Master of Science in Accounting Third Year Review Written Report

Evaluation Rubric

THIRD YEAR ASSESSMENT REPORT
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ACCOUNTING PROGRAM
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND
MAY 2007

I. INTRODUCTION

The MSA program was launched in 1997. There were two main purposes for offering the degree. The first was to introduce students to advanced topics in accounting along with skills such as leadership, communication, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving, among others. The second was to encourage and enable our students to meet the mandate of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA]. Effective 2000 the AICPA mandated that every candidate needed to have a minimum of 150 credit hours before they could take the Certified Public Accountant exam.

The MSA program has undergone several changes over the past ten years. A number of stakeholders have played a part in these revisions. These include local accounting firms, the accounting group advisory board, accounting faculty, members of the curriculum committee, and School of Business & Economics [SBE] faculty. Our MSA program has been benchmarked against MSA programs offered at our peer institutions and it is continually assessed to enable us to better meet the needs of our stakeholders.

II. PLANNING & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS

Planning is a crucial first step to ensure that an organization is successful. But planning alone is not enough! Every organization needs to assess its efforts and should institute a process of continuous improvement to keep it on the path of success.

The SBE has instituted a process for planning and assessment which has a goal of continuous improvement. The SBE planning and assessment committee plays a central role in this process.

IU South Bend strategic documents, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International [AACSB] standards, and SBE strategic documents provide the starting point for the development of each program’s goals and objectives. These goals and objectives form the basis for learning objectives within each program. This process as well as outcome assessments are periodically vetted within the SBE by various committees, its faculty and the IU South Bend campus assessment committee. Feedback received from the various assessment tools and interested groups forms the basis for changes which leads to continuous improvement. Figure 1 shows the process of planning, assessment and the feedback loop leading to continuous improvement. 

* To be used in the future.

III. DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING GOALS  

As mentioned in the previous section, learning goals are developed based on input from IU South Bend strategic documents, AACSB standards, and SBE strategic documents.

The IU South Bend strategic planning document states: “Indiana University South Bend aspires to promote learning at all levels, supporting scholarly and creative exploration and providing access to a wide array of resources. Indiana University South Bend seeks to offer academic programs from college entry through graduate study that challenge students to achieve their fullest potential in terms of career and professional advancement and social and personal development.”
http://www.chancellor.iusb.edu/strategic-plan.pdf.

AACSB standards addressing defining learning goals and measuring achievement of learning goals states: “As an initial and critical step in its demonstration of learning, the school must develop a list of the learning goals for which it will demonstrate assurance of learning. This list of learning goals derives from, or is consonant with, the school's mission. The mission and objectives set out the intentions of the school, and the learning goals say how the degree programs demonstrate the mission. http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/process/documents/AACSB_STANDARDS_Revised_Jan07.pdf.

SBE mission statement states: “The School of Business and Economics at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) shall offer high quality educational programs that provide functional knowledge, skills, and capabilities to a diverse student body and enable the students to succeed in a dynamic business environment.”
http://www.iusb.edu/~buse/mission.shtml.

Therefore, students, who complete the MSA program at IUSB, will demonstrate knowledge and skills in accounting and in:

DM: Direct assessment of learning goals
IM:   Indirect assessment of learning goals
IV. ASSESSMENT MEASURES

1. Exit interview as an indirect measure:
At the present time we are using the exit interview as an indirect measure of assessment of our MSA program. Every graduating student comes in for an exit interview where they are asked a series of questions. These questions have been developed by the accounting faculty and they help us assess our program and make changes. Please see the attachment for the transcript of exit interviews held with graduating students.

2. Alumni survey as an indirect measure:
SBE conducted an alumni survey in spring 2006. Graduates responded to a series of structured questions and were provided a chance to include written comments too. Participants broke down as follows: over 66% undergraduate alumni, over 25% Master of Business Administration alumni, over 4% MSA alumni, and about 4% were Master of Science in Management of Information Technologies alumni. As best as can be determined MSA students were satisfied with the education they received. Please see the attachment for the results of this survey.  

In the future the following assessment measures will also be used.

3. Curricular assessment as a direct measure:
The accounting faculty are in the process of developing learning outcomes for each learning goal. These will be measured directly in the different courses that MSA students will take over the course of their program of study. Results from these assessments will be used to make changes and improve our program.

4. Employer survey as an indirect measure:
SBE conducts an employer focus group/survey every three to five years. The plan is to conduct such a survey in 2008. Results from this exercise will be used to make changes and improve our program.

V. ANALYSIS OF ASSESSMENT

We are constantly learning from the feedback we get through our exit interviews. This is the primary form of assessment at this point in time. Students have pointed out the following things as areas of weakness or opportunities for improvement:

• Cutting edge accounting courses, like additional tax topics and forensic accounting [several students].
• Not thrilled with the communications class [several students].
• Core accounting classes offered only once every three semesters. Other classes offered less frequently [several students].
• Issues with advanced auditing [several students].
• No mandatory internship.
• Lack of connection or limited connection with alumni.

VI. FEEDBACK LOOP

This section lists how student concerns have been dealt with. This is an important area since it gives us a chance to improve our program.

• The tax faculty are considering how they can include more relevant tax topics in their courses. At this time two tax courses are offered in our program. We are offering forensic accounting in summer 1, 2007.
• The communications class is being well received now. We replaced the faculty member teaching that course.
• The accounting faculty is working on a revised schedule for our MSA classes. The goal is to provide enough lead time to help students plan their course of study and to ensure that classes are not offered too infrequently.
• Feedback from these surveys will be shared with accounting faculty which will lead to a discussion of other issues raised and we will develop a plan to address them.

VII. CONCLUSION

The MSA program is going through a review of its curriculum, learning goals, learning outcomes and assessment measures. Our goal is to strengthen the program, to make it cutting edge and to use assessment tools in the most efficient manner.

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