AACSB International Continuous Improvement Review Carol ... Self-St… · AACSB International Continuous Improvement Review Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics University

AACSB International Continuous Improvement Review Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics University of Kentucky Academic Years 2011/2012 – 2015/2016

David W. Blackwell, Ph.D. Dean, Gatton College of Business and Economics

Nicole Thorne Jenkins, Ph.D.

Executive Associate Dean, Gatton College of Business and Economics

February 2017

Table of Contents

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: ENGAGEMENT, INNOVATION, AND IMPACT ............................................................. 1

OVERVIEW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY AND THE GATTON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS ............ 3

2.0 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................ 5

2.1 HISTORICAL, NATIONAL, LOCAL, AND OTHER FACTORS SHAPING GATTON’S MISSION AND OPERATIONS .......... 5 2.2 GATTON’S ADVANTAGES IN REPUTATION, RESOURCES, SPONSORS, AND SUPPORTERS ....................................... 5 2.3 GATTON’S DISADVANTAGES IN REPUTATION, RESOURCES, SPONSORS, AND SUPPORTERS .................................. 7 2.4 INTERNAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND COMPETITIVE FORCES CHALLENGING GATTON’S FUTURE ............................ 9 2.5 OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE GATTON’S DEGREE OFFERINGS ............................................................................ 9

3.0 PROGRESS UPDATE ON CONCERNS FROM PREVIOUS REVIEW ...................................................................... 10

4.0 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION ............................................................................................. 15

4.1 MISSION STATEMENT AND SUMMARY OF STRATEGIC PLAN ............................................................................... 15 4.2 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESS ................................................................................................ 15 4.3 STRATEGIC PLAN OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS ........................................................................................... 16 4.4 INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS, IMPACT AND ALIGNMENT WITH MISSION ...................................................... 17 4.5 FINANCIAL STRATEGIES AND ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES ............................................................................... 18 4.6 KEY STRATEGIC ACTION ITEMS ......................................................................................................................... 20 4.7 NEW DEGREE PROGRAMS .................................................................................................................................. 21

5.0 PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................................................. 22

5.1 STUDENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 22 5.2 FACULTY MANAGEMENT POLICIES .................................................................................................................... 25 5.3 CRITERIA GUIDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS..................................................... 27 5.4 CRITERIA FOR DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN PARTICIPATING AND SUPPORTING ................................................... 27 5.5 CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION ................................................. 28 5.6 STAFF COUNCIL ................................................................................................................................................. 30

6.0 LEARNING AND TEACHING ........................................................................................................................... 30

6.1 ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND TOOLS ............................................................................................................. 31 6.2 CURRICULUM MAP ............................................................................................................................................. 33 6.3 ASSESSMENT METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 35 6.4 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 35 6.5 CURRICULA DEVELOPMENT ACTIONS AND CLOSING THE LOOP ......................................................................... 37

7.0 ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................... 40

7.1 STUDENT ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT .................................................................................. 40 7.2 EXECUTIVE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH .......................................................................................................... 42 7.3 FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT ................................................................................................. 44

8.0 OTHER MATERIAL ....................................................................................................................................... 45

8.1 ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL HOME .............................................................................................................. 45 8.2 LEARNING AND CAREER OUTCOMES .................................................................................................................. 45 8.3 RESEARCH WITH IMPACT .................................................................................................................................... 46 8.4 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................................... 46 8.5 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE .............................................................................................................................. 46

List of Appendices

APPENDIX A: GATTON COLLEGE ADVISORY GROUPS

APPENDIX B: RESEARCH CHALLENGE TRUST FUND- FUNDED ACTIVITIES

APPENDIX C: EXECUTIVE EDUCATION CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

APPENDIX D: RESEARCH AND OUTREACH CENTERS

APPENDIX E: AACSB ACCEPTANCE LETTER

APPENDIX F: PARTICIPATING AND SUPPORTING FACULTY CRITERIA

APPENDIX G: GATTON COLLEGE 2015-2020 STRATEGIC PLAN

APPENDIX H: TABLE 2.1 - FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY OF INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

APPENDIX I: PH.D. GRADUATE PLACEMENT

APPENDIX J: MBA GRADUATE PLACEMENT

APPENDIX K: OPERATING RULES AND PROCEDURES

APPENDIX L: PROCEDURES FOR FACULTY APPOINTMENT, REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION AND THE GRANTING OF TENURE

APPENDIX M: DEPARTMENT HIRING

APPENDIX N: DEPARTMENT OPERATING RULES AND PROCEDURES

APPENDIX O: FACULTY AND STAFF AWARDS

APPENDIX P: GATTON COLLEGE RESEARCH EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE

APPENDIX Q: TABLE 15-1 - SUMMARY OF FACULTY SUFFICIENCY AND QUALIFICATIONS

APPENDIX R: TABLE 15-2 - DEPLOYMENT OF PARTICIPATING AND SUPPORTING FACULTY

APPENDIX S: ACADEMIC PROGRAM CURRICULUM MAPS

APPENDIX T: SAMPLE ASSESSMENT REPORT TEMPLATE AND ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

APPENDIX U: SAMPLE DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT FORM

APPENDIX V: GATTON COLLEGE TEACHING EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE

Gatton College of Business and Economics - Continuous Improvement Review 1

1.0 Executive Summary: Engagement, Innovation, and Impact

Our 2016 Strategic Plan, Building a Community of Leaders: A Blueprint for Excellence, guides the College over the next five years. As a College, we are proud of what we have accomplished over the last five years from increasing our portfolio of programs, growing our student body, to the remarkable increase in research productivity and national recognitions. We have taken many of the necessary steps to move up into the top 30 public business schools in the country.

Our current dean, Dr. David W. Blackwell joined our College in the spring of 2012 with the goal of propelling the College forward and upward. This effort began with the raising of more than $65 million through the Gatton United Capital Campaign to fund the renovation and expansion of the Gatton facility into a nearly 210,000 square foot building which officially opened October 2016. This is the first academic building at the University of Kentucky funded entirely through philanthropy and it serves as an academic home to more than 170 faculty and staff and over 3,500 students. The College successfully engaged our alumni and friends in making the 10-year dream of a new facility a reality.

When we embarked on the Gatton United Capital Campaign we did so to build a building, but we ended up building an engaging community for our faculty, staff and students. Our new space boasts 42 study rooms, several open area lounges, an event space and a 500-seat auditorium. Our facility is a game changer for recruitment and programmatic growth. It enhances our positive momentum as we move forward as a fully engaged and committed College.

Over the last 5 years, the College has embodied our tagline--“Blue Means Business.” We have successfully raised over $90 million in new gifts and pledges and lead all academic units at the University in philanthropic support during that period. At the same time, we have enjoyed a 30 percent increase in enrollment. Innovation has resulted in the creation of new graduate and undergraduate programming that brings students across campus, from the Commonwealth and around the world to Gatton to participate in our endeavor towards excellence.

Part of our mission is to influence the thinking of scholars, business leaders, and policy makers, and to have a tangible influence of the lives of Kentucky’s citizens and people around the world. Through engaging partners in the Commonwealth and around the globe, we have grown our national and international footprint, which, has led to a more inclusive student body. We have increased both our retention, graduation and placement rates with improved academic and career advising. Gatton has engaged the citizens of the Commonwealth by connecting students and entrepreneurs to commercialize the intellectual property of the University and the community. Across the state, we have provided programming that has disseminated the expertise of our faculty and others to citizens of the Commonwealth. With an ever-increasing footprint, outside of the state and the country, we have expanded our international collaborations, which has yielded new revenue sources and increased the varied experiences of our students.

Below we highlight some notable examples of our engagement, innovation, and impact.

Engagement

Gatton has several advisory boards including the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Accounting Advisory Council, and MBA Advisory Board. Representatives from the boards participated in our strategic planning process and provide continuing input to our operational and programmatic activities.

Faculty member was appointed by Senator Mitch McConnell to serve on a federal commission on evidence-based policymaking.

Faculty member was appointed as Economic Consultant by the Lieutenant Governor for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Blue Ribbon Tax Reform Commission.

The College has created the Business Enterprise Living Learning Community, a residential program that provides students with an opportunity to experience a multidisciplinary approach to the field of


business, through coursework and interaction with mentors from a pool of faculty, staff and business professionals.

CBER produces the Kentucky Annual Economic Report annually The Gatton College sponsors five unique programs in the College in which students engage in peer-

led leadership opportunities and professional development. These students are active in the life of the College and meet with the dean frequently to inform the administration of concerns.

Beta Alpha Psi, an honorary accounting fraternity, has volunteered at Habitat for Humanity and God’s Pantry on an annual basis. They also teach financial literacy at local middle and high schools through Junior Achievement.

The College is participating in a reading program at a local elementary school.

Innovation

Gatton hosts the Social Enterprise Scholars honors pathway. This pathway provides students with the marketing, management and entrepreneurial skills to become agents of change within a variety of organizations both in the state of Kentucky and around the world.

Nathaniel R. Morris, founder of Rubicon Global was named Entrepreneur-in-Residence. His appointment is in line with our new Social Enterprise Scholars Honors Pathway at the University of Kentucky. Morris will work with the College and throughout the state in growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He will participate in guest lectures and serve as a mentor for the UK Venture Studio. Mr. Morris has also committed to working with the College to fundraise for Gatton’s proposed Center for Social Enterprise.

The Gatton College has grown its portfolio of programs to include a graduate certificate in Improving Healthcare Value in collaboration with the Colleges of Engineering and Public Health; a statewide Executive MBA program in collaboration with the University of Louisville, a three-year joint JD-MBA program in collaboration with the College of Law and a MS in Finance.

Gatton has successfully leveraged its international relationships to develop 2+2 programs with universities in China, India and Senegal. Now in their third year, our 2+2 programs are generating $600,000 in new revenue annually for the University.

The Gatton College’s Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship created the UK Venture Studio, which forms interdisciplinary student teams that develop business plans to commercialize University of Kentucky technology and intellectual property and business ideas from the community.

Impact

The Gatton College annually hosts the LINKS Center for Social Network Analysis Conference that welcomes 200 academics from around the world and provides training in Social Network Analysis. Bi-annually the Center hosts the Intra-Organizational Networks Conference for academics.

In 2016, the Gatton College was awarded a NSF grant to establish the Kentucky Research Data Center through a partnership with the Bureau of the Census. Our inaugural consortium partners include Indiana University, Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati and the University of Louisville.

The UK Center for Poverty Research is housed in the Gatton College and informs policymakers on the causes, consequences and correlations of poverty and inequality in the United States.

The Center for Business and Economics Research conducts sponsored research that inform the state and the country on matters related to business and economics in Kentucky and provides economic and public policy information to governmental agencies, the media and businesses within the Commonwealth.

At the close of the 2016 academic year, 80 percent of our MBA students and 79 percent of our undergraduate students reported having secured full time employment within 90 days of graduation.

Increased the representation of non-resident students to 40 percent. Five faculty members received best paper awards from journals or conferences.


A faculty member received the Outstanding Accounting Educators Award from the Kentucky CPA Society.

A faculty member was inducted in to the American Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners. Two faculty members were selected to receive the SEC’s Travel Grant, which provides funding to

support research-related travel among co-authors at SEC universities A faculty member won a grant from the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment

and the Office of Sustainability. A faculty member received the UK Confucius Institute’s 2016 Outstanding Faculty Award.

Overview of the University of Kentucky and the Gatton College of Business and Economics The University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky was established in 1865 as the premier flagship institution of the state of Kentucky. UK is dedicated to improving lives through education, research, healthcare and service. The University of Kentucky offers more than 200-degree programs collectively through 17 colleges and professional schools. These include the Colleges of Agriculture, Food & Environment; Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics; Communication and Information; Dentistry; Design; Education; Engineering; Fine Arts; Health Sciences; Law; Medicine; Nursing; Pharmacy; Public Health; Social Work; and the Graduate School. Other programs in the graduate school offering high quality graduate training include the Graduate Centers for Nutritional Sciences and Gerontology. The variety of programs offered through the University has allowed for extraordinary collaborations across disciplines, contributing to the development of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, with over 80 national rankings for excellence in academia and research. In FY 2016, UK faculty and staff brought in over $316 million in sponsored project awards. The University of Kentucky aspires to global recognition as a nationally ranked public institution. The University is proud of its accomplishments and is committed to addressing the challenges confronting the Commonwealth it has served for more than 150 years. The Gatton College of Business and Economics The third largest College at the University of Kentucky, the Gatton College of Business and Economics, originally the College of Commerce, was created in 1925. In 1964, it was comprised of two academic departments: The Department of Economics and the Department of Business Administration. Three years later, the Department of Accounting was created. The College of Commerce was renamed in 1968 to the College of Business and Economics. The Management Center, the Center for Labor Education and Research, and the Kentucky Council of Economic Advisors, as well as technical and research assistance programs for local and state governments were created in the late 1960’s into the early 1970’s. In 1989, the College began expanding internationally with programs in Europe and Asia. The Board of Trustees renamed the College after alumnus Carol Martin Gatton in 1995 to its current name, the Gatton College of Business and Economics. The Board of Trustees reorganized the College to its present state in 2012. The Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods, the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain, and the Department of Management were all created in addition to the other departments, the Von Allmen School of Accountancy and the Department of Economics. The College currently has four faculty members who serve in administrative roles as associate deans. The Gatton College of Business and Economics is led by Dean David W. Blackwell. The College recently updated and restored the building housing its departments and classrooms. The renovated and expanded building was reopened on October 10th, 2016. The 65-million-dollar project includes growth from 140,000 square feet to approximately 205,000 square feet. In addition, 20 state-of-the-art classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, 42 group study rooms, a new consumer behavior laboratory space, state-of-the-art financial trading center, and community space were added to accommodate the growth in the number of faculty and students.


Academic Partnerships The College currently has several strategic relationships with other academic institutions including the University of Louisville, The Piraeus University of Applied Sciences (Greece), Manipal University (India), Institut Africain de Management (Senegal), and seven Chinese universities. University of Kentucky/University of Louisville Joint Executive MBA Degree The Gatton College and the University of Louisville College of Business (UofL), created a joint UK/UofL Executive MBA program (EMBA). This program has admitted three cohorts to date, beginning with 19 students in August 2014. The first two cohorts of students have graduated and a third cohort of 19 has been admitted. Recruiting is currently underway for the fourth cohort, which will begin in August 2018. The Gatton College and UofL focus intently on the assurance and continuous improvement of each of the identified student learning goals within their joint Executive MBA degree concentration, which include critical thinking, identification of ethical issues, multidisciplinary thinking, structured reasoning skills, communication skills, and business skills. The EMBA Policy Committee, composed of both UK and UofL professors and administrators, is ultimately responsible for assessing student-learning outcomes associated with EMBA courses. The Committee also ensures that the curriculum is relevant and consistent with UK and UofL general requirements, state requirements, and accreditation requirements. Course instructors are responsible for administering assessment instruments and evaluating the extent to which students exhibit the traits associated with the specific learning objectives being assessed. University of Kentucky/Piraeus University of Applied Sciences Collaborative MBA The University of Kentucky and the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences have a collaboration agreement between them, which sets forth the mutual commitments of each university for the MBA degree offered by both universities in Athens, Greece. Contained in this agreement are the specific duties and responsibilities for each university relating to the program. It also sets forth the specific requirements, including courses and curriculum schedule, for the program. Each university contributes faculty to the program. The students must meet the UK admission criteria as well as all graduation requirements determined by the UK Graduate School. Graduates receive an MBA from the University of Kentucky. This agreement is reviewed and renewed periodically. International Agreements The Gatton College began pursing relationships with Chinese universities in 2012. Since that time, we have signed 2+2 agreements (2 years of Chinese undergraduate work and then transfer to UK for degree completion) and 3+1+1 agreements (3 years of Chinese undergraduate work and one year at UK as a visiting student (degree is awarded by Chinese institution) and then the student applies for UK graduate school) with five institutions in China (Beijing Jiaotong University, China University of Mining and Technology, Jilin University, Shandong University, and Tianjin Foreign Studies University). In our desire to expand beyond China, we have 2+2 signed agreements with Manipal University in India and Institut Africain de Management in Senegal. We have also signed agreements with two Chinese Universities (Sun Yat-sen and Xiamen University) in support of our MSF program to launch in fall, 2017. We evaluate the success of these programs by asking two questions: 1) Do they yield students and 2) Are the students successful at UK? Thus far, the program has yielded 25 visiting students and 14 transfer students. Almost all of these students have had GPAs in excess of 3.0 and the vast majority have GPAs that approach 3.5. Gatton’s Commitment to Promoting Diversity and Inclusion A major objective of the University of Kentucky is to enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our community through recruitment and retention of an increasingly diverse population of faculty, administrators, staff, and students, and by implementing initiatives that provide rich diversity-related experiences for all to help ensure their success in an interconnected world. We will achieve this objective by working collaboratively to create an environment where all students, faculty, and staff live or work in an environment of openness and acceptance, and in which people of all backgrounds, identities, and perspectives can feel welcome.


