UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

About Our School

Assurance of Learning (AoL)

Student learning is the central activity of the School of Business and Economics (SBE). To gain feedback on how effectively we accomplish this activity, SBE has a systematic process for assessing student learning. The process is grounded in a philosophy that:

  • Assessment is mission driven and supports mission revision.
  • Assessment must be owned by the faculty, individually and collectively.
  • Assessment is developmental, both for individual faculty, programs and the college. It is designed to support continuous improvement activities.
  • Assessment is an ongoing process that needs periodic review and revision.
  • Assessment is responsive to and inclusive of multiple stakeholders.
  • Learning outcome assessment focuses on learning goals and measures demonstrated achievement of those goals.
  • Assurance of Learning needs to be integrated with the college’s strategic planning, faculty development and curriculum initiatives.
  • Assessment results must be analyzed, disseminated and used by the faculty and SBE.  Collecting data is only the first step -- the feedback must be used for continuous improvement.

School-Wide Learning Goals

The School's AoL process is grounded in undergraduate and graduate program-level learning outcomes. Each program has a faculty-developed Assurance of Learning Plan that documents its learning outcomes and AoL process. Complete AoL plans may be viewed under each program below.

  1. Students will be aware of the impact of globalization. Graduates will be able to:
    1. Identify relevant global factors
    2. Analyze the impact of relevant global factors
    3. Apply analysis to relevant situation
  2. Students will engage in complex decision making. Graduates will be able to:
    1. Identify problems and/or opportunities
    2. Conduct a situational analysis
    3. Generate alternatives to address problems or opportunities
    4. Choose and develop solutions to problems or opportunities
  3. Students will communicate effectively, both orally and in written form. Graduates will be able to:
    1. Demonstrate proper mechanics in written form
    2. Use vocabulary appropriate for target audience
  4. Students will demonstrate an awareness of social responsibility issues. Graduates will be able to:
    1. Identify and evaluate ethical dilemmas
    2. Demonstrate awareness of sustainability issues
    3. Recognize the diversity of people, thought, and culture
  5. Graduates will be able to demonstrate general business knowledge.

  1. Graduates will be able to understand basic economic principles
  2. Graduates will be able to use economic theory to critically examine problems in the U.S. and global economy
  3. Graduates will be able to demonstrate and apply knowledge gained in the area of statistics
  4. Graduates will be able to conduct economic research and present results
 

  1. MBA graduates will be able to apply an integrative, evidence-based approach to decision making
  2. MBA graduates will be able to evaluate a global business environment to support strategic decision making
  3. MBA graduates will be able to apply ethical reasoning to decision making
  4. MBA graduates will be able to effectively communicate in a business context