Featured Assessor: Gay Wakefield The Neeley School of Business Texas Christian University

Learn more about  Gay Wakefield  To contact Gay, email her at cpc@tcu.edu. Learn more about the  Center for Professional Communication,  which includes a description of their training, assessments, and certification

(Almost) Painless Assessment at the Neeley School of Business
By Gay Wakefield

During the AACSB assessment conference I attended in January, 2004, it occurred to me that some of the processes used in admitting undergraduates as business majors at the Neeley School could also be utilized for assessment of several BBA core program competencies.  Lower-division business core requirements are intended to assure students develop basic skills they will need to apply in their majors.  So it seemed reasonable to assess the lower-division core’s development of those skills as we admit students to upper-division business coursework.  After verifying validity of this idea during the AACSB conference, I worked with the Neeley School ’s undergraduate associate dean and with Neeley Student Resource Center staff to embed lower-division core program assessments into the admission process for new business majors. 

 To become business majors at TCU, students formally apply for admission to the Neeley School.  Admission is competitive and is not guaranteed, and students may enroll in upper-division business courses only if they are approved as BBA majors.  Students typically apply in the sophomore year (after completed 54 credit hours) for admission to upper-level business courses.  Three existing requirements of the BBA admission process that we choose to incorporate into our assessment plan are:

1. Results of the Microsoft® Office Specialist certification exam^[i] for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint,

2. A cover letter and a resume^[ii] by the posted deadline,

3. A 20-minute interview (see note 3) with School faculty and local business professionals who are frequently Neeley alumni.

While considering use of the BBA admission process for embedded assessment, I suggested we assess a few more of our BBA core learning outcomes by incorporating administration of the CPC Communication Diagnostics™ during Neeley Interview Day.  The communication diagnostics consist of a battery of standardized assessment instruments for which norms have been established among working professionals.  For each of the diagnostics, the CPC offers preparatory training through online workshops, video workshops, print and computerized training materials, and/or personalized coaching.^[iii]  The CPC Communication Diagnostics™ provide data about current knowledge and skill levels in the diverse business communication areas.  Most of  the CPC Communication Diagnostics™ instruments easily can be completed in one hour or less via individual administration in the business computer labs.

 Both sets of new BBA core assessments—those collected by admission interviews and those collected by administering the CPC Communication Diagnostics™—were embedded for the first time as part of the fall 2004 Neeley Interview Day.  Students were notified to plan on spending up to two hours at the business school on Neeley Interview Day.  They were informed that their applications to the business school would be considered complete only after they finished taking the CPC Communication Diagnostics™ and that they could do so at the CPC prior to Neeley Interview Day or in a business computer lab immediately following their admission interviews on Neeley Interview Day Thus, as a result of the materials provided by the students for admission, and the interview and testing (total time commitment:  2 hours) on interview day, we are able to assess the following learning outcomes for our BBA majors:

Computer software skills.  Students are expected to have basic proficiency using Microsoft® Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software.  This learning outcome is assessed with Microsoft® Office Specialist certification, passage of which is required for incoming BBA majors.  

Written communication knowledge.  Students are expected to understand effective business writing methods.  This learning outcome is assessed with the Center for Professional Communication’s proprietary Business Writing instrument, administered as part of the CPC Communication Diagnostics^TM during Neeley Interview Day. The target goal is that admitted students score above the norm for working professionals.  

Written communication skills.  Students are expected to create resumes and cover letters of the quality required for employment and submit them with their applications for BBA major admission.  Effective format, strong content, and correct grammar and punctuation are scored on the Neeley School Admission Interview Assessment Form, completed by business professionals and Neeley faculty members who review resume and cover letter submissions.

Oral communication knowledge.  Students are expected to understand effective presentation methods.  This learning outcome is assessed with the Center for Professional Communication’s proprietary Presentation Style instrument, in concert with the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (McCroskey, 1994).  Both instruments are administered as part of the CPC Communication Diagnostics^TM during Neeley Interview Day.  The target goal is for admitted students to score above the norm for working professionals on both instruments. 

Communication style skills.  Students are expected to select collaborative communication styles in work situations.  This learning outcome is assessed with the Communication Style Inventory (Phillips, 2003) as part of the CPC Communication Diagnostics^TM administered during Neeley Interview Day.  The target goal for admitted students is a collaboration score above the norm for working professionals

Interpersonal communication skills.  Students are expected to exhibit interpersonal skills of the quality required for employment.  This learning outcome is assessed during the required intake interview, with the strength of students’ interpersonal skills scored on the Neeley School Admission Interview Assessment Form by working professionals and Neeley faculty.  The target goal for admitted students is a mean score of 3.5 or higher on a Likert scale of 1.0 to 5.0.  

Academic honesty knowledge.  Students are expected to identify accurately ethical choices related to academic honesty.  This learning outcome is assessed with the Center for Professional Communication’s proprietary Communication Technology and Academic Honesty instrument, administered as part of the CPC Communication Diagnostics^TM during Neeley Interview Day.  The target goal is that admitted students score above the norm for college students.

  Business law and ethics understanding.  Students are expected to apply ethical and legal standards in business contexts.  Students’ discussions on this topic are scored by working professionals and Neeley faculty on the Neeley School Admission Interview Assessment Form during the required intake interview.  The target goal for admitted students is a mean score of 3.5 or higher on a Likert scale of 1.0 to 5.0Business-functions integration knowledge.  Students are expected to effectively discuss with business professionals ways in which the functional areas of business are interdependent.  Working professionals and Neeley faculty score students’ discussions on this topic during the required intake interview, using the Neeley School Admission Interview Assessment Form.  The target goal for admitted students is a mean score of 3.5 or higher, on a Likert scale of 1.0 to 5.0 

Diversity and multicultural issues knowledge.  Students are expected to discuss effectively with business professionals the importance of diversity and multicultural issues in organizations.  This learning outcome also is scored by working professionals and Neeley faculty on the Neeley School Admission Interview Assessment Form.  The target goal for admitted students is a mean score of 3.5 or higher, on a Likert scale of 1.0 to 5.0

One of the greatest benefits of embedding BBA core assessments in the selection (admission)  process for new business majors was the rapidity with which the assessments could be developed and implemented, since no negotiation was required with faculty for dedication or coordination of class time for new assessment procedures or for course incentives to encourage participation and serious attention from students.  Also, the assessments are part of a high-stakes process that the students take very seriously, helping assure their best possible performance.  Another major benefit is having 100% of incoming majors participate in the process

[i] The Microsoft® User Specialist (MOS) certification is globally recognized as the standard for demonstrating desktop skills with the Microsoft® Office suite of business productivity applications. Microsoft® Office Specialist certification encourages individuals to develop advanced skills with Microsoft's business desktop software, skills are pertinent to business students’ success in and out of the classroom.  To help students prepare for the exam, the Neeley School provides Microsoft® Office Specialist Practice disks as well as offering preparatory classes for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel at $125 per student, per prep class.  Since prep classes involved significant investment on the part of students, they may opt to pursue MOS certification after learning whether they pass the admission committee review.  In that case, admission is provisional on MOS certification before entering upper-division courses.  Further MOS information: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/OfficeSpecialist/default.asp. 

[ii] Students are encouraged to use Neeley Center for Professional Communication cover letter, resume, and interview handouts (http://www.cpc.tcu.edu/resources/jobsearchskills.asp#handouts )

[iii] Center for Professional Communication services are free of charge to undergraduate and graduate business students.