The Gatton College of Business and Economics is committed to providing an enriching educational experience for all students, faculty, and staff by actively exploring and adopting new initiatives that will expand both the diversity and inclusivity of our College and campus community. 2.0 Situational Analysis 2.1 Historical, National, Local, and Other Factors Shaping Gatton’s Mission and Operations The vision and mission of the University drive the mission of the Gatton College. This mission has been instrumental in guiding the College’s strategic decisions and actions within an ever-changing environment. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) coordinates change and improvement in Kentucky's postsecondary education system as directed by the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997. In June of 2016, KCPE adopted its 2016-2021 Strategic Plan on Postsecondary Education and Adult Education titled Stronger by Degrees. This plan focuses on creating a more educated and prosperous state.

The components of the KCPE plan most relevant to the University are:

Objective 1 – Improve the diversity and inclusiveness of Kentucky’s campuses through the statewide diversity planning process and related initiatives

Objective 3 – Increase participation in postsecondary education, particularly among traditionally underserved populations.

Objective 5 – Expand financial access to postsecondary education Objective 6 – Increase persistence and timely completion for all students at all levels, particularly for low-

income and underrepresented minority students. Objective 8 – Promote academic excellence through improvements in teaching and learning. Objective 9 – Improve the career readiness and employability of post-secondary education graduates. Objective 10 – Increase basic, applied, and translational research to create new knowledge, accelerate

innovation, and promote economic growth. Objective 11 – Expand regional partnerships, outreach and public service that improve the health and

quality of life of Kentucky communities. Concurrent with the adoption of the most recent strategic agenda of KCPE, the University of Kentucky developed and adopted its 2016-2020 strategic plan. This plan outlines a detailed roadmap, including measures of change and success, in addition to the financial and capital framework necessary to achieve the goals of KCPE. In 2015, the Transforming Tomorrow Strategic Plan of the University of Kentucky was adopted by the UK Board of Trustees and was then presented to the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education. That plan addresses all the bulleted items listed above as well as strengthening graduate education. In 2016, the Gatton College revised i t s mission and adopted its 2016-2020 strategic plan – Building a Community of Leaders: A Blueprint for Excellence – to support the University’s mission and strategic plan. Our mission guides the operations of the Gatton College and our resource allocations are made in support of our strategic initiatives. The strategic plan of the College also addresses the bulleted items above with the addition of an initiative to improve operational excellence. The strategic plan of KCPE, the University of Kentucky and the Gatton College are fully integrated in terms of goals and objectives, areas of focus and measurable outcomes. 2.2 Gatton’s Advantages in Reputation, Resources, Sponsors, and Supporters Despite the economic challenges experienced by the Commonwealth of Kentucky that have led to reductions in state funding to higher education, the Gatton College of Business and Economics enjoys many advantages. First and foremost, the completion of our remodeled and expanded facility has made a significant difference in how we are perceived on campus, in the state and throughout the country. Similarly, exposure and additional support for the College is generated by MBA partnerships with companies through the Project Connect internship program. The College has increased its portfolio of programs with the 2014-2015 addition of an Executive MBA in partnership with the University of Louisville and the launch of the MS Finance in fall 2017. Gatton is also home to six research centers and enjoys a faculty recognized for their leading research as evidenced by substantial external grant awards, publication productivity, and citations.


2.2.1 Advisory Groups The Gatton College has four advisory groups including the Dean’s Advisory Council, the MBA Advisory Council, the Accounting Advisory Board, and the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. These groups provide counsel to the College and the MBA and accounting programs respectively. Please refer to Appendix A: Gatton College Advisory Groups for additional information.

2.2.2 Alumni and Donors Gatton enjoys the largest number of dues-paying alumni association participants of any college at the University. While Gatton is proud of all its 32,438 living alumni, the College recognizes its alumni that have significant notable achievements by inducting them into the Gatton Hall of Fame. To date, eighty-three members have received this honor. Two of these members, Mr. Carol Martin Gatton and Mr. Douglas J. Von Allmen, have given back to the College through generous gifts. In 1995, the Board of Trustees agreed to rename the College in honor of Mr. Carol Martin Gatton’s $14 million pledge. In 1999, the Von Allmen School of Accountancy and the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship were renamed to honor the $7 million gift from Douglas and Linda Von Allmen. Among the gifts to the Gatton United Capital Campaign were three $10 million commitments from Mr. Gatton, Mr. Howard Lewis, and Dr. Bill Seale; a $6 million gift from Ms. Joan Kincaid; a $5 million gift from Mr. John Schnatter, and several other seven-figure gifts. The Gatton Dean’s Advisory Council, in particular, has been extraordinarily supportive. In the last twenty years, that group accounts for support to UK and the Gatton College of over $200 million. 2.2.3 Endowments As of December 31, 2016, the endowments for the College had a market value of $74.4 million. The Gatton College endowment is a major advantage in the College’s efforts to recruit and retain an outstanding faculty. Endowed scholarships and fellowships allow Gatton to recruit high-achieving undergraduate and graduate students. The table below shows the dramatic increase in support we have received after the College publicly launched its Gatton United Capital Campaign. The total in FY12 was a normal average over the prior five years, but the last four years have seen tremendous growth in philanthropic support largely due to the campaign.

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 7/1/15-

12/31/16 Cash Gifts and Pledges

$ 4,229,596 $ 25,752,964 $ 22,591,396 $ 13,005,740 $ 25,153,557

Endowment Value

$ 64,405,345 $ 69,667,007 $ 77,887,929 $ 76,843,406 $ 74,363,741

What is also clear from the table is that most, if not all, of these philanthropic dollars have been directed to the capital campaign and very little in adding to the College endowment. In fact, the endowment has remained constant in the last two years. We are now entering the “silent phase” of a University capital campaign. Since our building project is complete, we will now turn our development emphasis to building our endowments for faculty support, program support, scholarships, and graduate fellowships. 2.2.4 Research Challenge Trust Fund The Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 1 in 1997, establishing the Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF and referred to as the “Bucks for Brains” program) and created a $230 million matching fund for new endowments to support faculty and graduate students. The Gatton College benefitted greatly from this program. A portion of Mr. Gatton’s naming gift and the entire Von Allmen gift were matched. The College has used these funds to support five endowed chairs, 21 professorships, seven fellowships, the Chellgren Lecture Series, several research centers, scholarships, and enrichment activities. Appendix B: Research Challenge Trust Fund- Funded Activities for a complete listing.


2.2.5 The Don and Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center The Jacobs Executive Education Center (EEC) delivers executive, managerial and professional development programs. These enable engagement with the business community while generating additional revenues. While open enrollment programs are available, the EEC has transitioned its focus toward custom programs. See Appendix C: Executive Education Center Highlights for a summary of key programs. 2.2.6 University of Kentucky/Piraeus University of Applied Sciences Collaborative MBA In 2003, the University of Kentucky received approval from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to offer Gatton’s MBA program in Athens, Greece at the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences. This program provides Gatton faculty the opportunity to participate in an international program while gaining exposure to a different culture and developing new global relationships. 2.2.7 Research Centers There are six research centers are housed within the College. The Centers play an important role in scholarly research activities. Products from these Centers include prestigious faculty publications and supplemental faculty income, in addition to providing much needed support for graduate students, conference travel, and hosting of workshops and visiting scholars. The Centers have significantly increased the visibility of the College. The Centers also sponsor events that are open to students and the broader community of the Commonwealth. Please refer to Appendix D: Research and Outreach Centers for a complete description of each Center. 2.2.8 Sponsored Project Awards Several areas within the College have been quite successful in obtaining substantial grant awards. These awards play an integral role in support of the overall mission of the College. Gatton was awarded $1,335,638 in grants in FY2016. Much of this award can be attributed to the UK Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR) and international development work. The UKCPR was established in 2002 and provides research supporting evidence-based policies on the cause consequences and determinates of poverty and inequality. In 2015, UKCPR published a book, SNAP Matters that examines the effects of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—food stamps—has on health and well-being outcomes. The international development work conducted by the College has included working with business scholars and business school administrators from war torn parts of the world such as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to assist with building sustainable business education programs.

2.2.9 Current Facility In the summer of 2014, the Gatton College embarked on a remodeling and expansion of its facility. The new facility is 210,000-square-feet and incorporates both the 1963 original Gatton building and its 1992 addition. Learning spaces were increased by more than 40 percent. State-of-the-art classrooms, a dedicated finance learning facility, and collaborative study spaces throughout the building emphasize the way business is conducted in the 21st century. The Gatton College has seen enrollment increase by 24 percent since construction began. In fall 2016, the College’s enrollment exceeded 3,500 students for the first time. The facility was constructed to accommodate 4,000 undergraduate students. We anticipate reaching this number by the fall of 2017. 2.2.10 Grant Activity The Gatton College of Business and Economics is active in pursuing external research grants, primarily through our research centers. From FY 2012 through FY 2016 the college received 52 grants. Grant expenditures totaled approximately $10 million during that period—an average of $2 million per year. 2.3 Gatton’s Disadvantages in Reputation, Resources, Sponsors, and Supporters Unfortunately, the College faces several challenges that limit the College from moving forward with several aspects of the Strategic Plan. Many of these disadvantages are the direct result of the statewide economic challenges that have created uncertainty in the University’s budget. The greatest disadvantage to the College is necessary funding to increase the size of the faculty and to keep summer support for faculty competitive with peer institutions. Faculty summer support tends to be a flat amount that is guaranteed for a period of time. Most of our peer institutions provide 2/9ths of base salary to all research active faculty. Financial constraints have also led to


less competitive financial support for doctoral students and an inability to grow the staff in response to increased student enrollment. 2.3.1 Faculty Shortage Data from the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, & Effectiveness revealed that the Gatton College has had the highest student-to-faculty ratio among the 16 colleges at UK since 2002. Our student-to-faculty ratio has continually increased. Since the 2011-2012 academic year Gatton College enrollment has increased 30 percent and the faculty headcount has grown by only six percent. The 2009-2010 student-to-faculty ratio was 33:1 and today it is 35:1. The next highest student-to-faculty ratio on campus is in the College of Engineering at 26:1. The faculty shortage has hampered our ability to keep teaching loads competitive relative to our benchmark institutions. In response, we have increased class sizes, adopted a hybrid online approach in some courses, and have increasingly become dependent on teaching assistants and adjunct faculty to deliver lower level courses. 2.3.2 Faculty Salaries Using 2015-2016 data obtained from AACSB’s Salary Survey, the current faculty salaries for all ranks are competitive with the College’s comparable peers. The one area where we are at less than 90 percent of the median of our peer group is in Associate Professors in Accounting (70 percent). Unlike other academic areas in the College, approximately 40 percent of our Associate Professors in Accounting have not published in a high-quality journal in over ten years. This has resulted in their salaries not keeping pace with the market since faculty raises are increasingly tied to research productivity in top journals. This has resulted in an artificially low average among this group of faculty.

2.3.3 College Attrition Over the last several years, we have had the normal number of faculty leave because they were denied tenure. We have also had a few faculty leave because they received offers from other institutions. In each instance, we have been able to match the outside offer. Faculty that have left have done so primarily for personal reasons. We either have hired, or are in the process of, hiring replacements. Finally, we have had the normal attrition through retirements. The table below provides a review of faculty attrition between AY12 and AY16. The College has been filling departures with a higher mix of non-tenure track faculty than in the past, reflecting budget constraints and the need to address the increasing student-to-faculty ratio.

FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 Total

Retirements 1 3 0 3 1 8

Separations 2 5 3 5 3 18

Total 3 8 3 8 4 26

New Hires 1 10 4 9 7 31

2.3.4 Financial Support for Doctoral Students Critical to the attraction and recruitment of high-achieving doctoral students is the financial support a program can offer. The doctoral programs at the Gatton College lag peer- institutions in this regard. Financial support is guaranteed (subject to satisfactory academic and professional progress) for four years with the possibility of a fifth year in exceptional circumstances. Stipends over the last five years have ranged from $15,000 to $27,000 ($20,000 average) for the Ph.D. in Business Administration and $12,000 to $22,000 ($16,000 average) for the Ph.D. in Economics. The amount of funding for graduate students in the Gatton College varies by department as shown in the graph below. During AY16, seventy-one Ph.D. students received support. The average total funding among those students receiving assistance across the College was $20,577. Recently, there has been a slight increase in the average size of fellowships or assistantships provided to graduate students. Much of the variation in the total amount is due to variation in the number of students completing in a year and variation in the number of new students accepting our offer of admission.


2.4 Internal, Environmental, and Competitive Forces Challenging Gatton’s Future Given the financial constraints, Gatton is finding it difficult to match the capabilities of its peer institutions let alone exceed them. We have been successful in keeping the salaries of our current faculty competitive; however, due to budgetary constraints we have not been able to grow the faculty at the same rate as our undergraduate population. Moreover, in the last year we have proposed two specialized master’s degree programs, MS in Finance and MS in Applied Economics. The revenue sharing on all new programs campus wide is 40 percent to the College and 60 percent to the University. This policy works for Colleges that have significantly lower delivery costs. Because of this funding model, the College is not moving forward with the MS in Applied Economics. Currently, our constituents have expressed interest in on-line programs and programs in supply chain and data analytics. We are in the early stages of bringing supply chain and data analytics into the curriculum as we recently hired a supply chain faculty member and are preparing to hire two more in the next two years. We are in the early phase of discussing an online program to serve the region. Significant portions of our undergraduate students want to remain in the Lexington metropolitan area. Because of the size of the city and the surrounding region, the job opportunities are limited. Thus, this depresses the starting salaries for our graduates, which makes the College appear to be of lower quality. Restricted resource and unfavorable revenue sharing have made it difficult for the college to implement well-developed support systems to help students who are in greatest need and to fully develop other students. Our limited ability to grow the faculty has impeded our ability to increase our course offering to address gaps in the curriculum such as supply chain and analytics. Due to the size of our MBA programs, we only have one cohort in our full-time program. It is a goal of the college to have our best teaching faculty engaged in the MBA program. However, these faculty would have to have multiple course preparations across different programs for them to participate in the MBA program. Because the MBA program represents one of the greatest potential sources of additional revenues for the college, we are motivated to improve the experience of students so that the desirability of the program increases. Another factor that limits Gatton is our ability to attract and support excellent scholars who produce rigorous, influential research at the forefront of business and economics. Historically we have not provided 2/9ths of summer support to our new hires and research active faculty. We currently have several research productive faculty who receive a fixed dollar amount for summer support, which is less than what our peers are paying their faculty. Moreover, we have very few faculty who have a research budget to support their travel and related research activities. While we do fund these activities, our peers do so with committed recurring funds.

