Rawls College of Business 2003-2008 Graduate Program Review

Texas Tech University II: Curriculum and Degree Programs 1

  1. GRADUATE CURRICULA AND DEGREE PROGRAMS
  1. Scope of Programs within the College

Organization. The Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration (Rawls College of Business) at Texas Tech University is organized infive academic areas: Accounting (ACCT), Finance (FIN), Information Systems and Quantitative Sciences (ISQS), Management (MGT), and Marketing (MKT). There are two separately standing programs: Health Organization Management (HOM) and Energy Commerce (ECOM). There is a Business Law (BLAW) supporting area that is included in the Area of Accounting. These areas and programs collaborate in preparing students in the following six degree programs:

  1. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
  2. Master of Business Administration (MBA)
  3. International Master of Business Administration (IMBA)
  4. Master of Science in Accounting (MSA)
  5. Master of Science (MS) with a major in Business Administration
  6. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a major in Business Administration

Additionally, there is a degree with a Master of Science in Telecom and Network Management that has not had enrollments during the period under review and the Rawls College of Business recommends the deletion of this degree program.

The BBA, MBA, and IMBA degrees require coursework from all of the five academic areas. The BBA requires substantial coursework from outside the college. The MSA and MS are predominantly from within an academic area. The PhD requires coursework from two or more academic areas.

Accreditation. The curricula of the Rawls College of Business, including undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International). The Accounting programs are also accredited by AACSB International with additional requirements beyond business. The next AACSB International review will be in 2013 and each 5 years thereafter. The Rawls College of Business and the Area Accounting report annually to the AACSB International. The Health Organization Management masters programs, which require the core MBA and also involves the MD/MBA and PharmD/MBA, are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). The next full review will be in 2013 and each 5 years thereafter.

During the years 2003-05 the Rawls College of Business was on “continuing review,” a probationary status with the AACSB that is serious, but is not publicized. The primary concern was a faculty-to-student ratio that resulted in large undergraduate classes. Given the number of the students and the credit hours generated, the Rawls College of Business had a number of faculty members below the minimum required, approximately 30, during the years 2000 to 2002. During 2003 the college entered into an enrollment management program (Appendix C) that reduced undergraduate enrollments from about 5,000 to about 3,600 over a 5-year period and increased the number of faculty. The method of reduction was to increase the GPA requirements for admission to the upper division from a 2.25 to a 2.75 and to apply the 2.75 GPA to all core BBA courses.[1] The tenured and tenure-track faculty counts were increased from 56 to 67 and abudget was provided for additional instructors. Under the plan, the graduate enrollments were allowed to increase. Consequently, in June 2006 the Rawls College of Business was relieved of continuing review and reaffirmed in its accreditation. The most recent letters from accrediting bodies are included as Appendix D.

Undergraduate Programs. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). The BBA has about 1,600 lower division students, termedCOBA, and about 2,000 upper division students with majors inBAUD,Accounting, Economics, Finance, General Business, International Business, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing,and Energy Commerce. The COBAstudents are lower division students who do not yet qualify for an upper division major and may not enroll in coursework in the Rawls College above the sophomore level. COBA students typically take 63 hours of which 10 hours are lower division courses in the Rawls College and the remainder is predominantly in the College of Arts and Sciences. BAUD students qualify for the upper division, but do not yet qualify for their chosen major. Note that COBAstudents are categorized as “BA” by the university system. The college core of the BBA, consisting of 10 hours of lower divisioncourses and 15 hours of upper division courses, is offered across the five academic areas. All BBA core courses require a GPA of 2.75 to enroll. The upper division majors are offered (1) by specific academic areas, like Accounting, (2) across the college, like General Business and International Business, and (2) outside the college (like Economics). Each major requires from 19 to 30 hours of coursework beyond the BBA core. Each major has specific requirements for admission and has a capstone course requirement.

Minor in Business. There is also a “Minor in Business” program, of approximately 500 students, for studentswith non-business majors. The program consists of 18 credit hours, with one course from each of the five academic areas and an Economics course from the College of Arts and Sciences. The minor is a selection from and condensation of the 25 hours of BA core. The minor in business courses require a 2.75 GPA as prerequisite. Some students who minor in business are applicants for the MBA program.

