Business Administration Program

Campus

National Campus

AP Review Submission Date

September 22, 2016

Completed by

Business Division Faculty

AR Review Cycle

fall 2014 – spring 2016

The student will be able to demonstrate basic knowledge and/or skills in:

1. The different functional areas of business – accounting, management, marketing, economics, and finance – by emphasizing their importance in an organization and describing their interrelationship in the organization’s attempt to achieve its objectives.
2. The use of cost and managerial accounting concepts and techniques as management tools for planning, controlling, evaluating performance and making decisions.
3. Business mathematics and elementary statistics by accurately performing common business computations, statistical data presentation and analysis.
4. Intercultural writing and speaking appropriate for business.
5. The legal environment and ethical challenges confronting business in general and in the FSM, from both local and global perspectives.

Organization:
The A.S. in Business Administration program, together with the A.S. in Computer Information Systems and the Third Year Certificate programs in Accounting and in General Business, operates under the Business Administration Division.

Program Design and relationship to other programs in the system:
The program is designed to allow students who complete it, entry into the Third Year Certificate program in Accounting or in General Business, or transfer to a four-year college. Students may also choose to seek employment immediately upon graduation.

Applicants must meet the following admission requirements to be matriculated into this degree program:

1. Have graduated or will graduate from high school at the end of the current school year, or have a GED certificate;
2. Have a minimum high school grade point average of 2.0 as measured on a 4.0 scale, or a minimal score of 35 on each section and an average of 45 for all five sections of the GED test; and,
3. Be accepted by the COM-FSM Admissions Board.

An Associate Degree in Business Administration is awarded upon satisfactory completion of the 29 credits of applicable General Education Core and 41 credits of the major courses, for a total of 70 credits. Before enrolling in any given course or advancing to the next-level course, students must first complete the corresponding prerequisite(s).

The program's major courses, their brief descriptions and prerequisites are given below.

AC 131 Accounting I
(4) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisite: ESL 089, MS 099

This course establishes a foundation for the understanding of the nature of accounting, basic accounting concepts and principles, and the complete accounting cycle for service and merchandising types of business operation. Extensive coverage is devoted to the use of various accounting forms and the performance of basic accounting functions including, but not limited to, recording and posting business transactions, preparing a trial balance, work sheet, and simple financial statements. The importance of internal control for cash, preparing bank reconciliation, and performing limited analysis of basic financial reports are also included.

AC 220 Accounting II
(4) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisite: AC 131

This course builds on the understanding of accounting principles and introduces new concepts in accounting for: payroll; accounts receivable and bad debts; notes and interest; inventory; depreciation, amortization and depletion of long-term assets; partnerships and corporations.

AC 250 Managerial Accounting
(3) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisite: AC 220

This course develops concepts and potential ethical issues related to the accounting information that managers need in carrying out three essential functions within the business enterprise, such as how to plan operations, to control activities and to make decisions.

BU 101 Introduction to Business
(3) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisite: ESL 089

Establishes a foundation for the understanding of contemporary business functional areas of business: management and organization, human resources, marketing, financing, accounting, and information systems. Business ethics and social responsibility, the global business environment and basic FSM business laws/ regulations are also covered.

BU 250 Principles of Finance
(3) (F, Sp) Prerequisite: AC 220 and BU/MS 110

This course provides an introduction to the role and objective of financial management with focus on shareholder wealth maximization, examines both analytical tools and descriptive materials that are useful in the evaluation of financial performance, and explores the domestic and international financial marketplace, the time value of money, analysis of risk and return, capital budgeting and cash flow analysis.

BU 260 Fundamentals of Management
(3) (F, Sp) Prerequisite: BU 101

Enables the students to develop an understanding of management and organization. The course focuses on important management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling for successful managerial activities. Students learn how successful managers use organizational resources through organizational functions in order to effectively and efficiently achieve organizational objectives.

BU 270 Principles of Marketing
(3) (F, Sp) Prerequisite: BU 101

Introduces students to the basic concepts of marketing such as consumer behavior, marketing research and information systems, segmentation strategy, as well as the 4Ps. Students are also introduced to international marketing and to the broader marketing environment, including political/legal, economic, demographic, competitive and ethical issues.

