An Entity Exchange Analysis of Assessment in Schools of Business

INTRODUCTIONFor universities and colleges, assessment is integral to The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, as well as regional accreditation. Colleges with AACSB accreditation are well recognized as being quality institutions employing quality faculty. AACSB accreditation increases the reputation of the college, which could attract better-qualified students.The AACSB frames assessment in terms of student outcomes (i.e. expectations of what students should learn from taking courses and earning a degree). Assessment also determines whether students have learned what was expected. The purpose of this paper is to analyze assessment of student learning outcomes by applying the accounting concepts of entity, exchange, and responsibility accounting to an educational organization, specifically a school of business. The term, school of business, is used to describe an entity offering business programs and is not intended to imply any specific organizational structure.ASSESSMENTAACSB accreditation requires schools of business to ensure a quality education is being provided and to validate that continuous quality improvements are being made. This process requires schools to perform rigorous self-evaluations to ensure they are meeting and continuously improving desired outcomes. Thus, an assessment of student outcomes is required.Assessment is the process of identifying and evaluating student outcomes. However, assessing student outcomes must be preceded by a selection of program objectives and desired outcomes. Each department comprising a school of business (e.g. accounting, finance, marketing, etc.) must identify what will be evaluated before assessment can be conducted. Departments must first identify their assessment objectives along with an effective assessment process that will disclose whether the objectives are being met. This process entails determining degree or program goals, learning objectives, and the desired outcomes.Palomba and Banta (1999) define outcomes assessment as "the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development" (p. 4). This definition emphasizes the aim of the assessment process, which is to improve student learning. Such improvement could result from pedagogical changes and/or curricular changes.The following sections are not geared toward any particular set of degree or program goals, learning objectives, or outcomes, but instead analyze the assessment process in general. First, the concept of social organization is derived and then applied to schools of business. Next, the concepts of entity and exchange are related to the school of business. The resulting organization structure is then used as a reference in analyzing assessment of business education. Finally, the concept of responsibility accounting is applied as a limiting factor.ORGANIZATIONSOrganizations utilize inputs to create outputs. For education, many of the inputs (i.e., the resources employed) are well defined (e.g. faculty, buildings, utilities). However, the outputs (i.e. the results) of schools of business are not clearly defined. In addition, the role of the student in the educational setting is not clear. Some regard students as outputs, packaged and processed like units in a manufacturing plant, while others do not. There is a segment of the literature that views the role of student as output (Baker et al., 1994; Choi, 1993; Nelson, Baker, & Nelson, 1998; Emery, Kramer, & Tian, 2001). In an effort to determine what role a student plays in an educational settings' output, a closer look at organizational structure is first presented.Organizational StructureWillingham (1964) defines social organization as the combination of roles and positions. In social situations involving two individuals, a role is "a reciprocal set of rights and obligations," such as a doctor-patient role, a doctor-nurse role, a doctor-hospital administrator role. …