Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign/evaluation BCom, MBA Alternatives to status quo

Rationales Program redesign alternatives

(processes) “Glints in the eye” Need to incorporate Vision elements Implications for faculty and students Mechanism/processes to ensure

continuous curriculum review

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign/evaluation Need to incorporate the following elements

of the VISION: Global thinking Need to integrate research & practice into

learning Management as a life skill Implications for life-long learning Mindsets/multiple perspectives Competencies E3

Program redesign / evaluation

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Alternatives to B.Com. status quo - three rationales / stances

Status quo with fine tuning

Lean core to allow more

liberal arts in B.Com. &

“teaching room” for minors in management

Lean core to allow greater specialization

Program redesign / evaluation

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Status Quo with Fine-Tuning (MD)

Cut from Core 2-4 courses + 1 Communications course

Look for overlaps & do better coordination across Core Mandate every Core course to go thru renewal &

alignment with strategic vision (See Slide 2) Create integration across several Core (e.g. IS,

Marketing & OB) in first year by using a case study with issues across multiple areas

Add a capstone course to last year (e.g. Leadership with lots of self-assessment & reflection) to add distinctiveness to our Bcom & prepare students for real world

Program redesign / evaluation

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Status Quo with Fine-Tuning (Jan)

Add cross-functional integrative exercise at start and end of B.Com. program to help students orient themselves and to differentiate program

How to staff? Create modules (1 credit?) for key management skills:

leadership, negotiations Change more core courses to large format courses led by tenure-

stream faculty assisted by TAs Rent auditoria if necessary

Bring research to undergraduate learning as advocated in PEP project an Boyer report.

Poll instructors in advanced courses to identify gaps Poll students to identify gaps and overlaps (e.g. why 2 business

communications courses?)

Program redesign / evaluation

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Hybrid Option with Lean Core

Lean Core to provide students the option of: Room for greater specialization within

Management OR

Room for new Majors and Minors in Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science

These could be developed around specific themes/interests (e.g. Strategy concentration Social Context stream + Sociology (courses on development, diversity, politics & social change)

Program redesign / evaluation

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B.Com. status quo with fine tuning Pro

High demand to get in by excellent students

We must be doing something right

Case for reform mixed or unclear

Previous reform took years Little evidence students

want more liberal arts There is international

option with liberal arts but few students take it

Space for minor can be created by scale economies in initial courses

Con Some students (MUS report) cite

need for reform Areas with growing

specializations (e.g. finance) want leaner core to allow greater specialization

Some faculty believe more liberal arts would foster critical thinking and should be required for commerce students

Status quo risks becoming frozen compromise

Area wrangling over which 2-4 courses to cut

Looking for overlaps, renewing the Core, and integration across courses requires across Area collaboration

Program redesign / evaluation

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Lean core to allow more liberal arts in B.Com. & “teaching room” for minors in management

Pro Provide students with

better rounded education consistent with research university and life-long learning

Escape from head-on competition with Concordia by offering something distinctive compatible with research university

Con Students have “voted with their feet” to avoid

international option that allows liberal arts courses

Fear “trade imbalance” More students may go to arts than we’ll

get back in management minors or few Bcoms will take arts

Teaching resources to offer management minor can be achieved by seeking scale economies -- large sections with TAs

Design challenge If open choice, will students opt for

technical courses outside or inside management?

If restricted choices, who will decide and why?

Taking random liberal arts courses doesn’t serve intended purpose

Program redesign / evaluation

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Lean B.Com. core to allow greater specialization

Pro “Market driven” solution

For example, Finance now largest B.Com. specialization with growing placements in NYC

Avoid head-on competition with Concordia (accounting) by distinctive “up-market” offering that builds on research role

Lean core frees teaching resources to use more tenure stream faculty in foundation courses, executive education and self-financing programs

Con Are we serving students’ long-run

interests by allowing full specialization?

Potential negative impact on staffing in some areas with lean core

Potential negative effects on number of course preps and teaching loads (lower Core=fewer courses with multiple sections which allow people to maintain fewer preps)

Program redesign / evaluation

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Hybrid Option with Lean Core

Pro Provides students with

more choices, more room to customize their own course of study

Adds some structure to liberal arts option by creating specific Minors or Majors that link to management topics

Allows tapping into resources of other faculties to broaden & deepen students’ educational experience

Con Lean Core runs risk of

students not getting depth and breadth of grounding needed

Requires development of new Minors/Majors

Lean Core limited to 1 yr. leaves students with lots of room--may need more advising to choose well

What about students not interested in greater specialization or new program with Majors/Minors?