There are many outstanding things that are going on in the Gatton College; however, we are working to expand the machinery in the College to tell our story to our current students, young alumni, donors and friends. In addition, the College does not have an alumni relations department nor an effective customer relationship management software system. Both would go a long way in helping us to build and maintain relationships with students, alumni and friends of the college. This would also facilitate the development of a seamless marketing and branding program that reaches all our constituencies in a manner that builds and maintains connections.

2.5 Opportunities to Enhance Gatton’s Degree Offerings In fall of 2016, the College began actively recruiting for the inaugural class of the MS Finance degree in fall of 2017.

Through the reallocation of open faculty lines, the Gatton College has hired a junior supply chain faculty member who will start in fall 2017. We intend to hire two additional supply chain faculty members next year—one senior faculty member and one non-tenure track. Acquiring expertise in supply chain will provide Gatton with the teaching strength and expertise to meet the regional demand for supply chain managers and more general employer demand for data analytics.

We currently do not have any on-line degree programs. There is strong demand within the region for on-line programs, particularly the MBA, supply chain management, and healthcare management. In particular, military installations in our region desire to partner with us in distance delivery of our professional master’s programs. On-


line programs benefit the College because we would retain 60 percent of the tuition, which is very favorable in UK’s environment. In addition, flexible course offerings would make a significant contribution to lowering the barriers to the acquisition of higher education throughout the Commonwealth. In response to the demand, we are starting a proposal for an on-line MBA program to be submitted to the University later this year. 2.5.1 Degree Programs Included in Accreditation Review The following degree programs are included in the accreditation review:

Program Name Level Location Year Established Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance

Undergraduate Business Administration

1979

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management


1988

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing


1979

Bachelor of Science in Accounting Undergraduate Accounting 1966 Bachelor of Science in Economics Undergraduate Economics 1966 Certificate in Global Scholars Undergraduate Global Scholars 2012 MBA Masters Business

Administration 1988

Master of Science in Accounting Masters Accounting 1988 Master of Science in Economics (earned en passant to a Ph.D. in Economics)

Masters Economics 1928

Ph.D. in Business Administration in Accounting

Ph.D. Accounting 1990

Ph.D. in Business Administration in Finance

Ph.D. Business Administration

1990

Ph.D. in Business Administration in Management


1990

Ph.D. in Business Administration in Marketing


1990

Ph.D. in Economics Ph.D. Economics 1936 3.0 Progress Update on Concerns from Previous Review The issues below were noted in our previous fifth-year review, which occurred in November 2011. At that time, the Maintenance of Accreditation Committee determined that our maintenance review should be extended for one year. In October 2012, the Gatton College submitted a maintenance of accreditation report for a sixth-year review. Pursuant to that review, our maintenance of accreditation was extended (see Appendix E: AACSB Acceptance Letter). That letter specified that we “should closely monitor the following items and incorporate them in [our] ongoing strategic planning initiatives:”

1. As the Gatton College is involved with a strategic planning process during 2012-2013, we urge the College to ensure that mission and vision statements are created consistent with the resources of both the University of Kentucky and the Gatton College. (Standard 1 – Mission Statement)

Below are the mission statements for the University of Kentucky and the Gatton College:


University of Kentucky - Mission Statement The University of Kentucky is a public, land grant university dedicated to improving people's lives through excellence in education, research and creative work, service and health care. As Kentucky’s flagship institution, the University plays a critical leadership role by promoting diversity, inclusion, economic development and human well-being. The University of Kentucky:

Facilitates learning, informed by scholarship and research; Expands knowledge through research, scholarship and creative activity; and Serves a global community by disseminating, sharing and applying knowledge.

The University, as the flagship institution, plays a critical leadership role for the Commonwealth by contributing to the economic development and quality of life within Kentucky's borders and beyond. The University nurtures a diverse community characterized by fairness and equal opportunity.

Gatton College of Business and Economics – Mission Statement The Gatton College of Business and Economics prepares principled leaders for the global economy, produces influential research, and supports economic growth in Kentucky and beyond. This mission is the foundation of everything we do in the Gatton College. We prepare our graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to compete globally with the utmost integrity and professionalism. Our research meets the highest standards of quality and demonstrably influences the thinking of scholars, business leaders, and policy makers. In addition, through teaching, research, and outreach, we not only support economic growth, but also have a direct, tangible influence on the lives of Kentucky’s citizens and people around the world. The mission statements of the University and the Gatton College are aligned. They both reflect a commitment to high quality education, research and outreach to the community. The sphere of influence mentioned in both statements is within the borders of the Commonwealth as well as the world. The most significant difference in the mission of the University and the College is that UK places an emphasis on excellence in health care and we do not. This element of UK’s statement is designed to reflect the specific mission of its $2 billion health care enterprise and the colleges that directly support it. In adopting our current strategic plan, we have taken great effort to align our mission and strategic objectives with those of the University in a manner that will help both the College and University move forward in concert with one another. The vision statements for the University of Kentucky and the Gatton College appear below:

University of Kentucky – Strategic Vision As Kentucky’s indispensable institution, we transform the lives of our students and advance the Commonwealth we serve – and beyond – through our teaching and learning, diversity and inclusion, discovery, research and creativity, promotion of health, and deep community engagement.


Gatton College of Business and Economics – Strategic Objective The overall strategic objective is to elevate the quality and impact of the Gatton College’s educational, research, and outreach activities to compare favorably with those of the very best public research universities in the United States. The Commonwealth of Kentucky deserves no less from its flagship, land-grant, and leading research institution. The accomplishments listed below will define our success:

We are recognized among the top 30 public university business colleges in the United States according to published rankings of academic programs and faculty research productivity and impact.

Our research is rigorous and influential as measured by the number of times Gatton faculty members and students regularly appear in the most widely-read and highly-cited academic journals and by its impact in academics, industry, and public policy.

As a vibrant and welcoming learning community, we retain, professionally develop, reward and promote our highest performing faculty and staff members.

Surveys of our community members reflect strong satisfaction with our learning and work environment. Our graduates achieve rewarding professional positions in major organizations with a global reach and are

leaders in their fields. Our outreach efforts influence the development of new businesses, the attraction of new businesses to

Kentucky, and the growth of Kentucky businesses. In its strategic plan the University has not specified a vision to address its standing among a set of benchmark universities. In public speeches, however, the President has articulated a vision for UK to be among the leading public research-focused residential universities in the U.S. The Gatton College, however, has expressed a specific list of accomplishments related to the vision, including being recognized among the top 30 U.S. public business colleges in various rankings and on various metrics. A more specific vision statement is motivating to our faculty, staff, and administrators. Further, the landscape of business education is highly competitive and a continued focus on our standing among benchmark colleges informs resource allocations and enables us to more effectively track our progress. We believe we have adequate resources to advance toward the vision. The question is how long it take us to achieve the vision given resource allocation mechanisms at the University. There are reasons, however, to be optimistic about resources to address our strategic plan:

In FY 2014, the University increased our recurring budget allocation by $300 thousand to help us address our increasing student-to-faculty ratio.

The University has implemented an incentive-based resource allocation plan that will ultimately invest $30 million in recurring funds to the academic units ($5 million in FY 2016, $5 million in FY 2017, $10 million in FY 2018, and $10 million in FY 2019). Of these funds, $6 million are retained by the Provost for strategic investment, $4.8 million will be allocated to professional schools without undergraduate programs, and $19.2 million will be allocated to the undergraduate colleges. These allocations are based on key metrics from the University’s Strategic Plan, including enrollment growth, improvements in first-to-second year retention, shrinking the success gap for minority students, and increases in degree production. In the first two years of this program, the Gatton College has received $1.3 million in recurring funds out of a total of $6.4 million that was available across the undergraduate colleges. We have received the largest share (20.3 percent) of these funds of any unit on campus. We expect to see an additional $2.6 million from this model over the next two years.

The University has decentralized undergraduate advising and we will receive approximately $150 thousand to increase advising capacity in the College.

The College has the following means to increase direct resource flows: o We currently retain 100 percent of tuition from our joint EMBA program with the University of

Louisville and our Greek MBA program. o We retain 42 percent of MBA tuition. o We receive approximately $100 per undergraduate student per course from program fees. o We will retain at least 40 percent of the tuition from our new MS Finance program. o We retain 60 percent of the tuition from international transfer or transient students from our partner

universities (2+2; 3+1 programs; or study abroad).


o We retain 100 percent of the revenue from executive education programs. o We retain 40 percent of the surplus (tuition less delivery cost) from delivery of summer courses.

As will be discussed in more detail later in the report, the College has allocated over $400 thousand on a recurring basis toward Gatton strategic plan initiatives that align with initiatives from the University’s plan.

2. Continue to focus on maintaining or improving the student to faculty ratio relative to comparable peers and bringing the ratio closer to the ratios of other comparable academic units at the University of Kentucky. (Standard 9: Faculty Sufficiency)

Despite our focus on this issue, our total enrollment has grown faster than our faculty headcount, thus our student-to-faculty ratio (defined for purposes of this discussion as full-time faculty members/student headcount) has grown significantly since 2012. The table below provides details:

As can be seen from the table, the gap between our College’s ratio and the average for similarly situated undergraduate colleges at UK has increased despite the fact that our faculty headcount has increased. Note that over the fall 2012 to fall 2016 period, enrollment in this set of colleges grew by 9 percent, from 18,834 to 20,582. During that time, the full-time faculty headcount in these units increased by 22, growth of 2 percent (or at a 0.51 percent compound annual growth rate). The Gatton College headcount increased by 12 percent over the same period, but the demand for business education and our share of the University’s increasing enrollment has been growing over that period. We now address our student-to-faculty ratio relative to external benchmarks. In Data Direct the student-to-faculty ratio is calculated as shown below: AACSB Student to Faculty Ratio = Number of FTE Faculty [FT+PT] Full time undergraduate enrollment Because of data availability for the other academic units at UK and the treatment of FTE faculty and the focus on full-time undergraduate enrollment, the AACSB calculations differ from those for UK in the tables above. As can be seen from the tables below, our student-faculty ratio is slightly higher than our comparable peers, but is still significantly above the average of our aspirant peers. The gap between both benchmark averages has widened since 2015.

Primary Major College Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Fall 2015 Fall 2016

Ag, Food and Environment 11.49 12.15 12.03 12.35 11.67

Arts and Sciences 13.05 13.45 14.00 13.25 13.81

Business & Economics 33.90 36.37 38.52 39.59 38.52

Communication and Information 22.02 23.23 20.72 21.73 21.59

Education 26.44 26.59 24.07 23.08 23.57

Engineering 24.30 25.14 26.04 26.99 27.97

Average 21.87 22.82 22.56 22.83 22.86

Students per full-time faculty member


While have recently added $1.6 million to our budget, the resources have not kept up with enrollment growth. We have been attempting to address the student-to-faculty ratio with measures short of restricting enrollment given the relatively recent implementation of the University’s new resource allocation model, which we believe will enable us to begin catching up. We have been hiring more full-time lecturers to stretch our resources to address teaching needs. We have also been funding phased or accelerated retirements for some senior faculty with non-recurring fund balances, enabling us to hire additional faculty members immediately. The University has advanced funding for one full-time faculty member to support the new MS Finance programs and we are currently recruiting for that position. We recently received a gift of $10 million to establish the John H. Schnatter Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise. Part of that funding supports the hiring of five new faculty positions over the next two years. Two of those searches are currently under way. Finally, the College has set aside resources to hire two new faculty members in supply chain management. Those searches will be undertaken next year.

Student-to-faculty ratios AY 2015 AY 2016

University of Kentucky 33.13 34.98

Comparable Peers

University of Arkansas 35.28 38.02

University of Colorado at Boulder 28.02 28.78

University of Iowa 28.50 26.83

University of Kansas 14.98 15.76

University of Missouri at Columbia 59.65 67.01

University of Oklahoma 40.84 41.45

University of South Carolina 27.73 30.68

University of Tennessee at Knoxville 26.32 27.67

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 30.98 30.57

Average 31.00 32.22

Student-to-faculty ratios AY 2015 AY 2016

University of Kentucky 33.13 34.98

Aspirant Peers

University of Florida 45.85 47.55

University of Georgia 25.88 28.02

Indiana University at Bloomington 20.12 19.60

Michigan State University 12.73 14.63

University of Minnesota 14.56 15.34

Pennsylvania State University 34.42 32.21

Texas A & M University 30.51 27.84

University of Washington 11.48 11.18

University of Wisconsin at Madison 16.45 19.50

Average 21.23 21.56


As of December 31, 2016 we have completed searches for five new faculty members to join us next fall. We have two searches still under way. Assuming successful completion of the searches, no additional faculty departures, and stable enrollment student-to-faculty ratio calculated with the AACSB method should decline to 32.37. However, due to the University’s elimination of the undergraduate studies major (essentially a designation for undeclared majors), we have added an additional 400 students in spring of 2017. With these additional students and our expected increased faculty strength, our student-to-faculty ratio would be 36.63 assuming no additional student growth in fall 2017.

3. While progress has been made it is essential that the Gatton College maintain its focus on hiring and retaining faculty who meet the Academically and Professionally Qualified definitions. (Standard 10: Faculty Qualifications)

Since the Review team’s visits in 2011 and 2012, we have revised our faculty qualifications criteria. The new model was adopted in February 2014. The current qualification model covers our teaching faculty who are in tenure-track lines as well as our lecturer series. Based on data from the 2015-2016 academic year, approximately 65 percent of faculty in each department meet the qualifications for Scholarly Academic (SA). A summary of the data may be found below. Please see Appendix F: Participating and Supporting Faculty Criteria for qualification definitions for Gatton College faculty.

Department SA PA SP IP O

Total Faculty (including

TAs) Category 1

(%) Category 2

(%) Category 3

(%)

Accounting 20 2 0 9 0 31 64.52 70.97 100.00

Finance 19 6 0 2 0 27 70.37 92.59 100.00

Management 16 4 0 3 1 24 66.66 83.33 95.83

Marketing 15 4 1 2 1 23 65.22 86.96 95.65

Economics 47 1 1 1 2 52 90.38 94.23 96.15Overall Sufficiency 117 17 2 16 5 157 74.52 86.62 96.82

Category 1 - Minimum SA: (SA)/(SA +PA + SP + IP +O) > 40% Category 2 - Minimum SA + PA + SP: (SA + PA + SP)/(SA + PA + SP + IP + O) >60% Category 3 - Minimum SA + PA + SP + IP: (SA + PA + SP + IP)/(SA + PA + SP + IP + O) >90%

4.0 Strategic Management and Innovation 4.1 Mission Statement and Summary of Strategic Plan As discussed in the previous section, the mission of the Gatton College of Business and Economics is to prepare principled leaders for the global economy, produce influential research, and support economic growth in Kentucky and beyond. This mission statement was developed in 2013 as part of the strategic planning process, described below. The Strategic Plan was formally adopted in 2015. A copy of the updated Strategic Plan may be found in Appendix G: Gatton College 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. 4.2 Strategic Management Planning Process In the fall 2013 the Gatton College began developing the current strategic plan. We formed a committee of 42 participants representing faculty, staff, students, alumni, employers, community leaders, and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. Under the guidance of a consulting firm, Academic Leadership Associates, we held open forums and small group discussions to gather input from the broader Gatton community. After the plan was drafted, it was circulated among our stakeholders and feedback was integrated into the final document. Prior to formal presentation to the faculty, the Dean held a number of open forums and a joint staff and faculty meeting where he presented the plan. Since its adoption in 2015, the College has reviewed the strategic initiatives, received reports on specific actions, and discussed planned actions. Upon formal adoption of the University’s strategic plan,


the Gatton plan was revised to better align with the University plan on initiatives and associated metrics. In January 2017, the Gatton College faculty and staff leadership team participated in an all-day retreat to re-prioritize initiatives and develop implementation plans on the current priorities. Under the leadership of the Dean’s Office, the College is committed to continuously monitoring its success in implementing this Strategic Plan and to making appropriate revisions on a periodic basis. In addition, a representative group of faculty, staff, and other stakeholders will gather annually to assess the extent to which implementation has been accomplished and propose any necessary revisions to this Strategic Plan. This will allow us to maintain a consistent process of accountability, implementation and transparency as we move forward

At appropriate times, the Dean will meet with the Provost, the Gatton College Strategic Planning and Quality Improvement Committee, the Gatton College faculty and staff leadership team, and the Dean’s Advisory Council to review the progress being made in achieving the College’s mission.