BU 271 Business Law
(3) (F, Sp) Prerequisites: BU 101, AC 131

Introduces the FSM and the US legal system as it relates to contracts, agency and employment, property, sales, business organization and government regulation. Students are provided an overview of the FSM Constitution and the basic principles of court organization, and a survey of tort law as applied to both the FSM and the US.

BU/MS 110 Business Math
(3) (F, Sp) Prerequisite or co-requisite: MS 100

Emphasizes performing common computations found in the various functional areas of business. Students use of graphs, equations, ratio and proportion, percentage, and measurement systems to solve typical business problems such as the calculation of trade and cash discounts, markups, taxes, employee compensation, simple and compound interest, depreciation, inventory valuation, bonds and stocks, basic financial statement analysis, and business statistics.

EC 220 Principles of Microeconomics
(3) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisites: MS 099, ESL 089, BU 101

This course provides an introduction to the central concepts of microeconomic analysis and decision-making, such as scarcity, allocation of resources, demand and supply, elasticity and marginal utility. The concepts are then used to explain and analyze market structures, including perfect competition and monopoly. Other topics may include analysis of labor markets, property rights and international economic.

EC 230 Macroeconomics
(3) (F, Sp, Su) Prerequisite: EC 220

This introductory course in macroeconomics analyzes the aggregate economic activity in the national economy and its link with the rest of the world. Emphasis is placed on basic principles involved in the determination of the level of national output, the aggregate price level, money supply, exchange rate, employment and unemployment, inflation, fiscal and the monetary policies. It further provides a broad understanding of economic growth and its implications on the economy.

EN/BU 121 Business Communication
(3) Prerequisites: BU 101, CA 100

This course focuses on introducing students to writing and speaking skills appropriate for business. Business writing and oral skills are emphasized, including internal and external business correspondence, employment correspondence, business etiquette, interviewing skills, presentation-giving, intercultural communication and verbal/non-verbal communication. It also focuses on “intercultural writing and speaking appropriate for business”.

MS 150 Introduction to Statistics
(3) Prerequisite: ESL 089 and passing any 100 level or higher mathematics course.

A one semester course designed as an introduction to the basic ideas of data presentation, descriptive statistics, linear regression, and inferential statistics including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Basic concepts are studied using applications from health, education, business, social science, and the natural sciences. The course uses spreadsheet software for both data analysis and presentation.

Enrollment by program courses for 2014-2016 are not available as of this writing. The semester-by-semester program enrollment for the period are shown in Table-1 (right) and Chart-1 (below).

The Business Administration Division (BAD) is chaired by Mr. Joseph Felix, Jr. Four full-time instructors from the division (next page) teach the major program courses as of Spring 2016

BAD Faculty: Front, left to right= Marlene Mangonon, and Marian Gratia Medalla
Back, left to right= Rafael Pulmano, George Mangonon, Joseph Felix Jr., Timothy Mamangon and Edper Castro.

Division Chair:
Joseph Felix, Jr.
Full-time Professor; B.A. (Park College, Missouri); M.S. (National University, San Diego).
Email: felixjr@comfsm.fm

Full-time Program Instructors:

Rafael Pulmano, CPA
Full-time Professor; Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Accounting (Saint Michael's College of Laguna, Philippines); Certified Public Accountant (Philippine Board of Accountancy, since 1982); Master in Business Administration (National College of Business and Arts, Philippines). Web site: http://comfsm.fm/~pulmano/ Email: pulmano@comfsm.fm

Marian Medalla, CPA
Full-time Assistant Professor; Bachelor of Science in Accountancy (Mindanao State University, Philippines); Certified Public Accountant (Philippine Board of Accountancy, since 2001); Master in Business Administration (Notre Dame of Dadiangas College, Philippines). Email: marian_gratia@comfsm.fm

George Mangonon
Full-time Assistant Professor; Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (University of the Philippines); Master in Business Administration (Virgen Milagrosa University, Philippines). Web page: http://www.comfsm.fm/~gmangonon/ Email: gmangonon@comfsm.fm

Timothy Mamangon
Full-time Assistant Professor; Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Business Economics (Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Philippines); Master in Education, major in Math (Pangasinan State University, Philippines) Email: timothy@comfsm.fm.

Program Indicators

Enrollment

TABLE-2. NUMBER OF ENROLLMENT FOR LEADING PROGRAMS FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-2. NUMBER AND RELATIVE SIZE OF ENROLLMENT FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

Table-2 and Chart-2 indicate that the A.S. in Business Administration program consistently ranks third among the leading programs in terms of enrollment for fall 2014-spring 2016. Teacher Prep leads in enrollment performance, followed by Liberal Arts.

