Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
AACSB
ASSURANCE OF LEARNING PLAN
Undergraduate B.S. in Business
February 15, 2015
Table of Contents
1. Introduction And Overview Of Bs Business Degree 2
2. Overview Of Bs Business Assurance Of Learning Plan 4
3. Bs Business Assurance Of Learning Assessment Plan 5
4. Bs Business Curriculum Alignment Map 3
5. Bs Business (Bsb) Learning Goals, Objectives And Rubrics 16
Learning Goal 1: Communicate effectively in writing and oral presentations. 16
Learning Goal 2: Students can interact effectively in teams. 19
Learning Goal 3: Students understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance. 24
Learning Goal 4: Students demonstrate problem-solving skills and can develop innovative solutions to business problems 27
1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF BS BUSINESS DEGREE
The BS Business program includes six majors: Business & Technology, Finance, Management, Marketing, Information Systems, and Economics. Students in all majors share the same core curriculum, which includes the Liberal Arts and Science Core, the Business Core, and the Practice Core. The BS Business program is a new degree, which started in Fall 2013, and it takes the place of BS Business & Technology that has been running since Fall 2000. The reason for the change was that under BS Business & Technology there was only one major – the Business & Technology major – whereas in Fall 2013 the other five majors were added and the degree name was changed to more aptly describe the variety of majors within it.
Under BS Business & Technology degree, the program has undergone strong assurance of learning processes that are being continued with the new BS Business degree. As noted in Table 1, the four goals of the program have been assessed 5-7 times depending on the goal.
More detailed results from goal assessments and corresponding steps taken to address those specific goals are documented in the individual goal booklets. We have also performed a more macro, holistic review of the feedback from the assessments with regards to how it has affected the program as a whole. We also solicited other forms of feedback outside of Assessment of Learning, including interviewing students and benchmarking our programs as part of a 6-month review we conducted of the program in 2011. A number of major changes were made, as follows:
1. Based on goal 1 assessments and other feedback, all students now take a freshman writing course taught by the College or Arts and Letters. This gives them a strong basis that they then work on over the course of the curriculum, and then are assessed in senior year.
2. Based on goal 3 (Students understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance) and other feedback, students in the Business & Technology major now take a technology concentration (in addition to a business concentration, as outlined in 5 below). The technology concentrations are in areas largely outside the business school (Information Systems, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Biotechnology, Green Technology, Music & Technology, Arts & Technology, History & Philosophy of Technology and Science). Prior to these concentrations, all students took the same coursework besides their elective choices. The concentrations in both business and technology provide students more choice and ensure they are developing specialty areas in both business and technology. In addition to goal 3, this is in line with our Vision and Mission and program goals, which all stress the importance of being a business school with technology at our core.
3. Based on goal 3 (Students understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance) and other feedback, we cut back the 5 hard science courses students took to 2 hard science courses. This created space for the technology concentrations described above. We also made room for a required course in International Business.
4. Based on goal 2 (Students can interact effectively in teams) and goal 4 (Students demonstrate analytic problem-solving skills ) assessments as well as other feedback, we put in place a 6- course “practice core” that focuses on team projects that require students to solve real-world problems that are cross-functional in nature. In three of the courses, students focus on performing strategic due diligence analyses and strategic planning for large public firms. In another course, students learn about entrepreneurship and identifying market opportunities. Finally, in the remaining two courses students work on a project their entire senior year in which they have the option to either be matched up with an actual company as their “client” or work on a start-up business. All projects have an underlying business problem that needs solving. Projects culminate in a presentation as part a campus wide Innovation.
5. Our goal 4 assessments (innovative solutions to business problems) as well as other feedback we received revealed that although students were getting exposure to business fundamentals, there was no opportunity for students to develop a specialty in a particular business area. This it seemed might limit students’ ability to have enough knowledge in a particular area so that they could develop innovative solutions. A thorough review was done of this gap and it was decided to adjust the curriculum to include the 5 new majors detailed above, which all take the same core curriculum as the Business & Technology major and in addition take 6-8 courses in their major. The Business & Technology program also added a business concentration, which includes 4 courses in one of four business areas (Marketing, Finance, Information Systems, International Business).