4.3 Strategic Plan Outcomes and Achievements The outcomes that we have achieved in the last five years are significant. We completed the building of the Gatton facility which now comprises 210,000 square feet of space, increased our student body by 30 percent and our placements following graduation to 80 percent. We have been successful at growing the proportion of our out-of-state student population to 40 percent without decreasing the number of Kentucky residents in the College. With our current student population, we achieved the greatest improvement in first to second year retention among all academic units at the University of Kentucky since 2013. Our retention increase comprises 29 percent of the University’s increase from 2013 to 2015. Gatton’s Undergraduate Resource Center (URC) was featured at a University wide retention workshop as an example of best practices. We believe that the gains we have made with our undergraduate students is a function of a well-organized and highly performing URC which runs our highly popular Business Enterprise Living-Learning Program in one of the new residence halls at the University of Kentucky. This program has grown from 80 freshmen and sophomores at inception in 2013 to over 125 in the current year. In addition, there are increased experiential learning opportunities in the Gatton College. The creation of the UK Venture Studio, expansion in study abroad opportunities through opportunities with new international partnerships and faculty-led programs; addition of a service learning component in the new Social Enterprise Scholars Honors Pathway; securing an allocation of $5 million from the University of Kentucky endowment to be managed by our Student Managed Investment Fund program, and the increase in our 2+2 programs with international partners have all led to an increase in experiences that are preparing our students for the next chapter in the professional lives. From a programmatic perspective, we are preparing to admit the fourth cohort of our Executive MBA Program, which we offer jointly with the University of Louisville. Our most recent class is more than 50 percent women and more than 10 percent underrepresented minority. We have partnered with other colleges across campus in providing joint MBA programs with the Colleges of Engineering, Law and Pharmacy; joint undergraduate honors pathway with Engineering (Scholars in Engineering and Management—SEAM); and a multi-disciplinary graduate certification in Improving Healthcare Value in collaboration with the Colleges of Public Health and Medicine. Our MBA program is currently ranked #92 by US News for 2017. We have proactively addressed inclusion in the college by reconceiving our Diversity Committee and forming a Staff and Faculty Development Committee that is addressing issues of work-life balance, inclusion and engagement across the college. In addition, we have been successful in growing and retaining our faculty with new resources from the University. The accomplishments of the College over the last five years have been largely funded through philanthropic dollars including approximately $90 million of new cash gifts, pledges, and expectancies in fiscal years 2013-2017 (to


date). In fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the Gatton College accounted for the highest gift activity among any unit on campus other than Athletics. In addition, we have received $1.6 million in recurring funds from the University’s new resource allocation model. We expect to receive another $2.6 million from this model over the next two years.

4.4 Intellectual Contributions, Impact and Alignment with Mission Research is one of the three primary activities for our faculty members. In the Gatton College 84 percent of the faculty members are expected to have research as their primary activity. Producing research with impact is the third of our five strategic initiatives. This initiative includes attracting and supporting excellent scholars.

Table 2.1 in Appendix H: Five-Year Summary of Intellectual Contributions, reports that the clear majority of our faculty are research active, with at least one peer-reviewed article having been published in the last five years. A little more than 80 percent of our faculty have published and 100 percent have created some form of intellectual contribution over the review period. When considering only the tenured and tenure-track faculty, 92 percent have published in a peer-reviewed journal. Over 90 percent of the tenure-track faculty—100 percent in finance and marketing—are research active on this dimension in every department except for Accounting, which is at 81 percent. The apparent lag in the Accounting faculty is primarily driven by there being a tenured teaching faculty member and two additional faculty members who spend their intellectual effort on publishing textbooks.

The financial support that is provided to faculty is decentralized and is managed by individual departments. In general, faculty travel, research assistants, fees for subjects, journal submission fees, and databases are covered out of departmental funds or faculty support endowments. The College’s Library and Database Committee manages the acquisition of databases and works with our liaison at the UK Library to manage the spending of the Rosenthal Endowment, which supports our data acquisitions. This endowment was originally funded with a $3 million gift and currently has a balance of $3.75 million.

Each faculty member is provided at least one computer and other technology as needed. New faculty are allocated a technology budget upon hire that is used to acquire the equipment needed to support their research. In addition, statistical and other software are provided through a University-wide download. In the Gatton building, we house the Behavioral Research Lab (BRL), which is designed to facilitate a broad range of behavioral research. Faculty in all disciplines of the College have access to a pool of undergraduate students to use as subjects. The BRL is outfitted with 32 workstations with biopac psychological measurement and Tobii Pro stationary and mobile eye tracking capabilities. There is also a food and retail area, which may be used to collect mock grocery store data and to conduct food-related research.

To assist faculty with applying for and managing grants, the College has purchased 49 percent of the effort of a grants officer from the University’s Office of Sponsored Projects Administration. Having a grants professional working in the College has facilitated the identification, evaluation and acquisition of several large awards and has positioned the Gatton faculty to engage more fully in the grant application process. Successful grants awards are discussed in detail in section 2.2.10. Since 2011, the College has successfully been awarded nearly $11 million in external grants. In addition, all funded centers have been provided a suite containing an office for the center’s director and an office for an administrative support person.

Academic departments host speaker series in which both internal and external researchers present. Within a given year over 60 research related workshops are held in the College. In addition, several of our academic departments and centers hold academic conferences. Economics, Finance and Management (LINKS and ION) hold academic conferences on an annual or biannual basis. Currently Accounting is in the preliminary phases of planning an academic conference.

Over the review periods, faculty have served as editors and reviewers for many journals. In addition, faculty have received formal awards and recognition for their academic contributions. Our goal is to increase the research productivity of our faculty so that we may be viewed as a top 30 pubic university business school. Please refer to Appendix H: Table 2-1 - Five Year Summary of Intellectual Contributions for additional information.


4.5 Financial Strategies and Allocation of Resources Funding to the college has increased by almost 25 percent over the past five years. Below is a table outlining the various funding sources for the College:

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 State Budget and Other Revenue $18,474,829 $19,754,082 $19,548,009 $21,346,481 $22,813,784

Program Fees $1,996,208 $2,412,547 $2,612,761 $2,927,865 $3,109,286Executive Education Program $362,705 $243,817 $330,531 $323,467 $347,593

Prior Year Fund Balance $1,399,729 $1,874,628 $3,299,471 $3,274,271 $4,546,151

Restricted Accounts** $6,322,234 $6,801,762 $6,728,271 $6,950,619 $7,947,212

Grants***** $2,096,586 $2,911,834 $3,122,802 $2,405,353 $1,437,711

Total $30,652,291 $33,998,670 $35,641,845 $37,228,057 $40,201,737 ** - Restricted accounts consist of spending distributions from endowments, new gifts from donors, prior year fund balances which are available for spending. ***** - Grant funds are based on actual funds used for the Fiscal Year. Projection is based on proposed budgets. As revenues have increased, so have expenditures, but not at the same rate. The remaining unspent fund balance has increased each year. The tables below outline how revenues were spent in each of the past five fiscal years.

Actual Spent 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Compensation

General Fund $18,858,693 $19,465,972 $20,720,153 $21,670,209 $23,886,115

Restricted $1,914,949 $1,495,420 $1,602,216 $1,433,935 $1,588,043

Grant $528,635 $574,469 $685,742 $813,894 $686,313

Total Compensation $21,302,277 $21,535,861 $23,008,111 $23,918,038 $26,160,471

Operating Expenses

General Fund $1,495,154 $1,519,630 $1,796,348 $1,655,725 $2,073,905

Restricted $1,136,271 $1,389,875 $1,240,277 $1,302,353 $1,490,416

Grant $1,231,191 $1,968,579 $2,126,337 $1,345,781 $615,086

Total Expenses $3,862,616 $4,878,084 $5,162,962 $4,303,859 $4,179,407

Total Compensation and Expenses $25,164,893 $26,413,945 $28,171,073 $28,221,897 $30,339,878

Total of Unspent Budget - Fund Balance $5,487,398 $7,584,725 $7,470,772 $9,006,159 $9,861,859


Fund Balance General Fund*** $1,879,624 $3,299,472 $3,274,271 $4,546,151 $4,856,794

Restricted**** $3,271,014 $3,916,467 $3,885,778 $4,214,331 $4,868,753

Grant $336,760 $368,786 $310,723 $245,678 $136,312

Total Fund Balance $5,487,398 $7,584,725 $7,470,772 $9,006,159 $9,861,859

*** Fund balance is due to vacancies in the academic departments. Funds will be used to support new hires. ****Restricted fund balance is comprised of specific endowments. Some funds are committed to be drawn down over the next few years for scholarships and faculty support.

From 2011 to 2014, budget reductions resulted in decreases in the College’s recurring budget that totaled to $902,069. At the same time, increases for faculty merit raises totaled $853,627 with an additional $233,558.31 to cover benefits. In addition, staff received a total of $219,398 in merit increases with an additional $51,660 to cover benefits in fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2013-2014. There were no merit increases given during the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

In fiscal year 2012 through 2013, the College hired a new dean, Dr. David W. Blackwell. This position required $385,000 with an additional $116,092 to cover benefits. The new position also received $500,000 for Start-Up funds and $1,000,000 for Strategic Initiatives.

The fiscal year 2014-2015 saw a 2 percent budget increase for faculty and staff in merit raises, totaling to $235,520 and $55,454 with benefits of $64,316 and $14,193 respectively.

Funds of $300,000 were allocated in fiscal year 2015-2016 to address faculty to student ratios. There was also a 3.5 percent budget increase for both faculty and staff merit raises, totaling $531,823 with an additional $148, 649 to cover benefits for both.


4.6 Key Strategic Action Items The College has identified several key strategic action items to be completed within the next 2-3 years. These action items fall into three of the five major areas of the College’s Strategic Plan. Each action item is briefly described below, along with the expected funding source and implementation date.

1. Create or enhance enrichment activities to support intellectual, social and emotional development of our students.

Key Action Item Funding Source Implementation

Develop mentoring program for underrepresented minority and first generation college students.

$60,000 from the Provost’s Office. Strategic reallocation of funding.

Fall 2017

Expand the number of academic advisors in the Undergraduate Resource Center.

Funded by the Provost’s Office and internal reallocation of $125,000 total.

Spring 2017

Develop Leadership program $1,000,000 donation Spring 2018

2. Attract and support excellent scholars


Expand the number of research active faculty members

Competitive recurring monies from the Provost’s office over the next three years, which are based on measurable goals. Expected funding is $2.6 million.

Fall 2017

Provide competitive salary and research support for recruiting new research-focused faculty members.

Competitive recurring monies from the provost’s office over the next three years, which are based on measurable goals. Expected funding is $2.6 million.

Fall 2016 forward

Initiate departmental and college research awards for faculty and doctoral students.

Strategic internal reallocation; amount to be determined

Spring/Summer 2017

3. Increase external engagement and promote economic growth in Kentucky and beyond


Create an alumni relations program $70,000 from reallocation and staff reorganization

Spring 2017


4.7 New Degree Programs The college has initiated two new degree programs since the last review. A summary of each is outlined below. Global Scholars Certificate Program Students who complete the Global Scholars Honors Pathway Program through the Gatton College earn the Global Scholars Certificate. To meet the requirements of the certificate, students must complete the following courses:

Course Number Course Title

Global Scholars Restricted Courses

UK 101 (1) Academic Orientation B&E 120 (3) Leadership in the Global Marketplace B&E 122 (1) The Challenge of Leadership B&E 240 (3) Inter-Cultural Business Communication B&E 327 (3) Larger World Issues in Business MGT 499 (3) Strategic Management

Semester Abroad EAP 599 (1) Study Abroad

International Business Minor

FIN 423 (3) International Finance ECO 471 (3) International Trade MGT 309 (3) Introduction to International Business MKT 435 (3) International Marketing

The program’s mission is to develop perceptive business professionals well equipped to confront challenges of a global environment through specialized curriculum and co-curricular activities and is designed to enhance any Gatton major. Through successful completion of the program, students should acquire the following skills and personal traits:

• An appreciation of a global business perspective • The ability to communicate and work effectively in diverse teams • Knowledge and exposure to international business practices and environments • Galvanized leadership and professional skills through scholastic vigor and community engagement • Self-discovery and creativity • Professionalism • Teamwork • Diversity of opinion, ethnicity, culture, and experience

UK-UofL Executive MBA Program The UK-UofL Executive MBA is a 20-month cohort-based program for established professionals that takes students through 46 credit hours as follows:

Accounting – 4 Hours Economics – 4 Hours Finance – 4 Hours Marketing – 4 Hours Quantitative Methods – 4 Hours Management – 20 Hours Special Topics – 8 Hours (including topics such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Change Management,

Social Media, Social Network Analysis, Mergers and Acquisitions, etc.) Each class is evaluated by the students via survey to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement in course delivery. The program overall is also evaluated by the students via operational surveys to ensure a positive experience in the program.


Both universities focus intently on the assurance and continuous improvement of each of the identified student learning goals within their joint Executive MBA degree concentration, which include critical thinking, identification of ethical issues, multidisciplinary thinking, structured reasoning skills, communication skills, and business skills. The EMBA Policy Committee, composed of both UK and UofL professors and administrators, is ultimately responsible for assessing student-learning outcomes associated with EMBA courses. The Committee also ensures that the curriculum is relevant and consistent with UK and UofL general requirements, state requirements, and accreditation requirements. Course instructors are responsible for administering assessment instruments and evaluating the extent to which students exhibit the traits associated with the specific learning objectives being assessed. The EMBA Policy Committee recommends program improvements to be implemented to the program leadership. 5.0 Participants 5.1 Students 5.1.1 Total Student Enrollment and Graduation Trends Enrollment trends has continued to increase significantly since the last AACSB reviews in 2011 and 2012. The past four years have resulted in the four largest freshmen classes in the history of the college. Currently, we enroll 3,200 undergraduate students. Physical capacity has significantly increased since the opening of the Gatton College’s new facility in fall 2016. Graduate student enrollments have increased by about nine percent over the same period. The total number of Gatton baccalaureate degree graduates has also increased with the increase in undergraduate student enrollment over the past five years. Total degrees conferred has remained rather steady for graduate programs. The University of Kentucky measures the retention of undergraduate students by assigning incoming first-time full-time freshmen to cohorts and following them for six years. Over 60 percent of Gatton undergraduate students graduate within six years. This has been rather consistent for the cohorts from fall 2003 through fall 2011. Graduation rates for the fall 2012 cohort are at almost 53 percent at the four-year mark. Cohorts that are more recent are still enrolled at the University. Annual Headcount Enrollment

Gatton Enrollment (Fall Term) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

Undergraduate 2,438 2,491 2,575 2,768 3,043 3,263

Graduate 247 255 263 276 245 269Total 2,685 2,746 2,838 3,044 3,288 3,532


Annual Gatton Degrees Conferred

Academic Program Degree Type 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Accounting

Baccalaureate 143 176 158 184 217Master’s 43 41 25 31 42

Management Baccalaureate 201 188 180 195 192Business Administration

MBA 120 108 134 189 134Research Doctorate (Ph.D.)

