Guided by the missions of the Undergraduate Program, and University’s mission of teaching, research, and service, the mission of the Haas School of Business is to develop leaders who redefine how we do business.

The Haas School of Business Undergraduate Program has developed student learning goals for the Business major that provide faculty and students a shared understanding of the purpose of the major and what graduating seniors are expected to know or to be able to do at the end of their course of study as it relates to the school’s mission.

The learning goals are assessed to determine whether students are achieving the outcomes. The assessment results are used to inform curricular design and other program offerings. All steps require input and participation from the business school community, particularly faculty. The resulting learning goals, which have their origin in the core curriculum, were shaped over several months by faculty and administration and are listed below.

  • Students will be skilled in critical thinking and decision making, as supported by the appropriate use of analytical and quantitative techniques.
  • Students will apply functional area concepts and theories appropriately.
  • Students will be effective communicators who can prepare and deliver oral and written presentations using appropriate technologies.
  • Students will be sensitive to the ethical requirements of business activities.
  • Students will tackle strategic and organizational challenges with innovative solutions.

These goals are broken down into measurable “objectives and traits” and assigned to a core course in which they can be measured. (Sometimes electives are used as a supplement to core courses.)

The following table of Undergraduate Student Learning Goals shows a visual relationship between the core curriculum and the expected outcomes (.pdf).

Assessment

The Haas School of Business uses course-embedded measures to assess student achievement of each goal. This means that we assess student performance using assignments already on the syllabus. To implement this process, the Director of Academic Affairs, in conjunction with administration and faculty, select courses and assignments that match the objectives.

Once the assessment data is compiled, the Director of Academic Affairs will analyze it and, working with faculty as necessary, determine whether students are meeting the learning goals. They will also initiate a participatory process to determine whether the assignments are adequate measures of the learning goals and/or whether the goals and objectives should be revisited. While data is analyzed by assignment, the over arching purpose is to measure the cumulative learning of a business major. The Haas School of Business considers the assessment a serious part of programmatic and curricular planning. In addition, goals are assessed via surveys, evaluations of teaching and other indirect means. Some of these tools are listed:

Undergraduate Degree Program Committee is a committee consisting of faculty, senior staff, and students whose charge is to propose initiatives for improving the program.

Student Satisfaction Surveys: The Haas School of Business conducts an annual student satisfaction survey (about 100 questions). Faculty, students, and selected staff each receive an “executive summary” of relevant portions of the survey results, and complete analyses of the surveys are used to guide the School’s continuous improvement.

Class Representative Program: The Class Representative Program enables students to communicate successes, concerns and recommendations regarding the Undergraduate Program and its courses.

Haas Faculty Evaluations: Each semester, Haas School students are invited to evaluate faculty members’ teaching. Individuals within the Haas School community can review these evaluations by semester, by course or by instructor.

The University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES): The UCUES instruments and methodology have enabled construction of key indices of student engagement and satisfaction, whose full use depends on an ongoing survey process and the continued tracking of those who participated in the initial administration.

Indirect measures include data analysis of graduation and retention rates, career center statistics, alumni and recruiter feedback.