Effecting Consistency Across Curriculum: A Case Study

Abstract

Continuous quality improvement is the clarion call across all business schools which is driving the emphasis on assessing the attainment of learning outcomes. An issue that deems special attention in assurance of learning outcomes is related to consistency across courses and, more specifically, across multiple sections of the same course taught by different professors. This paper is intended to accomplish the two objectives. First, identify and discuss the situational factors that are driving the need for improving quality through assessment. The expectations of students and parents, employers and graduate programs, accrediting organizations, and faculty are examined in this situational assessment. Second, a review of the process utilized by the School of Business at a small, private, liberal arts college to address consistency issues that adversely impact quality improvement is provided. This process, still in the early stages of evolution, has had a significant impact on the culture of the institution as it strives to meet AACSB requirements. The process described in this paper has been utilized to address concerns and fears of faculty, and has resulted in improvements in consistency among courses in the curriculum. Concluding remarks provide general recommendations that can be used by our peers who aspire to travel down the same path of using assessment data to improve quality.