2 11 7 11 4

Economics

Baccalaureate 45 60 56 66 73Master’s 9 12 8 11 11Research Doctorate (Ph.D.)

9 8 3 3 6

Finance Baccalaureate 116 190 119 173 210Analytics Baccalaureate 22 17 11 4 Marketing Baccalaureate 167 150 175 203 203 Total 877 961 876 1,070 1,092

Not reflected in the enrollment and degree figures above are students served by our Economics faculty in three majors in the College of Arts & Sciences—BA Economics, BA in Mathematical Economics, and Foreign Language & International Economics. The student headcount in these programs is over 200 students annually. Please refer to Appendix I: Ph.D. Graduate Placement and Appendix J: MBA Graduate Placement for more detailed information about graduation placement trends. 5.1.2 Undergraduate Admissions Profile Students admitted as freshmen to the University of Kentucky will be admitted as pre-majors to the College. Full admission is typically granted in the sophomore year after meeting the selective admissions criteria. Selective admission criteria for students beyond the freshman year are a 2.8 cumulative GPA, and a 2.8 pre-major GPA (including English, Calculus, Accounting, Economics, and Statistics courses). To be eligible for Gatton’s Honors pathways, incoming freshmen must have an unweighted high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher and an ACT score of 28 of higher, or an SAT score of 1240 or higher. Admission is selective and requires an application, separate from the University of Kentucky’s admission application. Each program enrolls a cohort of up to 40 students annually. 5.1.3 Graduate Student Admissions Profile Admissions criteria for Master’s and Ph.D. programs have not substantially changed since the last review. The recruitment goals for the one-year MBA and professional MBA have been updated to recruit a more diverse class. Goals for the one-year MBA include increasing enrollment of underrepresented minority and female students, attracting more non-business majors and increasing military participation and students with work experience. Goals for the professional MBA program include increasing enrollment of underrepresented minority and female students and targeting larger companies and their employees (including healthcare) within Central Kentucky. UK-UofL Executive MBA diversity is more than double the EMBA industry average, with 52 percent female participation in the class that started August 2016. Additionally, more than 10 percent of this class has identified themselves as a member of an underrepresented minority population. Historically, the MS Accounting program required Gatton undergraduate Accounting majors to earn a B or better in each of a select group of courses to gain admission. This requirement has changed to an average of a 3.0 in those


same courses. It was determined that students who did not meet the prior requirement were joining Master’s programs at other universities. 5.1.4 Changes in Programs

5.1.4.1 Changes to Undergraduate Programs There have been no major curricula revisions since the last review. However, some minor changes have occurred throughout. The Social Enterprise Scholars Honors Pathway enrolled its first cohort in the fall of 2015.

The statistics department decided to no longer offer STA 291: Statistical Methods and to replace it with STA 296: Statistical Methods and Motivations as part of the UK Core, the University’s common general education requirements for undergraduate students. It is not a part of the pre-major required course list any longer.

Accounting removed AN 320: Business Computing Systems from its major requirements and replaced it will an additional accounting elective. This change occurred because of the reorganization of the College and the suspension of the analytics major. AN 320 was also deemed redundant to ACC 324: Accounting Information Systems, which is still a required course for Accounting majors.

Economics is in the process of adding courses to their list of offerings. These courses have not been approved to date and will be new elective courses.

5.1.4.2 Changes in Graduate Programs A requirement of the one-year MBA program is a two-course internship known as Project Connect. These courses allow students to develop critical thinking, problem solving, project management, communication, and leadership skills in the context of a real-world business problem. While knowledge and skills will be critical to students’ success, the ability to build and manage relationships within partner organizations will make the difference when it comes to gaining buy-in and engagement from others who may be involved in projects. The project has the following learning outcomes:

Apply coursework to a real-world, real-time organizational problem; Design and execute your project within cross-functional project groups;

Work with company contacts to manage key dates, project scope, and content; and

Produce professional written and oral deliverables. The MBA policy committee restructured the program to streamline the course work and create a more coherent programmatic flow. The restructuring saved the College approximately $200,000 in instructional expenses and resulted in an improved programmatic experience. Since the last review, we have added a healthcare tract in our Professional Evening MBA programs which was underwritten by UK Healthcare for $150,000. The University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Louisville (UofL) created the joint UK-UofL Executive MBA degree (EMBA) that graduated its first and second groups of 19 and 16 students in December 2015 and 2016 respectively. The third cohort of 19 students began classes in August 2016. Effective August 2016, the UK-UofL Executive MBA has modified the schedule to eliminate residency weeks and has thus changed from a 17-month program to a 20-month program. 5.1.5 Orientation, Advising and Other Student Service/Development Programs Incoming freshmen attend a two day long See Blue U Orientation in June or July prior to the start of their freshman year. This event includes meetings and activities conducted by both the University and the College. This orientation concludes on the second day with all students working with the College advising team to become more familiar with the College and to build their class schedule for their freshman year. All College freshman students participate in K-Week at the beginning of the fall semester of their freshman year. K-Week is a nine-day event for entering freshman that occurs at the beginning of the fall semester to assist them in transitioning to university life.


Freshman are put into groups of 10-5 students and assigned to a returning UK student who is a member of the K-Crew. The K-Crew team leader assists member of the team with finding classes, meeting fellow student, joining organization and participating in over 150 events that are going on at the beginning of the semester. The College hosts Gatton Welcome for students who are new to the College on the day before classes start. It is primarily geared to incoming freshmen but transfer students are invited to attend. The event consists of a College orientation followed by a social gather for students, staff and faculty.

All undergraduate students in the College, pre-majors and majors, are assigned a professional academic advisor. Each student is required to meet with his or her academic advisor at least once every semester. The current student to advisor ratio in the College is approximately 330:1. This is the lowest student to advisor ratio in the College in over a decade and allows for deeper student to advisor relationships to be established. This has had a very favorable effect on retention and student success in the College.

The Undergraduate Resource Center (URC) team utilizes a continuous improvement philosophy to improve advising. One of the most significant decisions made in URC occurred about five years ago. At that time, our professional advising team agreed to take on the advising of all Gatton undergraduate students. Prior to this, professional academic advisors advised pre-majors, and members of the faculty advised majors. This change has resulted in stronger and longer student-advisor relationships, and greater accuracy and consistency in advising throughout our undergraduate student population.

The College established the Graham Office of Career Management in August 2011 as the result of a generous donor gift. This has proven to be a great addition to the advising services available to College students. The Graham Office provides comprehensive career development services to all Gatton College students, including Business and International Business minors and students from the College of Arts and Sciences Economics majors (BA Economics, Mathematical Economics, and Foreign Language and International Economics). These services include career assessment, career and occupational exploration, resume preparation, interview preparation, search strategies, job offer evaluation, salary negotiation tips and planning for graduate school.

Since 2011, the office has grown to include four professional career services staff (Director/Career Counselor, Associate Director/Employee Relations Manager, Career Counselor/Internship Coordinator, and Career Counselor/Program Coordinator). One Office Manager, three graduate assistants, five peer advisors and one Teaching Assistant round out the Graham Office team. During the 2017-2018 academic year, the URC and Graham Office are preparing to integrate academic advising and career planning to better serve our undergraduate students.

5.2 Faculty Management Policies Faculty management policies for the College are primarily outlined and governed by university-wide regulations and policies. The Board of Trustees hold authorization to establish university regulations. These policies govern the entire university and override any policies specific to the Gatton College. The regulations are enforced using a hierarchical process. The top tier consists of governing regulations and is the highest level of policies at the University of Kentucky. The second tier, also university wide, includes administrative regulations, senate rules, and the Code of Student Conduct. The third tier consists of policies adopted under specific colleges. The fourth tier includes department specific policies. The Gatton College has developed third and fourth tier policies and regulations that govern its unique needs. However, these must not conflict with university-wide policies. The University’s administrative regulations provide specific rules and provisions for Gatton’s faculty management policies including recruitment, performance review, promotion and tenure, and faculty recognition. All departments have documents indicating required evidence in support of tenure and promotion. Furthermore, in addition to the College’s Operating Rules and Procedures (Appendix K: Operating Rules and Procedures) each department has operating rules that govern the procedures they follow on faculty personnel actions. These rules are posted on the College web site. Please refer to Appendix L: Procedures for Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and the Granting of Tenure for departmental statements on promotion and tenure criteria and Appendix M: Department Hiring and Appendix N: Department Operating Rules and Procedures.


5.2.1 Recruitment Procedures The College adheres to the AR 3:5 – Statement for Recruitment and Selection of Faculty. Gatton employs additional recruitment practices to attract and select exceptional faculty. For open positions, a search committee is established once the vacancy and supporting funds are approved. The committee is responsible for advertising and screening potential candidates. Candidates are interviewed and selected candidates are invited to campus to present relevant information, such as research, to Gatton faculty. Additionally, candidates meet with the dean and/or the associate dean during their visit to campus. Upon completion of this process, the faculty and committee make a recommendation for appointment, or the search is re-opened or terminated. Beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year, all members of recruiting committees are required to participate in unconscious bias training for recruiting committees. 5.2.2 Performance and Merit Review Procedures The Operating Rules and Procedures of the Gatton College state that “the faculty review process is administered by the Dean and follows the guidelines established in Academic Regulation (AR) 3:10”. Annual reviews are conducted for non-tenured faculty while tenured faculty members are reviewed once every two years. The review process purpose is to review the progress made based on research, instruction and service, and is based on the distribution of effort (DOE) assigned to each faculty member. If the University establishes a merit raise pool, then the results of the evaluations serve as the basis for awarding merit increases. The DOE determines the weights that teaching, research, service, and administration receive in calculating merit scores. Evaluation ratings are based on a 7-point scale that ranges from (1) needs improvement which requires remedial action to (7) which is outstanding. This process begins with the dean of the Gatton College indicating the procedures used in the performance review. Each faculty member will submit his or her materials to the appropriate unit administrator. The unit administrator and the ad-hoc Unit Advisory Committee review individual performance and recommend an evaluation rating to the dean. The final evaluation rating will then be discussed with the faculty member. We support a formal merit review appeal process that goes to the University level. 5.2.3 Promotion and Tenure Process The University of Kentucky has very well defined policies and procedures dealing with the appointment, reappointment, promotion, granting of tenure and termination of appointment to faulty. The Administrative Regulation related is provided in Appendix L: Procedures for Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and the Granting of Tenure. The Gatton College has a specific Statement of Evidence that governs the promotion and tenure process. AR2:1-1 requires faculty input into the promotion and tenure processes. The promotion and tenure process begins in the academic unit. The unit administrator summarizes the recommendations of the tenured faculty, makes their recommendation, and forwards the file to the Dean. The Dean will then submit the file to a College-wide promotion and tenure committee for its review and recommendation. After receiving the file from the College Promotion and Tenure Committee, and gathering other input as necessary, the Dean makes a recommendation and forwards the file to the Provost. The Provost may send the file to a University review committee for further input. After the Provost has acquire additional input as desired, they will make a recommendation to the President. The President recommends to the Board of Trustees for final approval. The College also has other review processes for tenure-track faculty. Tenure-track faculty are reviewed annually by the unit administrator and every two years by the tenured faculty in the academic unit. Non-tenured faculty receive input from the tenured faculty concerning progress towards promotion and tenure every two years during the probationary period. Considering this feedback, the College has occasionally terminated contracts before the end of the probationary period.


5.2.4 Faculty and Staff Awards The College recognizes the importance of honoring faculty members that have excelled beyond expectations. Awards are given annually at both the University and College level that distinguish both the superior research and teaching accomplishments. Please refer to Appendix O: Faculty and Staff Awards, for more information. Faculty members within each department of the Gatton College have been recognized outside of the University for their significant achievements as evidenced through the acceptance of numerous prestigious awards.

The College recognizes outstanding staff through a nomination process annually during the spring semester. The Judith Milburn Haywood Staff Awards acknowledges one professional staff member and one classified staff member. Please refer to Appendix O: Faculty and Staff Awards, for more information and for information on the Judith Milburn Haywood Staff Awards for donor intent and a list of past recipients. The College further distinguishes the Haywood Honorees by recommending each for the UK Outstanding Staff Awards, hosted annually by the Office of the President and Staff Senate of the University of Kentucky. 5.3 Criteria Guiding the Development of Intellectual Contributions Primarily the mission statement of the Gatton College guided the criteria used in the selection of intellectual contributions. Since the College has a strong commitment to research, emphasis is placed on the production of peer-reviewed exchange. Preference is also given to research grants, monographs, books, chapters, seminars, editorial board membership and academic journal reviews. 5.3.1 Continuous Improvement Activities for Faculty Research Goals of the Research Excellence Team: Within the past years, the College has implemented a new Gatton College Research Excellence Initiative promote and support research. The third strategic initiative of the Gatton College Strategic Plan is to “Attract and support excellent scholars who produce rigorous, influential research at the forefront of business and economics”. Like the University’s strategic plan, we are committed to “expand(ing) our scholarship, creative endeavors and research across a full range of disciplines”. Superior research is paramount to the dissemination of knowledge within the Commonwealth and beyond and is at the heart of our College mission. The specific goals guiding this initiative include the following:

‐ Developing, administering and awarding all competitive research funding that comes into the College from the Vice President of Research or that is allocated by the College.

‐ Develop and execute a process of awarding research awards on an annual basis. ‐ Other duties as assigned.

The Research Excellence Team was formed in the fall of 2016. Short-term initiatives for the 2016-17 academic year include the establishment of faculty and graduate student awards and the administration of a competitive research grant. Please refer to Appendix P: Gatton College Research Excellence Initiative for more information. 5.4 Criteria for Distinguishing Between Participating and Supporting Participating Faculty Criteria

Faculty members are considered to be “Participating Members” within the College if they are actively engaged in the activities of the College beyond teaching. Gatton considers its full-time faculty as participating members within the College. These faculty members participate in a variety of ways through involvement in curricula matters and/or membership on College committees.

Supporting Faculty Criteria

Faculty members are considered “Supporting Members” within the College if they are not actively supporting the mission of the College outside of their immediate teaching assignments. Gatton College adjunct instructors and Ph.D. students are considered “Supporting Members” within the College.


5.5 Criteria for Determining Academic and Professional Qualification The criteria for determining both academic and professional qualification standing for faculty of the College are guided by AACSB standards and the importance of the intellectual contributions, which reflect the College’s mission. The criteria for determining each standing are identified below. Please refer to Appendix Q: Table 15-1 – Summary of Faculty Sufficiency and Qualifications and Appendix R: Table 15-2 – Deployment of Participating and Supporting Faculty. 5.5.1 Qualification Category I: Scholarly Academic (SA) Gatton College faculty members are considered to be Scholarly Academics (SA) by maintaining an active and ongoing research program or engaging in other meaningful scholarly activity.

Initial SA Appointment All faculty members receiving a research doctorate in their field within the last five years are automatically considered to be Scholarly Academics. Faculty members hired into tenure-track or tenured positions with prior academic experience will meet the criteria for maintenance of SA status.

Maintenance Criteria for SA Status

Faculty members receiving their doctorate more than five years ago, are expected to maintain currency in the fields in which they teach. SA status is maintained within a five-year review period through:

1. Publishing at least one peer reviewed intellectual contribution or receiving at least one competitive research grant AND

2. Engaging in at least one other significant scholarly activity including, but not limited to the following activities: authoring scholarly books and/or textbooks, director of a research center, academic journal editor, active editorial review board member, academic association officer, academic fellow designation, invited presenter at academic conferences or at other universities, and/or research award recipient. Any evidence cited to demonstrate currency must be consistent with the faculty member’s area of teaching responsibilities as determined by the department chair/unit head. Such contributions ensure that Gatton faculty members continue to develop scholarly advances in research while maintaining the expertise, relevance, and currency needed to fulfill the mission of the college.

Maintenance of SA Status for Faculty Administrators

Faculty administrators are considered to be Scholarly Academics if they meet the SA criteria at the time of initial appointment. Additionally, faculty administrators are considered SA for an additional three years beyond the end of their administrative appointment.

SA Status for Doctoral Students

Doctoral students in a teaching role and designated as a “Type I TA” are considered to be Scholarly Academics upon successful completion of their comprehensive examinations. However, this status expires at three years beyond successful examination completion.

SA Status for Faculty Members with Graduate Degrees in Law and Taxation

Initial SA status is granted to faculty with a Juris Doctor (JD) that deliver business law and legal environment of business courses. Initial SA status is also granted to faculty members with a graduate degree in taxation or an appropriate combination of graduate degrees in law and accounting to teach taxation. Criteria for maintenance of SA status is as described above for all other faculty members.


5.5.2 Qualification Category II: Practice Academic (PA) Gatton College faculty members are considered to be Practice Academics (PA) by maintaining currency in their fields through professional activities, continuing education, or discipline-relevant publications.

Initial PA Appointment Normally, there would be no initial appointments of PA faculty members into tenure-track or tenured positions. Experienced hires into non-tenure track positions are expected to meet the maintenance criteria for PA status. A newly appointed faculty member into a non-tenure track position who received a research doctorate in their field within the prior five years would be considered SA.

Maintenance Criteria for PA Status

Faculty members receiving their doctorate more than five years ago, are expected to maintain currency in the fields in which they teach. PA status is maintained within a five year review period through professional engagement activities including, but not limited to: consulting activities, board memberships, faculty internships, earning or maintaining professional certifications such as CPA or CFA, sustained professional work supporting qualified status, publications relevant to the discipline (including, but not limited to, articles in practitioner publications, articles on pedagogy, textbooks, etc.), and/or development and presentation of executive education programs.

Any evidence cited to demonstrate currency must be consistent with the faculty member’s area of teaching responsibilities as determined by the department chair/unit head. 5.5.3 Qualification Category III: Scholarly Practitioner (SP)

Initial SP Appointment For initial appointment as a Scholarly Practitioner the faculty member shall hold at a minimum a master’s degree relevant to the field in which they have teaching responsibilities. Additionally, the faculty member’s professional experience must also be consistent with their teaching assignment, significant in duration and responsibility, and current at the time of hire.

In limited cases, initial SP status may be granted for a faculty member that does not have a master’s degree if the “depth, duration, sophistication, and complexity of their professional experience at the time of hiring outweigh their lack of master’s degree qualifications”.

Maintenance Criteria for SP Status

SP status is maintained within a five-year review period through: 1. Publishing at least one peer reviewed intellectual contribution or receiving at least one competitive research grant AND 2. Engaging in at least one other significant scholarly activity including, but not limited to the following activities: authoring books and/or textbooks, director of a research center, academic journal editor, active editorial review board member, academic association officer, academic fellow designation, invited presenter at academic conferences or at other universities, and/or research award recipient.

Any evidence cited to demonstrate currency must be consistent with the faculty member’s area of teaching responsibilities as determined by the department chair/unit head.

5.5.4 Qualification Category IV: Instructional Practitioner (IP) Gatton College faculty members are considered to be Instructional Practitioners (IP) by maintaining currency in their fields through professional activities, continuing education, or discipline-relevant publications.


Initial IP Appointment For initial appointment as an Instructional Practitioner the faculty member shall hold at a minimum a master’s degree relevant to the field in which they have teaching responsibilities. Additionally, the faculty member’s professional experience must also be consistent with their teaching assignment, significant in duration and responsibility, and current at the time of hire.

In limited cases, initial IP status may be granted for a faculty member that does not have a master’s degree if the “depth, duration, sophistication, and complexity of their professional experience at the time of hiring outweigh their lack of master’s degree qualifications”.

Maintenance Criteria for IP Status

IP status is maintained within a five year review period through professional engagement activities including, but not limited to: consulting activities, board memberships, faculty internships, earning or maintaining professional certifications such as CPA or CFA, sustained professional work supporting qualified status, publications relevant to the discipline (including, but not limited to, articles in practitioner publications, articles on pedagogy, textbooks, etc.), and/or development and presentation of executive education programs.

Any evidence cited to demonstrate currency must be consistent with the faculty member’s area of teaching responsibilities as determined by the department chair/unit head.

5.6 Staff Council The Gatton College of Business and Economics Staff Council was established in fall 2015. The Staff Council members worked the first 12 months to develop the operations of the Council. Officers were elected in September of 2016. The Council’s role is to function as an advisory group to the College administration and to the staff. The staff council shall function as an advisory group to the Gatton College of Business and Economics administration and to the staff it represents by providing an operational framework for discussions and communication of issues, policies, and activities relating to the staff of the Gatton College of Business and Economics. The council shall promote interaction and communication among all levels of employees in the enhancement of goals, purposes and functions of the Gatton community. The council serves to benefit the staff through advocacy and the surrounding community through service. In the few short months, the Council has been in existence, Council members and volunteers from the staff provided community service to God’s Pantry, a local food bank. Events hosted on behalf of the Council internal to the College included Snacks for Students during finals weeks, a Thanksgiving Pot-Luck, and a beginning of the term Hot Chocolate Social for faculty and staff. 6.0 Learning and Teaching The University and the College, recognize the importance of measuring its teaching through an ongoing process of collecting and analyzing information about student learning in relation to curriculum expectations. Assessment activities are supported within the College and throughout the University. Evidence that the University and College value and support a culture of assessment can be seen through the work of the Provost’s University Assessment Council (UAC), and Director of Assessment position within the College. The Office of the Provost established the University Assessment Council (UAC) on September 10, 2010. The UAC is a representative group of faculty and staff who support student learning assessment and continuous improvement in the colleges, programs, and units in the provost Area. The Director of Assessment is a council member and provides representation for the College. The council will represent the aims and preferences of faculty and staff, by performing the following activities:

Review and provide feedback on program/unit assessment plans, results, and learning improvement initiatives;


Provide advice on priority and feasibility of college/program/unit learning improvement action plans to the Office of the Provost;

Provide feedback, suggestions, and recommendations concerning ongoing OA assessment initiatives and resources (e.g., workshop topics and content, speakers, materials, e-resources, etc.) and on assessment reporting structures and systems to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.

Keep the respective college/program/unit administrators, faculty and staff well informed regarding the University's student learning assessment program.

Results are also shared with internal college committees including the Undergraduate Studies Committee, Graduate Studies Committee, or the MBA Policy Committee. These committees review the performance of student mastery of learning goals in addition to instructor feedback. In the event assessment findings suggest a need for curriculum or course revisions, these committees are asked to participate in the development of such program improvements. Their Undergraduate Studies, Graduate Studies, or MBA Policy committee representative informs departments on the need for curriculum or course revisions. 6.1 Assessment Procedures and Tools The assessment plan is intended to guide the implementation of a systematic process for assessing student learning in the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics. The primary goal of the assessment plan is to assist in improving, as well as assuring, the quality of the College’s academic programs. The academic programs encompassed in this assessment plan includes the undergraduate programs, the MBA degree program, the Masters in Accountancy program, and the doctoral program. These includes the: BS programs in accountancy and economics; the BBA program in finance, management, and marketing; the One Year Accelerated MBA, Professional Evening MBA, Professional Greek MBA, and the Executive MBA; the Ph.D. program in economics; and the Ph.D. program in Business Administration with majors in Finance, Management, Accounting and Marketing. 6.1.1 Assessment Procedure The College utilizes a five-step assessment process (see Figure 5.1) approved by the faculty in December 2007. Since that time, the college has completed this assessment process annually.

The five-step assessment process involves the following: Step 1: Define Goals and Objectives

Establish learning goals and measurable objectives for each degree program. Step 2: Align Curriculum with Goals

Review curriculum to determine where students will acquire skills necessary to achieve goals and objectives.

Step 3: Identify Assessment Methods Decide where in the curriculum the goals and objectives will be assessed and what measurement

instrument will be used. Step 4: Establish a Process for Implementation

Develop assessment schedule. Articulate the expected outcomes. Develop guidelines and checklists for evaluation or scoring.

Step 5: Data Dissemination and Feedback Process

Develop and Assessment Report to disseminate assessment data to programs and committees, analyze and discuss findings, and make improvements or changes to the curriculum.


The first step of the process involves establishing, for each degree program, student learning goals and then translating these goals into measurable objectives. During this step, learning goals and their related objectives are defined for the academic programs in the College. These goals and objectives are summarized in Section 6.2. The second step of the process involves reviewing the curriculum of each program to determine where in the curriculum students require the skills necessary to achieve the respective learning goals and objectives. Doing so required developing a curriculum map that aligns the courses with the learning goals and objectives addressed in the different courses. The third step involves identifying appropriate assessment methods for use during the assessment process. This requires deciding where in the curriculum the learning goals and objectives would be assessed and subsequently what instruments will be used to determine achievement of the objectives. The result is the development of an assessment matrix. Four assessment methods or instruments were selected: (1) embedded question; (2) written papers or assignments; (3) oral presentations; and (4) case studies. According to the AACSB, program assessment does not require that every student be assessed. Sampling is acceptable as long as an appropriate and representative sampling methodology is utilized. For the Gatton College assessment process, a sampling procedure of assessing at least 40 percent of students in a course is used. For ease and simplicity, the expected outcomes for which embedded questions are utilized are defined as either “deficient,” “proficient,” or “exemplary” based on the percentage of embedded questions answered correctly. For assessment methods that include written papers / assignment; oral presentations; and/or case studies, the expected outcomes are defined as “deficient,” “proficient,” or “exemplary.” For each learning objective at the doctoral level, the assessment process involves determining the percentage of cases where student learning was either “deficient,” “proficient,” or “exemplary.” The final and ongoing step of the assessment process involves data dissemination and feedback. This is achieved through the development of an Assessment Report which provides a standardized reporting mechanism that addresses key assessment issues such as who and what is being assessed, the assessment results, and what is being done with the assessment findings. For each degree program, courses have been identified for assessment and assessment report templates have been created. These templates serve as a mechanism to provide consistent complete reporting throughout the process. The assessment report template includes the following elements:

Couse Number, Section Number and Semester Instructor name Total number of students enrolled in all section and the number of students assessed Learning Goals and Objectives Assessment methods Results Findings Proposed Improvement Action Plans

6.1.2 Assessment Tools Several tools are utilized within the assessment process to ensure the assessment of each accredited program is both thorough and meaningful. Specifically, learning goals and objectives, curriculum maps, and methods of assessment have been established. 6.1.3 Learning Goals and Objectives Learning goals and objectives were formulated for each accredited program. These goals and objectives depict the specific abilities and knowledge student should be able to demonstrate as a result of the program. Student learning goals and objectives are summarized for each accredited undergraduate, master and doctoral degree programs.


6.1.4 Undergraduate Degree Programs Learning Goals and Objectives Student learning goals and objectives were developed for the followed accredited undergraduate programs:

Bachelor of Science in Accounting Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics Global Scholars Certificate Program

The goals and objectives for these undergraduate programs are structured around five core curriculum goals and objectives. All students pursuing one of the above degree programs must complete the core-curriculum. In addition to the core curriculum goals and objectives, each degree program is supplemented by program-specific goals and objectives. 6.2 Curriculum Map A curriculum map was developed for each accredited program illustrating a methodical assessment strategy. The curriculum for each program was reviewed together with the identified program learning goals and objectives. The map provides a thorough assessment through the assignment of courses in which learning goals and objectives are met within each program. Each curriculum map serves as a visual aid to clarify the relationship between what is being assessed at the program level and which is being taught within the courses. A summary of all academic program curricular maps may be found in Appendix S: Academic Program Curriculum Maps. 6.2.1 Undergraduate Degree Programs Learning Objectives A curriculum map was created for the accredited undergraduate degree programs. For each of the degree programs, there is a college-wide core curriculum with specific goals and objectives for all undergraduate students. All students seeking one of the three above mentioned degree programs must complete the core-curriculum.

The goals and objectives used include:

Learning Goal 1: Critical Thinking Learning Objective: Possess the ability to understand and think creatively and strategically about business problems. Learning Goal 2: Identification of Ethical Issues Learning Objective: Possess an appreciation of ethical and societal responsibilities. Learning Goal 3: Multidisciplinary Competence Learning Objective: Possess a multidisciplinary and global perspective. Learning Goal 4: Structured Reasoning Skills Learning Objective: Possess analytical, critical, and logical reasoning skills. Learning Goal 5: Communications Skills Learning Objective: Possess strong written and oral communication skills.

Program-Specific Curriculum In addition to the core curriculum, students within each of the three-degree programs will be assessed according to their respective program’s learning goals and objectives.


6.2.2 Master of Business Administration Degree Program Learning Objectives A curriculum map was created for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. As Gatton offers both full-time and part-time MBA programs, courses within each of these programs address the identified student learning goals and objectives of the MBA program.


Business Administration—MBA Learning Goal 1: Critical Thinking Learning Objective: Possess the ability to understand and think creatively and strategically about business problems. Learning Goal 2: Identification of Ethical Issues Learning Objective: Possess an appreciation of ethical and societal responsibilities. Learning Goal 3: Multidisciplinary Competence Learning Objective: Possess a multidisciplinary and global perspective. Learning Goal 4: Structured Reasoning Skills Learning Objective: Possess analytical, critical, and logical reasoning skills. Learning Goal 5: Communications Skills Learning Objective: Possess strong written and oral communication skills. Learning Goal 6: Business Skills Learning Objective: Demonstrate entrepreneurial and business assessment skills

6.2.3 Master of Science in Accounting Degree Program Learning Objectives A curriculum map was created for the Master of Science in Accounting program.


Accounting—MS Learning Goal 1: Structured Reasoning Skills Learning Objective: Demonstrate the ability to apply analytical and/or logical reasoning skills to complex accounting and/or accounting-related issues. Learning Goal 2: Accounting Skills Learning Objective: Demonstrate advanced accounting and/or accounting-related technical knowledge and application skills. Learning Goal 3: Research Skills Learning Objective: Demonstrate the ability to research complex accounting and/or accounting-related issues. Learning Goal 4: Communication Skills Learning Objective: Demonstrate strong written and/or oral communication skills.

6.2.4 Ph.D. in Business Administration The corresponding student learning goals and objectives for the Ph.D. in Business Administration program are assessed during the dissertation defense process. The dissertation and its corresponding defense employ cumulative learning throughout the Ph.D. program and together serve as the final representation of achieved program objectives.


6.2.5 Ph.D. in Economics The corresponding student learning goals and objectives for the Ph.D. in Economics program are assessed during the dissertation defense process. The dissertation and its corresponding defense employ cumulative learning throughout the Ph.D. program and together serve as the final representation of achieved program objectives. 6.3 Assessment Methods Multiple assessment methods are distributed over a broad spectrum of courses. These methods include embedded questions, written papers, oral presentation and case studies.

6.3.1 Embedded Questions Embedded questions are incorporated into exams or other assignments. These questions assess student-learning outcomes and are evaluated by the course instructor. The instructor collects data for each of the embedded questions and provides statistics regarding the percentage of students that provided the correct response for each question and the percentage of student that provided an incorrect response for each question. Students who correctly answer 90-100 percent of the questions are considered exemplary, 70-89 percent are proficient and below 70 percent is considered deficient.

