C. CURRICULUM CONTENT AND EVALUATION

The Curriculum section first describes Robinson College of Business'(RCB) organizational responsibilities and processes for curriculum planning, development, evaluation, and revision. Then the programs of the college are presented with respect to program content and structure, satisfaction of curriculum content standards, and assessment in the following order:

Next, processes for assuring student compliance with curriculum content specifications are addressed. Finally, plans for curriculum development over the next five years are discussed.

Organizational Responsibilities. [Standard C.2] From a college-level administrative perspective, curriculum planning, development, assessment, and revision are managed by the associate dean with responsibility for the specific program working with the Undergraduate Program Council (UPC) or the Graduate Program Council (GPC). Each program council consists of five faculty members -- a chair, who is appointed by the dean, and four other members, who are elected by the RCB faculty. Members serve staggered terms of three years. The appropriate associate dean serves as an ex-officio member of each council. The director of the Office of Academic Assistance (which is responsible for managing master's-level admissions and student advisement) and appropriate administrative staff from the Dean's Office also participate in and support the deliberations of the program councils. The RCB Bylaws (Reference P-3, Section IV-D) charge the program councils with the following responsibilities:

Curriculum Planning, Development, and Approval Processes. [Standard C.2.1] Curriculum planning and development typically occurs within faculty groups that are directly involved in the delivery of each program. For the specialized master's programs and for concentrations/majors in the BBA, MBA, and PhD programs, these faculty groups are primarily within the academic units. Each academic unit has established written policies and procedures that govern the curriculum planning, development, and unit-level faculty approval process (see Reference C-1, Curriculum Planning). For the general structure/requirements of the BBA, MBA, and PhD programs, the faculty groups involved in curriculum planning are cross-disciplinary and include the UPC, GPC, MBA Faculty Group, and Doctoral Program Coordinators.

Faculty groups involved in curriculum planning and development seek input from the RCB Advisory Board, unit-level advisory boards, discipline-specific executive RoundTables, alumni, and other appropriate sources. Once approved at the academic unit or cross-disciplinary faculty group level, all curriculum proposals are forwarded to the UPC or GPC for review. The program council reviews the proposal for consistency with the college mission and for compliance with curriculum standards imposed by the University System of Georgia, Georgia State University, AACSB, and the RCB. Questions and concerns raised by the program council are addressed by the source of the proposal. If all questions and concerns are resolved to the satisfaction of the program council, the council recommends the proposal for faculty approval at the next RCB faculty meeting. These recommendations are communicated prior to the faculty meeting through a motions memorandum from each program council, and at least one open faculty hearing on the motions memorandum is held prior to the faculty meeting by each program council. Following RCB faculty approval, proposals for the creation or deletion of degree programs or majors within existing programs must be submitted to the university and the university system for approval.

Program Assessment and Revision Processes. [Standard C.2.2] In 1996, the college began the process of developing and implementing a formal program assessment process. Groups of faculty were appointed as assessment teams for each program, and a faculty member with strong empirical research skills was appointed to coordinate the effort for the college. An assessment manual was developed for the college, and several workshops were held to train faculty in program assessment methodologies. Then the program assessment teams set about the task of developing an assessment plan for each program.

The assessment plan for each program begins with the mission statement for the program, which must be consistent with and supportive of the mission statement of the college. A guiding principle is that each program mission statement indicates as concisely as possible what constituency is served and what value is created by the program for that constituency. For most programs, the previously existing mission statements were found to be inadequate for assessment purposes, so they were rewritten as necessary. Each program mission statement has been reviewed by the appropriate program council and approved by the RCB faculty. Based on the mission statement, program objectives provide specific, though not necessarily measurable, statements of the intended impact of the program on the student. For each program objective, one or more expected outcomes translate the program objective into a measurable statement(s) of program impact in terms of knowledge imparted, skills developed, career placement/advancement, etc. Finally, for each expected outcome, one or more assessment methods are specified -- including, for example: comprehensive exams, evaluations of student projects, and surveys of students, alumni and employers. Assessment teams were cautioned to develop assessment plans that reflect realistic goals and involve assessment methods that are supportable with available resources.

As assessment plans were developed for each program, they were submitted to the RCB assessment coordinator for review. Most assessment plans went through several developmental drafts incorporating suggestions for improvement provided by the assessment coordinator. Assessment instruments (e.g., exams, surveys, etc.) were then developed. All of this developmental effort took place as GSU, along with the entire University System of Georgia, was converting all program curricula from the quarter system to the semester system. The actual conversion to the semester system occurred in fall, 1998. The 1998-99 academic year is the first year in which the assessment plans have been applied to all programs. Reference C-2, RCB College Assessment Plans and Results, presents for each program:

• The assessment plan
• Assessment instruments (exam, surveys, etc.)
• Assessment data and analysis for 1998-99 academic year
• Resulting actions/plans for improvement

The college has a clear policy with supporting responsibilities and procedures (Reference M-1: RCB Policies and Procedures Manual, item C-1) for ongoing assessment of academic programs. Although program assessment is expected to be a continuous process within the program assessment teams, each program will be subjected to review by the Undergraduate or Graduate Program Council at least once every five years. This process will be coordinated with a similar periodic review process that is mandated and conducted at the university level. The program council will communicate its findings to the program director, along with guidance for correcting any deficiencies and suggestions for improvement of the program or the curriculum planning/assessment process. The program council will follow up to ensure appropriate action is taken.

Henceforth, a complete assessment plan (structured as described above) must be included in any curriculum proposal that would create a new program or significantly change the mission, objectives, content, or requirements of an existing program. The assessment plan will be reviewed by the appropriate program council along with the proposed curriculum. Final approval of such a proposal by the RCB faculty will include approval of the assessment plan.

The mission of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program is provided in Section M (Mission and Objectives) of this report. The BBA program objectives are presented in Table C--4.

Program Content and Structure. The BBA degree program has two major segments -- the core curriculum of the University System of Georgia and the business core and major. The freshman and sophomore years of the BBA program include 60 semester hours of course work designated as Core Areas A-F that satisfy the core curriculum of the University System of Georgia (Table C--1).

BBA Core Curriculum -- University System of Georgia

Undergraduate business students are introduced to business disciplines in Core Area F. The remaining business core courses are encountered in the junior year, including the BusA 4980 capstone course normally taken in the final semester. Table C--2 lists the business core courses in the BBA program.

In addition to the university core and business core courses requirements, BBA students select a major (18-21 hours), junior/senior business electives (6-12 hours) and junior/senior electives from the College of Arts and Sciences (9 hours). A strength of the RCB is the scope of specialization permitted by the size of the college. Eleven BBA majors are offered, including unique business disciplines such as actuarial science, hospitality administration, and risk management and insurance. This feature greatly enhances the attractiveness of the BBA program outside the local area and region. (Reference: S-1, 1998-99 GSU General Catalog, pp. 243-244.)

Satisfaction of Curriculum Content Standards. The RCB understands that students must appreciate the various perspectives that form the context of business. An examination of BBA core course syllabi and a survey of the academic units (Table C--3) indicates inclusion of these perspectives as specified in Standard C.1.1 in the required BBA courses.

The general education component comprises at least 50% of the BBA program [Standard C.1.2.a] when you consider that six semester hours of economics (Econ 2105 and Econ 2106), three semester hours of statistics (DSc 3100) and nine semester hours of A&S electives are part of the general education component of the BBA program.

Standard C.1.2.b is satisfied by Core Areas E and F that require an appropriate exposure to the foundation disciplines of accounting, economics, mathematics and statistics (Table C--1). In addition, the BBA business core courses offer additional content exposure to these disciplines

(Table C--2). The behavioral science requirement can be met through a social sciences elective in Core Area E. The University System of Georgia requires all institutions to offer a broad array of social sciences electives that include courses in behavioral science (psychology and sociology), however the RCB cannot specify certain electives for BBA students.

