Business

What is the program’s mission statement or statement of purpose? Why does the program exist?

The mission statement for the School of Business guides our decision-making and strategic-planning by offering a framework for our goals, actions and programs.

The mission or reason why the School of Business exists is given below.

• Strengthen a culture focused on student learning, critical thinking, and personal discovery;
• Provide collaborative learning experiences that connect students with faculty, business, alumni, and community partners;
• Pursue business research and service activities for faculty that enhance professional development and student learning.

How does the program mission align with the university mission?

The mission of the School of Business is aligned with and derived from the university's mission statement.  In particular the mission of the School of Business to strengthen a culture focused on student learning, critical thinking, and personal discovery is aligned with the university's mission to provide superior, accessible undergraduate and graduate education where students refine their abilities to reason and learn the methods and results of free and rigorous inquiry in the professions.

The School's mission to provide collaborative learning experiences that connect students with faculty, business, alumni, and community partners is derived from the university's mission to foster opportunities for student-faculty scholarship and to provide applied learning experiences within a student-centered campus culture.

The School's mission to pursue business research and service activities for faculty that enhance professional development and student learning is aligned with the university's mission that supports faculty who excel in research, creative activity, and service while fostering opportunities for student-faculty scholarship.

The university's mission to produce students who can communicate clearly is directly supported by the School of Business core learning objective number 4 (4 Communicate effectively; 4.1 Write effective business communications appropriate for the audience; 4.2 Prepare and give a formal oral presentation appropriate for the audience;).  In addition, in the fall 2014 the School of Business held a brown-bag discussion which produced several suggestions and best practices for improving the oral and written communication skills of business students.

Whom does the program serve?

The School of Business serves students in six undergraduate majors (accounting, finance, marketing, management, management information systems, and the Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) in Business Administration) and five undergraduate minors (business administration, entrepreneurship, management information systems, accounting and finance) as well as one graduate degree program with three concentrations or options (MBA with Accountancy Concentration, MBA with Applied Management Option and MBA with Research Option).  Our offerings primarily serve undergraduate and graduate students from Illinois while secondarily serving students from bordering states and throughout the entire world.  The School of Business serves all students regardless of their, age, race, gender or nationality. 

One strong indicator of the commitment to diversity in the School of Business is that our MBA program currently has 13 graduate assistantship positions with 4 being filled by international students and 5 by women.  

What are the services provided? How do these services align with the university mission and program mission?

The School of Business offers several unique services that directly support the mission of Eastern Illinois University. 

In support of the university's mission to provide accessible undergraduate and graduate education, the School of Business provides numerous tools for students to achieve academic success.  Each semester, students can attend walk-in-tutoring sessions to receive help from their peers.  The Supplement Instruction Program provides regular, out-of-class instruction in targeted courses, aimed to help students get the practice they need with sometimes difficult to understand content.  The School of Business also provides over $85,000 in scholarships each year to recognize and award our outstanding students. 

In support of the university's mission to provide applied learning experiences within a student-centered campus culture, the School of Business offers integrative learning experiences that encourage students to make connections among their academic, personal, and professional experiences.  Students are inspired to explore opportunities to study abroad, complete an internship, become an honors student, or get involved with one of our award-winning student organizations.

In support of the university's mission to produce students that become responsible citizens and leaders the School of Business offers the College to Career program that is a  recognized leader in integrative learning that reflects the School of Business' commitment to providing students with experiences that will launch them into future success. The College to Career program encourages students to consciously enhance their professional competencies as they progress through each year of college.  By graduation, students have developed the confidence and skills to make a successful transition to a career for which they have prepared.  The skills and competencies they develop serve as the foundation for continued career growth and professional development after graduation.

The School of Business gets its students in touch with the real world of business.  Through programs like the Executive-in-Residence Program, Young Professionals, and the Bertrand P. Holley Ethics & Social Responsibility Series, students get advice and insight from seasoned executives, young alumni, and professionals from all kinds of backgrounds.  Additionally, the Business Advisory Board and the Accountancy Advisory Board are both composed of dedicated executives at the top of their professions who have a vested interest in seeing EIU business students succeed.  Opportunities are regularly made available to students, to listen to panel discussions, meet with members of the boards, and to be mentored by board members.

In conclusion, the School of Business provides a quality education with dedicated and accessible faculty who are involved and invested in their students' success.  

Describe the program’s origins (e.g. year established, purpose, expectations).

The Department of Commerce was initiated in 1937 as part of Eastern's teacher preparation program. In 1946, it became the Business Education Department, and in 1959, it became the Department of Business. The biggest change came in 1962 as the department was reorganized and renamed the School of Business when the non-teaching business majors outnumbered the Business Education majors. The school was housed on the second and third floors of Old Main, and Dr. James Giffin was Dean.

The early 1960's brought an increased demand for business programs in addition to teacher preparation. As a result, curriculum grew to include degree programs in accounting, management, marketing, and secretarial studies. In 1965, the School of Business moved to Blair Hall, and Phi Beta Lambda, Delta Sigma Pi, and Phi Gamma Nu were established. In 1967, Delta Mu Delta was added, and the Masters in Business Administration program was launched in 1968. The school was renamed the Lumpkin College of Business in 1987.

The 1990's brought many changes, most notably the opening of Lumpkin Hall in January, 1990. In 1993, the college was granted accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for its undergraduate and graduate programs. It was also the year the university implemented a restructuring process that combined six academic colleges into four and the Lumpkin College of Business and the College of Applied Sciences were merged into the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences. Another re-organization occurred on July 1, 1997, when the School of Business began functioning as a unit of the whole, without academic/administrative departments.

How has the unit changed or adapted over time?

The School of Business was adapted many times since being created as the Department of Commerce in 1937 as part of EIU's teacher preparation program for business education majors.  One of the first major changes occurred in 1959 when the Department of Commerce became the Department of Business and the curriculum was expanded to include degree programs in accounting, management and marketing.  When non-teaching business majors outnumbered business education majors in 1962 the name was changed to the School of Business.  As the number of business majors increased the name was changed to the Lumpkin College of Business in 1987.

To save money, in 1993 the Lumpkin College of Business merged with the College of Applied Sciences to become the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences.  The most recent change came in 1997 when School of Business began functioning as a unit of the whole with one chair and one associate chair for the school, instead of four academic departments, Accounting and Finance, Administrative Information Systems and Business Education, Computer and Operations Management, and Management and Marketing with four chairs.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the program’s history and relevance to university mission.

Provide data showing the four-year trend in the number of majors, minors, options, and concentrations.

Provide data showing the four-year trend in student credit hour (SCH) production, percent of SCHs that are general education, and percent of SCHs that are taught to non-majors.

What elements of the program’s curriculum are offered specifically to support other academic majors, minors, options, and concentrations?

Undergraduate Level: Entrepreneurship (Interdisciplinary) minor;  BUS courses  (% based on Fall 2013 enrollment in each class of non BUS minor as a percentage of total seats taken) – BUS 1950 (15%), BUS 2810 (22%), BUS 2101 (16%), BUS 2750 (19%), BUS 3010 (12%), BUS 3470 (17%), MAR 3720 (45%), MAR 3780 (28%), MAR 3875 (44%), MAR 4470 (14%), MAR 4490 (25%). 

At the Graduate Level: PSM-GIS (seats in MBA 5680, MBA 5001, MBA 5010), MS in Environmental Sustainability (seats in MBA 5680, MBA 5001, MBA 5660).

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the internal demand for the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., curriculum changes made by another program) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

There are some weird codings that show up if one is trying to read the program analysis report of majors, minors, concentrations, etc.  One of the big issues is the BSB Parkland and MBA Accountancy students get grouped together – and in the listing within Program Analysis is not clear on what is undergrad and what is graduate level.  The School of Business has been trying to get that changed for over a year; We will continue to push that change through so that our graduate program appears separately from our undergrad programs.

In terms of the Program Analysis Report #2, all of the programs listed are ones that School of Business students have as recorded on their degrees.  Thus Sociology, BED, Journalism, etc. that are listed are really co-majors and minors that go with our School of Business students.   What this report continues to omit is the non-Business majors obtaining a BUS minor.  There is absolutely no record of that group!! Thus the School of Business does not get an accurate count of our large service in that area.  The BUS minor listed here is a mystery.  It only started in 2011 and has 33 and 37 students.  Maybe those are actually MBA numbers for Accounting. 

List relevant data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) New Graduate Salary Survey, and the EIU Career Services Annual Report.

Jobs in business disciplines are in demand. 

The EIU Career Services Annual Report for the last few years is summarized below.

Accounting

Accounting student placement rates are consistently above 90% and are often above 95%.

Finance

Finance student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Management

Management student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Marketing

Marketing student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Management Information Systems

Management information student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90% with average starting salaries of approximately $45000.

MBA

95% of MBA graduates are working in career-oriented positions of responsibility and leadership or are enrolled in PhD programs within six months of graduation.