Trends

Data in the table and charts on next page show the enrollment trend from fall2012 to spring 2016, revealing an average decline of 5%, which is less than the overall average of 6%.

TABLE-3. ENROLLMENT TREND FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2012-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-3. AVERAGE DECLINE IN ENROLLMENT FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2012-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-4. TREND IN ENROLLMENT FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2012-SPRING 2016 / SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-5. DECLINING ENROLLMENT TREND FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2012-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

Credits

Program enrollment by credits, both by BUA and in comparison with other leading programs, are presented next. For the program, there was a slight decrease in the number of credits enrolled from fall to fall, or a difference of 2 credits. But from spring to spring, the decline was significant (235 credits).

TABLE-4. PROGRAM ENROLLMENT CREDITS, FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 SOURCE:IRPO

CHART-6. BUA ENROLLMENT SIZE BY CREDITS, FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 / SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-5. ENROLLMENT CREDITS FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-7. ENROLLMENT SIZE BY CREDITS FOR LEADING PROGRAMS, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-6. ENROLLMENT CREDITS BY MAJOR, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE:IRPO

CHART-8. ENROLLMENT SIZE BY CREDITS ACCORDING TO MAJOR, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE: IRPO

Class Size

The average class size per semester for the BUA program is presented next, along with similar indicator for other leading programs. For this program, spring 2016 showed the highest average class size (22.6), although enrollment during that period was actually the lowest for the program compared to the previous three (see Table 1 and Chart 1).

TABLE-7. BUA AVERAGE CLASS SIZE, FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-9. BUA AVERAGE CLASS SIZE, FALL 2014-SPRING 2016 SOURCE: IRPO

Compared with other leading programs, BUA had the largest class size in spring 2016. In spring 2015 it had the second largest class size, next to LA program (Table-8 and Chart 10).

TABLE-8. AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF LEADING PROGRAMS, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-10. AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF LEADING PROGRAMS, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

In both fall 2014 and fall 2015, a comparison of leading programs showed that BUA had the largest class size, followed closely by LA

TABLE-9. AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-11. AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF LEADING PROGRAMS, FALL 2014-2015 / SOURCE: IRPO

Completion

BUA Completion rates for fall 2014 and 2015 were both higher compared to those of spring 2015 and 2016. Between the two semesters, however, fall completion rates were consistently higher that those of spring in both years (Table-10 and Chart-12).

TABLE-10. BUA COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%), FALL 2014-SPRING 2015 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-12. BUA COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%), FALL 2014-SPRING 2015 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-11. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-13. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, SPRING 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-12. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-14. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-13. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, FALL 2014-2015 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-15. COMPLETION RATE (ABC OR P%) BY MAJOR, FALL 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

Persistence

The program’s persistence rates for two consecutive academic years are shown below. From the data in the table and the chart, persistence rate in 2014-2015 is significantly higher at 105% compared to that of 2015-2016 which only reached 68% (Table-14 and Chart-16).

TABLE-14. BUA PERSISTENCE RATES FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-16. BUA PERSISTENCE RATES FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016 SOURCE: IRPO

Compared with other leading programs, BUA ranked third highest in terms of persistence rate for 2014-2015. HCOP led with 123%, followed by COS with 117%.

For the period 2015-2016, persistence rate for BUA dropped to second to last spot, trailing right behind HCOP which, in the previous period, ranked first. Instead, Teacher Prep took the lead with 119%, followed by LA with 111% (Table-15 and Chart-17).

TABLE-15. PERSISTENCE RATES OF LEADING PROGRAMS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016 / SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-17. PERSISTENCE RATES OF LEADING PROGRAMS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016 / SOURCE: IRPO

Retention

We now look at the retention rates of the leading programs and see how BUA’s performance compared them. Table-16 and Chart-18 show Teacher Prep with the highest retention rate (119%), followed by LA (111%), and BUA(105%) is third, for 2014-2015.

TABLE-16. RETENTION RATES OF LEADING PROGRAMS FOR 2014-2015 / SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-18. RETENTION RATES OF LEADING PROGRAMS FOR 2014-2015 / SOURCE: IRPO

Graduation

Reviewed in this section are the graduation rates for the BUA program, by itself and in comparison with other leading programs. Table-17 and Chart-19 (next page) show a trend indicating that it was taking longer for many students to graduate from the program.