Legend: *** = Major coverage (more than 25% of course content)

** = Moderate coverage (10% to 25% of course content)

* = Minor coverage (less than 10% of course content)

blank = No significant coverage

Standard C.1.2.c is addressed in several areas. Core Area B requires a course in Human Communications. In the junior year there is a business communications requirement that can be satisfied by one of three communication courses. The capstone course (BusA 4980) also has a significant communications component. Finally, many of the academic units require written and oral communications as a integral part of the major courses.

Standard C.1.2.d is satisfied by a consistency between the mission of the BBA program and the additional degree requirements beyond the business core. A strength of the RCB BBA program is the degree of specialization available to undergraduate students. The major course requirements are determined by each academic unit and approved by the Undergraduate Program Council. A major consists of 18 to 21 semester hours. The remaining hours in the BBA program consist of junior/senior business electives (6-12 hours) and junior/senior Arts & Sciences electives (9 hours). Specific course requirements for each major can be found in Reference S-1: 1998-99 GSU General Catalog. (Pp. 246-256)

• Acct 2101
• Acct 2102
• BusA 2106
• CIS 2010
• Dsc 3120
• Fi 3300
• Mgt 3500
• Mk 3010
• BusA 4980
• All major courses
• RCB electives

Assessment Plan. Table C--4 on page 34 presents the assessment plan for the BBA program. The primary assessment methods consist of a written test of core business knowledge and surveys of our major stakeholders. The Business II test provided by Education Testing Service (ETS) is administered to all BBA students as part of the BusA 4980 capstone course. This ETS test analyses core business knowledge, and provides percentile scores for RCB students. The percentile scores for each of the core business areas are shown in Table C--5. The results of this test may indicate where core course improvement is necessary. The UPC reviews these test data as part of the continuous improvement of the BBA program.

Source: ETS Business II Test Results

Assessment surveys are used to provide feedback from three important stakeholder groups -- graduating students, alumni and employers of our graduates. In addition to assessing the achievement of program objectives and expected outcomes of the BBA program, the surveys also ask respondents to comment on such things as the learning environment, course scheduling, student services, continuing education activities and career success. The results of this portion of the surveys are reviewed by the UPC and shared with the appropriate service providers as part of the continuing improvement process. The results of these assessment surveys are provided in Reference C-2.

At the end of each term BBA students complete a course evaluation form for each course taken that term which assesses the value of the course and the performance of the instructor. A number of attributes are examined, with one global question asking students for their perception of the relative worth of the course. The results of the BBA core course ratings for the last five years are provided in Table C--6.

* 1 = not at all worthwhile, 3 = Moderately worthwhile, 5 = extremely worthwhile

Finally, the RCB participates in the AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Student Satisfaction Study. For purposes of comparison, the RCB Undergraduate Program Council chose the following six schools as peer institutions from among the schools available based on perceived similarities in their undergraduate teaching missions and the qualifications of the students served:

• University of Cincinnati
• University of Illinois - Chicago
• University of Texas - Dallas
• University of Georgia
• Northeastern University
• Boston University

The BBA program scored particularly well in the quality of teaching of required courses and major business courses. The overall satisfaction rating of the RCB BBA program is compared with the selected peer group and all schools included in the study in Table C--7. Data for the 1999 administration are pending.

* Ratings on a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 representing highest level of satisfaction

These data are used by the UPC along with the other BBA assessment information to gauge our success in meeting BBA program objectives and expected outcomes. This assessment process is critical to the continuous improvement of the BBA program.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in its several formats is the flagship program of the RCB by which the college is most widely recognized for quality, innovation, and flexibility. The mission of the MBA program is provided in Section M (Mission and Objectives) of this report. The MBA program objectives are presented in Table C--10. During the 1998-99 academic year the college offered the MBA program in three formats as described in the following sections. (Reference S-2: 1999-98 RCB Graduate Bulletin)

Master of Business Administration

This program is frequently called the "regular" or "flexible" MBA program. It is designed primarily for part-time students, although some students pursue this program on a full-time basis.

Noncredit Requirements: MBA Orientation

Business Communications Skills Workshop

Group A: Foundation Courses (0-12 semester hours). These courses, if assigned, must be taken first.

Econ 2105. Principles of Macroeconomics (3 hours)

Econ 2106. Principles of Microeconomics (3 hours)

MBA 8041. Statistical Analysis for Managers (3 hours)

MBA 8121. Accounting for Financial Decisions (3 hours)

Group B: Core Courses (9-12 semester hours). One of these courses may be exempted based on substantial academic background. Specific exemption criteria are specified for each course.

MBA 8412. Organizational Behavior (3 hours)

MBA 8452. Systems and Operations Management (3 hours)

MBA 8622. Corporation Finance (3 hours)

MBA 8642. Marketing Management (3 hours)

Group C: Required Courses Beyond the Core (15 semester hours). Any of these courses can be exempted based on specified criteria, but exempted courses in this group must be replaced by an 8000-level RCB course for which prerequisites have been satisfied (except MBA 8041, MBA 8121, or a Group B course that has been exempted).

MBA 8403. Economics for Managers (3 hours)

MBA 8423. Law and Ethics in Business and Employment Environments (3 hours)

MBA 8473. Information Technology and Decision Strategy (3 hours)

MBA 8683. Managerial Accounting and Control (3 hours)

MBA 8993. Strategic and International Management (3 hours)

or

IB 8990. Policy and Strategy in the International Marketplace (3 hours)

Group D: Concentration (12 semester hrs). Requirements of graduate-level coursework for each available concentration are specified. Concentrations available as of fall semester, 1998, are:

Accounting Hospitality Administration

Decision Sciences International Business

Economics Management

Electronic Commerce Marketing

Finance Personnel and Employment Relations

General Business Real Estate

Information Systems Risk Management and Insurance

In addition, a concentration in health administration has been approved by the faculty and will be available in spring semester, 1999.

Group E: 8000-Level RCB Elective (3 semester hours). This elective may be chosen from any 8000-level RCB course for which prerequisites have been satisfied (except MBA 8041, MBA 8121, or a Group B course that has been exempted). Students choosing to major in real estate or risk management and insurance must take their elective in their major area or take one additional course.

Optional -- Group F: Major (6 additional semester hours). Requirements of graduate-level coursework for each available major are specified. Majors are available in the areas in which concentrations are available as listed above, except: electronic commerce, hospitality administration, and health administration. Proposals for majors in electronic commerce and hospitality administration have been approved by the RCB faculty and are pending approval at the university and university system levels.

The perspectives that form the context for business specified in Standard C.1.1 are covered in the required courses of the MBA program as indicated in Table C--8.

Standard C.1.3.a is satisfied by requiring the Group A foundation courses (except MBA 8041) and the four core courses in Group B -- a total of 21 semester hours.

Standard C.1.3.b for 30 semester hours beyond the core is satisfied by requiring MBA 8041 in Group A, the 15 hours in Group C, the 12 hours in Group D, and the 3-hour elective in Group E -- total of 33 semester hours. The 18 hours in Groups C and E are outside the area of concentration.

Legend: *** = Major coverage (more than 25% of course content)

** = Moderate coverage (10% to 25% of course content)

* = Minor coverage (less than 10% of course content)

blank = No significant coverage

With respect to Standard C.1.3.c, the college's 1998-1999 Graduate Bulletin (p. 65) states that the MBA program is developed on the assumption that students enter the program with:

• Communication skills. All master's students must complete a one-day, noncredit workshop in business communication skills before registering for their fourth 8000-level RCB course.
• Algebra skills. A list of algebra topics that provide the necessary background for MBA courses and a self-administered diagnostic test are made available to incoming students. Students are advised to take Math 1111 (College Algebra) or take other appropriate steps to prepare themselves if necessary. In addition, MBA 8041 (Statistical Analysis for Managers) is a required foundation course (Group A) for students who lack a background in statistical analysis.
• Computing skills. Computing skills prerequisites (CSPs) are specified for all RCB courses that require computer usage. All incoming MBA students are expected to be proficient in CSP 1 -- Basic Microcomputing Skills. Students are expected to take action as necessary to acquire higher level CSPs (e.g., CSP 3 -- Advanced Microcomputer Spreadsheet Skills) required for specific courses.

In addition, Table C--9 shows the extent to which each required course requires students to apply and be evaluated on each of the four skills specified in Standard C.1.3.c.

