CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS ORGANIZATION

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Originated: September 25, 1997
Revised: February 3, 1998

PREFACE

In the fall of 1994, the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Business began establishing guidelines to ensure that all of its activities, particularly its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, meet the following objectives:

(1) they are high in quality,

(2) they advance the stated mission of the College of Business,

(3) they are continuously improved, and

(4) they meet or exceed the standards for accreditation specified by AACSB--The International Association for Management Education.

This document describes the organization that has evolved in support of these objectives. Many responsibilities are assigned to a group of committees called collectively the College of Business "continuous improvement process" committees. This document describes those committees and the responsibilities assigned to them. Also described are the procedures for creation and maintenance of documents related to the continuous improvement of the college. Finally, the relationships of several other college entities to those described herein are specified. Appendix A contains a list of the current committee membership and chair assignments, and Appendix B contains a cross-reference of AACSB standards to groups responsible. Appendix C contains a list of the responsibilities of department chairs that are relevant to the continuous improvement processes.

Note: Throughout this document, the terms "responsible" and "responsibility" should be construed as being advisory in nature. This document does not in any way alter the lines of authority prescribed by the university Policy and Procedure Manual.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Document Types

Documentation is an important part of most continuous improvement efforts. The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Business makes use of several different types of documents including:

University policies and procedures: documents published in the university Policy and Procedure Manual that prescribe how certain decisions are made and how certain activities are undertaken throughout Stephen F. Austin State University. New documents and changes to the procedures described in these documents require approval of the university's Board of Regents.

College policies: documents that give specific guidance in how important decisions are made in the College of Business. Policy documents are normally identified by the word "policy" in the title and by the use of prescriptive terminology, e.g., "will," "must," "always," etc. The steps for creation, approval, and maintenance of college policies are described below.

College processes, procedures, and plans: documents that describe action(s) that should normally be used to accomplish a task or tasks, such as this document. These are less restrictive than policies and make more use of terms such as "may," "should," "normally," etc. "Processes" and "procedures" are similar except that the term "process" normally refers to a task that involves multiple parts or steps, while "procedure" is usually singular. A "plan" is essentially identical to a process, but the former term is more customary in certain contexts, such as the college's "Faculty/Staff Resource Plan." The steps for creation, approval, and maintenance of college processes, procedures, and plans are described below.

Documents consisting of college policies and processes/procedures/plans: for convenience and completeness, some documents may contain both policies and processes/procedures/plans according to the above definitions. In such cases, the "policy" section(s) should be identified by appropriate sub-section titles and the use of prescriptive terminology. The steps for creation, approval, and maintenance of such documents are the same as for college policies as described below.

Other documents: other documents may be used by the college and/or its subdivisions as circumstances warrant. Each such document should be reviewed in a manner appropriate to its contents. Documents affecting the college faculty (for example, the college's goals) should normally be presented to the faculty or to the College Council for review and comment. Should questions arise concerning the review steps for a particular document, a determination will be made by the Dean of the College of Business in consultation with the parties concerned.

Creation, Approval, and Maintenance of College Policies, Processes, Procedures, and Plans

College policies, processes, procedures, and plans may be proposed by:

--continuous improvement process committees (described further below),

--the college Leadership Team,

--the College Council or the College Graduate Council (note that faculty may initiate business in the College Council in accordance with the council's constitution), or

--other college committees, if so directed or approved by the dean.

Both "policies" and other documents are normally reviewed in the same sequence, which is given below. Because of their importance, "policies" should be given more emphasis in the review process. In particular, a "policy" review should normally include a formal approve/disapprove vote by the College Council and/or College Graduate Council as appropriate. A document originated at the beginning of the sequence (e.g., in a continuous improvement process committee) normally progresses through the entire sequence in the order indicated. A document originated further down the sequence is not normally sent to reviewers above it in the sequence but may be if the dean so directs. For example, a policy originated in the College Council would normally go directly to the dean for final approval, but the dean might elect to have the policy first reviewed by the Leadership Team or some other appropriate committee. The sequence is:

--the originating committee, usually the appropriate continuous improvement process committee or other committee designated by the dean.

--the Strategic Management Committee (for documents originating in a continuous improvement process committee only).

--the Leadership Team.

--the College Council (except for items that deal primarily with graduate education), and/ or the College Graduate Council (for items that deal with graduate education). Documents involving both graduate education and more general topics (such as this document) will normally be reviewed by both the College Council and the College Graduate Council.

--the College of Business Dean, for final approval.

Should a particular review body make a negative recommendation, the originating committee should be informed and, with consent of the dean, will have the options of withdrawing the proposal, modifying it to include changes recommended by the review body, or sending it on through the review process in spite of the negative recommendation.

The review path for substantive document modifications will normally be the same as for new documents. Non-substantive changes (e.g., correction of minor errors or updates to be consistent with newly-approved documents) may be approved by the College of Business Dean at any time. Should questions arise concerning whether a particular change is "substantive," a determination will be made by the dean in consultation with the parties concerned.

In addition to a description of the steps, responsibilities, etc., each document should include the date originated (the origin date of the version first approved by the dean) and, if applicable, the date of the most recent revision. Approval signatures are not necessary so long as the review outcome is recorded by each of the various review bodies.

Continuous Improvement Process Committee Appointments

Except as otherwise noted, membership in each committee and designation of each committee chair are by appointment of the Dean of the College of Business in consultation with the department chair(s) of the respective faculty member(s). Ordinarily, committee members and chairs will be full-time faculty of the College of Business of rank Lecturer or higher, and all five departments in the College of Business will be represented whenever possible. Exceptions may be made by the dean as warranted.

While there is no provision made for automatic rotation of committee membership or assignment as committee chair, any committee member may request removal from a committee or reassignment to another committee at any time, and any committee chair may request to be relieved of chair responsibilities. The dean may approve, disapprove, or delay action on such requests as dictated by the needs of the College of Business. The dean may also add, remove, or replace committee members and chairs as needs dictate.

Records and Reports

Each committee chair should keep records of meeting dates and topics discussed at each meeting (it is not necessary to record details of the discussions). These records together with all significant documents created or discussed by the committee should be retained for a period of at least five years. When a committee chair is replaced, all records (or copies thereof) should be passed to the new chair. If a committee is dissolved, all records (or copies thereof) should be passed to the College of Business Dean.

Unless otherwise requested by the dean, each committee chair should prepare a report at the end of each academic year describing both the major activities of the previous year and plans for the next year. Each report is due by September 1 of the respective year.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Undergraduate Curriculum Content and Evaluation Committee (UCCEC)

--create and maintain a curriculum review process consistent with AACSB standard C.2.1 (AACSB, p. 20) and use it to periodically review and suggest changes to the general education and business core requirements of the college's BBA programs. Review by the UCCEC will be at the college level and does not replace departmental curriculum review as specified in SFASU policy A-4. The process may be developed jointly with the Graduate Curriculum Content and Evaluation Committee and should include procedures to:

--create and maintain educational objectives for each undergraduate degree program consistent with AACSB standard M.3 (AACSB p. 9).

--periodically review the curriculum at the college level as evidenced by course descriptions and syllabi for compliance with the educational objectives, college mission statement, stakeholder needs, feedback from the assessment process, AACSB standards (C.1 and subsections thereof, p. 17-20), and other factors deemed appropriate.

--recommend curriculum changes based on the curriculum review.

Graduate Curriculum Content and Evaluation Committee (GCCEC)

--create and maintain a curriculum review process consistent with AACSB standard C.2.1 (AACSB, p. 20) and use it to periodically review and suggest changes to the core requirements of the college's MBA program. Review by the GCCEC will be at the college level and does not replace departmental curriculum review as specified in SFASU policy A-4. The process may be developed jointly with the Undergraduate Curriculum Content and Evaluation Committee and should include procedures to:

--create and maintain educational objectives for each graduate degree program consistent with AACSB standard M.3 (AACSB p. 9).

--periodically review the curriculum at the college level as evidenced by course descriptions and syllabi for compliance with the educational objectives, college mission statement, stakeholder needs, feedback from the assessment process, AACSB standards (C.1 and subsections thereof, p. 17-20), and other factors deemed appropriate.

--recommend curriculum changes based on the curriculum review.

Teaching Quality Assurance Committee (TQAC)

This committee is responsible for all aspects of ensuring that instruction is delivered effectively except assessment activities, which are assigned to the Assessment Committee. Responsibilities of the TQAC include:

--create and maintain an instructional resources process consistent with AACSB standard IN.1 (AACSB p. 23). At a minimum, the process should:

--periodically identify the instructional resources available to college faculty, including library and computer facilities, space, and staff.

--periodically survey the faculty concerning adequacy and utilization of available instructional resources.

--identify gaps between resources needed and available, and describe a procedure for reconciliation of the gaps.

--supplement the University Library Committee in serving as a liaison between the University Library and the faculty.

--create and maintain a student assessment of teaching process consistent with AACSB standard IN.2 (AACSB p. 23). At a minimum, the process should describe (or make reference to documents that describe):

--the instrument used (in general terms)

--how assessment items are selected

--how the instrument is administered

--how results are used for improvement of instruction

--document the process by which departments ensure that instruction is delivered effectively (see Leadership Team responsibilities) and report any apparent problems to the College of Business Dean.

