Assessment Plan

The assessment plan for the Department of Economics and Finance will undertake to measure students’ progress and success in the three following ways:

1. Student satisfaction. Student satisfaction is measured through course evaluations, and exit survey of graduating students.  Course evaluations, while not necessarily a perfect or even preferred method to measure course quality, can help the department identify patterns in feedback so that it can make improvements. An exit survey ask graduating students about their experiences in the Department of Economics and Finance, and we use that feedback to improve what we do. We also interview former students to track their employment status and get their ideas on how we can better prepare other students for the workforce.

2. Knowledge, skills, and curriculum. Pre- and post-tests are conducted for the economics courses in the core Jon M. Huntsman School of Business curriculum. Course-specific learning objectives are explained on the learning objectives section. The pre- and post-tests measure how well students have grasped key concepts. The test results can help the department identify its most effective teachers and help all of its instructors continually improve their teaching effectiveness. Shortly before graduation, economics students take a standard test administered to graduates in each department in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business . This test covers business concepts such as marketing, accounting, quantitative skills, and economics. The average scores for economics students are compared to average scores for students graduating in each of the other departments in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business . This comparison provides information regarding the relative performance of our graduating students compared to other Jon M. Huntsman School of Business graduates.

3. Placement and Career Preparation. We also will survey the employers who hire our students to find out how we can better prepare them for the workplace.