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2. OVERVIEW OF BS BUSINESS ASSURANCE OF LEARNING PLAN
Credits / CoursesBS Business / 126 / 41
Howe School of Technology Management Vision
To be a business school with technology at our core that has impact throughout the world.
Undergraduate BS Business Vision
To provide an outstanding undergraduate business education that is distinguished by its focus on technology, its real-world application, and complex problem solving.
BS Business Learning Goals
The Learning Goals for the BS Business program are listed in Table 1. Note that two of the BS Business learning goals (BSB1 and BSB2) are the same as those for the Howe School. Learning goals BSB3 and BSB4 are specialized versions of the school-wide goals HS3 and HS4.
Table 1: Undergraduate BS Business Learning Goals
BS BUSINESS Program Learning Goals / Assessments Completed as of Fall 2014BSB - 1. Students can communicate effectively in written and oral presentations. / 7
BSB - 2. Students can interact effectively in teams. / 6
BSB - 3. Understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance. / 7
BSB - 4. Students demonstrate analytic problem-solving skills / 5
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3. BS BUSINESS ASSURANCE OF LEARNING ASSESSMENT PLAN
Table 2: Undergraduate BS Business (BSB) Assurance of Learning Assessment Plan - Goals 1 through 4
LEARNING GOAL / Where Measured / When measured? / Sampling / Measuring & Validation Plan / CriterionBSB - 1. Students can communicate effectively in writing and in oral presentations.
[Responsibility: Murphy and Stein] / BT401 Capital Structure & Strategy Audit (Required for BS Business Seniors) / Fall Semester, annually / A sample of 30 students. / For writing: All students in BT401 submit writing sample to College of Arts and Letters (CAL) faculty, who evaluate samples using appropriate rubrics.
For Presentations: All students in BT401 have their presentation skills observed during a team presentation in which all students are required to present. A CAL faculty member reviews presentations and complete rubrics for each student. / For both the oral and written evaluations for presentation skills, 80% of students must receive a grade of “A” or “B”.
For writing: A score of 20/40 must be achieved or else completion of Tech Writing Webinar is required.
For Presentations: A score of 20/50 must be achieved or else students are required to submit a reflective essay on the presentation and their plan for improving their skills.
BSB - 2. Students can interact effectively in teams.
[Responsibility Aronson] / BT330 Social Psychology & Organization (Required for BS Business Juniors) / Fall Semester, annually / All students in one section (approximately 30) / All students in BT330 take team performance questionnaire that will be administered at the beginning and end of the course. Questions addresses 4 team building traits: conflict resolution; collaborative problem solving, communication/active listening, and team leadership & task coordination.
The test will be submitted online and graded by the system. / Students receive feedback reports for pre and post-tests. Post-tests assess any improvements. Faculty receive overall reports. Students incorporate feedback into a self-development plan that is a part of the final course deliverable.
BSB - 3. Students will understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance.
[Responsibility Parfett] / MIS460 IT Strategy: Strategic Issues in IT Management (Course is one of the three IS courses students can select from for their two Information Systems Requirements.) / Fall Semester, annually / All students in one section (approximately 30). / All students in MIS460 go through an exercise on alignment and how this leads to competitive advantage that involves an individual paper. / 85% of students get a grade of GOOD or better on the paper as measured by the rubric for this learning goal.
BSB - 4. Students have problem solving skills and can develop innovative solutions to business problems.
[Responsibility Tonoyan] / BT372 Discovery and Commercialization of Tech Business Opportunities (Required for BS Business Juniors) / Spring Semester, annually / All students in one section (approximately 30). / All BT372 Students are evaluated on their case analysis presentations and final reports. The course instructor will complete appropriate rubric. / 85% of students get a grade of GOOD or better as measured by the rubric for this learning goal
4. BS BUSINESS CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT MAP
Table 3: BSB Curriculum Alignment Map
Goals/BSB Courses / BSB - 1. Students can communicate effectively in written and oral presentations. / BSB - 2. Students can interact effectively in teams.
/ BSB - 3. Students will understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance. / BSB - 4. Students have problem solving skills and can develop innovative solutions to business problems.
Business Core COURSES
BT100
Principles of
Management
(Aronson) / Students prepare individual written analyses and present a team analysis of management issues. / Students working in teams analyze and present solutions to a business issue. / Management and operating issues are analyzed.
BT181
Seminar in Business
Houlihan / There are classroom case studies that involve collaboration / The course includes lectures and readings on decision-making tools, methods and procedures. / This course addresses how management decisions are made in a corporate business environment.
MIS 201
Fundament. of Info Systems
(zur Muehlen) / Students present and lead a class discussion on emerging IT. / Teams identify implications of emergent IT. / Students explore how IT is used in organizations. The lab component of the course teaches students advanced excel skills, which they learn to apply in a business setting. / Students use advanced excel techniques to solve business problems.
BT200
Financial
Accounting
(Fang-Chun) / Students prepare and analyze financial statements using spreadsheets. Computerized homework software develops skills in interpreting accounting information. / Intensive problem solving is used in this course. Identifying relevant information and determining appropriate solutions to problems is emphasized.
BT 214
Market Research
Sabnis / Student groups present their market research project in class and deliver a written report. / Students work in groups on a market research project / Students collect data using questionnaires, enter the data into a spreadsheet and analyze it. / Students are provided with the tools and techniques to plan and carry out a marketing research project
BT215
Managerial
Accounting
(Hu, Nan) / Costs and assessing their impact on the income statement are emphasized. Computerized homework software develops skills in interpreting accounting information. / Students identify relevant costs in making decisions such as outsourcing, special orders and dropping a department are explored. Intensive problem solving is used in this course.
BT 221
Statistics
(Anderson) / Course guides students in using statistics to assess tech-business related functions and issues, e.g., product quality, customer satisfaction, and survey results. / Entire course revolves around problem solving (collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative data).
BT 223
Applied Models & Simulation
(Ryan) / Teams run a Business Game Management Simulation / Assignments focus on applying forecasting and stochastic modeling technologies to business problems. / Students use Excel to do Linear Programming and Regression Analysis for various business problems.
Goals/
BSB Courses / BSB - 1. Students can communicate effectively in written and oral presentations. / BSB - 2. Students can interact effectively in teams.
/ BSB - 3. Students will understand how technology is leveraged to improve business performance. / BSB - 4. Students have problem solving skills and can develop innovative solutions to business problems.
BT 243
Macroeconomics
(Anderson) / Students apply macroeconomic concepts to business performance. Emphasis is placed on how macroeconomic factors are influenced by technology developments. / Students apply knowledge from different topics covered from class to managerial and business performance.
BT 244
Microeconomics
(Koeller) / Course includes written analysis on the functioning of markets, demand elasticity and other real-world phenomena. / Students study the economic behavior of individuals and firms, and the role that technology plays in it. / Students analyze decisions to employ labor and capital and apply microeconomic principals to business.
BT310
Programming for Mobile
Applications
(Ryan) / Students develop mobile applications using the Google Android App Inventor. / Students identify and apply best practices for mobile application design
BT321
Corporate
Finance
(Hamed) / Individual written analyses of case studies during the semester. Grades are based on organization/ methodology and problem solving / Students interact in teams of 5 to interpret a large corporation’s financial health. / Case studies enable students to translate business theory and events into financial terms. Emphasis is placed on the financial implications of financial developments. / Weekly assignment focuses on quantitative problem solving. For each chapter, students are required to submit answers to problem sets.