Masters Programs. The masters programs prepare students for positions in management or in advanced specialist areas.

The MSA is a specialized degree that requires 36 hours of advanced graduate coursework. The MSA has a major in Accounting and concentrations in Audit/Financial Reporting or Taxation. An integrated BBA and masters program (“150 Program format”) leads to both the BBA and MSA with 9 semester hours of graduate work applying to the BBA. This graduate program appeals to full-time Texas Tech BBA Accounting majors with a goal of working in public accounting practice, which requires attaining the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation. Most of the students have a paid internship during the Spring semester of their first year in the masters program and are subsequently employed by the firm in which they intern.

The MS has a major in Business Administration and concentrations in Management Information Systems/Business Intelligence, Finance, Business Statistics, and Operations Management. These are very specialized programs with coursework from predominantly within an academic area. This program appeals primarily to international students who want to work in a specialty, like investment analysis or systems consulting. The Finance concentration now requires one year of work experience and provides information and guidance to students interested in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification.

  • The MBA(with a majorin General Business) is abroad-based degree that requires 36 hours of core graduate course work from across the five academic areas plus 9 hours of concentration plus 3 hours of an out of class experience (internship or directed study) for a total of 48 credit hours. Thedegree does not require substantial undergraduate work in preparation. The program is designed toappeal to students who want to eventually work in general management or start their own companies. There are different format MBA programs to meet the specialized requirements of students: Full-time, flexible, evening, dual, executive style, and consortium. Every formatted program has the same 36-hour core, yet has a different delivery to facilitate the needs of an audience.
  • Full time.The full-time MBA program is designed for full-time day students and occurs primarily during the day and in the long semesters. These students are required to enroll in a minimum of 11 hours each long semester. There are concentrations available in Finance, MIS, Management, Marketing, International Business, and Entrepreneurship. The full-time program is designed for completion in 16 months, including a required internship for those without substantial work experience. In order to facilitate timely graduation, some of the MBA core is offered in half-semesters. Further, in order to accomplish the internship, 10 hours of the core are offered as distance courses.
  • Flexible. The flexible format program allows the students to enroll in less than 11 hours and primarily occurs in the long semesters and duringthe day. While this program has the same requirements as the full-time program, flexible format students take 20 to 24 months to complete their degrees.
  • Evening. An evening-format program occurs primarily during the long semesters and after 5:00 PM. This part-time program is designed for those employed full-time in Lubbock or nearby. The program may normally be completed over 36 to 48 months depending on the student’s work schedule. Distance MBA core courses are offered to accommodate the graduation of these students. Some electives are offered in the evening to facilitate graduation.
  • Dual. Dual format MBA programs are tailored to full-time students from other colleges at Texas Tech University or the Health Sciences Center. These programs require 24 to 48 months to complete. The MBA core coursework occurs in condensed format during the summer terms. There are dual MBA programs in Law (JD/MBA program with the Law School), Medicine (MD/MBA), pharmacy (PharmD/MBA), architecture (MBA/MArch), personal financial planning(MBA/MS),foreign language (MBA/MA)and environmental toxicology (MBA/MS).The MD/MBA and PharmD/MBA programs also have an accredited concentration in health organization management. Note that a student may propose a program in conjunction with any graduate department at Texas Tech University. The 12-hour concentration occurs outside of the Rawls College of Business.
  • Executive Style. Executive-style programs occur on weekends or between semesters to facilitate the full-time employment of participants outside of Lubbock. These programs are designed to be completed in 27 to 36 months. The majority of these students meet on campus in weekend format with 14-hours of class required over a Saturday and Sunday. The week-end format appeals to Texas residents who do not live in Lubbock. There is also a block format that offers the MBA overblocks, each block consists of 9 continuous full class days (8 hours each class day). The block format appeals to out-of-state students. In addition to on-campus time, there are distance learning components to the face-to-face courses, distance courses, and directed and individual study courses required to complete the programs. The concentrations are tailored to the career goals of the students.
  • Consortium. There are consortium format programswithsome coursework transferred from other institutions. There are consortium programs with Universidad Anahuac (Mexico City) and with University Montpellier (France). These programs seldom have more than five students in them as they appeal to students from the consortium universities who have specialized goals.These students are typically enrolled with students in the flexible program during the dayand in long semesters.

The IMBAhas a major in international business, is similar to the MBA in that it has the same 36-hour core, but has foreign language competency and international experience requirements. There is a 9-hour concentration in international business. The IMBA appeals to a small set of students with specialized goals related to employment outside the USA. The program often appeals to students from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Doctoral Program. Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Business Administration. The doctoral program prepares students for university professorial positions. This degree has concentrations in Accounting, Finance, Management Information Systems, Operations Management, Business Statistics, Management, and Marketing. Most successful applicants already hold a masters degree and have two or more years of professional business experience. The doctoral program has a research emphasis and requires 60 hours of graduate course work including work in a concentration field with a comprehensive examination, one or more supporting fields, and a set of advanced research tools applicable to the concentration field. After the coursework and comprehensive examination(s), the candidate prepares and publicly defends a dissertation proposal. After completing the dissertation, there is a final defense of the dissertation. Most doctoral students receive financial aid as a teaching (GPTI) or graduate student assistant (GSA) with typically four years of funding on campus. Students may complete the program in four years after the masters degree, but often require additional time to complete the dissertation.

  1. Number and types of degrees awarded

Comparison of Degrees with University Total. Exhibit II-1 demonstrates that over the years 2003 through August 2008Rawls College of Business students earned24% of allTexas Tech bachelors, 24% of all masters, and 4% of alldoctorates. The noticeable trend is that the BBA degrees awarded by the college are a declining percentage of the university total. The declining percentage is primarily due to the increase in university total bachelors awarded, as well as the higher GPA requirements to take all business core courses.

Exhibit II-1

Degrees Awarded in Comparison with the University Totals

Prepared by the Rawls College of Business from Institutional Research Web Site.

Bachelors / Masters / Doctorates / Law / Total Degrees
Business / 1,091 / 213 / 1 / 0 / 1,305
2003-04 / University / 3,918 / 1,042 / 175 / 210 / 5,345
BA/Univ % / 28% / 20% / 1% / 0% / 24%
Business / 1,047 / 295 / 12 / 0 / 1,354
2004-05 / University / 4,316 / 1,143 / 176 / 226 / 5,861
BA/Univ % / 24% / 26% / 7% / 0% / 23%
Business / 1,028 / 238 / 13 / 0 / 1,279
2005-06 / University / 4,458 / 1,052 / 213 / 200 / 5,923
BA/Univ % / 23% / 23% / 6% / 0% / 22%
Business / 1,017 / 264 / 7 / 0 / 1,288
2006-07 / University / 4,622 / 1,093 / 199 / 230 / 6,144
BA/Univ % / 22% / 24% / 4% / 0% / 21%
Business / 1,009 / 279 / 9 / 0 / 1,297
2007-08 / University / 4,777 / 1,093 / 221 / 237 / 6,328
BA/Univ % / 21% / 26% / 4% / 0% / 20%
Business / 5,192 / 1,289 / 42 / 0 / 6,523
2003-08 / University / 22,091 / 5,423 / 984 / 1,103 / 29,601
BA/Univ % / 24% / 24% / 4% / 0% / 22%

The college goals over next decade include a substantial increase in the number of graduate degrees awarded,a moderate increase in undergraduate degree programs, and an increase in the “minor in business” program.

Degrees by Major. Exhibit II-2 presents graduate degrees by university major. Note that the “Business Administration” category includes both masters and all the doctoral students. Exhibit II-3 presents the undergraduate degrees by university major.

Exhibit II-2

Graduate Program Degrees Awarded

Prepared by the Graduate School with addenda by the Rawls College of Business. Source: Institutional Research Services

Name of Program / 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007 / 2007-2008 / 2008-2009*
Accounting / 35 / 45 / 55 / 59 / 58 / 39
Business Administration / 34 / 38 / 41 / 18 / 24 / 20
General Business / 144 / 217 / 150 / 192 / 205 / 182
Int’l Business Admin. / 1 / 7 / 5 / 2 / 1 / 0
Health Care Change (CERT)
Total / 214 / 307 / 251 / 271 / 288 / 241

*Preliminary 2008-09 data from Graduate Services Center, Rawls College.

Exhibit II-3

Undergraduate Program Degrees Awarded

Prepared by the Rawls College of Business: Source: 2003-2004 through 2007-2008 from Institutional Research web site.

Name of Program / 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007 / 2007-2008 / 2008-2009*
Accounting / 145 / 174 / 149 / 178 / 178 / 144
Finance / 229 / 224 / 206 / 243 / 243 / 199
Economics / 11 / 8 / 10 / 10 / 13 / 12
Management / 190 / 194 / 177 / 153 / 152 / 149
MIS / 101 / 66 / 54 / 40 / 41 / 49
Marketing / 251 / 246 / 228 / 227 / 209 / 202
General Business—International Business / 16 / 13 / 16 / 8 / 6 / 0
International Business / 41 / 40 / 43 / 39 / 43 / 39
Energy Commerce/ PLM / 9 / 6 / 18 / 31 / 52 / 35
General Business / 98 / 91 / 94 / 88 / 72 / 98
Total / 1091 / 1062 / 1028 / 1017 / 1009 / 926

*Preliminary and perhaps incomplete data for 2008-09 compiled by the Undergraduate Services Center, Rawls College of Business.

Accounting Degrees. In Exhibit II-4, the Accounting degrees are shown as awarded(except for doctorates that are included in Exhibit II-5). This is prepared by the Graduate School.

Exhibit II-4

Undergraduate and Master’s Degrees in Accounting

Prepared by the Graduate School

Business Administration Degrees. The Graduate School prepared Exhibit II-5, which presents the degrees in the major Business Administration. As noted above, “Business Administration” majors consist of the diverse group of undeclared lower division (COBAs), Master of Science students with concentrations in Finance and Management Information Systems, Operations Management, and Business Statistics and Doctoral Students with all seven concentrations. This is the result of the categories used by the university system and howmajors are entered into the system.

There are logically no degrees awarded to lower division undergraduates. There was a downward trend in MS degrees awarded, and wide variation in doctoral degrees awarded by the college. Since the MS program is relatively small and fluctuates dramatically in size, there is wide variation in degrees awarded. The recent increase in enrollments in MIS should result in higher graduations in the future. The doctoral program has been stable in size, at about 50, so the number of doctorates should not have a trend and averages about 10 per year for the past 5 years. For 2008-09, the preliminary data indicate 9 masters and 11 doctorates.

Exhibit II-5

Masters of Science with a Major in Business Administration (Finance and MIS)

PhD with a Major in Business Administration (All Concentrations)

Prepared by the Graduate School

General Business. Exhibit II-6, prepared by the Graduate School, presents the degrees for General Business. The undergraduate major in “General Business”involves courses from across the Rawls College in both its core and in the courses selected as the major. The exhibit also presents graduate program degrees with a “major in General Business”, whichis theMBA and isthe college’s largest graduate program There is no doctoral program in “General Business”.

Exhibit II-6

BBA with a Major in General Business and All MBAs

Prepared by the Graduate School

International Business. The Graduate School prepared Exhibit II-7, which presents the undergraduate and masters degrees in International Business. The undergraduate major in International Business is a moderate-sized major that is housed in the Area of Marketing, but has courses from across the college. The major has a foreign language requirement and is the only undergraduate major in the college requiring more than 120 hours. Most of the students study abroad one semester and seek international employment. Similarly, the IMBA is a small program, which has a language and international experience requirement. Both programs meet the needs of a set of students with specific goals who, as a group, tend to be more diverse. There is no doctoral program with a major in international business.