Dean’s Update, January 24, 2012

CBA Accreditation Team Attends AACSB Seminars

Cal State Fullerton hosted two AACSB seminars last week. On January 17 and 18, the Assessment Seminar and Assurance of Learning Seminar was led by Kathryn Martell, Dean, College of Business and Public Administration, Kean University. Kathryn has a long history of working with AACSB on assessment and is a recognized expert on this topic. The seminar:

• Provided an overview of the assessment process with an emphasis on direct measures of student performance.
• Used effective feedback techniques and assessment-related pedagogical resources that can be used immediately.
• Designed a functional, pilot assessment plan based on a specific vision you want to achieve for your students.
• Applied the concepts and practices of assessment as they relate to obtaining and maintaining accreditation.

Robert Chi, Stephenie Canavan, and I attended the seminar, although I could only stay for the first day.

On January 19 and 20, the Business Accreditation Seminar was held. This seminar allowed participants to:

• Gain a deeper understanding of the new accreditation standards.
• Become familiar with the processes leading to initial accreditation and maintenance of accreditation.
• Understand the importance of continuous quality improvement for management education.
• Develop relationships with other deans and administrators who can be important resources for initial accreditation or maintenance of accreditation.

Robert and Stephenie attended this seminar; I have attended similar sessions over the years at AACSB Deans Conferences and Annual Conferences.

With our Maintenance of Accreditation visit two years from now, the seminars allowed our team to keep current with AACSB standards and to connect with other business schools from across the country and the world (schools from France, the Netherlands, and Korea attended).