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program Redesign Process Alternatives

Areas + Fine-Tuning Team

Traditional Redesign Process (Task Force with Area representation)

Key Competencies Approach

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program Redesign Process Alternatives:

Areas + Fine-Tuning Team

Status Quo with Fine-Tuning Delegate to Areas with short time frame to report out on:

Looking for overlaps in course syllabi & cases - burden on each Area to take initiative to find out where overlaps exist and resolve with other profs/Areas -

Renewal of Core courses & alignment with strategic vision (global thinking, integrate research & teaching, life-long learning, E3, competencies, mindsets, multiple perspectives)

Choosing a rep for the Fine-Tuning Team Fine-Tuning Team Mandated to:

Propose route to a streamlined Core (cut 2-4 + 1 Comm.) Appoint subgroup to develop integrative exercise across

courses in first year Core Decide yea or nay on whether to recommend a capstone course

in final year

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program Redesign Process Alternatives:

Areas + Task Force

Hybrid Option with Lean Core Delegate to Areas:

Planning for any needed changes in Core courses under anticipated Lean Core

Development of ideas for specific, relevant Minors/Majors that would link internal concentrations to areas in other faculties

Planning for Lean Core and need for more elective offerings + staffing of courses for more Management Minors

Choosing rep for the Task Force Task Force:

Proposal for Lean Core Selecting a subset of new Minors/Majors programs proposed

by Areas -- for further development and consultation with departments outside Faculty of Management

Program redesign / evaluation

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Bring research into undergraduate learning

Pedagogy Excellence Project (PEP) Report made some useful suggestions, including the following:

Can bring research into the classroom by having Faculty members incorporate their own research-related activities into their course curricula

Research on leadership, ethics and social issues can help develop professional ethos of students

Expanded internships, including research-internships U.S. Boyer report on undergraduate teaching in research

universities has recommendations Inquiry-based freshman year, use of projects in courses,

structured involvement of some undergraduates in research by doctoral students and faculty; integrated courses

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign process alternatives - 2

Traditional redesign process Extensive consultation with

stakeholders internal and external Review what others are doing Undertake redesign and engage in

traditional internal negotiations and trade-offs among areas

Length of process: several years Result: well-thought out alternatives

within constraints set by resultant large set of core courses

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign process alternatives - 3

Key competencies approach (as in current accounting pedagogical reforms) Ask areas to map key competencies and learning

objects needed to prepare for own specialization Map key competencies & learning objects needed for

advanced courses and in early career, including cross-functional competencies (e.g. what statistics competencies needed for finance), plus professional skills: ethics, leadership, etc.

Set cap on number of foundation courses (10 to 12?) Map key competencies & learning objects into those

courses plus integrative exercises

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign process alternatives - 4

Liberal arts approach (as at UBC & some US schools) http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/bcom/program_details/index.cfm Initial year in another Faculty

English Economics

Link to university as research institution and to business community as program whose graduates are creative and adaptive

Potential add-ins to international business, exchange programs, and internships.

Not appropriate/desirable given 1/2 student body is 3 yr. & other 1/2 already has 1 yr. of liberal arts as part of their 4 yr. program.

Calculus 2 – 4 non-commerce courses

Program redesign / evaluation

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Two Arts alternatives Arts as filter

Arts courses first year, then apply

Foundation courses in year 2, then

Specialization

Arts as critical thinking add-in Foundation

courses in year 1, preceded or followed by Minor in Arts

Specialization

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign process alternatives - 5

Minors exchange approach B.Com. students encouraged to take minor

in arts or other field for critical thinking Equivalent FTEs earned by offering minor in

management to other faculties Good citizen but not clear if remunerative

Build specialized summer minors: Minor in management Minor in health management for medical

students and professionals

Program redesign / evaluation

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Program redesign challenges How to differentiate?

Research, critical thinking, mindsets, integrative exercises, international business, social innovation?

Specialization versus mass-market approach Foundation core probably cannot be dual-purpose

Preparation for specialization, AND Suitable for minor in management

How to make B.Com. financially sustainable? Large format sections with tenure stream faculty & TAs Advanced E3

More use of on-line and outside class preparation More in-class debate, discussion, but with less time face-to-face time

Off-load more course requirements to Arts at start

Program redesign / evaluation

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M.Sc. as new program Pro’s

Feeder for PhD program which could help students get publications needed for fellowships

Helps faculty train qualified research assistants

M.Sc. demand in selected fields Marketing Financial engineering Health management IS Technology management or other?

Broader research methods offerings

E.g. Marketing Research II SSHRC funding for masters

Con’s Can grow to overshadow PhD

program Supervision burden, particularly

for thesis Some areas demand large

supervision fee comparable to IMPM supervision (financially not feasible)

Needs champion to get approval, especially since 3 other Montreal schools already have MSc

How to justify & differentiate? Possible loop-hole

Create research alternative labeled MBA-research (e.g UQAM)

Program redesign / evaluation

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Still to do “Glints in the eye” -- can’t remember what this was Need to incorporate remaining Vision elements

Global thinking Need to integrate research & practice into learning Management as a life skill Implications for life-long learning Mindsets/multiple perspectives (only mentioned) Competencies E3 (partly covered)

MBA program (not sure what are issues other than erosion of distinctiveness)

PhD program (improving preparation, throughput & time to completion) Implications for faculty and students Mechanism/processes to ensure continuous curriculum review