892 students will be required to complete a paper analyzing business situations. These papers will be copied prior to grading by the instructor and given to the Director of the MBA Program. Following the end of the semester, twenty percent of the papers will be randomly selected and evaluated by an Assessment Sub-Committee of the MBA Program Committee.

Indirect Measures

1. MBA Survey

This survey is given at the end of the final semester prior to students receiving their degree. The survey has a series of statements covering the knowledge, skills and values covered in the mission statement.

2. MBA Alumni Survey

This survey will be mailed to MBA alumni three years after graduation. The survey has a series of statements covering the knowledge, skills and values covered in the mission statement.

Assessment Cycle:

Data for each of the measures in the Assessment Plan will be collected each year. An analysis of the data will be conducted every three years. The analysis report will be filed in October 2007 for 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and each subsequent cycle. During the data collection cycle, the annual report will consist of a listing of the measures administered and either number of students participating or scores.

Graduate Program Assessment: Written Paper Rubric

Graduate Program Assessment: MBA Survey

Graduate Program Assessment: MBA Alumni Survey

4. Outcomes

Given the small number of graduates per year, a multi-year assessment scheme is used, so as to generate a large enough data set. Below are some data detailing the number of graduates from the MBA program per school year.

 

2005-2006 (Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Summer 2006)	11
2004-2005 (Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Summer 2005)	19
2003-2004 (Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Summer 2004)	18
2002-2003 (Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Summer 2003)	25
2001-2002 (Fall 2001, Spring 2002, Summer 2002)	24
2000-2001 (Fall 2000, Spring 2001, Summer 2001)	28

Below are the results of the Written Paper Direct Measure for students in BMGT 892 Administrative Policy (Strategy Management), Spring 2005. Materials have been collected from the Spring 2006 course for possible evaluation. BMGT 892 is envisioned as a capstone course for the MBA program, and thus an appropriate point at which to gather data.

Administration of the Graduating Student Survey is planned for Fall 2006. It is estimated that five students will graduate following the Fall semester. These surveys will be saved to be aggregated with surveys from subsequent semesters.

Assessment of BMGT 892
Spring 2005
September 29, 2005

In the fall of 2005, a committee of Business Faculty members read a group project report from BMGT 892, Administrative Policy. Our objective was to evaluate evidence of our students’ written communications skills as exhibited in this course project.

Evaluation rubric and the ratings:

The written communications rubric has individual ratings for each of several measures within an area (except for the appearance area) and an overall rating for that area. Areas evaluated are:

The rubric used is linked. 

Table 1 presents the average of the area ratings, the sum of individual ratings and then a calculated weighted average that would be implied by the numbers assigned to the ratings. The last two columns show a calculated percentage of ‘Good’ and ‘Exemplary’ ratings and ‘Needs Improvement’ ratings to the total of those measures receiving a rating.

Rating results:

Best ratings came in Integration, Content, Disciplinary Characteristics and Writing Conventions. At least 75% of ratings in these categories were at the good or exemplary level. Only slightly weaker ratings came in Organization and Analysis areas. Overall, ratings reflect good to exemplary performance (minimum was 69% in the Organization category).

Assessment process:

The process appears to be running smoothly. A sample of one group project could lead to misrepresentation and may not be entirely appropriate, but with only 4 groups in the class, this seems appropriate. Confusion in the process was restricted to the use of the rubric. Overall ratings in areas were inferred using mathematical averages for two out of the four raters. Clear instructions regarding the use of the rubrics would help reduce this problem.

Conclusion:

Our students in BMGT 892 are demonstrating appropriate levels of skill in their written group assignment.

For the committee:

Lloyd “Pat” Seaton
Associate Professor of Accounting

Committee members:
     Vani Kotcherlakota – Economics
     David Palmer - Management
     Vijay Agrawal – Marketing and MIS
     Lloyd “Pat” Seaton – Accounting and Finance

Table 1
Presentation Ratings
All Cases, All Raters

Ratings assigned:
3 – Exemplary
2 – Good
1 – Satisfactory
0 – Needs Improvement
NA – (presumably) Not Applicable

5. Discussion

The MBA Program has begun a reassessment of its mission and objectives. This reassessment is part of its ongoing continual improvement program as driven by the Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Accreditation (revised January 1, 2006) of the College of Business and Technology Business Division’s accrediting body, AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (available at http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards.asp). The process began at the CBT Retreat on August 16, 2006.

The reassessment of the MBA Program mission and objectives will inform potential program and curriculum changes and revitalization, which will in turn drive possible changes in the assurance of learning/assessment measurements. This is envisioned as an ongoing process.

Immediate initiatives in advance of full program reassessment:

1. The status of BMGT 892 Administrative Policy (Strategic Management). A number of students, typically in the Accounting Concentration, due to their undergraduate preparation can as full-time students complete the program in one calendar year. BMGT 892 is only offered in the Spring. For students starting in the Spring and finishing in December it is necessary for them to take BMGT 892 in their first semester. The effects of this on the nature of BMGT 892 as a capstone are going to be discussed after the completion of the Spring 2007 semester. This may have some bearing on the appropriateness of using BMGT 892 as the platform for the Written Paper Assessment.

2. The status of the Accounting Concentration. The Accounting Concentration has appeal for students wishing to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in Nebraska. To do so students need to have completed 150 credit hours. The MBA program affords the students the opportunity to fulfill the 150 credit hour requirement (125 undergraduate hours + 30 graduate hours in the MBA program), as well as earn an MBA. Many of these students go directly from their undergraduate program into the MBA program and desire to finish the program in one calendar year (hence the creation of the situation alluded to above in point 1). The accounting faculty have begun an evaluation of the coursework available within the concentration as to its appropriateness as preparation for the CPA exam and for a career as a public accountant. Additionally, the role of BACC 858 Managerial Accounting Systems as a part of the MBA Core is being rethought. The course may be appropriate for general MBA students but may be redundant for students with substantial undergraduate preparation in accounting.