TABLE-17. BUA GRADUATION RATE FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-19. BUA GRADUATION RATE FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-18. GRADUATION RATES (100%) OF LEADING PROGRAMS FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-20. GRADUATION RATES (100%) OF LEADING PROGRAMS FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 SOURCE: IRPO

TABLE-19. GRADUATION RATES (150%) OF LEADING PROGRAMS FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-21. GRADUATION RATES (150%) OF LEADING PROGRAMS FALL 2011 TO FALL 2013 / SOURCE: IRPO

Seat Cost

The only seat cost data available at the IRPO web site as of this writing were for the academic year 2012-2013 (Table-20 and Chart-22). A close look at these data indicates that BUA program is among those with the lowest seat cost, i.e., third lowest in fall 2012 ($50) and second in spring 2013 ($59). Also in fall, its seat cost is almost five times that of Marine Science which had the highest cost ($234) for the same period.

The BUA seat cost is 29% and 37% lower than the cost reported for National Campus for both semesters respectively. Seat costs for all programs, when averaged altogether, is almost twice (188%) as costly as that of BUA for fall 2012, and a little less than that (158%) in spring 2013.

TABLE-20. NATIONAL CAMPUS PROGRAM SEAT COST PER CREDIT HOUR AY 2012-2013 / SOURCE: IRPO

CHART-22. NATIONAL CAMPUS PROGRAM SEAT COST PER CREDIT HOUR AY 2012-2013 / SOURCE: IRPO

Note that the seat cost presented in this report (and taken from the IRPO website) is by credit instead of by student. No information was provided as to how the seat cost was calculated.

Back in the early part of 2012 there was discussion about student seat cost in an attempt to come up with a standard formula. The task was assigned to the IRPO, with assistance from the Comptoller, as recommended by faculty in the CAC and PRC. In gathering cost data, the Comptoller sought faculty’s input, which brought about confusion in the process. As the ALO aptly put it, “When left to many faculty, accuracy may be lost. What was desired was a consistent, accurate calculation of seat cost (that wasn’t subjected to individual faculty interpretation and thus potential error).”

This writer proposed an alternative approach and shared his ideas with some colleagues, as well as with the DAP, ALO, and the President. Following the consultative process, he then presented it to the CAC, which acted to recommend the adoption of the proposed formula and pass it on to PRC. In May 1st 2012 letter, PRC Chair, Christopher Ross Perkins, officially submitted three recommendations to the President Daisy regarding seat cost determination.

The discussions died down, and nothing was heard of about seat cost to date, so this writer is left wondering how the IRPO came up with its seat cost data.

As mentioned earlier, the Business Administration Division conducted an online alumni survey covering its four programs. The results of that survey pertaining to the BUA program are presented and discussed on pages 24-32 of this report.

No data available on employer feedback. However, the alumni survey conducted by the division in 2015 reveal some information about employment of program graduates, such as name of current employer and type of organization, whether government or private sector, how long they have been with the company, and whether or not they are able to use the knowledge and skills that they learned from their program in their line of work.

No data available.

No data available. The photographs below, however, give partial insight into where some of our program students continue and complete their studies after getting their A.S. or T.C.Y. degree from COM-FSM.

MARY JOYCE PULMANO GRADUATED CUM LAUDE (RIGHT) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUAM WITH A BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN ACCOUNTING, SPRING 2015. Photo credit: UOG Flicker photos

TIFFANY SANCHEZ (LEFT, BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN ACCOUNTING) AND TAMAE WAGUK (RIGHT, BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WITH FINANCE AND ECONOMICS CONCENTRATION) ALSO GRADUATED FROM U.O.G. IN SPRING 2015. Photo credit: UOG Flicker photos

CHRIS YAMADA, WHO SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE YOUNG EXECUTIVES SOCIETY (YES!) DURING ACADEMIC YEAR 2012-2013 (LEFT PHOTO), GRADUATED WITH A BECHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MAJOR IN MANAGEMENT, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII (HILO) IN SPRING 2015. Photo credit: Grabbed from Yamada’s Facebook wall

PROF. RAFAEL PULMANO (FOURTH FROM LEFT AND WITH CHILD), WITH COM-FSM ALUMNI CURRENTLY CONTINUING THEIR STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUAM. STANDING NEXT TO HIM (LEFT TO RIGHT) ARE GRADUATES OF THE BUSINESS DIVISION’S BUA PROGRAM: JUDY WILBUR, TROY CHIWI, AND ALLSTON ABRAHAM.

