Internal Academic Review Committee
Report on the Review of the School of Business
Senate's Internal Academic Review Committee has finished its examination of the School of Business review and concluded that the External Consultants and the University's Review Team excelled in providing valuable, constructive input to the School. Both the Review Team and the External Consultants acknowledged the School's accomplishments and recognized its well-deserved reputation as one of Canada's leading business schools. An accreditation review was also undertaken recently by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and further confirmed the School's strength. Some issues of particular note arising from the reviews are outlined below.
Professional Programs and MBA for Science and Technology
The School's innovative leadership in the area of executive education and the MBA for Science and Technology have positioned it as the standard to which other schools aspire. The Internal Academic Review Committee commends the School of Business on these accomplishments and supports their further development.
Bachelor of Commerce Program
The Dean reports that the School has developed a strategy to address the concern referred to by the External Consultants and by the Review Team that the Bachelor of Commerce program may have had to compete for scarce human resources with the private and executive development programs. The School is to be complimented on the exciting new B.Com. Plus program and on the action taken to address a perceived imbalance between the undergraduate program and the full-fee programs.
Scholarship and Research
One of the challenges faced by any professional school is that of defining its contributions to scholarship and research in a way that acknowledges both traditional models and the need to support research endeavours arising from the engagement of the School's faculty members with the professional community. The Committee supports the view expressed by the Review Team that the School of Business should clarify its expectations in this regard and should ensure that these expectations reflect the School's strategic direction, the changing climate in schools of business generally, and the mission of the University.
M.Sc. and Ph.D. Programs
The Committee believes that the Ph.D. program is important to the School and to its stature within the academic community. The program should build on research strengths within the School, and the importance of scholarly activity within the context of the Ph.D. program should be articulated. At the same time, careful consideration needs to be given to the M.Sc. in Management to determine whether this program helps or hinders the development of a strong Ph.D. Both the Review Team and the External Consultants commented on the need to achieve a critical mass of students in the Ph.D. program, and the Committee was pleased to learn of the significant increase in the number of students enrolled in 1997-98.
Conclusion
The Committee commends the School of Business on its accomplishments, as recognized by the External Consultants, the Review Team and, more recently by the AACSB. Follow-up on recommendations will occur as part of the annual staffing and budget strategy meetings between the Dean and the Vice-Principal (Academic).
January 5, 1999
INTERNAL ACADEMIC REVIEW
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Executive Summary of the Final Report of the Review Team
The Internal Academic Review Team for the School of Business conducted its review during the 1997-1998 academic year. Relying on interviews with School officials, written submissions and a comprehensive report by two external consultants, the Review team concludes that the School of Business is deservedly one of Canada's leading business schools.
Like most other professional schools, it is at a key moment in its history and needs to put in place a well thought through plan for the future. The School offers a wide range of programmes which have been successfully developed over the years in response to demands in the marketplace. However, given today's strained financial environment, it is critical that the School reaffirm its strategic directions and fully resource its leading core programmes.
The School as an integral part of the University strives to meet the three obligations of all members of the community; teaching, scholarship and service. Most professional schools constantly wrestle with the operational definition of scholarship and the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business is no exception. The Review Team concluded that this area did deserve particular attention in order to clarify the expectations for faculty members in the next decade.
The Review Team identified the following needs which it recommends be addressed by the School as quickly as possible;
- the need to develop its strategic direction based on an internal consensus of all of the School's members.
- the need to continue to develop a broad range of partnerships with key University stakeholders and where appropriate, the broader University community to support innovations within the School.
- the need to cost all aspects of curriculum change, particularly IT costs.
- the need to develop a comprehensive School faculty member promotion policy which encourages faculty member involvement in all aspects of the faculty members' responsibilities.
The School of Business, an acknowledged national leader in many of its activities, is at a critical crossroads. Given the constrained environment for universities, the School must make explicit those core activities in which it can continue to excel. We can think of no other faculty or school better positioned in terms of expertise to make these tough choices.
Review Team
Dr. M. Berg, Department of English
Dr. A. J. Daugulis, Department of Chemical Engineering
Ms L. Greenberg, Graduate Student, Department of Psychology
Mr. J. Leslie, Information Technology Services
Mr. T. Stanley, Undergraduate Student, Department of History
Dr. T. Williams, School of Policy Studies (Chair)
June 1998