6.3.2 Written Papers, Oral Presentations, and Case Studies Assessment methods that include written papers, oral presentations, and case studies are also used to assess student-learning outcomes and are evaluated by the course instructor. A sample rubric is available for all instructors to use for each of these methods. Performance to student learning outcome for these assessment methods is reported as “Exemplary”, “Proficient”, or “Deficient”. Sample rubrics are included in Appendix T: Sample Assessment Report Template and Assessment Rubric. 6.3.3 Ph.D. Assessment Method Graduate students are assessed during the dissertation defense process within their program of interest. The three program related goals and objectives in the Ph.D. programs of Business Administration and Economics are assessed as part of the dissertation defense. Up to five reviewers complete the doctoral dissertation defense assessment forms, consisting of a 1-5-point rating scale, where 5 is “Exemplary”, 4 is “Admirable”, and 3 is “Proficient”, 2 is “Marginal” and 1 is “Deficient”. A copy of this form can be found in Appendix U: Sample Dissertation Assessment Form. 6.4 Results The Gatton College of Business and Economics assurance of learning activities operates on a three-year academic cycle assessment schedule for undergraduate, MBA, and MS in Accounting programs. Ph.D. programs are assessed every year during the dissertation process for the program related goals and objectives. Please refer to the table below for assessment results by program for the most recent assessment cycle in academic year 2015-2016.

Undergraduate Student Learning Outcome 1: Critical Thinking

Program Exemplary (90-100%) Proficient (70-89%) Deficient (<70%)

Accounting 81 Students 50 Students 19 Students

Finance 99 Students 52 Students 40 Students

Marketing 35 Students 48 Students 44 Students

Management 66 Students 64 Students 40 Students

Economics 18 Students 16 Students 9 Students

Total: 299 (43%) 230 (33.7%) 152 (22%)


Undergraduate Student Learning Outcome 2: Identification of Ethical Issues


Accounting 80 Students 13 Students 1 Student

Finance 75 Students 9 Students 2 Students

Marketing 76 Students 7 Students 2 Students

Management 68 Students 14 Students 0 Students

Economics 75 Students 9 Students 2 Students

Total: 374 (86%) 52 (12%) 7 (2%)

Masters of Business Administration Learning Outcome 1: Critical Thinking


Business Administration 39 Students 15 Students 0 Students

Total: 39 (72%) 15 (27%) 0 (0%)

Masters of Business Administration Learning Outcome 2: Identification of Ethical Issues


Business Administration 20 Students 4 Students 13 Students

Total: 20 (54%) 4 (11%) 13 (35%)

Masters of Science in Accounting Learning Outcome 1: Structured Reasoning Skills



Total: 31 (84%) 4 (11%) 2 (5%)

Masters of Science in Accounting Learning Outcome 2: Accounting Skills



Total: 16 (38%) 26 (62%) 0 (0%)

Ph.D. in Business Administration Learning Outcome 2: Research Skills Dissertation Rubric Average Scores by Year (Due to the low numbers in doctoral programs, three years of data are included for review)

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 3-Year Overall

Number of students 7 6 3 16

Mastery of research methodologies 4.44 4.44 4.60 4.45

Depth of understanding of the theoretical foundations in the discipline 4.33 4.60 4.40 4.45

Depth of understanding of the latest research in the discipline 4.44 4.68 4.60 4.55

Appreciation of the philosophies of academic inquiry 4.33 4.51 4.20 4.39

Logical consistency 4.30 4.45 4.20 4.36

Ability to orally communicate research outcomes 4.43 4.32 4.00 4.35

Quality of written communication 4.41 4.23 4.00 4.31Scale: 5 is “Exemplary,” 4 is “Admirable”, 3 is “Proficient”, 2 is “Marginal” and 1 is “Deficient”


Ph.D. in Economics Learning Outcome 2: Research Skills Dissertation Rubric Average Scores by Year (Due to the low numbers in doctoral programs, three years of data are included for review)

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 Overall

Number of students 3 3 4 10

Mastery of research methodologies 4.38 3.78 4.50 4.25

Depth of understanding of the theoretical foundations in the discipline 4.18 3.37 4.31 3.99

Depth of understanding of the latest research in the discipline 4.61 3.98 4.50 4.38

Appreciation of the philosophies of academic inquiry 4.50 3.42 4.44 4.15

Logical consistency 4.35 3.55 4.38 4.12

Ability to orally communicate research outcomes 4.63 3.17 4.63 4.19

Quality of written communication 4.27 3.78 4.31 4.14Scale: 5 is “Exemplary,” 4 is “Admirable”, 3 is “Proficient”, 2 is “Marginal” and 1 is “Deficient” 6.5 Curricula Development Actions and Closing the Loop After the competition of the second three-year assessment cycle in the Gatton College of Business and Economics, the assessment results were shared with the appropriate academic departments and committees, including the Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Committees and the MBA Policy Committee, for further evaluation. Based on these evaluations, the committees and the academic departments determined adjustments that could be made to improve the outcomes and learning achievements of students in the courses assessed. Opportunities for improvement that were given by faculty and academic departments are listed below. Furthermore, the second cycle of assessment by the Gatton College of Business and Economics has provided additional insight to support the data collection methods of the assessed learning outcomes. The data collection has allowed for increased analysis by program. Instructors are committed to provide first-rate teaching in support of the mission of the College and have been motivated to improve the performance of the associated student learning outcomes. 6.5.1 Undergraduate Degree Programs

Learning Outcome 1: Critical Thinking Faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. A faculty member noted that to improve class attendance they would provide assigned roles to students for case discussions to ensure the content was being read. Another similar reflection by a faculty member noted the importance of in- class activities and discussions to help develop critical thinking skills. Faculty members aim to use more videos and other methods of teaching so that a wide range of methods could be used to learn. Faculty members discussed more opportunities to read current events in publications such as the Wall Street Journal or The New York Times as well. Finally, several faculty members mentioned the increase of short essay questions on exams so that students can demonstrate their critical thinking skills. The course faculty will implement these suggestions for improvement during the 16-17 academic school year.

Learning Outcome 2: Identification of Ethical Issues For improvement, faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. The faculty engaged in the Management 340 course sought to increase student’s analytical capabilities by focusing on how to identify ethical dilemmas and their solutions. This would be applied to commercial practices such as a business’s decisions on


stakeholders, government regulation, and the free market. The course faculty will implement these suggestions for improvement during the 16-17 academic school year.

6.5.2 Master of Business Administration

Learning Outcome 1: Critical Thinking For improvement, faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. A reflection by a faculty member noted the importance of in-class activities and discussions to help develop critical thinking skills. Faculty members aim to use more videos and other methods of teaching so that a wide range of methods could be used to learn. Additionally, the faculty suggested breaking up the projects assigned into smaller elements throughout the course calendar. This would allow the students to utilize advice from the faculty and their peers. These suggestions for improvement will be implemented during the 2016-17 academic school year. Additional Insights or Reflection Limitations in the consistency of scoring rubrics used in the management classes could skew the results, since faculty are approaching the learning objectives by different methods. A rubric used across the board in these sections may be beneficial to utilize.

Learning Outcome 2: Identification of Ethical Issues For improvement, faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. A reflection by a faculty member noted the importance of in- class activities and discussions to help develop critical thinking skills. Faculty members aim to use more Wall Street Journal articles. These suggestions for improvement will be implemented during the 2016-17 academic school year.

6.5.3 Master of Science in Accounting

Learning Outcome 1: Structured Reasoning Skills For improvement, faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. Faculty provided improvement actions. A reflection by a faculty member noted the importance of in-class activities and discussions to help develop structured reasoning skills. This might include breaking up assignments into smaller elements throughout the course and allowing students to share their progress in class to receive feedback from peers and the faculty teaching the course. Faculty noted that 60 percent of students answered correctly all ten of the embedded questions. The recommendations for improvement are directed towards improving the deficiency results of the accounting students. These suggestions for improvement will be implemented during the 2016-17 academic school year.

Learning Outcome 2: Accounting Skills For improvement, faculty shared in their reflections the importance of providing applicable resources to the students for engagement in the course content. This could include additional in-class assignments, where students work together and provide feedback to each other regarding the application of specific accounting principles. In many cases, if the initial foundation principle is applied incorrectly, the entire assignment goes awry. By getting feedback from class peers and the instructor, students can work through the best way to apply the specific accounting principles. Faculty provided improvement actions. The recommendations for improvement are directed towards improving the deficient results of the accounting students. These suggestions for improvement will be implemented during the 2016-17 academic school year.

6.5.4 Ph.D. in Business Administration

Learning Outcome 1: Structured Reasoning Skills Given that all students met the target benchmark of “proficient – 3”, the College Graduate Studies Committee plans little change to the curriculum or to the dissertation evaluation process. While all scores are above the target benchmark, the lowest scored items were in the areas of oral and written communication. Resources, such as the Robert E. Hemenway Writing Center are available on campus to assist all students with composition and various modes of communication (writing, speaking, and


multimedia). All students will be made aware of these resources and students with previous concerns in the areas of communication will be highly encouraged to take advantage of them. Emphasizing utilizing campus resources will begin during the 2016-17 academic year.

6.5.5 Ph.D. in Economics

Learning Outcome 1: Structured Reasoning Skills Since all students met the target benchmark of “proficient – 3”, the College Graduate Studies Committee plans little change to the curriculum or to the dissertation evaluation process. While all scores are above the target benchmark, the lowest scored item was “Depth of understanding of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.” Faculty will work together to identify areas/assignments within the curriculum where additional focus could be given to reviewing, discussing and applying the theories that serve as the foundation of the discipline. These discussions and changes will take place during the 2016-2017 academic year.

6.5.6 Continuous Improvement Activities for Faculty Teaching Within the past year, the College has implemented a new Gatton College Teaching Excellence Initiative to enhance and support teaching and learning. The second strategic initiative of the Gatton College Strategic Plan with regard to learning and career outcomes states that the college will, “Improve the learning and career outcomes of all students through more rigorous and relevant academic programs and meaningful enrichment activities. Our actions across the college will reflect our commitment to student success.” Likewise, the University’s strategic objective for undergraduate student success states our goal, “to be the University of choice for aspiring undergraduate students within the Commonwealth and beyond, seeking a transformational education that promotes self-discovery, experiential learning, and life-long achievement.” High quality teaching is paramount to student learning and academic success and is at the heart of the Teaching Excellence Initiative in the Gatton College of Business and Economics. The specific goals guiding this initiative include the following:

Enhance teaching quality in the college with subsequent enhancement of classroom effectiveness, student engagement, and student learning.

Provide teaching development and enrichment opportunities available to all faculty members. Provide teaching support and guidance for new faculty members to help improve teaching success and

efficiency so new faculty members can effectively achieve an effective teaching/research balance. Encourage the incorporation of elements of community engagement and service learning into Gatton

courses and support and guide instructors in these endeavors. Provide teaching support and teaching-related job market preparation for graduate students. Form a Teaching Excellence Team with representation from each department and find systematic

ways for the college to benefit from presence of the many teaching specialists in the college. Provide training, support, and cohesive structure for adjunct instructors hired each semester. Work with college’s technology team to increase awareness and use of new classroom technologies

available in B&E. Increase awareness of and facilitate use of University’s Center for Enhancement of Teaching and

Learning resources and personnel by Gatton faculty. Encourage excellence in teaching by annually rewarding teaching accomplishment in the college

through a teaching award program. The Teaching Excellence Team was formed in the fall of 2016. Short-term initiatives for the 2016-17 academic year include the establishment of three annual faculty and one graduate student teaching awards; teaching brown bag workshop and speaker series; teaching and curricular enhancement mini-grant awards; enhancement of the teaching component of promotion and review dossiers; and a new faculty teaching-related mentoring program including class observations. Please refer to Appendix V: Gatton College Teaching Excellence Initiative for more information.


7.0 Academic and Professional Engagement

7.1 Student Academic and Professional Engagement

7.1.1 Exemplary Practices The Gatton College of Business and Economics has built upon efforts to attract and retain the best students and prepare them for careers in a global economy. Such an economy requires meaningful research, leadership, and experiential opportunities at all levels. As part of this effort, the College identifies a number of exemplary practices, each designed to move the College closer to achieving its mission and preparing qualified professionals. These include:

1. Global Scholars The Global Scholars program is one of three highly selective Honors pathways for incoming freshmen. This program provides students the opportunity to select the business major of their choosing while also providing enrichment opportunities in their studies. These opportunities focus on preparing students to work in culturally diverse environments and enhance leadership and professionalism skills.

2. Social Enterprise Scholars The Social Enterprise Scholars program is relatively new Honors pathway. The students in this program access a curriculum with a focus on Marketing, Management and entrepreneurship which prepares them to pursue careers in the non-profit, international entrepreneurship or other fields which involve being an agent of change within a community.

3. Scholars in Engineering and Management, or SEAM A third Honors pathway is the Scholars in Engineering and Management program (SEAM). SEAM is a joint program between the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Engineering. This program brings together undergraduate business and engineering students to participate in an integrated program, focusing on high technology environments, in which students work together and learn from each other. SEAM scholars are expected and challenged to excel and expand their professional horizons by working in cross-functional teams with other high achievement-oriented students. This program also provides a path for students to join the joint BS Engineering/MBA program.

4. Gatton Education Abroad

Education Abroad provides students with the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, collaborating with more than ten top business schools, to help them prepare for their career and life in an ever-increasing global society and economy.

5. Professional Development and Networking for Gatton Students Gatton provides our students with opportunities to enrich their professional development. A few of these opportunities include The Chellgren Lecture Series which in fall of 2016 brought Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi to the Gatton College. The Schnatter Institute for the Study of Free Enterprises hosts prominent economists and policy makers to the College to participate in public lectures and discussions on matters of related to the impact of free enterprise on the well-being of society. The Gatton MBA program organizes Lunch and Learn sessions in which subject matter experts join students for lunch and talk about careers in their area of expertise and career panels where 3 to 4 professionals in a specific field provide students with career insights. In addition to hosting two career fairs per year, the Gatton’s Graham Office of Career Management hosts Spotlight Nights throughout the year to facilitate networking between employers and MBA students. The Graham Office also provides for-credit courses in which students engage in networking exercises, explore career interests, and map their interests into specific career opportunities. Annually, the MBA program brings in a professional to administer DiSC profile testing, an assessment enabling students to identify their personality style and learn ways to communicate with others of varying styles. MBA students have the opportunity to earn certificates in


Global Management and Strategy through the World Trade Center of Kentucky and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Leadership development is an important component in the College’s strategic plan and we provide students with several opportunities for development in this area. Our premier College student organization is the Gatton Ambassadors. Gatton Ambassadors serve as the face of the College and advise the College’s leadership team. The College provides opportunities for students to mentor other student through Graham Peer Advisors which is comprised of high performing students who partner with other students to provide career exploration advising to other students; UK 101 Peer Counselors partner with freshmen students taking UK 101 to assist them in making a successful transition to the College; and Leadership Exploration and Development which is a peer-led leadership and development program. The Gatton Women Business Leaders Mentoring Program matches selected students with mentors who are prominent women business leaders. The pairs attend a retreat in August, communicate bi-weekly, and participate in planned networking activities throughout the academic year. There are several other clubs in the College that provide students with networking and career development opportunities such as Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity; American Marketing Association; Beta Alpha Psi, the scholastic accounting fraternity; Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor society; the Economics Society; Entrepreneurship Club; Global Business Network, an organization that helps students learn more about international business; the Finance Society; Wildcat Investors Club; National Association of Black Accountants; and Phi Beta Lambda, the collegiate branch of Future Business Leaders of America. Each of these organizations have a faculty advisor that assists them in developing programs, attending conferences, and participating in academic competitions. The College annually hosts Wall Street Prep, two weekend-long seminars conducted by former investment bankers to provide an opportunity for students interested in financial services to bridge the gap between their classroom experience and the real world. Biennially, the Von Allmen School of Accountancy and our student chapter of the Center for the Public Trust host the Honesty, Integrity and Professionalism in Business Conference to which they bring a nationally known speaker and other prominent accounting professionals to engage with students around the topic of professional ethics.