Assessment Committee

This committee is responsible for both the assessment of program effectiveness and the closely-related task of collecting feedback from stakeholders. Because the committee deals mainly with collecting and analyzing information, the committee chair will also carry the title "Director of College Research." Committee responsibilities include:

--create, maintain, and periodically implement an assessment process to monitor all degree programs for effectiveness in a manner consistent with AACSB standard C.2.2 (AACSB p. 20). At a minimum, the process should:

--gather information on the performance of the College of Business in accomplishing its mission. The process may make use of surveys of students and/or other stakeholders, student examinations, and/or other means at the discretion of the committee.

--include both college-wide and department-specific procedures for degree programs with majors from more than one department (BBA and MBA). Programs contained primarily within a single department (computer science B.S. and M.S.; MPA) need only have departmental assessment procedures.

---create, maintain, and periodically implement a stakeholder feedback process to collect feedback from the college's primary stakeholders, including students, alumni, parents of students/alumni, employers/potential employers, and faculty. The feedback should include data used for outcome measures specified by the Strategic Management Committee and consistent with AACSB guidance (AACSB section A, p. 10). At the Assessment Committee's option, this feedback (or part of the feedback) may be collected as part of the assessment process or vice versa.

--review both assessment data and stakeholder feedback to identify areas needing improvement. The results should be passed to the College of Business Dean for distribution to the appropriate committee(s) and/or department(s) for action.

Student Affairs Committee

--create and maintain one or more student processes that describe or make reference to documents that describe:

--the admission process for each degree program, including efforts to achieve demographic diversity in each program's student enrollment and the success thereof.

--the retention process for each degree program, including the advising process and probation/suspension procedures.

--the process by which the university manages transfers of coursework from other institutions. Also review the process to ensure that it is consistent with AACSB standard C.1.2.d (AACSB p. 18) and recommend changes as warranted.

--the career planning and placement processes including facilities and services available to students. Also document placement utilization and success rates.

--identify characteristics of students and other constituents served by each degree program in a manner consistent with AACSB standard M.3 (AACSB p. 9). Also identify the geographic orientation of each degree program.

--periodically review the college's student-related activities for compliance with the college mission statement and with AACSB standards S.1, S.2, and subsections thereof (AACSB p. 27-28). Also recommend improvements to the College of Business Dean as warranted.

Faculty/Staff Expectations and Development Committee

--document (and create as necessary) policies and/or processes for faculty/staff expectations and development consistent with AACSB standard FD.3 and subsections thereof (AACSB p. 11-12). Collectively, the documents should describe or make reference to documents that describe:

--academic appointments, i.e., the formal appointment/contract/re-appointment process.

--assignment of teaching and service workloads.

--faculty evaluation, including faculty activity reports and related documents. The committee should ensure that the process adequately documents activities in support of the college mission statement, and that intellectual contributions are reported in a manner consistent with AACSB standard IC.1 (AACSB p. 29-30).

--tenure, promotion, and merit pay, including general performance expectations.

--recognition of outstanding performance in teaching, research, and/or service.

--faculty development activities at both the college and department levels, including research grants and development leaves.

--college and/or university policies concerning outside employment.

--monitor college-wide activities related to faculty/staff expectations and development and report any apparent problems to the College of Business Dean.

Faculty/Staff Resource Planning Committee

--create and maintain a faculty/staff resource plan consistent with AACSB standard FD.1 (AACSB p. 11). At a minimum, the plan should:

--describe a periodically-implemented mechanism for identifying needed changes in both the number of faculty and their qualifications (Dean's Office Staff will calculate numerical performance measures per AACSB standard FD.4, FD.5, and subsections thereof).

--describe general procedures for recruitment, selection, and orientation of faculty and staff in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.2 and subsections thereof (AACSB p. 11). The plan should also include or make reference to documents describing the detailed procedures.

--describe ongoing efforts to achieve demographic diversity in college faculty and staff in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.2.c (AACSB p. 11).

--monitor college-wide activities related to faculty/staff planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, and deployment, and report any apparent problems or irregularities to the College of Business Dean.

Strategic Management Committee

This committee consists of the chairs of the other continuous improvement process committees plus additional members as necessary to include at least one representative from each of the college's five departments. The committee is chaired by the College of Business Associate Dean. Committee responsibilities include:

--create and maintain a mission review process and use it to create and periodically review a college mission statement. Both the mission and process should be consistent with AACSB standards M.1, M.2, and M.4 (AACSB p. 9).

--monitor the college's activities for compatibility with the college mission statement in a manner consistent with AACSB standard M.5 (AACSB p. 9), and report any apparent problems to the College of Business Dean.

--create and maintain a set of college-wide goals and objectives with a horizon of approximately five years. For each objective:

--identify outcome measures and use them to monitor progress (AACSB guidance section A, p. 10) in conjunction with the Assessment Committee.

--review policies, processes, procedures, and plans proposed by the other continuous improvement process committees.

--maintain the Continuous Improvement Process Organization (this document).

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COLLEGE ENTITIES

College of Business activities include the use of several internal entities other than those listed above. The most significant ones are described briefly in this section along with the relationship of each to the committees and activities described above.

Leadership Team

The Leadership Team is headed by the College of Business Dean and includes the Associate Dean and the chairs of the five departments. Most continuous improvement responsibilities are undertaken by the individual department chairs as described in Appendix C. Responsibilities of the Leadership Team as a whole include:

--plan and coordinate activities of the College of Business.

--review curriculum change proposals from departments as well as from the respective curriculum committees and make recommendations in a manner consistent with AACSB standard C.2.1 (AACSB p. 20).

--review proposed continuous improvement documents and make recommendations.

College Council

The College Council is fully described by its constitution, last revised in December of 1994. Undergraduate curriculum changes are always forwarded to the College Council for review and recommendation. The Council also reviews proposed continuous improvement documents other than those primarily involving graduate education.

College of Business Graduate Council

The Graduate Council is fully described by its by-laws, last revised in January of 1995. Graduate curriculum changes are always forwarded to the Graduate Council for review and recommendation. The Council also reviews proposed continuous improvement documents that involve graduate education.

Other College Committees and Panels

The College of Business Dean may constitute other committees and/or panels to provide recommendations on annually recurring issues such as tenure, promotion, faculty development, teaching award, and research grants, as well as ad hoc matters. The responsibilities of some such committees may be described in the processes listed herein.

College of Business Faculty

The faculty of the College of Business have the primary responsibility for carrying out the college's mission. Creation of and changes to the college mission statement require approval by a majority of the full time faculty of the College of Business. Other matters may be presented to the faculty for vote and/or feedback at the discretion of the College of Business Dean and/or the committee(s) responsible for the particular subject.

REFERENCES

American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), "Achieving Quality and Continuous Improvement through Self-Evaluation and Peer Review (Standards for Accreditation)," St. Louis: AACSB, 1994.

APPENDIX A
CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Effective Spring, 1998

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM CONTENT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE

GRADUATE CURRICULUM CONTENT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE

TEACHING QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMITTEE

ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE

*Director of College Research

STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

FACULTY/STAFF EXPECTATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

FACULTY/STAFF RESOURCE PLANNING COMMITTEE

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

APPENDIX B
AACSB STANDARD TO RESPONSIBILITY CROSS-REFERENCE

APPENDIX C
RELEVANT DEPARTMENT CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties and responsibilities of department chairs are described in university policy E-10A. This appendix lists only those responsibilities that are relevant to the college's continuous improvement processes. In general, each responsibility is carried out in consultation with the respective departmental faculty and the College of Business Dean:

--implement the faculty/staff resource plan, including recruitment, selection, and orientation of new faculty, in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.1 (AACSB p. 11).

--assign faculty to teaching, college service, and departmental service duties in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.3.a (AACSB p. 12).

--monitor curriculum delivery to ensure that the curriculum is implemented as designed and that instruction is delivered effectively. In particular, arrange for mentoring of new faculty and graduate teaching assistants. The means of monitoring curriculum delivery may include such activities as reviewing course syllabi, reviewing student assessment results, reviewing annual reports, visiting classrooms, and/or arranging for peer faculty to conduct one or more of these activities. Activities should be consistent with AACSB standard FD.2.b (AACSB p. 11) and AACSB Guidance (AACSB p. 25).

--arrange for periodic review of the curriculum from the department perspective and recommend changes as warranted in a manner consistent with AACSB standard C.2.1 (AACSB p. 20).

--encourage faculty to stay current in their fields and be accessible to students in accordance with the college mission statement and AACSB standard IN.3 (AACSB p. 24).

--evaluate the performance of departmental faculty and staff and make recommendations concerning re-appointment, tenure, promotion, pay, disciplinary actions, and other matters in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.2.b (AACSB p. 12).

--ensure that the content of interdisciplinary and multi-section courses is coordinated in a manner consistent with AACSB Guidance (AACSB p. 25).

--encourage and support faculty intellectual development and the production of intellectual contributions consistent with AACSB standards FD.3.c and IC.1 (AACSB p. 12 and p. 29-30).

--monitor faculty outside professional activities including consulting and participation in academic and professional meetings and organizations for consistency with applicable policies in a manner consistent with AACSB standard FD.3 (AACSB "Basis for Judgement" p. 12).

--carry out other responsibilities as specified by the various continuous improvement process documents.

College of Business Home SFASU Home Top of this page