The Business Administration Division launched an alumni survey in Spring 2015 as part of its initiative to track the graduates from the different programs that it offers.

Prof. Rafael Pulmano drafted the questionnaire. He shared the draft with his colleagues in the division, who in turn gave their suggestions and feedback. He then forwarded the final version of the questionnaire (Appendix A) to Prof. Timothy Mamangon, who used it as basis for creating an online survey form in Google Docs (Appendix B).

The online survey went live in April 2015 (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1FAIpQLSelYuuG3rX4eiTe0LtA14hkD7nrf5EOVU-GZwPMbt2Ppb1r5w/viewform). Data input from the first respondent was received on April 9, 2015.

To reach as many targeted respondents as possible, the division announced the survey by posting an invitation through Facebook, submitting a short article for publication in the college’s myShark news feed, and passing on the information by word of mouth.

EXHIBIT 1 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF SURVEY ON YES! FACEBOOK PAGE

On Facebook, Prof. Mamangon posted a message and link to the online survey in the Young Executives Society’s Page (Exhibit 1).

On Facebook, Prof. Mamangon posted a message and link to the online survey in the Young Executives Society’s Page (Exhibit 1).

EXHIBIT 2 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF SURVEY IN THE COLLEGE WEB SITE

The last survey input was received on July 5, 2015, bringing the total responses to 73. Of this total, however, four duplicate entries were found and deleted, resulting in the final tally of 68.

Graduates of COM-FSM for the past 20 years, from 1995 to 2015, participated in the survey. None of the 1997 graduates, however, were able to join. Some respondents reported graduating twice because they earned two degrees/certificates from the college. The year with the most number of responses (9 graduates, or 14.5%) was 2014 (next page, Exhibit 3).

EXHIBIT 3 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING YEAR THEY GRADUATED FROM COM FSM SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

The chart below (Exhibit 4) shows that 31 respondents received their A.S. degree in Business Administration at COM-FSM. Some respondents, however, left the entry field for this particular question empty, which, when subsequently completed, brought the final total to 34 (See also Exhibit 5).

EXHIBIT 4 – NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS BY DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE EARNED AT COM-FSM SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

The survey results presented thus far were those of the four programs under the Business Administration Division. In this section, presentation of results shall focus on the specific program under review, i.e., Associate of Science in Business Administration.

As previously mentioned, the actual number of respondents who received their degree in Business Administration was 34. Of these, 12 (or 35%) also earned another degree or certificate from the college (Exhibits 5 and 6).

EXHIBIT 5 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING DEGREE/CERTIFICATE RECEIVED FROM COM-FSM / SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 6 – PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING DEGREE/ CERTIFICATE RECEIVED FROM COM-FSM / SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

In response to the question regarding their present employer, six (or 18%) said that they are now working at COM-FSM. Ten (or 29%) did not respond (Exhibits 7 and 8).

EXHIBIT 7 – NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO CURRENT EMPLOYER/COMPANY SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 8 – PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO CURRENT EMPLOYER/COMPANY SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

Ten (or 29%) of the 34 respondents have been working with their current employers for two years or less, while nine (or 26%) reported 3-5 years. Five (or 15%) said they have been with the same employer for more than 10 years (next page, Exhibits 9 and 10).

EXHIBIT 9 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE WITH CURRENT EMPLOYER/COMPANY SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 10 – PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE WITH CURRENT EMPLOYER/COMPANY SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

An equal number of respondents (11, or 32%) say they work for a private firm and the government. Two (or 6%) are self-employed, while 10 (29%) didn’t respond to the question (Exhibits 11 and 12).

EXHIBIT 11 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO EMPLOYMENT SECTOR SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 12 – NUMBER ANDRESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO EMPLOYMENT SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

When asked whether they were able to use the knowledge and skills that they learned from their degree or certificate program in their first job after graduating from COM-FSM, 76% of the respondents replied in the affirmative, with 61% saying they use them in their first job either all or most of the time. Only one returned a negative response, while two indicated “not applicable”. Five did not respond to the question (Exhibits 13 and 14).