Legend: *** = Major requirement (more than 25% of course requirements)

** = Moderate requirement (10% to 25% of course requirements)

* = Minor requirement (less than 10% of course requirements)

blank = No significant requirement

With respect to Standard C.1.3.d:

• The required 15 semester hours in Group C support the MBA program objectives as well as the perspectives that form the context for business (as specified in Standard C.1.1), which are not covered adequately in the Group B core courses.
• Additional requirements are specified for each concentration and optional major. Most concentrations and majors include electives within the area of concentration.
• The program includes a 3-semester-hour business elective.

Standard C.1.3.e is satisfied primarily through the required capstone course -- MBA 8993 or IB 8990. Both courses are cross-functional, strategic, and international in orientation; and they employ the case methodology. In addition, students are encouraged to use their elective to take MBA 8880, Field Study in Business. This course involves students working in cross-functional teams of four or five to address in depth a problem/project for a company in the Atlanta area. This self-evaluation indicates, however, that the integration of the core areas and the application of cross-functional approaches to organizational issues is the weakest aspect of the MBA program design. The difficulty stems in part from the size of the program and the number of instructors who teach the required courses in Groups B and C. Additional creative efforts are needed to strengthen this aspect of the program.

Assessment Plan. Table C--10 presents the assessment plan for the regular/flexible MBA program. The results of the 1998-99 application of the assessment plan are presented in Reference C-2.

In addition to the assessment measures specified in Table C--10, the RCB took part in the 1998 AACSB/EBI Part-Time MBA Student Satisfaction Study. For purposes of comparison, the MBA Program Improvement Committee chose the following six schools as peer institutions from among the schools available based on perceived similarities in the qualifications of the part-time MBA students served:

• Santa Clara University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Arizona State University
• University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
• University of Southern California
• Rutgers University

The RCB part-time MBA program ranked second among the seven comparative schools (and 25th among the 79 schools participating) in terms of overall satisfaction. The RCB program was rated especially strong with respect to: (a) the quality of teaching in the individual disciplines and (b) placement/career services. Areas of relative dissatisfaction highlighted by the survey were: (a) the amount of work required in elective courses and (b) the international perspective and team experiences in the curriculum. Table C--11 presents the rating on overall satisfaction for each of the years that the RCB has participated in the study. The data indicate that overall satisfaction improved from 1996 to 1998 (although there was a slight decrease from 1997 to 1998), and that the rating for the RCB was higher than the means for all public programs and all programs (public and private) in each of the three years.

*Ratings on a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 representing highest level of satisfaction.

The college also conducts an exit survey of each year's MBA graduating class to collect data on their perceptions regarding a number of dimensions of program quality. Table C--12 presents the results of the surveys for the last five years with respect to the graduate's overall rating of the MBA program on a 5-point scale. In each year, the mean rating was between "good" and "very good," and, in general, the mean rating has been trending upward over the five-year period.

*1=poor, 2=fair, 3=good, 4=very good, 5=excellent

*1=not at all worthwhile, 3=moderately worthwhile, 5=extremely worthwhile

Executive Master of Business Administration

This part-time, lockstep program is designed for experienced managers. Typical EMBA students have at least 10 years of work experience, have undertaken significant duties within their organization, and have clear potential for top management. The program requires four semesters, and classes meet one full day each week on alternating Fridays and Saturdays. Two overseas business visits are included--usually to countries in South America and Asia.

The perspectives that form the context for business specified in Standard C.1.1 are covered in the required courses of the EMBA program as indicated in Table C--15

Standard C.1.3.a is satisfied through the Group A core courses totaling 18 semester hours.

Standard C.1.3.b is satisfied through the Group B courses beyond the core totaling 30.5 semester hours. There is no area of specialization in the EMBA program.

Table C--15

Legend: *** = Major coverage (more than 25% of course content)

** = Moderate coverage (10% to 25% of course content)

* = Minor coverage (less than 10% of course content)

blank = No significant coverage

With respect to Standard C.1.3.c, EMBA 8000 introduces and provides initial coverage of six themes that continue through the entire program. These themes are oral communications, written communications, quantitative analysis, computer skills, interpersonal skills, and an international perspective. In addition, Table C--16 shows the extent to which each required course requires students to apply and be evaluated on each of the four skills specified in Standard C.1.3.c.