The following statistics for three popular careers for finance majors (one of our six undergraduate majors) are all from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook available at:  http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Financial Analyst - 2010 Median pay: $74,350 per year; Job Outlook, 2010-20: 23% (Faster than average)

How to Become a Financial Analyst -Financial analysts typically must have a bachelor’s degree, but a master’s degree is required for advanced positions.

Loan Officers - 2010 Median Pay: $56,490 per year; Job Outlook, 2010-20: 14% (About as fast as average)

How to Become a Loan Officer - Most loan officers generally need a high school diploma and receive on-the-job training. Commercial loan officers, however, need a bachelor’s degree in finance, business, economics, or a related field. Mortgage loan officers must be licensed.

Personal Financial Advisors - Median Pay $64,750 per year; Job Outlook, 2010-20: 32% (Much faster than average)

How to Become a Personal Financial Advisor- Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor's degree. A master’s degree and certification can improve chances for advancement in the occupation.

The School of Business offers classes required to sit for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exams. The faculty in the finance area include four CFA's and three CFP's.

Is the program accredited or approved by a recognized external agency or otherwise certified to meet established professional standards? Provide an executive summary of and link to the program’s most recent accreditation or certification report, if available.

The School of Business and the Accountancy program are both fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.   There is no executive summary available to the accreditation reports.  The latest School of Business Accreditation report from 2011 is over 40 pages long and addresses many of the 2003 Business Standards of the AACSB International including those on Strategic Management (Standards 1–5), Participants (Standards 6–14), and Assurance of Learning (Standards 15–21). 

Is the program required to meet any regulatory or legal requirements? Is the program subject to any special auditing requirements?

The School of Business is not required to meet any regulatory or legal requirements.  The School of Business programs are not subject to any special auditing requirements. 

Although it is not a regulatory or legal requirement, the EIU accounting program offers classes that are required to take the CPA exam. The educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois changed effective July 1, 2013 and the Business Ethics course (BUS 4000) was created and approved by the CAA in spring 2013 to satisfy one of these new requirements.  In addition, the accounting area is offering a special topics course on accounting communication in spring 2014 to satisfy another of the new requirements.

Again even though it is not a regulatory or legal requirement the EIU finance programs offers classes to sit for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam.

What are the most important outreach or public service activities supported by the program?

The School of Business offers outreach or public service through integrative learning project in EIU classes where students offer consulting and business counseling help to the local business community.  In MBA 5000 (Strategic Management), Dr. Dobbs finds a local business in need of help with strategic planning.  The business owner speaks with the class early in the semester so that the students learn of the scope of the strategic planning problems faced by that business.  Student teams then make suggestions to improve strategic planning in that business and Dr. Dobbs uses these to makes the final determination of the strategic consulting recommendations.  The business owner is invited back and the students present the strategic planning recommendations along with a strategic consulting report to the business owner. 

A second example is that in fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters students in the entrepreneurship minor participated in the EIU-SCORE Shadowing Program.  In this program SCORE counselors and entrepreneurship students provide free business consulting services in support of entrepreneurs in east central Illinois.

A third example occurred in the fall 2012 when student in Dr. Coker's MAR 3875 (Retail Management) course participated in the retail enhance project for the Lincoln Log Cabin (LLC) Gift Shop.  The LLC Gift Shop was struggling with slow sales and needed assistance in revamping its retail approach.  The students' reports were shared with the Lincoln Log Cabin board and Lori Henderson, Board President of the Lincoln-Sargent Farm Foundation, has confirmed that several of the suggestions have been implemented and are helping. 

The above mentioned examples are three of many occasions where projects in business classes have provided outreach to support the local business community.

The School of Business brings in outside business experts for lectures series including the Executive-In-Residence program, and the annual entrepreneurship week and ethics week events. These free speaker series are advertised in the local and university newspapers to encourage attendance by community members and business owners.

The School of Business Executive-in-Residence Program brings executives and entrepreneurs together with students and the local community . In the fall 2012 semester, Mr. Chuck Grawey, (Retired) President and CEO of Vercipia Biofuels, served as an EIR. Mr. Gawey's keynote presentation was titled, "Beginning Your Business Career: Success Starts Here!"  In the fall 2013 semester, Ms. Stephanie Wonderlin Carls, Director of Social Strategy of Momentum Factor, served as an EIR. Ms. Wonderlin Carls keynote presentation was titled, “5 Pillars of Thought Leadership in the Digital Industry”.  

The School of Business sponsors events in celebration of Entrepreneurship Week. In fall 2012, Ms. Stacey Edgar, Founder of Global Girlfriend and author of the book Global Girlfriends, gave a keynote presentation about how she started her company as a way to provide economic security for women in need by creating a sustainable market for their products.  In fall 2012, a panel presentation was held, entitled, "Entrepreneurship in Rural America: Perspectives and Resources for Success."  In fall 2013, Dr. Matthew Allison spoke on "Evolving as a 'creative-type' business owner" and School of Business alumnus Pat Sullivan gave a keynote address on "Education, Economics and Entrepreneurship". These events were well attended by the local community.

As part of the Bertrand P. Holley Ethics Awareness Week, the School of Business welcomed Dr. Bruce Weinstein, author of "Ethical Intelligence," and "Is it Still Cheating if I Don't Get Caught?" as the principal speaker. Dr. Weinstein gave two open presentations. Also, as part of our Ethics Awareness Week, the School of Business hosted a reception in recognition of the newly created Bertrand P. Holley Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Booth Library Collection. The collection includes 27 books and 6 DVDs.  The School of Business is proud of it part to increase the collection of item on business ethics and social responsibility available in the Booth Library.

How do the local community and the region benefit from the program?

The local business community clearly benefits greatly when classes in the School of Business provide consulting to help business owner solve problems in the accounting, finance, information systems, management, marketing, or operations areas.   The School of Business also benefits greatly from these partnerships as business students are allowed to participate in field-learning projects that greatly improve their understanding of the subject matter while also enhancing their ability to compete for jobs.   

The School of Business also benefits the local community by hosting outside business experts for lectures series including the Executive-In-Residence program, and the annual entrepreneurship week and ethics week events. These free speaker series are advertised in the local and university newspapers to encourage attendance by community members and business owners.

The community and region also benefit when recognized student organizations (RSOs) in the School of Business reach out to local and regional businesses to provide speakers at their meetings.  The relationships that are built between these businesses and student RSO's provides experiential learning experiences for the students while also providing networking opportunities that often lead to job offers to highly qualified students.         

If needed, provide supplemental comments or data sources to help the reader understand the external demand for the program.

Business

Significant Achievements that Document Quality/Improvement

Significant achievements that document support of VPAA and/or University goals

Integrative Learning Opportunities

Student Research/creative Activity

Faculty-student collaboration

Strategies to improve P-16 teaching and learning

External Partnerships

Pass rates on any professional/ occupational licensure exams

Faculty Achievements

Student Achievements

If needed, provide supplemental comments or data sources to help the reader understand the quality of program outcomes.

The information on the quality of program outcomes in section 4 of program analysis was loaded from other reports.  I would have liked to edit it to remove the many redundancies that exist but it is not editable.

Note any special benefits (e.g., personnel support, equipment, permanent improvements) that the program has received in the past three years from its grants and other sponsored programs.

The School of Business has received many generous gifts in the past three years.  The following contributions are just a few of many that have contributed substantially to the well being of the School.  In August 2011, State Farm Insurance Companies provided a generous gift to purchase wireless access points and provide upgrades to our conference rooms.  This money helped relieve the difficulty faced by business students and faculty in connecting to the EIU wireless network while also providing for modular furniture and technology in our three conference rooms in Lumpkin Hall.

The International Business Fund was created in 2010 to support international initiatives in the School of Business. In AY 2013 this fund provided over $6000 of support to 19 students who participated in study abroad programs to Panama and the European Union.  This fund typically provides between $200 to $300 of support for each business student that participates in a business study abroad program. 

The Hollen Student Professional Development Assistance Fund provides funding for professional development activities for business students.  In AY 2013 this fund helped the School of Business host the annual Etiquette Dinner where students practice their skill at eating a meal while also building positive business relationships. It also allowed five students attend the Redefining Investment Strategy Education conference in Dayton, Ohio where our applied securities analysis class was awarded third place in the growth category. In addition, the Hollen  Fund provided money for the Young Professionals Event which brings back successful young alums to connect with current students to give them the opportunity to find out what the real world is like.  Moreover, this fund provided money for the facelift to the Student Center for Academic and Professional Development. 

The School of Business has also created funds for our academic programs (Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing, MIS and MBA) that is funded by outside donors including members of the Advisory Boards.  These funds provided money for students scholarships, faculty development, conferences, guest speakers, consultants, technology renewal, faculty and student research, students organization/club support and capital projects.     

How does the program benefit from donor gifts (e.g., scholarships, endowed chairs)? Does donor support provide a significant percentage of the program’s overall funding?

The School of Business benefits greatly from donors gifts.  The School of Business currently has two funds that provided additional money for two professors in the School of Business.  The Lumpkin Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship was made possible by funding from the Lumpkin Family Foundation. In Fall 2009 this funding allowed the School of Business to attract excellent candidates for a position in highly competitive field of entrepreneurship.  This search selected, Dr. Marko Grunhagen as the Lumpkin Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship.  Dr. Grunhagen has an international reputation in research in the areas of franchising and marketing and he currently serves as Coordinator of the entrepreneurship minor.  

The Bertrand P. Holley Distinguished Professorship and Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Fund allowed the School of Business to attract top candidates for a search for a tenure-track position in business ethics and business law in AY 2010.  This search selected Dr. James Sysko who is given release time and money from the Holley Fund to promote ethics in the School of Business.  Dr. Sysko has developed and taught a required course on business ethics for students wishing to take the CPA exam and organized and planned the annual ethics week events in the School of Business that have brought in nationally acclaimed ethics speakers.   

Donor support and gift accounts provide a very significant percentage of the School of Business' overall funding.  Our gift accounts have from FY 2011 to FY 2013 have increased by nearly 13% and this money has allowed us to support professional development, infrastructure improvement and other strategic initiatives in the school.     

The School of Business gave out 60 scholarships worth approximately $90,000 last year to deserving students.  In a typical year the School of Business offers 1 to 3 additional scholarships and gives out over $85,000 in scholarship money .

List two or three key relationships that the program maintains with external constituencies (e.g., community colleges, other universities, government bodies). How do these relationships advance the university mission or otherwise benefit the university?

The School of Business maintains several external constituencies with community colleges. In particular we maintain close ties with Parkland College in Champagne at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. 

At the undergraduate level we offer the BSB in Business Administration degree. The BSB in Business Administration provides a broad background in business including coursework in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing.  All courses are taught at Parkland College in Campaign in the evenings and weekends. Each three-hour class typically meets one evening per week during the spring or fall semester and two evenings per week during the summer semester. Courses are sequenced so that students can complete the degree in six semesters. 

All classes are taught by Eastern Illinois University business faculty.  As part of EIU’s School of Business, the program is fully accredited by AACSB International—the  Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. 

The BSB in Business Administration degree program benefits the university in a number of ways.  First, it supports the university's mission to offer accessible undergraduate education. This program is designed for students who work full-time or have other commitments during the day and want to take upper division business classes in the evenings and weekends.  Second, this program typically attracts 50-70 students who are enrolled in EIU courses that generate revenue for the university.

The School of Business also offers our MBA program part-time at Parkland College.  In a typical academic year the MBA program offers five courses at Parkland.  A typical class is offered on one night a week for 2.5 hours during the fall and spring semesters and two nights a week during the summer semester.  Courses are sequenced so that students can typically complete their MBA degree in two years and two summers. This growing program typically serves between 25 to 40 students who are enrolled in EIU courses that generate revenue for the university.  Offering the MBA program at Parkland also directly supports the university's mission to offer accessible graduate education.  

In addition, the School of Business maintains close ties to Lakeland College.  We currently have five articulation agreements with Lakeland College for their AS in Business Administration degrees and our Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing and MIS degrees and three articulation agreements with Lakeland College for their AAS in Information technology programs and our MIS degree program. 

The ties with Parkland, Lakeland and to a lesser extent other community colleges benefits the university by attracting students to our undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business.  

Eastern Illinois University and Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain have signed an agreement for a 1-1 academic exchange of business students between the universities to promote improved intercultural understanding, as well as the many and varied educational opportunities to be gained from the international exchange.  This agreement also encourages exchanges and academic visits of faculty and joint research projects.   Although this agreement did not specifically mention promoting study abroad opportunities, the Universidad de Zaragoza did agree to partner with the School of Business to help make arrangements for a two week component of our four week European Union summer 2014 study abroad trip in Zaragoza Spain. 

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the resources generated by the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., revenue pass-throughs) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the productivity of the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., accreditation requirements, curricular changes, program restructuring) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

As seen by the data on class size the School of Business is extremely lean and productive.  The average class size has increased from 33.10 to 37.24 from FY 2010 to FY 2013 which represents an increase of over 12.5%.  In addition, the percentage of 1000-2999 courses with fewer than the required 24 students has been at 0% each of the past four years, the percentage of 3000-4749 courses with fewer that 15 students has dropped from 23% to 10% from FY 2010 to FY 2013, while the percentage of 4750 to 4999 courses with fewer than 10 students has dropped from 50% to 25% from FY 2010 to FY 2013.  The one category where our percentage of classes below the university required minimum number of students has increased slightly is in the 5000 level and above courses where the percentage increased from 6% to 7% from FY 2010 to FY 2013.

Although the SCHs generated by the School of Business has decreased from 31,282 to 27,300 which represents a 12.7% decrease from FY 2010 to FY 2013 and the number of degrees conferred has decreased from 374 to 345 which represents a 7.8% decrease from FY 2010 to FY 2013, there have been many positive signs recently.  For instance, there has been an increase in graduate SCHs and off-campus SCHs (for our BSB in Business Administration degree and MBA program offered at Parkland College in Champaign) from FY 2012 to FY 2013.  Another encouraging sign is that our number of undergraduate degrees conferred has experienced no change from 305 in FY 2010 and was again 305 in FY 2013 for a 0% change. 

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the costs associated with the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., expenditures made centrally or externally, expenditures made on behalf of other units) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

The costs associated with School of Business have in general remained flat from 2011 to 2013, experiencing only slight increases or decreases over that period of time.  By far the largest cost category is in faculty salaries where the costs remained essentially flat increasing from $4,166,034 to $4,194,176 over the period 2011 to 2013 for a very modest 0.7% increase.  The total expenditures followed a similar pattern changing from $4,974,094 to $5,062,728 over the period 2011 to 2013 for a modest 1.8% increase.

The School of Business has been very lean in terms of faculty positions.  The School experienced a 8.1% decrease in total faculty falling from 49.5 in 2011 to 45.5 in 2013.  The number of unit A faculty fell by one from 31.5 to 305 from 2011 to 2013 while the number of unit B faculty decreased by a very significant 33.3% from 18 in 2011 to 12 in 2013.  

In general, it is clear that the School of Business has experienced stable costs and expenditures in the past three years while the number of total faculty positions has decreased by over 8% and the number of unit B positions has been slashed by a third (33.33%).

How does the program seek to distinguish itself from similar programs at other institutions?

The School of Business and the Accountancy program are both fully accredited by the AACSB International.  There are only 182 universities or less than 2% of the business schools in the world that hold both Business accreditation and Accounting accreditation.  AACSB accreditation serves as a significant external validation of the quality of our business and accounting programs that distinguishes us from programs at similar universities.

In addition here are distinctive competencies for our business majors and minors.

Accounting

The Accountancy Program at EIU offers numerous unique opportunities for students’ professional development including a mentoring program which pairs students with accounting professionals sponsored by the Accountancy Advisory Board members, producing a resume book for employers who are seeking to hire accounting majors for internships and for full-time employment, and numerous other opportunities sponsored by its two recognized student organizations, Beta Alpha Psi and the Student Accounting Society, including the annual Accounting Day before Career Fair.

Finance

The finance discipline offers access to a Securities Analysis Center and two student-managed real dollar investment portfolios, and a Certified Financial Planner program where students take a sequence of courses designed to prepare the students to pass the CFP exam.

Management

EIU's Management major prepares students for entry-level positions in management and for graduate study; the program focuses on integrative learning experiences with concentrations in general management, human resource management or international management, and is guided by an engaged faculty recognized for its research, professional achievement, service, and commitment to students.

Marketing

The marketing curriculum is based on experiential learning through field-based curricular activities including developing a full-scale marketing plan, developing a consumer analysis project, evaluating a chosen retail store site to make actionable recommendations for improvement, making a series of product pitch presentations focused on the adaptive selling process for a chosen product, performing a marketing research project, and performing an entry strategy analysis for a chosen product and country.

Management Information Systems

The management information systems area has excellent relationships with industry partners such as State Farm, ADM, Applied Systems, Consolidated Communications, Caterpillar, Rural King, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, and others.

MBA

Students in the EIU MBA program develop core analytical skills transferable to numerous careers through a foundation of six classes, with customizable MBA degree options that allow students to build unique experiences based on specialized content courses, internships, independent study projects, study abroad, or research opportunities.  

Entrepreneurship Minor

Program is open to all majors across campus (cross-disciplinary) and requires no prerequisites.

Business Administration Minor

Program is open to all majors across campus (cross-disciplinary) and requires no prerequisites.

Note any unique and/or essential contributions that the program makes to the university.

The School of Business provides many unique or essential contributions to the university.  The School contributes excellence in integrative learning, sharing business expertise and career development.

Integrative Learning

Our programs support integrative learning experiences, encouraging students to make connections among their academic, personal, and professional experiences.  Students should explore opportunities to study abroad, complete an internship, become an honors student, or get involved with one of our award-winning student organizations.

Sharing Expertise

The School of Business gets its students in touch with the real world of business.  Through programs like the Executive-in-Residence Program, Young Professionals, and the Bertrand P. Holley Ethics & Social Responsibility Series, students get advice and insight from seasoned executives, young alumni, and professionals from all kinds of backgrounds.  Additionally, the Business Advisory Board and the Accountancy Advisory Board are both composed of dedicated executives at the top of their professions who have a vested interest in seeing EIU business students succeed.  Opportunities are regularly made available to students, to listen to panel discussions, meet with members of the boards, and to be mentored by board members.

College to Career Student Professional Development Program

The College to Career program encourages students to consciously enhance their professional competencies as they progress through each year of college.  By graduation, students have developed the confidence and skills to make a successful transition to a career for which they have prepared.  The skills and competencies they develop serve as the foundation for continued career growth and professional development after graduation.

Provide any program-specific metrics that help to document program contributions or program quality. Examples of some commonly used program-specific metrics may be found here.

Placement rates for the School of Business graduates are significant metrics to gauge the quality of our programs as they lend important external confirmation that our students are properly prepared for the jump from college to career. 

Accounting

Accounting student placement rates are consistently above 90% and are often above 95%.

Finance

Finance student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Management

Management student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Marketing

Marketing student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90%.

Management Information Systems

Management information student placement rates are consistently above 85% and are often above 90% with average starting salaries of approximately $45000.

MBA

95% of MBA graduates are working in career-oriented positions of responsibility and leadership or are enrolled in PhD programs within six months of graduation.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the program impact on the university mission.

Provide a link to or listing of the program’s goals and/or strategic plan.

The School of Business strategic plan is available here: School of Business strategic plan (pdf). The three goals and the objectives under each goal are given below.

Goal #1  Strengthen a culture focused on student learning, critical thinking, and personal discovery.

Objective 1.1  Align our student recruitment and retention efforts with our mission.

Objective 1.2  Provide in- and out-of-class experiences for students that are focused on current and relevant business topics.

Objective 1.3  Connect assurance of learning to curricular development and student preparedness.

Objective 1.4  Attract and maintain a faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, research, and service and maintain expected thresholds in AACSB faculty qualifications.

Objective 1.5  Create sustainable relationships with our alumni.

Objective 1.6  Enhance initiatives that promote the importance of an international perspective for students and faculty.

Goal #2  Provide collaborative learning experiences that connect students with faculty, business, alumni, and community.

Objective 2.1  Build and maintain connections with external organizations for internships.

Objective 2.2  Promote interaction with students, faculty and business community through business student organizations.

Objective 2.3  Provide applied and research experiences to enrich student learning.

Objective 2.4  Enhance Student Professional Development program.

Goal #3  Pursue business research and service activities for faculty that enhance professional development and student learning.

Objective 3.1  Establish standards for recognizing excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Objective 3.2  Foster business relationships that enable research, service, and student professional development opportunities

What role will the program have in the implementation of the university’s strategic plan (provide link to strategic plan)?

The University strategic plan (http://www.eiu.edu/strategicplanning/) has the following six strategic themes, Academia Excellence, Global Competition and Changing Demographics, Emerging Technologies, Campus and Community Life, Financial Sustainability, Marketing and Communications.  The School of Business supports all of these six strategic themes and their goals and actions. 

In particular the School of Business supports the theme of academic excellence and its goals of academic rigor, institutional opportunity, and success in degree completion and career preparation.  The School of Business supports these goals by supporting integrative learning, faculty mentored student research, study abroad, and internships in goal 1 of our strategic plan.  In addition, the School of Business maintained AACSB Accreditation of it business and accountancy programs, won a 2012 Provost’s Integrative Learning Award for the College to Career program, had it MBA program granted First Choice Graduate Program status, increased the number and value of scholarship awarded to students, and continues to offers free tutoring and the supplemental instruction program to support the university's strategic theme of academic excellence.  

The School of Business supports the theme of global competition and changing demographics and its goals of national and international partnerships, student diversity, and global impact.   In particular, the School of Business supports these university goals through goal 1 and objective 1.1 of the School's strategic plan to be completed by the Recruitment and Retention and Graduate Committees with the administrative support of the Chair and Associate Chair.  The School also supports the theme of global competition and changing demographics by hiring a diverse faculty and staff, offering five minors, and partnering with other programs to offer dual degrees programs.

The School of Business supports the theme of emerging technologies and its goals of making targeted investments in technology infrastructure, increased transparency in technology funding, and centralized and standardized technology services. In particular, the School of Business has continued to support investment in technology infrastructure including making a substantial investments in wireless access points, technology for its conference rooms, and software that supports integrative learning (Simplicity, financial databases like CRSP, CapitalIQ, etc.).  The Simplicity software program was purchased by the School of Business to support goal 1 objective 1.5 and goal 2 objective 2.2 of the School's strategic plan.   

The School of Business also supports the strategic themes of Campus and Community Life, Financial Sustainability, and Marketing and Communications through our efforts to train RSO's to use the Simplicity software program, making substantial and strategic investments in Lumpkin Hall, making strategic investments in recommendations made the the School of Business Recruitment and Retention Committee, having an administrative team that works very closely and collaboratively with the Office of University Development, having strategic partnerships with the SEED Center for Entrepreneurship, the Business Solutions Center and the SCORE Counseling Center, and creating and distributing the annual Lumpkin Letter to name only a few of the many ways that we support these strategic themes.  

Although there is not a one-to-one relationship between every goal in the university's strategic plan and a goal or objective in the strategic plan of the School of Business, there is as expected in any strategic planning process for an organization, a correspondence between the great majority of goals of the university and goals, objectives and action steps in the strategic plan of the School of Business.  

What are the program’s two or three most promising opportunities that could help advance the university’s academic mission? Provide an estimate of additional investments or other costs required and additional student credit hours, revenue, or other resources generated.

The most promising opportunities for the School of Business lie in our partnerships with other EIU programs that desire professional and business content.  For example, the School of Business Graduate Committee recently approved a dual degree program with the CENCERE center and the MBA program.  The dual degree, MBA (Applied Management Option) and MS in Sustainable Energy, still needs to be approved by the LCBAS Curriculum Committee and the CGS but when it is approved in spring 2014, it will be among the first few dual degree programs offered at EIU. This program will incur almost no additional costs as it will use the existing classes already offered in the MBA program.  This dual degree program will generate additional student credits hours and revenue for each additional student it attracts with enrollment estimates of 5 to 10 new students each year.

In addition, the MBA program has supplied two of the five core courses in the Professional Science Master's in Geographic Information Sciences degree program and is discussing possible collaborative opportunities with the theater, music and art departments concerning a MA in Arts Administration degree.  Since these programs would use existing MBA classes, the additional costs are minimal until these programs attract enough additional new students to require that we offer additional sections or classes in our MBA program. As above the number of new students created by these opportunities may be small at first but are expected to grow as the program matures.

At the undergraduate level, the School of Business already offers an extremely popular minor in Business Administration where students majoring in the liberal arts, sciences, or any non-business area can learn business fundamentals. A four-course core introduces business minors to the functional areas of business and students can customize the degree to best meet their individual requirements by choosing three electives from a list of 21 courses.  The minor in Business Administration degree is required for all Kinesiology majors in the Sports Management concentration and all Family and Consumer Sciences majors in the Apparel and Textile Design, Consumer Studies, Hospitality and Merchandising options.

Other majors requiring that their students complete a business minor generates a significant number of student credits hours for the School of Business but it does mean that our SCH's are dependent on the number of students in majors outside of our control.  Agreements where other majors on campus require business content or require the business minor are certainly expected to increase for the foreseeable future.    

Another promising opportunity for the School of Business is our new online Certified Financial Planner coursework initiative. This initiative will begin to offer the five EIU finance classes required to sit for the Certified Financial Planner exam online .  The first online CFP class will be offered in summer 2014 and each subsequent semester additional courses will be offered online.  This initiative will tape face-to-face finance classes already being offered at EIU as part of the finance major.  These tapes will be posted as videos in D2L for the online learners.  This initiative directly supports the third goal (Be the institution that creates the best opportunities for success including degree completion, advanced studies, and career preparation.) of the strategic theme of academic excellence.

Another major opportunity lies in offering the entire MBA program or particular classes in the MBA program online or in a hybrid format.  This initiative is being investigated during the 2014 AY. This investigation is still in a preliminary stage so no cost or revenue projections are possible at this time.

A last major initiative being investigated during the 2014 AY is the possibility of offering a new online graduate degree program in cyber security collaboratively with the School of Technology.   This opportunity is being investigated because of the job growth potential for careers in IT security. 

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand future opportunities for the program.