a. Program Name – Master’s of Science in Management of Information Technology
b. Report prepared by – Asghar Sabbaghi
c. Who is the current assessment contact for your program? Asghar Sabbaghi
d. Should assessment information be sent to anyone else in your department? Dean Rob Ducoffe and the Chair of the SB&E Planning & Assessment Committee (currently Reza Espahbodi)

1. What are the program’s educational goals?
Students who complete the MS-MIT program at IUSB will demonstrate knowledge and skills in:
1. Communicating, orally and in writing, with individuals with diverse backgrounds in professional work environment
2. Understanding cultural diversity and ethical responsibilities in professional environments both as a team member and a team leader
3. Developing analytical reasoning, statistical analysis and management science, reflective and critical thinking abilities to support IT management and decision making
4. Developing leadership as reflected by the ability to influence, inspire, and motivate individuals and groups to achieve the organization’s IT management-related goals
5. Developing technical proficiency in IT management and IT applications across business disciplines
6. Using information systems and technology integrated applications across business disciplines, for example, ERP, SCM, CRM, and business reengineering tools
7. Fostering information systems analysis, design, development, and implementation issues
8. Integrating business processes and business knowledge in strategic and tactical decision making in uncertain environments
9. Applying MIS knowledge and processes through relevant industrial applications
10. Developing, managing, and improving core operations using MIS in manufacturing and service organizations
11. Transforming organizational strategy into effective performance through information technology management
12. Identifying problems, recognizing and applying proper MIS tools to generate alternate solutions, and reach final solution(s)
13. Identifying, interpreting, and evaluating the impacts that legal, social, global, and diversity related issues may have on IT management and business decisions
14. Creating value through information in organizations using financial theories, strategic management concepts, accounting principles, marketing, operations management, and other related skills

The Decision science faculty along with the Planning & Assessment Committee discussed andapproved the above set of educational goals and presented them to the SBE faculty on December 1,2006 where they were subsequently approved. We also reviewed direct and indirect assessment
measures for each of the proposed goals of the program.

2. What assessment techniques did the program use?

Exit Interview Sessions as an indirect measure:
Small group discussions with new graduates of the school’s masters programs including the MIT program are conducted. A 2-hour session in South Bend is scheduled during the final exam or commencement week to assure the maximum number of participants. The session is conducted by a facilitator from outside the School. We also conducted a small focus group session of MIT graduates in December facilitated by the Dean

Capstone Course as a direct measure:
All students are required to take a seminar course (BUSB K585) as the capstone of the program when they complete their course work. Students have the option of writing a thesis supervised by a committee of three faculty members and presenting it to a group of MIS faculty/graduate students, or
taking a seminar course (enrollment limited to 6-8 students) offered once a year. The course requires students to demonstrate knowledge/skills in general and IT Management-specific areas, and the ideas and concepts learned from required courses taken earlier in the program. The course
permits direct measurement of students’ learning of the program’s concepts and identification of areas for improvement. The course is conducted as a seminar and the Advisory Board and faculty members (in Decision Science and in Computer Science who teach in the Program) are collectively
involved in conducting the seminar.

To directly measure what students learn in the program, they are evaluated in three areas: class participation, class reflection, and course paper. Class reflection is evaluated by the seminar coordinator and the instructor of each session. After each session, thus, students are asked to truly
reflect, not simply summarize, the evening’s discussion. Students are expected to consider integrating the knowledge gained in various phases of the program with topics discussed during the class session.

Students are also expected to integrate the different session discussions. They are to take the reflection each week and: (1) develop an integrating theme that may focus on one subject that recurred through the sessions; or (2) use the reflections as a way to organize many diverse topics.
Their reports are graded for form as well as the content, and are expected to be free from spelling and grammatical errors. A truly professional presentation is expected. Several faculty members participate in the grading process. To this end, each student sends the seminar coordinator and a
group of designated faculty a one-to-two-page proposal explaining what they would like to do. Once the proposal approved, student may start writing the report.

Alumni Survey as an indirect measure:
Every three years, our graduates for the preceding three years are requested to respond to structured and
unstructured questions. The Associate Dean compiles and reports the results to the SB&E Assessment
Committee and faculty.

Employer Survey as an indirect measure:
The Assessment Committee conducts focus groups / surveys with employers every 3-5 years. These assess
characteristics that employers seek when hiring and the extent to which our graduates meet those
requirements. These assessments suggest curricular issues for us to address, and permit us to collect feedback
on our graduates, establish/develop relationships with area employers, cultivate internships and placements
for our students, and provide opportunities to promote our programs.
The Planning and Assessment Committee spent a significant amount of time this year and developed
a comprehensive survey for collecting feedback from the employers of our graduates. We have
found a list of employers and we are currently conducting this survey.

3. What has your program done with assessment information this year?
We have shared the assessment outcomes with the Decision Sciences faculty and the SB&E faculty,
and are examining the implementation of the new curricula.

4. What are two concerns about student learning that you identified this year?
This is the first year that we have implemented the new revised curriculum and we are still looking
into the students’ feedback. Early feedback is very encouraging.