EXHIBIT 13 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ABLE TO USE KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS IN FIRST JOB SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 14 – PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS ABLE TO USE KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS IN FIRST JOB

The same question was asked regarding the application of knowledge and skills that they learned from their degree or certificate program from COM-FSM, but this time with respect to their current job, and 14 (or 41%) said they use those all the time, while 8 (or 24%) said Yes, most of the time. Two (or 6%) of the respondents reported being unable to apply their knowledge and skills from the program because those are not at all related to their current job, while seven (or 21%) did not respond (Exhibits 15 and 16).

EXHIBIT 15 – NUMBER AND PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS ABLE TO USE KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS IN CURRENT JOB SOURCE: GOOGLE DOCS

EXHIBIT 16 – PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS ABLE TO USE KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS IN CURRENT JOB

The division survey yielded 17 comments/suggestions from respondents. Of these, nine came from the alumni of the A.S. in Business Administration program.

Five of nine comments expressed interest, support, request, hope or longing for the 4th Year or Bachelor’s degree program to be offered by COM-FSM’s Business Administration Division. One was looking forward to the offering of online courses by the college, and two voiced their appreciation to the college and the division faculty for their guidance and assistance.

Below are their actual comments/suggestions in the survey:

In this section, we review the assessment of student learning outcomes at the program level for A.S. Business Administration.

As mentioned earlier, program faculty launched the Food & Fashion Friday Festival (F4) as an authentic assessment tool to determine the extent by which students meet the PSLOs.

Designed to (1) foster integration among program major courses through synchronized, complementary, and collaborative projects in order to improve the overall student learning experience, and (2) use the resulting information from the projects as material for authentic program assessment, F4 puts into practice what Suskie (2009) observed, “Students learn best––and assessment works best––when education is a purposeful, integrated, collaborative experience.”

All five student learning outcomes of the BUA program were assessed during the assessment cycle 2014-2016. As shown in Table-21 and Table-22, PSLOs 1, 3 and 5 were assessed in the first half of the cycle, while PSLOs 1 (again), 2 and 4 were assessed in the second half.

TABLE-21. BUA PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSED IN 2014-2016 / SOURCE: BUA PAS REPORTS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016

In the 2014-2015 assessment cycle, the BUA faculty met to prepare a mapping document that specified how the PSLOs would be met at the course level (Table-22). Having identified the courses to be used in assessing each PSLO, strategies were formulated (Table-23) and later executed within the framework of the F4 Project. The process was repeated in 2015-2016.

BUA faculty who taught courses that were covered by this project came up with a uniform grading rubric which assessed student performance according to the following scale and assigned values: Did Not Meet Expectations (69% and below); Met Expectations (70%-89%); and, Exceeded Expectations (90%-100%). The results are shown in Table-24.

Although results indicated that an average of 89.3% of the students assessed using the various program courses either met or exceeded expectations, something the division should be proud of, weaknesses were identified and plans proposed to keep improving the program and the F4 experience.

As of this writing, talks were already underway, largely through the initiative of Prof. Timothy Mamangon, to expand F4 with the possible participation of the other programs both at the National and Pohnpei Campus. Likewise, the Center for Entrepreneurship is relentless in its efforts to provide resources and training support to the program students and F4 participants.

TABLE-22. COURSES USED TO ASSESS BUA PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN 2014-2016 SOURCE: BUA PAS REPORTS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016

TABLE-23. ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE COURSES USED TO ASSESS BUA PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN 2014-2016 / SOURCE: BUA PAS REPORTS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016

TABLE-24. AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT RESULTS BASED ON RUBRICS FOR BUA PROGRAM IN 2014-2016 SOURCE: BUA PAS REPORTS FOR 2014-2015 AND 2015-2016

Based on the findings discussed in the preceding section, the following recommendations are proposed:

Closing the Loop

Recommendations from Previous (2012-2014) Review Cycle

1. On persistence and retention rates: Improve student learning experience in their first year of study to help the students adjust to college life, to make them feel “at home” and stay rather than leave the school after their initial year.

ACTIONS TAKEN: The Business Administration Division had its first orientation workshop at MITC for all Business, Accounting and CIS students in 2016. Among the invited resource speakers were graduates of the division’s A.S. and T.Y.C. programs who shared their personal success stories and how their education and experiences at COM-FSM became their stepping stone to where they are now. A significant portion of the program was devoted to orienting both freshmen and continuing/returning students in the program courses and credits they need to complete and suggested pathways to graduate on time.