With respect to Standard C.1.3.d, the EMBA program is lockstep and contains no electives. The program is structured to provide breadth through a set of courses that have been carefully designed for general managers at the executive level. As compared with the regular/flexible MBA program, the EMBA curriculum places special emphasis on financial management and international/cross-cultural business practices.

Standard C.1.3.e is satisfied primarily through EMBA 8750, which is cross-functional and strategic in orientation and employs the case methodology. In addition:

• The two international business visits provide a cross-functional/strategic perspective on the organizations visited.
• The students form cross-functional study teams and work together throughout the program, drawing upon the functional expertise of the team members on cases, projects, and other assignments.

Table C--16

Legend: *** = Major requirement (more than 25% of course requirements)

** = Moderate requirement (10% to 25% of course requirements)

* = Minor requirement (less than 10% of course requirements)

blank = No significant coverage

Assessment Plan. The EMBA program uses the same assessment plan as described earlier for the regular/flexible MBA program, except that the final program objective of the regular/flexible MBA program relating to the opportunity to specialize or select electives is not relevant to the EMBA program.

*Ratings on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 representing highest level of performance

*1=not at all worthwhile, 3=moderately worthwhile, 5=extremely worthwhile

This full-time program is designed for students with at least two years of work experience. The required courses are taken lockstep. During the fall semester of 1998, the college's Executive Committee proposed the elimination of the CMBA program, because the college had never been able to recruit a sufficient number of students to justify the resources required to support the program. The Graduate Program Council reviewed the proposal and recommended its approval by the college faculty. At the fall semester faculty meeting, the RCB faculty voted to delete the CMBA program and all CMBA-prefixed courses effective with the 1999-2000 Graduate Bulletin. Resources currently devoted to the CMBA program will be redeployed, primarily to satisfying the growing demand for the regular/flexible MBA program. Since the CMBA program will cease to exist, space will not be devoted here to describing the program content and structure (Reference S-2, 1998-1999 Graduate Bulletin, pp.73-74), how the program met the curriculum content standards, or the program assessment plan.

SPECIALIZED MASTER'S PROGRAMS

Although the RCB's nationally ranked MBA and Executive MBA programs receive the greatest emphasis, the college also offers several specialized master's programs that are nationally recognized for excellence. Moreover, the size of the college provides the opportunity to recruit highly specialized faculty, who can support specialized master's programs. Thus, RCB is able to offer a wide variety of such programs within the context of its mission to prepare its students "...with the knowledge and skills needed to remain effective in a global, culturally diverse and technologically advanced world that is characterized by rapid change and complex interdependencies."

Satisfaction of Curriculum Content Standards. The missions of the specialized master's programs are presented in Section M (Mission and Objectives) of this report. The program objectives for each specialized master's program are presented in Reference C-2 in conjunction with the program assessment plans. As indicated in those objectives, each program satisfies Standard C.1.4.a by preparing students for specialized roles in business, management, and related professions. Each specialized master's program is clearly distinguishable from a general management degree. In fact, a specialization in strategy and entrepreneurship within the management major of the Master of Science program was eliminated in the fall of 1996 due to the potential similarity of its curriculum to the MBA program.

With respect to Standard C.1.4.b, every specialized master's program (with the possible exception of the Master of Science, Major in Finance as noted in Table C--19) requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate coursework, of which more than 12 hours (actually no fewer than 20 hours) are in the area of specialization. Table C--19 summarizes the credit hour requirements of each program. Not included in the requirements shown in Table C--19 are "foundation requirements," which are specified for each program and can typically be satisfied with undergraduate courses.

In addition to the programs listed in Table C--19, a proposal for a new Master of Science in Electronic Commerce has been approved by the RCB faculty and is pending approval at the university and university system levels. This program will require 30 semester hours, of which at least 21 hours are in the electronic commerce specialization, although they involve several academic/functional areas.

Table C--19