6. Graham Office of Career and Management The Gatton College Graham Office of Career Management is named in memory of 2nd Lt. Jeffery C. Graham, a University of Kentucky alumnus who was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. The Graham Office of Career Management is dedicated to assisting students and alumni in their career development process and employment success. The office offers career services to prepare students for the competitive job market and works closely with employers who seek to hire our graduates. The Graham Office provides career counseling to students through one-on-one advising sessions, workshops, classroom presentations, testing and assessment, and interview preparation. In addition, the Graham Office hosts both a fall and spring career fair that brings over 150 employers to campus, which is attended both by Gatton students and students from across campus.

7. Lab for Economic and Accounting Proficiency (LEAP) The Lab for Economic and Accounting Proficiency was established in 2001 to provide tutoring services to undergraduate students in accounting and economics courses. Total visits for tutoring services have increased significantly over the review period. The Lab saw 499 student visits in fall 2011 and 1,437 in fall 2016, almost tripling the time and effort dedicated to assisting students.

8. Pelissier Fund for Teaching Excellence in Finance Through a generous gift from Marguerite Pelissier, the College has been created the Marguerite Pelissier Fund for Teaching Excellence in Finance. Among other supportive activities, the Fund finances a tutoring service for students taking FIN 300, Corporate Finance. In addition, the Pelissier Fund provides


scholarships for the College’s Wall Street Week trip, finances our Bloomberg certification program, and supports a faculty member to deliver FIN 300, develop internship and full-time placements for students interested in financial services, and advise the Finance Society

9. 11-Month MBA Program The Gatton College of Business and Economics MBA Center has redesigned the conventional approach to business education where students typically take stand-alone courses in accounting, economics, finance, and marketing. Gatton’s MBA program is an 11-month, intensive, cross-disciplinary, mentored and hands-on experience that will prepare students for careers in a globalized economy. This immersive program takes place over a 40-week timeframe from July through June. In the first module, students are in class eight hours a day, five days a week for five weeks as they learn the basics of business, leadership, and teamwork. The program incorporates action-based courses and learning laboratories that focus of three core business processes: New Product Development, Supply Chain Management, and Mergers and Acquisition. Gatton MBA students have the opportunity to achieve professional certification in News Product Development with the Product Development Association, as well as, Green Belt Six Sigma certification in Supply Chain Management. Additionally, students participate in Project Connect, which is a vital party of the curriculum. For 26 weeks, student teams in Project Connect work closely with executive mentors on three key projects of importance to the executive’s corporation. This project provides students with a unique opportunity to incorporate real-time learning through projects of practical importance. The projects focus on the core business processes indicated previously in this section. Student teams devote 50 to 80 hours per person per project working with the executive’s company to identify issues and develop strategies. Each project culminates with deliverable including a formal presentation to the executive’s management team. Feedback from prior classes had indicated that this accelerated program with Project Connect and Six Sigma Certification has prepared them for the workplace and future career opportunities.

10. Gatton’s Student Managed Investment Fund With the endorsement of the UK Board of Trustees, a team of Gatton students manage $5 million from the University’s endowment. A donor has recently given the College another $2 million for students to manage. Using the Bloomberg terminals and other tools in the Seale Finance Learning Center students are given the opportunity to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to a real-money portfolio of real investments. Students from this program recently placed 3rd at the annual University of Georgia Equity Valuation and Presentation competition in January 2017 and were invited to participate in the 2017 Hedge Fund Strategy competition in April.

7.2 Executive Education and Outreach The Don and Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center supports

1. Outreach programming in the business community; 2. Open enrollment leadership programs; 3. Custom leadership programs for regional organizations; and 4. Academic conferences held in the Gatton College

Outreach programming focuses on educating the community in various areas, including the current economic climate, continuing business education, and professional development in specific industries. Events include the following:

‐ Economic Outlook Conference: A half-day session detailing the economic environment for the nation, region, and local area coordinated by the Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research. Additional faculty from our Economics department participate each year, and have included Dr. Kenneth Troske, Dr. Jennifer Minier, as well as representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and local community leaders. February 2017 will mark the 28th year of this event and it is typically attended by 300 individuals.


‐ Supply Chain Forum: A half-day series of speakers and panels designed to share best practices in the field of operations and supply chain management. Both regional and national speakers participate, sharing their knowledge with students, practitioners and consultants in the region. The Gatton College One Year MBA students showcase their Project Connect work during the event, providing them with an opportunity to garner feedback and establish connections within the professional community. This event is entering its 7th year and typically hosts 140 participants.

‐ Open Enrollment Certificate in Business Administration: This 10-session, non-credit certificate program covers business fundamentals and is open to the community at large. Topics include marketing, management, finance, economics, entrepreneurship, and operations and is staffed by faculty from across the Gatton College. Typically, the class enrolls 20 people each fall.

‐ Kentucky Institute for Economic Development Course: Delivered in conjunction with the KIED, the center develops and delivers an affordable weeklong training in the basic principles of economic development. This program targets both professionals and volunteers working in the development field and enrolls approximately 40 participants each year.

‐ Kentucky K-12 School Personnel Educational Programs: Two programs (KASBO and SFMI) are delivered to educate individuals who have primary responsibility for business management of a school district.

Custom programming is available through the center for both internal constituents from the UK community as well as external organizations. A significant area of interest for both audiences is training on best practices for negotiations. Several sessions are typically held every year covering this topic. Gatton faculty participate in a variety of executive education programming to meet the specific needs of industry colleagues. Below are several examples of executive education programming.

Dr. Giuseppe Labianca (Management) – Gray Construction Custom Negotiations Program ‐ Custom program for Gray Construction management staff. Topics included diagnosing different types

of negotiations, competitive strategies and tactics, hardball tactics, collaborative strategies and tactics, negotiation planning process, and significant amounts of experiential exercises.

Dr. Christopher Clifford (Finance) – Certificate in Business Administration

‐ Open enrollment seminar series over 10 weeks. One of the seminars focused on financial decision- making tools to be used by individual business owners and managers.

Dr. Walter Ferrier (Management) – Executive Healthcare Leadership Program

‐ Custom program for UK Healthcare and other regional healthcare providers. Topics covered by Dr. Ferrier over two half-day sessions include Managing the Value Chain and Organizational Capabilities as well as Strategic Management and Business Plan Development. All content was delivered with specific focus of operating within the healthcare industry.

Programming support for Gatton faculty provides researchers the opportunity to focus on their academic work while the Executive Education Center manages the details of academic conferences and events. Further, we recently have reached out to international audiences. Examples of these endeavors include the following:

‐ ION Conference: Invitation only conference for social network researchers. ‐ LINKS Center Workshop: Training on social network analysis for all levels. ‐ PNC Finance Conference: Academic conference featuring high quality papers. ‐ Kalam Conference: International conference focused on India and featuring renowned speakers.


7.3 Faculty Qualifications and Engagement After six years of continuous service, faculty members at the University of Kentucky are eligible for a sabbatical. The Gatton College offers two options; a six-month sabbatical at full pay or a 12 month are 2/3 pay. Sabbaticals are granted to provide faculty with the opportunity for study, research, service and travel. Since the last accreditation visit, thirty-four faculty have been granted sabbaticals. Faculty in the college have engaged with constituents of the College in several important ways. Several of our faculty are in connection with local and national corporations to provide consulting services that benefit both the organization as well as the research enterprise of the College. Some of the entities that our faculty engage with include the Brookings Institute, Institute for Research on Poverty, Economic Research Service in the US Department of Agriculture, Migration Policy Institute, Aetna Health Plans, Toyota, etc. In addition, several of our faculty have participated in national teaching conferences demonstrating innovations related to mindfulness, effective lecturing for economic based courses, etc. The faculty conduct continuing education courses related to accounting education, for the American Accounting Association and international accounting firms. One of our faculty received the University’s Research Professor Recognition. Several faculty members have collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students to conduct scholarly research. We have faculty members who are using their professional skills to serve members of the community and corporations through board membership, tax services and consulting services. The UK Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit academic research center housed in the Gatton College. The research conducted in the Center has provided evidence on poverty, childhood and senior hunger and food assistance through the issuance of discussion papers and peer reviewed work. In addition, the Center has partnered with the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service and Food to fund research on food security, Co-organized a conference on the 20th anniversary of welfare reform with the Brookings Institute and has cooperatively funded $6 million to support research effort resulting in over 35 project through the USDA. In association with the US Collaborative of Poverty Centers, UKCPR established a scholar in residence program to further support their mission. In addition, the chair of the Center has testified before Congress on matters related to SNAP and related issues. In June of 2017 UKCPR is organizing and national conference on deep poverty at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Center for Business and Economics Research (CBER) conducts applied business and economics research. Historically, CBER has conducted economic investigations and is viewed as the leading source of information on the economics of Kentucky. The Center provides expertise in both business and economics data to information public policy makers, government agencies, interested persons and others across the Commonwealth. Annually, CBER hosts the Kentucky – Cleveland Fed Research Conference with the Cleveland Federal Reserve. Currently CBER is providing analytical support for the National Health Security Preparedness Index which measures that health security preparedness of states; serving as program evaluator for Code Louisville which provides training for adults who want to pursue careers in software development; and provides evaluative data for the Hope Center who received a Housing First grant to combat chronic homelessness. In addition, CBER provided economic and data analysis work for several corporation, nonprofits and governmental organizations. Their work has produced several research papers and reports that benefit the Commonwealth.

The Gatton college has established several partnerships with international Universities to collaborate and support in the areas of teaching and research. We have partnered with the Nangarhar University in Afghanistan and five Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan to assist them in improving their academic quality through faculty and curricular development. In 2014, the Gatton College conducted the 2014 Pakistan Fulbright Fall Seminar which focused on the US Civil Rights Movement.


8.0 Other Material The progress that we have made toward achieving our mission has been significant in the first year of our strategic plan. We have significantly grown the proportion of out of state students and international students in the student body, which significantly contributes to the diverse experiences of all Gatton students. We have provided students with experiential learning opportunities through our pathway and leadership programs and have 196 students study abroad in 2015-16, our highest yearly total to date. A total of 733 students have studied abroad since the last review. Within the Commonwealth of Kentucky; 3,500 citizens have participated in our executive education programs and outreach activities such as the annual Supply Chain Forum and Economic Outlook Conference. In addition, our faculty are serving on the boards of both profit and nonprofit organizations here in the Commonwealth as well as federal panels. Our research ranking has increased significantly over the last five years and the research of our faculty has been cited in both the financial and popular press. The final section of the report outlines initiatives the College is currently pursuing that were not included elsewhere in the self-study. The initiatives are categorized under each of the five strategic planning areas 8.1 Academic and Professional Home As a College, we are working to implement opportunities for undergraduate students to connect with our faculty to conduct academic research. This will enable our faculty and students to add an important and much needed dimension to their interaction. Recently our College has partnered with the human resource professionals at the University to begin providing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff who serve in a supervisory role. Thus far, we have conducted Performance Evaluation training and have planned training on how to set measurable and effective expectations and to periodically meet with staff to provide feedback as well as direction support in improving. In response to a campus wide Work-Life Survey that was conducted in 2015, the College conducted staff and faculty focus groups by level in the fall of 2016. The responses were collected, summarized and shared with the leadership of the College and with the Diversity Committee. To improve the College’s responsiveness to the staff and faculty focus groups, the committee was expanded to include both faculty and staff. This group is in conversation in spring 2017 to brainstorm and implement changes to address concerns of Gatton colleagues. Our next Work-Life Survey will be conducted in fall of 2018 to measure the staff and faculty’s perspectives on the College’s progress. The College is working with our local newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader, to run regular op-eds on the work being conducted in the Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise. 8.2 Learning and Career Outcomes Currently, our Undergraduate Resource Center and the Graham Office of Career Center are working together to reimagine providing academic and career support to our undergraduate students. This joint effort is expected to result in a wholly integrated approach to providing academic guidance in the context of career development and success. Our undergraduate ambassadors are currently working on drafting the College’s first student code of conduct. They have gathered codes from other universities and are working to develop a code for Gatton that will reflect the values of the College in a manner that is consistent with the high ethical and professional standards that are imbedded in our mission statement. In the spring of 2017, the College is embarking on a close review of how we conduct our assessment of learning on a program-by-program level. While our current process has provided evidence of meeting the stated learning objectives of our programs, it is not evident that the way we are collecting the evidence is resulting in the most useful data for evaluative purposes. Our Director of Accreditation will work with both our undergraduate and graduate program committees to examine our current process and consider needed modification.


8.3 Research with Impact In recent years, we have hired newly minted faculty members with a guaranteed 2/9ths summer support. We are using revenue from our endowments to supplement the summer support of our research active faculty. We are moving toward providing this supplement to a larger set of our faculty to adequately support, grow and develop the research enterprise and to retain and acquire high quality faculty. We are in the process of adding additional databases to our portfolio. This data will not only be available to our undergraduate and graduate students, but will be used by our faculty to broaden the opportunities that they have to engage in collaborative research with others in Gatton and around the world. 8.4 Economic Growth and Engagement In spring of 2017, our Center for Business and Economic Research launched a newly designed website, which features economic research produced by the College and synthesizes publicly available economic data of interest to our constituents. We are working to have similar websites developed for all research centers to provide access to useful research to improve policy-making and promote our faculty. We are currently considering the development of an on-line MBA program to meet the demand of the Commonwealth. This program is of interest to residents of our state military installations as well as citizens living in more remote locations of the state. This will be the College’s first foray into the on-line educational space and represents a significant opportunity for us in terms of developing a new revenue stream through favorable sharing with the University. The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship has supported the start-up of dozens of companies based on UK intellectual property. In addition, the Von Allmen Center has partnered with Commerce Lexington (our Chamber of Commerce), the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the Lexington- Fayette Urban-County Government to attract firms to our area from out-of-state by connecting the firms with UK faculty with related intellectual property, providing matching funds for SBIR/STTR grants, and subsidizing space and laboratory needs. The Von Allmen Center also created the UK Venture Studio program in which multi-disciplinary teams of UK students assist with the development of business plans related to UK intellectual property or business ideas from our students and the community. The Dean of the Gatton College is currently chairing a committee of other UK deans who are working under the direction of the Provost to reconsider the current 40-60 percent spit on revenues from professional graduate programs. In Gatton, it is challenging to start new programs because 40 percent of the revenue is often insufficient to cover costs including faculty salaries. If the revenue split was changed, Gatton would have more incentive and ability to start new programs, which would significantly improve our ability to grow and retain faculty. 8.5 Operational Excellence Starting in the spring of 2017 the College centralized many of the administrative functions that once resided within the academic departments. Travel management, College credit card processing, etc. has been centralized. This shift in service has been a challenge for the College and we are evaluating how that process is currently working and considering additional adjustments in the financial procedures to improve overall operational effectiveness. For all the positives that have accrued to the College with having our new facility up and running, the facility has challenged our administrative capacity. In the past two years, we have brought on a facilities manager and an assistant, implemented an electronic Event Management System, and developed a reservation procedure for the College. In fall 2016, we hosted over 1,500 events in the College--15 percent of those events were for other units at UK. These challenges have pushed us to develop improved operational processes that in the long run will benefit the College. We are in the process of documenting all administrative and business processes in the College. While documenting these processes we will evaluate efficiency and effectiveness and adjust as necessary. More importantly, updating and expanding our process documentation will improve the long-term operating efficiency of the College.

Documents

AACSB International Continuous Improvement Review Carol ... Self-St… · AACSB International Continuous Improvement Review Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics University