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Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)Quality Assurance (QA) ReportForAssociate Degree Business ProgramsCurrent as of February 2011Overview (O)1. Complete all information requested.Submit your report as an attachment to reports@acbsp.org on or before February 27th or September 30th.O3. Institution Name: Vincennes UniversityAddress: 1002 North 1st Street, Vincennes, IN 47591O4. Year Accredited/Reaffirmed:1992/2009Date September 26, 2011This Report Covers Years:2009-2011O5. List All Accredited Programs (as they appear in your catalog):Accounting AAS, Administrative Office Technology AAS, Agribusiness AAS/AS, Business Management AAS,Business Administration AS, Business Education AS, Computer Programming AAS, Computer/Software SupportAAS, General Studies/Business AAS, Information Technology AS, (Web Design Concentration and Programming andGame Development Concentration), Network Administration AAS, Web Development AASO6. List all programs that are in your business unit that are not accredited by ACBSP and how you distinguish accurately tothe public between programs that have achieved accredited status and those that have not. Supply Chain LogisticsManagement AS,O7. List all campuses that a student can earn a business degree from your institution:Vincennes University Main Campus, Vincennes, IndianaVincennes University Jasper Center, Jasper, Indiana1

O8. Person completing report Name: Mary Hollars and Mary BowenPhone: 812-888-4272 / 812-888-4294E-mail address: mhollars@vinu.edu / mbowen@vinu.eduACBSP Champion name:Mary HollarsACBSP Co-Champion name: Mary BowenO9. Conditions/Notes/Opportunity for Improvement (OFI) to be Addressed ACBSP QA Report 2011:Opportunities for Improvement:1. Standard 4.6, 4.7In order to be more consistent across our Business curriculum and incorporate better use of Benchmarking, a plan formeasuring competencies in each program has been implemented. Every program has now set a Benchmark, and facultyhave recently begun collecting information based on these identified Benchmarks. Internal benchmarking is implementedwithin each Business program.In May 2011, a Professional Development Day was held in the Business Building on the Main Campus includingVincennes and Jasper Center Business Faculty. Emphasis was placed on Closing the Loop and Benchmarking strategiesfor each program. Program faculty met in groups, discussed their student learning outcomes, results of theirprogram/course assessments, and by the end of the day came to consensus regarding the Benchmarks to be used andstrategies for closing the Loop. Efforts to continue this collaborative process have been incorporated within the BusinessUnit, as well as being initiated by Vincennes University’s new Director of Institutional Effectiveness.As a result of this Professional Development Day, an enhanced working relationship between the Vincennes and Jaspercampuses has been fostered. Therefore, we have planned a systematic process of Benchmarking and Closing the Loopbetween the VU Main and Jasper Campuses. All Business Faculty have agreed to communicate often during eachsemester, sharing successes and discussing challenges and ultimately working together to find creative solutions. ExternalBenchmarking is still an issue, since the only other Community College system within the state of Indiana is unwilling toshare benchmarking data with VU. Business programs at other campuses are hesitant to share reporting data that may beseen in a less than favorable light. However, many of our programs do use NOCTI exams, which is an external testingservice, and these reports include statewide, as well as international, comparative results.During the Spring 2011 semester, Vincennes University hired an Interim Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Mr. MikeGress. This newly created position is a direct result of the University’s 2010-2011 Strategic Plan, and the need for asystematic and systemic assessment process. Mr. Gress coordinated a four-hour, University-wide Professional Seminar2