The Young Executives Society ( YES!) continues to actively engage new and continuing students by encouraging them to join and become officers/members of the student association.The special bond created among member-students and the collective challenges they face as business decision makers in a campus environment all contribute to their motivation to continue and complete their studies at the college.

From its opening date to present, the Center for Entrepreneurship of COM-FSM has been consistent and aggressive in offering its facilities and providing training and financial support to the division’s programs and students. Prof. Timothy Mamangon has been designated as the division’s lead faculty in all communication and collaborative activities with the Center. The multifarious opportunities and added prestige of being associated with the Center are another reason for program students to enjoy their college life and look forward to a rewarding career in the years ahead.

2. On graduation rate:
1. Students taking courses below college or 100-level courses aren’t expected to graduate early because of these additional requirements they need to complete. They should not be allowed declare their program until they have satisfied all non-college level prerequisites. If this is not feasible, then they should be allowed to declare Liberal Arts as their program. Then can switch to other programs when they are ready.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

2. Graduation rates published by the IRPO include those who have declared the A.S. Business program but are actually taking mostly Gen-Ed courses at their state campuses. These students should not declare their program until they have transferred to the National Campus. Alternatively, they may declare Liberal Arts as their initial program, after which they may switch to the A.S. Business or other program when they are admitted to the National Campus.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

3. On the Alumni Data:
1. Request additional budget for the Business Division or the A.S. Business Administration program to finance tracking its alumni.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

2. Request IT to make an online alumni tracer.

ACTION TAKEN: None

4. On the Transfer Rate: Same recommendation as #3 above.

ACTION TAKEN: Same as #3 above

5. On Other Findings:
1. The level of proficiency standards in English courses should be raised.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

2. Tuition fee refund should not be a focus in the college campaign for incoming students. A purposeful objective should be inculcated on them.

ACTION TAKEN: In connection with the student orientation mentioned earlier, this was one of the points emphasized by some of the speakers.

3. Adjust M-W-F class schedules, with the first class period to start at 8:30 AM instead of 8:00 AM. This is especially helpful to those students who are coming from Madolenimw and other remote areas.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

4. Increase level of proficiency in lower math.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

5. Make BU/MS 110 (Business Math) a prerequisite of AC 220. More importantly, include basic logic and abstract reasoning as part of COMET so that only students with good analytical skills can be admitted in the AS Business Administration program.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

6. Only students who justly deserve to pass Accounting 1 should be admitted to Accounting 2, and that there should be uniform grading standards across campuses. Also, the SIS should be able to screen students who have completed Accounting 1 with a grade of D or lower.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.

7. Better academic advising or perhaps some screening process may be adopted to prevent these underprepared students from registering in this course.

ACTION TAKEN: Program faculty advised students accordingly, but only if they show up during registration period. There were times, however, when early registration is announced or extended without prior notice, and also instances when registration is held when faculty are supposed to be on break, and yet they are expected to be available for the task.

8. Develop tutorials that students can access online. This will require the use of database, which in turn may or may not need IT’s permission, as discussed by Prof. Edper Castro below:

There are two options that they could explore if they allow us to use a Database in our own personal websites, namely:

If they are going to let us use mySQL database, they could make a Virtual server (using Virtualization or VM) that would run the mySQL server thus not interfering or endangering their own mySQL database for SIS/MyShark

Second option would be if they give us Write permission in our respective personal folders for our websites that would allow us to put a Sqlite database which is a serverless type of database which does not need any centralized server like in option number 1.This option by the way I was asking from Shaun and until now they did not give any respond back.

Outside the above options we could also explore of renting a domain and a Web server that would house the database and our program for our tutorials. And that would mean we will just put a link in our website to point our students to that link. And that would also mean that Business Division will have to shell out an annual payment for the domain and web server which will cost only around $60 or more every year for starter package.

ACTION TAKEN: None

9. For admission into the TYC Accounting Program, students must have taken no more than two attempts in 100 and 200-level accounting courses to earn the prerequisite grade of “C” or higher. This means even if a student succeeded in a third attempt to get a “C,” such student cannot be admitted in to the TYC Accounting Program.

ACTION TAKEN: Business Division Chair did not follow up recommendations from last review cycle and will work with VPIA office along this cycle recommendation.