Integrating Perceived Added Educational Value Business Administration Core Course Items into Scales and Their Relationships to Degree Program Satisfaction and Business School Reputation Influence

Gary Blau

doi:10.5539/jel.v8n4p1

Abstract

Prior research has not investigated perceived added education value in courses. Using a sample of 165 graduating business students, two business administration (BA) scales were created from six required BA core courses as part of students&rsquo; Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. Students were asked if each required course &ldquo;added value to their education&rdquo;. The two core scales (number of items) were labeled: BA Unique (4 items) and BA Generic (2 items). Analysis showed that the BA Unique scale had higher perceived added education value than the BA Generic scale. The BA Unique scale had stronger relationships to program degree satisfaction and Business School reputation than the BA Generic scale. These results supported the development of more unique required core courses based on business school stakeholder needs. Other schools should consider their stakeholders&rsquo; needs to see if more unique required core courses, beyond generic, are needed. Although only six of 21 required courses could be tested due to sample size limitations, these initial results suggest it is important to evaluate the perceived added education value of required courses in a curriculum.&nbsp;

Highlights

1.1 Introduce the ProblemWith increasing college costs, one important priority is trying to ensure that students are satisfied with their college education (National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report, 2017)
Reliable added education value business administration (BA) core scales were found for the study sample: BA Unique and BA Generic
Business core courses typically involve a significant component of the overall educational investment a student makes for attaining a business degree

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Introduce the ProblemWith increasing college costs, one important priority is trying to ensure that students are satisfied with their college education (National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report, 2017). Typical business college degree programs in the United States include required core courses, which all business students must take, regardless of their subsequent major (Martell, 2007). The purpose of this study was to measure business student perceived added education value of six required business administration core courses, to test if a smaller number of business core scales could be successfully created. The relationships between these created scales and their subsequent relationships to business students’ program degree satisfaction and business school reputation were tested.

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion