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Economics Assessment
1. Determining personnel needs/issues
The economics program at ESU is typical of respected undergraduate programs at other universities as reported in the American Economic Review both in its core and total hours required. The current faculty and course offerings in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Business (e.g., support courses).
2. Allocating financial resources
Faculty salaries are the essential part of allocating financial resources since the program uses existing university resources (e.g., computer labs).
3. Developing new programs
No new programs are currently being developed.
4. Making program changes
Based on student input the department is currently developing an experiential component to the program.
5. Accomplishing departmental goals
The experiential component mentioned above is consistent with departmental goals.
6. Any professional development targeting student teaching and learning
Faculty development through participation in economic education conferences occurs at the National Association of Economic Educators (NAEE), Midwest Economic Education Conference (MEEC), and the Missouri Valley Economic Economics Association (MVEA).
7. What do your findings/conclusions from data analysis suggest about your students, programs, student learning (content understanding/skill development), and/or attainment of program goals/mission?
Student feedback from an independent focus group reported strengths in analytical skills and flexibility. Areas for improvement included collective work on projects outside the normal classroom or research projects.
8. Extent of faculty participation in the plan(s), its implementation and decision making?
Due to the relatively small size of the program faculty participation continuous, and extensive.
9. Extent of student participation in discussing your assessment program(s).
In the major overhaul of the assessment plan for economics, students played a prominent role. Before, their input was virtually nonexistent.
10. Are both UG and Grad programs equally implemented? If not, please explain.
The graduate program in economics was discontinued at the request of the economics faculty in the late 1978 so the program could specialize in undergraduate education. A few courses in economic education are offered for teachers through the Center for Economic Education which achieved the highest level of affiliation with the National Council on Economic Education in every one of its five-year reviews.
11. What major changes are you introducing this year to the plan(s)?
The entire plan is being developed beginning with a mission statement.
12. How many semesters have your various direct and indirect measures generated data? List each tool used and the number of semesters you have data on file for that measure.
Tool Focus group: Our focus group began in February 2004.
Course achievements: We have course grades for the past twenty years.
Student evaluations: We have twenty years of student evaluations and summaries.
Portfolios: We have course portfolios for EC 101, EC 305, and EC 306 dating to
Survey: Placement office surveys and senior surveys have been reviewed annually for the past ten years.
Feedback from employers and internships: This information is not in record form.
Feedback from Alumni: This includes achievement of advanced degrees and employment activity for the past twenty years.
