SAMPLE ASSESSMENT PLAN TEMPLATE - Office of the Provost ...

2008-2009 ASSESSMENT REPORTCollege: College of BusinessCollege Mission Statement:The USF College of Business will provide a high-quality, diverse learning environment preparing students tocontribute to and take leading positions in business and society. Our teaching, scholarship, and service willlink theory and practice to benefit the University and the communities we serve.GOAL 1: Enhance the research environment of the collegeThe University of South Florida is engaged in an ambitious planning process to become one of the nation’s topresearch universities and to position itself for membership in the American Association of Universities. Animportant step toward that goal was the classification of USF by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement ofTeaching in its highest tier: a Research University with Very High Research (RU/VHR.) Consistent with theUniversity’s research focus, the College of Business emphasizes critical inquiry and research as fundamental to oureducational mission. Sustaining that emphasis requires a strong research infrastructure and a well-developedresearch culture across programs supported by continued funding. Key elements in enhancing the researchenvironment of the College of Business will be to:Objective 1.1Pursue the Opportunistic hiring of mid-career scholars–Although recruiting anddeveloping new high-potential Ph.D.s will be critical to building a research-focusedfaculty, strong, productive senior faculty who provide collaborative leadership will beessential to enhancing a research culture.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 1.1.1Assessment: number of mid-career scholars hiredPerformance Target: Because a number of senior faculty will retire during the2008-13 strategic plan timeline, recruiting mid-career scholars will be important toenhancing the COB research environment. At least 50% of new hires will beexperienced, research-productive faculty.AssessmentResults 1.1.2Although this ongoing initiative for the College has been a priority, budget reductionshave made it extremely difficult to gain approval for hiring at this level. The College didextend an offer to a mid-career scholar in Information Systems; however, the offer wasnot accepted. To meet ongoing teaching needs, the COB hired three faculty at theinstructor level (Accounting, Strategic Management, Finance) and one Visiting AssistantProfessor (Accounting) as well as a high-potential Assistant Professor in StrategicManagement.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)1.1.3Consistent with the college’s strategic and compact plans, the COB will continue to seekauthority to hire at the Associate/Full Professor level and will actively seek externalfunding to complement state funds to make offers attractive to research-productivefaculty.Objective 1.2Insure retention of research-productive faculty – As competition for excellent facultycontinues to intensify, attracting and retaining well-qualified, research-productive facultywill become more challenging. Because state funding will clearly be inadequate tocompensate high-performing faculty, the College will continue to seek private funds to

the college will 1) develop a program to identify high-potential undergraduate studentson admission to the college and match them with research faculty and 2) expand thestrategic partnership between the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Honors College toencourage and support honors theses with an entrepreneurial focus.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 1.4.1Assessment – Development of program; number of undergraduates matched withresearch faculty; number of honors theses supervised by entrepreneurship facultyPerformance Target - Formalize both programs by fall semester 2009Assessment Results1.4.2Action Plan (use ofResults forImprovement1.4.3The strategic partnership between the Honors College and the Center forEntrepreneurship is in place: the Center for Entrepreneurship delivered an integratedentrepreneurship curriculum tied to entrepreneurial honors theses leading to 9completed projects for 2008-9. The Undergraduate Program Committee did not addressthe program to match high-potential undergraduates during the 2008-9 academic yearbut is expected to do so in fall 2009.Continue to expand the partnership with the Honors College; develop the faculty matchprogram during academic 2009-10.Objective 1.5Promote interdisciplinary collaboration in research – Encourage collaboration acrossdisciplines and colleges; develop private funds to support interdisciplinary seminars andvisiting scholars.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 1.5.1Assessment – number of visiting scholars addressing topics of cross-disciplinaryinterestsPerformance Target – Two visiting scholars per academic yearAssessment Results1.5.2Action Plan (use ofResults forImprovement1.5.3Bill Starbuck (Professor Emeritus, Stern/NYU) visited for six weeks, providing a series ofresearch workshops and seminars; Nobel Laureate in Economics Vernon Smith provideda series of lectures for faculty, students, and members of the business communitySeek additional private funds to maintain the programGOAL 2: Promote Excellence in Graduate & Undergraduate ProgramsEnhance the skills and performance of College of Business graduates at all levels to insure they will be the firstchoice of employers and graduate schools in our target markets. The success of our graduates is the ultimatemeasure of the strength and effectiveness of our undergraduate and graduate programs. As part of ourcontinuous improvement efforts, the College has committed to:Objective 2.1Expansion of the Communication Across the Curriculum Initiative — Because strongwritten and oral communications skills are fundamental and essential to success in boththe work environment and graduate school, the College will continue to expand itsCommunication Across the Curriculum Initiative. The focus of the BusinessCommunications Center (BizComm) will be supporting the integration of the

The college provided 12 Passport Scholarships ($24,000) for BBC students to study inPanama in summer 2009. The School of Accountancy raised $20,000 in scholarships tosend 10 graduate and post-graduate students to study international financial reportingstandards in London. The Singapore program (BS/BA in Business Administration,General Business Major) will graduate its first class in Spring 2010.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.2.3Continue to encourage students to pursue opportunities for international studies.Provide at least 10 Passport Scholarships for BBC students for study abroad duringsummer 2010. Increase number of SOA scholarships to 15. An initiative to develop andfund a study abroad program, principally from private funds, is included in the college’sCompact Plan.Objective 2.3Formally integrate co-op and internship programs into the curriculum of mostdepartments at both the undergraduate and masters’ levels — Co-op and internshipprograms support linking theory to practice and give students a competitive advantagein the employment market. COB students currently have access to co-op and internshipopportunities via the University’s Career Center (http://www.career.usf.edu/); however,only the Marketing department actively seeks to integrate co-op assignments andinternships into coursework for the major. This initiative will have each departmentexplore opportunities to formally integrate co-op and non-academic credit as well as forcredit internship programs into the curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduatelevels.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.3.1Assessment – Number of departments actively exploring opportunities to integrate coopand internships into coursework for the majorPerformance Target – All departments will explore opportunities to integrate co-opand internship opportunities into coursework for the majorAssessmentResults 2.3.2This process is ongoing in all departments; the college’s Compact Plan includes aninitiative to develop an Information Systems/Decision Sciences Practice Center.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.3.3Continue to encourage departments to actively exploring opportunities to integrate co-opand internships into coursework for the major; explore funding sources for theInformation Systems/Decision Sciences Practice CenterObjective 2.4Developing a College-wide culture that supports and promotes professionalism, ethicalbehavior, and personal excellence — The College has taken an important step towardpromoting professionalism, ethical behavior, and personal excellence with the BullsBusiness Network and Bulls Business Community (http://www.coba.usf.edu/bbn/) whichprovide a living-learning experience for first-time-in-college freshmen. Introduced in fallsemester 2007, the BBN/BBC will serve as a laboratory for developing and introducingprograms that will ultimately serve all undergraduates. The College will double thenumber freshmen eligible for the living-learning experience in 2008 by adding a seconddormitory floor and will add a third dormitory floor to accommodate continuingsophomore BCC students.The University recently completed a two-year process leading to the adoption of“Commitment to Honor”, a code of conduct for students, faculty, and staff. The COB willbuild on that effort to develop an honor code for the College that will address the core

values of honesty, fairness, diligence and trust in academic, personal, and professionaldecisions and choices in a faculty-led process.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.4.1Assessment – Increase in the number of freshman eligible for the Bulls BusinessCommunity; dormitory for continuing/sophomore students established; create acommittee of students to develop, with faculty input, an honor code for the collegePerformance Target- Second dormitory floor available for incoming freshmen, thirdfloor available for continuing/sophomore students in the program; student committeeactively working to develop a COB code of conduct.AssessmentResults 2.4.2All targets for expanding the BCC were exceeded. For 2009-10 the BCC will comprise102 students (78 freshman, 20 sophomores and 4 juniors) on three floors in Magnolia.The student committee reported out initial recommendations for a COB code of conductThe college appointed three faculty as Exide professors/lecturers in ethics using ongoingfunding from the Exide foundation.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.4.3Continue to expand the BCC; have student committee continue work on the code ofconduct.Objective 2.5Strengthening Ph.D. student teaching and platform skills — Using the sharedexperiences and approaches of the departments and recommendations of the Doctoralprograms Committee, the College will expand its initiative to insure that all Ph.D.students have the opportunity to develop strong teaching skills.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.5.1Assessment – Departmental initiatives in place to insure that all doctoral students havethe opportunity to develop strong teaching skillsPerformance Target – All departments with concentrations in the doctoral program willhave a teaching skills initiative in place during 2009-10AssessmentResults 2.5.2Although all departments currently require that doctoral students attend Center for 21 stCentury Teaching Excellence courses/workshops to enhance teaching and platform skills,only the School of Accountancy has a comprehensive teaching skills program in place.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.5.3Although Center for 21 st Century Teaching Excellence courses/workshops provide anexcellent opportunity for doctoral students to enhance skills, a more comprehensiveprogram will better allow them to develop strong teaching and platform skills. TheSchool of Accountancy program can serve as a model for other departments as theycontinue to further develop teaching skills initiatives.The college will continue to require that doctoral students attend Center for 21 st CenturyTeaching Excellence courses/workshops; support the implementation of teaching skillsinitiatives within departments; and will encourage non-native English speaking doctoralstudents to avail themselves of opportunities available at USF to enhance their Englishskills.

Objective 2.6Work creatively with other colleges to develop and offer interdisciplinary and dualdegrees - The Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Policy Committees will exploreopportunities to develop and offer dual degrees that will serve employer needs and giveour students a competitive advantage. Working closely with the College of Arts andSciences and the Mass Communications department, the COB is proposing developmentof a collaborative major in Advertising. In addition, the Center for Entrepreneurship willdevelop a minor in entrepreneurship for students outside the College with a particularfocus on science and engineering.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.6.1Assessment – Number of partnerships/collaborative efforts to offer interdisciplinary anddual degreesPerformance Target – Engage at least one other college in discussions aboutinterdisciplinary, collaborative, or dual degreesThe MS in Real Estate, a collaborative effort with Engineering, Architecture, and Arts &Sciences has been approved at all levels; funding is requested in the college’s Compactplan for a faculty search in 2009-10 with hiring for 2010-11AssessmentResults 2.6.2The BS/BA in Business Administration Advertising Major, a collaborative effort betweenthe COB and Mass Communications, has been approved by the Undergraduate ProgramCommittee and college faculty and sent to the Undergraduate Council. This program hasbeen included in the college’s Compact Plan.The minor in Entrepreneurship, a collaborative effort of the COB and the College ofEngineering has been approved by the Undergraduate Program Committee and collegefaculty and sent to the Undergraduate Council. This program has been included in thecollege’s Compact Plan. The minor will be available to all USF undergraduates regardlessof college or major.The college’s Compact Plan also includes an initiative that proposes development ofinterdisciplinary concentrations/specializations within the MS in Entrepreneurship inApplied Technologies.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.6.3Continue implementation of ongoing programs; seek additional opportunities to workacross disciplines and colleges.Objective 2.7Explore development of a Foundations of Business courseMethods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.7.1Assessment – Undergraduate Program Committee gathers data, prepares a report andrecommendation to the facultyPerformance Target – Report complete spring semester 2009AssessmentResults 2.7.2The Undergraduate Program Committee had a great many issues to address in 2008-9including undergraduate program assessment, consideration of the new advertisingmajor, and the university-wide entrepreneurship minor. There was not adequate timeto explore development of a Foundations of Business Course.

Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.7.3Development of a foundations course will be considered when the UPC reviews thebusiness core in either 2009-10 or 2010-11.Objective 2.8Enhance the student experience via better use of technologyMethods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 2.8.1AssessmentResults 2.8.2Assessment – departmental and program initiatives to enhance the student learningexperience via better use of technologyPerformance Target – at least one initiative proposed each yearAn initiative to promote experiential learning via the Financial Services Education Centeris included in the college’s Compact PlanAction Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)2.8.3Continue to seek out opportunities to enhance the student learning experience via betteruse of technologyGOAL 3 Develop career paths for non-research faculty and reward outstanding teachersThe dissemination of knowledge is at the heart of the College’s educational mission. Since accepting its firststudents in the fall of 1960, the College has emphasized excellence in teaching and has sought to create anenvironment in which quality teaching and instructional development are rewarded. Because the college’sincreased emphasis on research should not imply that excellent teaching is less important to the College’s overallmission, developing career paths for non-research faculty and rewarding outstanding teachers will be cirtical tomeeting the increasing demand for undergraduate education in business.Objective 3.1To insure that the College can recruit and retain excellent teachers, the COB will explorethe creation of career paths for non-research faculty and continue to recognize andreward outstanding teaching. This College initiative parallels a University initiativeaddressing career path for non-tenure earning faculty.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 3.1.1Assessment – Progress toward developing career paths for non research facultyPerformance Target – Defined career paths for non research faculty; at least threeteaching fellowships of $10,00 per year by 2013, the end of the current five-yearplanning horizonAssessmentResults 3.1.2Developing alternative career paths for non research faculty has been a college initiativefor several years; however, support at the university level has been lukewarm at bestconstraining the college’s ability to make substantive changes. One three-year teachingfellowship at $10,000 per year has been awarded.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)Alternative career paths for non-tenure earning faculty is now an agenda item for theAssociate Deans; consideration of options should occur in the 2009-10 academic year.The college will continue to pursue additional teaching fellowships.

3.1.3Goal 4 Create ‘Areas of Excellence’ within and across departmentsObjective 4.1Each department/school will engage in a process to redefine program missions andidentify a niche or focus for each. Creating Areas of Excellence will help focus recruitingefforts, increase research productivity, and provide opportunities for targeted fundraising. This parallels an effort by the provost to develop and emphasize signature areasof research across the university.Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 4.1.1Assessment – Areas of Excellence definedPerformance Target – Each department/program will complete the process and definea focus by the end of academic 2009-10Three departments have defined Areas of Excellence:School of Accountancy: Behavioral Accounting Information Systems (The School ofAccountancy’s doctoral program was ranked 25 th in the country by the Public AccountingReport for 2008-9.)Management and Organization: Sustainable PerformanceInformation Systems/Decision Sciences: Business Intelligence, Software Engineering,Information Search, Retrieval, and Knowledge ManagementAssessmentResults 4.1.2The college Compact Plan includes an initiative that proposes collaboration with theSchool of Library and Information Science to jointly hire a faculty member with theexpertise to develop courses and conduct research in information search, retrieval, andknowledge management.Beginning in fall 2007, the college differentiated the MBA Program by requiring thatstudents have two years of significant business or professional experience. Althoughenrollment initially decreased (83 in fall 2007), enrollment increased by 31% in fall 2008.Although enrollment has increased, a flexible schedule of 1, 4, 8, and 12 week coursesallows students to graduate more quickly.The Master of Science in Entrepreneurship in Applied Technologies was ranked 5 thamong top graduate entrepreneurship programs by the Princeton Review.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)4.1.3Encourage remaining departments/programs to develop focus areas; seek state andprivate funds to necessary implementation steps including hiring appropriate faculty,Goal 5 Continue to enhance community engagementObjective 5.1The College will continue to build on its strong community engagement record bydeveloping stronger relationships with alumni; raising the college’s profile and publicinfluence; enhancing the role of centers; developing programs of value to the business

Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)8.13Provide assistance and support to both regional campuses as they pursue separateAACSB accreditation.Goal 9 increase non-state financial support for COB programsObjective 9.1Increase private and grant funding and tuition differentials to at least 10% of the Collegeof Business budget by 2013Methods ofAssessment andPerformanceTargets 9.1.1Assessment – Increase in private and grant funding, tuition differentialsPerformance Target – At least 10% by 2013In addition to Small Business Development Center federal. State, and local grants,college faculty were awarded $1,342,400 in grants during academic 2008-9.The Board of Governors approved differential tuition for the MBA and all other COBmaster’s programs for 2009-10.AssessmentResults 9.1.2The college development office raised support for two new programs: a Nobel LaureateSpeaker Series and the Fintech Plan Competition hosted by the Center forEntrepreneurship. Development officers targeted the Center for Entrepreneurship, theSchool of Accountancy, and the ISDS department for enhanced fundraising efforts.To further engage alumni and identify new prospects, the development office heldalumni gatherings in Orlando and Atlanta and collaborated with the USF Alumni Societyon a university-wide alumni event in New York City in conjunction with Big East Week.Action Plan (Use ofResults forImprovement)9.1.3Continue to encourage and provide assistance to faculty to pursue grant opportunities.Explore additional tuition differential opportunities.Increase private funding consistent with the goal of 10% of total funding by 2013.