on Assessment in the Spring of 2011, which was attended by several hundred VU employees. In addition, Mr. Gress hasset up a University-wide Assessment committee which meets weekly. Mary Hollars, Business Division Accounting facultymember, serves as co-chair of the committee, and all the other divisions are equally represented. In addition, each divisionhas formed its own assessment committee.During this fall 2011 semester, Mike Gress has offered 5 Quality Improvement Workshops, and will be offering severalmore during the next academic year to assist faculty and staff with the assessment process. Vincennes Universitycurrently uses CCSSE scores, and will be adding the Campus Quality Survey. The VU President is incorporating the NewLeadership Alliance for Strategic Learning and Accountability (AAC&U) into the Strategic Planning and Assessmentprocess. This demonstrates Vincennes University’s commitment to Continuous Quality Improvement, which has become adedicated focus of the Business/Public Service Division.2. Standards 5.2 and 5.3The Business Unit, under the direction of Dean Nicolas Spina, has implemented a faculty hiring and deployment strategyto address the faculty employment composition standards. In our reaffirmation self-study year, 2009, an analysis of theFaculty Composition Table at the Vincennes campus (73.19 percent) and at the Jasper campus (64.93 percent) areMasters’ or Doctorate qualified. In the 2010-2011 Q/A year, the Vincennes campus (69.2 percent) and the Jasper campus(59.69 percent) are Masters’ or Doctorate qualified. Both campuses easily meet the 50 percent qualification requirementat this level.However, exception faculty percentages changed dramatically in the Vincennes campus’s Business Unit. In the past 5years, three faculty in the Information Technology Division left the university. Steve Riggs, with a BS degree andexperience in the technology field, was hired full-time three years ago to replace one of these positions, and was classifiedas an exception. We classified him again this past year as an exception, but in August 2011, Steve passed theCOMP TIA certification exam, and will be classified as a “professional” on the next Q/A report . Heis currently working on his Masters degree, and when he completes it, his designation will change to “Master.”The other two technology positions have not been replaced, necessitating the hiring of several exception adjunct faculty.Vincennes is a very rural community, and it is extremely difficult to attract qualified personnel as computer programminginstructors. The Department Chair is continually advertising the positions, and has had very little success in consistentlyattracting qualified adjunct instructors.In the 2009 self-study year, the exception percentage was 16.92 percent and in the 2010-2011 Q/A year, exceptions are16.30 percent. In 2011-2012 our exception percentage will decrease to approximately 8.9 percent on the3

Vincennes campus, due to the fact that Mr. Riggs has successfully completed his certification. Other adjunctinstructors are working on Masters’ degrees now, and this will further decrease the exception percentage for the nextreporting year.The Jasper campus over the past two years has greatly reduced its exception percentage from 15.64 percent in 2009 selfstudy year to 1.53 percent in the 2010-2011 Q/A year.These are all positive steps in the right direction, illustrating the Business Unit’s dedication to the Faculty Hiring andEmployment Strategy implemented by Dean Nicolas Spina.1O. The business unit must routinely provides reliable information to the public on their performance, including studentachievement.1. Updated information can be found on the Vincennes University website, which includes the following: Facebook,Twitter Pages, and individual web pages administered by the Business/Public Service Division. Information aboutour faculty, programs, employment opportunities, graduate testimonials, etc. is contained for the public’s viewwithin this website.2. Our Division routinely provides information of our students’ achievement through press releases by our campusPublic Relations Department. Examples of these press releases include Student Dinnerviews held on campus.This involves having students dining while being interviewed for an employment position.3. Another example is the Accounting program students’ involvement in the VITA (Volunteer Income TaxAssistance) program—students completing income taxes for the general public at no cost. This past year theseAccounting students partnered with the Knox County United Way, ultimately creating a new VITA site for thecommunity.4. For the past two years our Division has hosted a FREE Saturday Skills seminar open to the general public,offering various business-related one and two-hour workshops.5. At our annual Advisory Committee meetings for each program, information regarding our student achievement isshared with the members. In addition, organizations represented by the advisory board members offer studentsinternships and ultimately hire our graduates for full-time employment.4

6. We also use traditional news media, including press releases and feature stories via VU’s own BroadcastingDepartment. (VU has both radio and television stations.) External Relations maintains a database with over 400media outlets including radio, television, print publication, online outlets, and professional organizations.7. Other miscellaneous methods of communicating to the public include the following: e-newsletters, public events,such as dedications and awards recognitions, speaking engagements at conferences, chambers of commerceevents, direct mail to target audiences, electronic billboards, and traditional billboards throughout the State ofIndiana.8. In order to demonstrate Transparency, the Business Unit will Post all Program Mission Statements and StudentLearning Outcomes on its updated Business/Public Service Division Website. The Quality Assurance Report willbe added to the website later this fall.Standard #1 LeadershipOrganizationa. List any organizational or administrative personnel changes within the business unit since your last report.Business full-time faculty: John Zalesak, teaching the new A.S. Degree--Supply Chain Logistics ManagementProgramInformation Technology full-time faculty: Liugen Zhu is no longer teaching with the University and his position hasnot been replaced.b. List all new sites where students can earn an accredited business degree (international campus, off-campus or oncampus, on-line) that have been added since your last report.No new sites5