Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] Date: 11 January 2016, At: 23:25
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Perspectives on Program Assessment: An
Introduction
Bonnie J. White
To cite this article: Bonnie J. White (2007) Perspectives on Program Assessment: An
Introduction, Journal of Education for Business, 82:4, 187-188, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.82.4.187-188
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.82.4.187-188
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 25
View related articles
dents and graduates but also the pro-grams within the unit (e.g., school, col-lege). Can the unit collect and analyze data to evaluate and improve its pro-grams and the unit? In answering this question, NCATE applies rubrics that provide a measure for unacceptable,
acceptable, and targetperformance. Likewise, to achieve or re-achieve AACSB accreditation, schools must have an assessment plan that addresses standards set forth as Assurance of Learning Standards (AoL). In this issue, the interview with Dr. Kathryn Martell, associate dean and professor of manage-ment at Montclair State University, con-centrates on assessment-related aspects of the 2003 AACSB accreditation dards and the implications of these stan-dards for business programs and schools. She stresses the importance of having an assessment plan that evalu-ates student performance with the pur-pose of improving student learning. She also affirms the role of faculty involve-ment and support as critical to the suc-cess of the assessment prosuc-cess.
Two articles address the status of assessment practices among AACSB schools. In Assessment Practices in AACSB-Accredited Business Schools, Pringle and Michel review the status of assessment practices. They survey 138 AACSB-accredited schools and report on the assessment methods used by these schools. In addition, they report
Perspectives on Program Assessment:
An Introduction
BONNIE J. WHITE AUBURN UNIVERSITY AUBURN, ALABAMA
Program assessment, also known as
program evaluationor program review, involves basic concepts that can be applied in academia or business and industry agencies. In this issue of the
Journal of Education for Business
(JEB), authors have contributed articles relating to program assessment that are of interest to professionals dealing with the process of educating for business.
In academia, assessment at the pro-gram level often takes place under a larg-er umbrella of school or college accredi-tation. Two such accrediting agencies are the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for institu-tions preparing future business teachers and The Association to Advance Colle-giate Schools of Business (AACSB) for institutions preparing individuals to suc-ceed in business. Both NCATE and AACSB award accreditation to applying institutions only after an extensive review of the institutions’ programs. Evaluators representing the accrediting agency judge programs as to how well they meet the standards of achievement set forth by that agency.
One of the standards judged by NCATE, for example, involves the assessment system and unit evaluation. When judging the suitability of an insti-tution’s programs related to this stan-dard, NCATE determines if the institu-tion has an assessment system that can collect and analyze data on not only
stu-on related factors, such as the amount of time assessment takes, extent of faculty resistance to assessment, and assess-ment outcomes. Martell, in Assessing Student Learning: Are Business Schools Making the Grade?, reports that although progress is being made in meeting standards, many schools are not meeting the expectation of using assessment data to improve curriculum. She provides examples of assessment results being used to improve curricu-lum and discusses some of the problems schools have encountered in attempting to meet accreditation standards.
Although the labels used to describe program assessment may change from one accrediting agency to another, the basic concepts remain the same. These concepts can be applied to aspects of program assessment ranging from stu-dent and faculty factors (e.g., recruit-ment, performance, retention) to pro-gram factors (e.g., program development, delivery, analysis, improvement). Likewise, the concepts of program assessment apply equally well to the more familiar goal- and process-related evaluations and the more recent emphasis on outcome-based evaluations. If the participants in the process view the overall goal of pro-gram assessment to be that of improv-ing, informimprov-ing, and supporting the pro-gram, the steps to achieving this goal form a logical progression.
March/April 2007 187
A well-defined mission statement is the foundation for effective program assessment. Whether it is at the pro-gram, college, or university level, the mission statement provides a clear focus that allows the participants to articulate the needs and direction of a program. The article by Hazeldine and Miles,
Measuring Entrepreneurship in Busi-ness Schools, is an example of bringing the direction of a profession into focus as participants within that profession seek to place more value on entrepre-neurship. Hazeldine and Miles mea-sured dimensions of entrepreneurship in business schools; and based upon their findings, they make their case for AACSB deans to reassess the mission of their schools toward more support for entrepreneurship.
The mission statement provides the underpinning upon which program goals and learner outcomes can be fash-ioned. The specific behaviors (i.e., knowledge, skills, dispositions) defined as the learner’s expected outcomes pro-vide benchmarks for assessing the learner’s actual outcomes. Assessment, however, is not merely a singular evalu-ation of students or faculty; rather, eval-uative measures provide a feedback mechanism to improve the program. Specifically, having a systematic, ongo-ing process of gatherongo-ing and analyzongo-ing data from appropriate sources (such as measuring actual learner outcomes against expected outcomes) provides a process by which feedback can be used to improve the program. As schools strive to find accurate and related indi-cators of student learning that will improve their assessment process, facul-ty researchers at these institutions can help clarify the contributions of out-come-based measures. For example, in
Factors Related to Performance on Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Major Field Achievement Test in Busi-ness (MFAT-B),Bycio and Allen report their findings on the relationship of the MFAT-B to GPA and general intellect. Their findings are pertinent to program assessment because the MFAT-B is often used for accreditation as evidence that a school is fulfilling its mission.
Two articles in this issue center on the process by which courses and instructional units are delivered. The first article, by Terry,Assessing Instruc-tion Modes for MBA Courses, concerns one aspect of program feedback in studying the effectiveness of campus, online, and hybrid (i.e., a mix of campus and online) instruction. Terry uses sev-eral indicators of achievement across the three instructional modes, such as grade distribution, faculty evaluation, and attrition. In the second article, E-hancing the Master of Business Admin-istration Managerial Accounting Course, Zabriskie and McNabb present new approaches to enhancing MBA pro-grams via alternative delivery systems. Zabriskie and McNabb focus on enhancing the MBA program without creating additional drawbacks caused by the delivery system. They suggest using technology-enhanced modules to capture the best of distance and onsite learning environments.
Feedback is a valuable assessment tool for the educational process as well as the educational product. The article by Morrison, Oladunjoye, and Onyefu-lu,An Assessment of Research Supervi-sion: A Leadership Model Enhancing Current Practices in Business and Man-agement, reflects feedback on the edu-cational process. Students in their study assessed the research supervisory process and expressed dissatisfaction with aspects of the process. Morrison et al. report that, as a result of their find-ings, an innovative leadership module
has been developed to support faculty in their supervisory roles.
Lastly, the book review in this issue provides a unique perspective on the total process of program assessment. The book extends familiar concepts and introduces terminology to support those concepts. Morrison’s review of John Owen’s book, Program Evalua-tion: Forms and Approaches, gives the reader a thorough summary of the author’s theories. Owen addresses evaluation through clusters or forms of evaluative strategies. Different clusters are appropriate at different stages of program development and implementa-tion. According to Owen, a key ele-ment in the success of evaluation is the timing of the evaluation and the appli-cation of assessment along a continu-um rather than as a discrete measure-ment. The text provides alternative strategies and guidelines for practition-ers as they face evaluative situations in the workplace.
In summary, the articles chosen for this edition of the journal reflect per-spectives in the process of defining, gathering, analyzing, and using feed-back to improve student learning and program effectiveness. The editors of the journal hope that the different perspec-tives will provide a platform for discus-sion within the profesdiscus-sion. We encour-age our colleagues to continue adding to the collective body of knowledge about program assessment through their research, verification of best practices, and review of innovative programs.
NOTE
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Bonnie J. White, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, 5040 Haley Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849.
E–mail: whitebj@auburn.edu
Copyright © 2007 Heldref Publications
188 Journal of Education for Business
