Program Review for Business Administration
Program Review Framework & Criteria
I. Connection: From interest to application (Qualitative, program head and dean)
1) Please provide a description of any changes to the program since the last cycle and the appropriate updates to the catalog (general education changes, program requirement changes, ancillary program costs for students, hours/credits of credentials, etc.).
The following changes were made to the program since the last program review cycle...
1. Math courses throughout the VCCS were redesigned with new courses; therefore, the Math requirement for this program has been updated to include MTH 130 in place of MTH 120.
2. Since Legal Assisting is a Career and Technical Education program, ENG 111, College Composition I, was changed to ENG 115, Technical Writing. ENG 112 was replaced with a Humanities Elective to satisfy SACSCOC requirements.
3. The ADJ 130 course, Criminal Law, is designed more for students studying law enforcement; therefore, LGL 218, Criminal Law, was substituted for ADJ 130.
4. The Legal Assisting Advisory Committee recommended coursework in basic grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.; therefore, AST 107, Editing/Proofreading Skills was added to replace the Approved Elective. The Committee also recommended coursework in basic bookkeeping/recordkeeping; therefore, AST 136, Office Recordkeeping was added.
5. The BUS 125, Applied Business Math, and the LGL 226, Real Estate Abstracting, courses were removed from the program to provide space for the new courses recommended by the Legal Assisting Advisory Committee.
6. SDV 101, Orientation to Legal Assisting, was removed from the program.
7. In accordance with college policy, SDV 108 was removed and replaced with SDV 100.
Total credits for the program is 64.
2) How do students find out about the program? Please provide examples of advising activities, marketing materials, or other outreach and engagement events designed to recruit students to the program.
The program is not traditionally marketed. This program is a general studies degree designed for business students. The catalog indicates to students it is for those who wish to enter into a 4 year business program. The program fulfills requirements needed for the first 2 years of a baccalaureate degree.
II. Entry: From application to pathway entry (Qualitative, program head and dean)
1) Please provide a description of your program credentials and how they stack into one another.
There are no sub-credentials for business administration.
Questions for consideration:
1.a. What is the employability (or transferability) of each credential?
The business administration degree is designed as a transfer degree program to all four year Virginia business schools. Our main transfer partners are Virginia Tech, Radford, and Old Dominion.
1.b. Do all credits from a sub-credential transfer into the parent credential?
N/A
1.c. What is the timeframe of completion for all credentials within the program (i.e. is the program setup to award sub-credentials prior to the parent credential)?
We do not have sub-credentials, but the business administration is scheduled to be completed in two years to transfer to a senior institution.
2) Program enrollment, if applicable, disaggregated by specialization (Quantitative, IE)
The program has seen lower enrollment, comparable to the school wide enrollment drop over the past six to seven years. From the 2017-2018 to the 2018-2019 year, there was a leveling off of enrollment similar to what was experienced college-wide. There are plans to create a brochure for the program to be handed out at recruiting events.
a. Annual program FTE and HC over the last review cycle (To include SCHEV program ratios and SCHEV class ratios)
III. Progress: Pathway advancement (Quantitative, IE)
1) Student learning outcomes data
Business Administration Outcomes
Business administration outcomes are based off of one content area objective that has been misaligned over the past several academic years. For 2019-20, this outcome has been realigned with hopes of increasing applicability with student performance, thus increasing overall success rates.
2) Program credit attainment (15/12 in one semester, 30/24 for those who enrolled in two consecutive semesters)
Almost half of the students enrolled are being enrolled at least one semester as a full-time student. The majority of those students are enrolled two semesters as a full-time student. This is a transfer program, so the pathways model should help students to complete in a more timely fashion.
3) Program retention and persistence relative to the start date of the program (subsequent term calculation)
Persistence and Retention Table
The percentage of persistence has steadily risen after the initial decline seen college wide.
IV. Completion: Credential attainment (Quantitative, IE)
1) Sub-credential attainment and timeframe (are students completing sub-credential prior to or at the same time as parent credential?)
N/A
2) Parent credential attainment and timeframe, if applicable, disaggregated by specialization
Everything in the first three years is trending consistent with national averages. The information for 2017-18 and 2018-19 has students who still have not completed because they started the program during these years.
a. Are students completing within 6 semesters (150% of graduation time)?
Yes, the percentages completing in 150% are remaining steady at a high level.
V. Transition: Employment or transfer post-credential (Quantitative, IE)
1) Transfer outcomes (students who transfer with associate degree, students who transfer without)
The data show that more students are transferring without completing a degree. This is a trend that is seen college-wide. Completion might improve through efforts to promote associate degree attainment (e.g. reverse transfer, automatic award of credentials).
2) Student perspective/satisfaction
The survey means are aligned with where they should be.The responses are not for the program specifically, but are based on students who are Business Administration majors.
VI. Sustainability: Future Program Outlook (Mixed methods, IE, program head and dean)
1) Program forecast (major expenditures, changes, personnel needs, etc.); any future costs should be explained in this section)
There are no major expenditures or changes anticipated.
a. Any other pertinent information relevant to the review process should be provided here (e.g. community need, state/federal requirements, external accreditation, SCHEV low enrollment warning, etc.)
There are no anticipated changes.
b. Employment forecast for program (Analyst data)
The business administration program is designed as a transfer program. The data show the potential for students that use the degree to continue on to a four-year institution and complete a business degree. This will put them on a pathway to obtain a career as an executive where this salary is attainable.