Curriculum Content and Evaluation

CURRICULUM CONTENT AND EVALUATION Undergraduate

At the undergraduate level, the College of Administrative Science offers the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree with majors in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing.

The BSBA is a comprehensive four-year program that includes a liberal arts and science foundation, a business administration core curriculum, a major, and a choice of elective courses. The curriculum is divided into the lower and upper division. The lower division is the first two years of courses, and the upper division is the last two years.

To prepare students for the business challenges of the future, the program provides a solid foundation in the diverse academic disciplines related to the needs of business, industry, and government. Students concentrate the first two years of study on general course work in composition, the humanities and fine arts, history, social and behavioral sciences, natural and physical sciences, and mathematics. Successful completion of these courses is designed to broaden their intellectual awareness and enhance the development of cultural literacy and analytical thinking. This general education component, along with the pre-professional business administration core curriculum, prepares the student for admission to upper-division coursework in the College. The remaining two years of coursework develops the student's understanding of the diverse functions of business in the US and world-wide economy. This is accomplished by studying the essential concepts of business administration as well as focusing on one of the major disciplines.

CU.l CURRICULUM CONTENT

CU.l.l Perspectives: Undergraduate

CU.l.l: Both undergraduate and MBA curricula should provide an understanding of perspectives that form the context for business. Coverage should include:  ethical and global issues,  the influence of political, social, legal and regulatory, environmental and technological issues, and  the impact of demographic diversity on organizations.

The BSBA program requires that all students be exposed to the perspectives that form the context of business. These perspectives are addressed both in appropriate courses in the core curriculum and, when appropriate, in the courses that are requirements for majors.

Coverage of the perspectives is identified on the master course syllabi, contained in course materials, and may appear in examination material. Individual faculty are responsible for ensuring the incidence of perspective coverage in their courses as reflected on the master course syllabus.

The global issues perspective is fully addressed in a specific course (MGT 450 – International Business) and much of the political, legal and regulatory perspective is the focus of BLS 211 (The Legal Environment of Business). The other perspectives are covered in an integrative manner across the ______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 1 curriculum. Table CU.1.1 identifies coverage of each of the perspectives that is contained in core and pre- core courses that all undergraduate business students are required to complete. There are 16 required core and pre-core courses taken by business undergraduates, totaling 48 semester hours. All 48 hours are controlled and taught by faculty in the College. Depending on the major a student chooses and other courses taken beyond the core, the incidence of selected perspectives may be much greater.

As indicated in Table CU.1.1, all requisite perspectives are extensively covered in core and/or pre-core courses taken by all business undergraduates. Most are covered at a fairly high level of concentration across courses. The most modest level of coverage occurs in the political and social perspectives. In all other cases, the incidence of coverage is much more extensive. Ethics is a component in 14 of the 16 courses. The global and technology perspectives receive coverage in 11 of the 16 business courses identified in Table CU.1.1.

Table CU.1.1 Coverage of Business Perspectives in the BSBA Core and Pre-Core Courses

Ethical Global Political Social Legal/ Environ- Technology Diversity Regulatory Mental Pre-Core Courses ECN 142 ◙ ◙ ECN 143 ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ MIS 146 ◙ ◙ MSC 287 ◙ ◙ MSC 288 ◙ ◙ BLS 211 ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ACC 211 ◙ ◙ ◙ ACC 212 ◙ ◙ Core Courses ACC 307 ◙ ◙ FIN 301 ◙ ◙ MGT 301 ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ MIS 301 ◙ ◙ ◙ MKT 301 ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ MSC 385 ◙ ◙ ◙ MGT 450 ◙ ◙ ◙ MGT 499 ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙

CU.1.2 Undergraduate

CU.1.2.a: Each undergraduate curriculum should have a general education component that normally comprises at least 50 percent of the student’s four-year program.

In the College’s policy regarding the BSBA curriculum, the 128 required hours are broken down as shown in Table CU.1.2.a. Table CU.1.2.a General Education and Business Components of the BSBA Curriculum

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 2 General Education Business Component Component Lower Division General Education Requirements 38 hours Pre-Professional Business Administration Core Macro and Microeconomics 6 hours Business Statistical Analysis I 6 hours Other 14 hours Upper Division General Education Requirements 14 hours Upper Division Business Administration Core 24 hours Major 21 hours Free Electives 0 – 5 hours 5 – 0 hours TOTALS 64 - 69 hours 64 - 59 hours PERCENTAGES 50 - 54 % 50 - 46 %

Nine hours of economics and six hours of statistics are counted as part of the general education component. Free electives may be taken in or outside of the College. As the table indicates, the general education component comprises at least 50% of the four-year BSBA program. Details of the curriculum requirements are outlined in Policy Number CAS 98-02-23 and given on pages 84 – 87 of the 2001–2003 Undergraduate Catalog.

CU.1.2.b: The curriculum should include foundation knowledge for business in the following areas:

● accounting ● behavioral science ● economics, and ● mathematics and statistics.

In addition to the general education requirements, the faculty have structured the BSBA curriculum to provide foundation knowledge in each of the areas of accounting, behavioral science, economics, and mathematics and statistics. Policy Numbers CAS 98-02-23 and CAS 97-11-14 stipulate that the following courses be completed as part of the BSBA requirements.

Accounting ACC 211 - Financial Accounting 3 hours ACC 212 - Managerial Accounting 3 hours ACC 307 - Accounting Information Systems1 3 hours Behavioral Science Psychology, Sociology, or Anthropology Course 3 hours Economics ECN 142 - Macroeconomic Principles 3 hours ECN 143 - Microeconomic Principles 3 hours Upper Division Economics Course 3 hours

Mathematics and Statistics 2 MA 117 - Mathematics with Applications I 3 hours

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 3 MA 145 - Mathematics with Applications II (Business Calculus) 3 hours MSC 287 - Business Statistics I 3 hours MSC 288 - Business Statistics II 3 hours

1 ACC 307 is required for accounting and MIS majors. Other majors may select a different 300- level accounting course. 2 Entering students scoring below 20 on the quantitative section of the ACT are required to pass MA 004 (Basic Algebra) before enrolling in MA 117. Students scoring 26 or higher can enroll in MA 145 and choose 3 hours of electives outside the College of Administrative Science. A math placement test is also available to assess students’ readiness for the required quantitative courses. Students scoring sufficiently high on the placement test may skip MA 117 (and/or MA 004). Students placing at Level III on the placement test can enroll in MA 145 and choose 3 hours of electives outside the College of Administrative Science.

CU.1.2.c: The business curriculum should include written and oral communication as an important characteristic.

The BSBA curriculum requires students to receive training in written and oral communication skills through a set of specific courses. The requirement (in Policy Number CAS 98-02-23) exists to insure that students will be prepared to apply these skills in their upper division courses, the business policy course (MGT 499), and in their major courses.

The three required written communication courses include two standard composition courses, EH 101 and 102 (Freshman Composition), and an upper division course designed specifically for business students, EH 300 (Strategies for Business Writing). The one oral communication course required at the upper division, CM 313 (Business and Professional Communication), is also designed specifically for business students.

Courses within the majors can also include an additional component of written and oral communication as part of their requirements. Table CU.1.2.c summarizes the coursework coverage of written and oral communication skills.

CU.1.2.d: The school should state additional requirements for completion of the undergraduate business degree consistent with its mission. Majors or specializations should be consistent with the institutional mission and the availability of resources.

Our mission states that we will “meet the educational needs of our students by being the premier business school in North Alabama”. This means structuring a curriculum that not only broadens intellectual awareness, enhances the development of cultural literacy, and provides a foundation for analytical business thinking, but also provides students with an understanding of the diverse functions of business, the integration of those functions to solve business problems, and in-depth study of one of the major business disciplines.

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 4 Table CU.1.2.c Coursework Coverage of Written and Oral Communication Skills

Written Oral Communication Communication Required Communication Courses EH 101 and 102 (Freshman Composition) ◙ EH 300 (Strategies for Business Writing) ◙ CM 313 (Business and Professional Communication) ◙ MGT 499 (Business Policy) ◙ ◙ Required Courses in the Majors Accounting: ACC 310 (Intermediate Financial Accounting I) ACC 311 (Intermediate Financial Accounting II) ACC 313 (Individual and Small Business Income Taxes) ACC 314 (Cost Accounting) ACC 431 (Principles of Auditing) Finance: FIN 352 (Money and Banking) ◙ FIN 361 (Investments) ◙ FIN 431 (Short-term Capital Management) ◙ ◙ FIN 461 (Portfolio Management) ◙ ◙ FIN 470 (Commercial Bank Management) ◙ FIN 478 (Long-term Capital Management) ECN 345 (Microeconomic Analysis) Management – HRM Track: MGT 361 (Organizational Behavior) MGT 362 (Management and Labor Relations) ◙ ◙ MGT 363 (Personnel: Human Resource Management) MGT 460 (Employee Staffing and Development) MGT 461 (Strategic Compensation Management) MGT 462 (Government Regulation of Employment Relations) ECN 475 (Economics of Labor Markets and Human Resources) Management Information Systems (MIS): MIS 210 (Introduction to Computer Programming in Business) MIS 310 (Advanced Computer Programming in Business) MIS 340 (Databases for Management) MIS 350 (Advanced Databases for Management) MIS 412 (Information Systems Design and Implementation) ◙ ◙ MIS 420 (Electronic Commerce) MIS 460 (Telecommunications) ◙ ◙ Marketing: MKT 315 (Sales Management and Professional Selling) ◙ ◙ MKT 332 (Buyer Behavior) ◙ ◙ MKT 343 (Marketing Research Design) ◙ MKT 414 (Marketing Emerging Technologies) MKT 470 (Marketing in an Electronic Environment) MKT 480 (Marketing Management) Source: Master Course Syllabi

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 5 The first two years of the BSBA curriculum contain 50 hours of general education requirements and 14 hours of pre-professional business administration core courses that includes Microcomputer Applications, Legal Environment of Business, Financial and Management Accounting, and two hours of business electives. The school’s business component for the BSBA degree is concentrated in the last two years. The upper division business courses constitute 45 to 50 hours of the 59 to 64 hours of business coursework. Only a limited amount of business coursework taken before the junior year can be used to satisfy the requirements for a business degree. The last two years contain 21 hours of upper division business administration core courses, 21 hours in the major, and the three hour Business Policy (MGT 499) course.

The upper division business administration core courses in the last two years are designed to build upon the foundation established in the lower division general education and pre-professional business administration core courses taken in the first two years to give students an understanding and appreciation for the diverse functions of business. The courses include:

ACC 307 Accounting Information Systems FIN 301 Principles of Finance MGT 301 Managing Organizations MIS 301 Information Systems in Organizations MKT 301 Principles of Marketing MSC 385 Production Management MGT 450 International Business

Each of the majors is designed to give the student more in-depth knowledge of a particular business discipline. Each major consists of 21 hours and provides a comprehensive study of the important and relevant aspects of the discipline. Each of the majors is described in more detail on pages 87 – 95 of the 2001–2003 Undergraduate Catalog.

Finally, the BSBA curriculum includes MGT 499 (Business Policy). MGT 499 plays the capstone role of integrating the core areas and teaching cross-functional approaches to addressing business problems. The primary mechanism is the use of strategic management cases. By presenting organization-wide cases with inter-related, multi-functional, complex, and unstructured problems, the faculty requires students to use the specific knowledge and skills from the core areas to analyze each case and to make comprehensive recommendations to solve the problems uncovered by the analysis. The course also heightens the students' appreciation of the organization-wide perspective of the CEO. Additionally, the course is designed to help students understand and appreciate how a business fits into its environment and the world at large.

The faculty's goal is for our graduates to be able to think about and solve problems that cut across organizational boundaries and involve organizational processes. They should be boundary-spanning problem solvers whether those boundaries are within the organization or across external organizational boundaries.

Transferring Coursework from Other Institutions The College’s policy on accepting lower-division transfer credit is spelled out in Policy Number CAS 97/04/23-C.

Articulation Agreements ______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 6 The Alabama Articulation and General Studies Law, as administered by the Articulation and General Studies Committee, applies to all Alabama public institutions of higher education. The law enables students enrolled at an Alabama junior college to plan degree programs effectively and be assured that degree requirements specified for UAH students will be equally applicable, within specified limits, to transfer students.

Process for Dealing with Individual Transfer Students UAH follows the practices specified in Transfer Credit Practices of Selected Educational Institutions, published by the American Association of Collegiate Registers and Admissions Offices, in evaluating college level coursework from other recognized institutions. Transfer admission decisions are based on a full evaluation of transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Transfer work is credited to a student’s record as early as possible, but no later than the first semester of enrollment.

CU.1.2.e: The school should require that at least 50 percent of the business credit hours required for the business degree be earned at the degree-awarding institution.

The College’s faculty originally adopted such a requirement in 1982 (Policy Number SAS 82-12-14-3). The policy’s current language is stated on page 82 of the 2001–2003 Undergraduate Catalog under Residence Requirement.

CU.2 CURRICULUM PLANNING AND EVALUATION - Undergraduate

CU.2.1 Curriculum Planning

CU.2.1: The curriculum for each degree program should be the result of a curriculum planning process and should be consistent with the school’s mission.

At the undergraduate level, the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) ensures that the BSBA program conforms to the College’s mission and to AACSB curriculum standards. Curriculum changes may be initiated by a member of the faculty, a department, or the UCC. Proposals are first discussed and approved at the departmental level, then forwarded to the UCC for approval, and then submitted to the Dean for approval. At this point, proposals for minor additions, deletions, or modifications of existing courses are sent directly to the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval. The Provost (Vice President for Academic Affairs) provides the final level of approval.

Major curriculum changes such as new majors, minors, or degree programs are brought before the College faculty by the Dean. If approved by the faculty, they are sent to the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval, and then to the Provost for the next level of review. Following approval by the Provost, proposals for major changes are then submitted to the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, and finally to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). The process is illustrated in Exhibit CU.2.1.

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 7 Exhibit CU.2.1 Undergraduate Curriculum Planning Process

Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE)

University of Alabama System Board of Trustees

New Degree Programs

Provost

Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee

College Dean College Faculty

Major Curriculum Changes and New Degree Programs

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC)

Departmental Faculty

Faculty Member

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 8 CU.2.2 Monitoring of Programs for Effectiveness

CU.2.2: Each degree program should be systematically monitored to assess its effectiveness and should be revised to reflect new objectives and to incorporate improvements based on contemporary theory and practice.

The University seeks to have all degree programs reviewed at some point every five years. The BSBA program’s last formal review was in 1997-98. Formal reviews notwithstanding, the College’s undergraduate BSBA program and its majors are continually monitored by the faculty and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum in meeting the program’s educational objectives and desired outcomes. Outcomes assessment tools include the EBI business student exit survey, periodic use of the MGT 499 capstone courses as focus groups for program feedback, employer survey, objective and narrative student evaluations of each faculty in each class, and various other assessments. The various assessments provide important feedback to departments, the UCC, and the faculty regarding needed changes and improvements.

In the fall of 1997 we sent several hundred surveys to employers and had 65 usable responses: 43% of the employers had over 500 employees, 51 percent had hired our BSBA graduates, and 63 percent had hired our students while they were full-time students. We asked employers to indicate on a scale of 1 to 10 their “perceived level of quality for business graduates as potential employees” from 14 business schools in Alabama. UAH received the highest score and was grouped with the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Auburn. The middle group of schools consisted of Birmingham Southern, the University of Alabama in Birmingham and Samford. The remaining 8 schools were ranked lower. We asked employers to identify the fields where their greatest demand had been and where it would be over the next five years. We asked employers to rank the most important skill areas and how we did in preparing students. For example,  Critical thinking/problem solving skills were 5.5 in importance and our preparation scored 5.0  Written/oral communication skills were 5.4 in importance and our preparation scored 4.9  Business ethics skills were 5.4 in importance and our preparation scored 5.0  Leadership skills were 5.2 in importance and our preparation scored 4.6  Teamwork skills were 5.2 in importance and our preparation scored 4.8  Proficiency in the field [e.g., accounting] was 5.2 in importance and our preparation scored 5.1  Computer proficiency was 5.0 in importance and our preparation scored 4.9  Quantitative skills were 4.9 in importance and our preparation scored 5.0. We asked employers, “Does the fact that a business student graduates from a nationally accredited business school have impact on your consideration of the graduate as a potential employee on a scale of 1 to 10 from very little impact to a great deal of impact?” More than 57 percent scored it as 8, 9, or 10.

Summary of Effectiveness Outside of formal program reviews, a curriculum issue generally surfaces in one of two ways. It may be the result of a regular, formal assessment such as a survey, course evaluation, or program review. Alternatively, the faculty’s own informal assessment of their courses and disciplines through student performance and feedback provide the impetus for curriculum changes.

Table CU.2.2 provides several illustrations of how a curriculum issue was identified through assessment, the feedback loop was closed, and a change in the undergraduate curriculum was made.

Table CU.2.2 ______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 9 Evidence of Continuous Improvement in the Area of Undergraduate Curriculum

Issue/Assessment(s) Action Taken Addition of an e-business track e-Business track in the marketing major implemented in 1. Focus groups of students Fall 2000. 2. Focus groups of business managers 3. Survey of current students 4. Faculty input MIS Curriculum MIS curriculum changed with creation of new courses, 1. Focus groups of students changing the content and focus of old courses, and 2. Focus groups of business managers changing prerequisites. 3. Focus groups of alumni 4. Input from faculty at other universities Web cognate changed with updated courses. Critical thinking and analysis skills Replace a business elective with the requirement to take 1. Faculty assessment of student an upper division economics course. performance Leadership skills and Teamwork skills Revised MGT 361 to increase the component on 1. Employer survey development of leadership and teamwork skills. 2. Business Student Council Developed a minor in leadership available to all students at the University. Interdisciplinary application of MIS Web cognate implemented in 1999. 1. Art and Communication faculty input 2. Art and Communication student input

Objectives and Plans for the Next Five Years The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has established the following objectives and plans for the next five years:

 After the revision of the College’s mission and vision are completed, evaluate the need for any undergraduate curriculum changes.  Complete the next formal program review of the BSBA in Spring 2004.  Coordinate the next formal reviews of the BSBA majors.

______AACSB SELF-EVALUATION REPORT – UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CU - 10