Do Student Evaluations Match Alumni Expectations?* Your Future in Finance, October 1, 2011 *Managerial Finance, June 2011 Carla Guevara and Scott Stewart MSIM PROGRAM

This Research Projects Objectives 1.Identify what alumni perceive to be of most value in coursework, once theyve had time to reflect, and put their learned knowledge into practice 2.Explore the relationship of those perceptions with the information in student evaluations conducted at the conclusion of individual courses Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Literature ReviewStudent Evaluations Positive correlation between instructor rankings and student perceptions of learning but not actual learning. Beyond learning, there are other factors correlated with student ratings of teaching effectiveness. Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Literature ReviewAlumni Surveys Alumni offer an objective perspective given their distance from involvement with the program Alumni surveys provide a basis for evaluating relationship between knowledge and skills acquired through the educational program and the ones required in the workplace Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Case Study Program Evaluation Process Boston University MSIM Program End-of-Course Evaluation End-of-Program Survey Alumni Survey Assessment of Meeting AACSB Learning Goals Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Student Data End of Course: Please rate this course… 1.Course overall (course-satisfaction) 2.Extent of learning (learning) 3.Potential usefulness to a professional career (relevance) 4.Instructor overall (instructor) End of Program: 1.What course did you find most challenging? 2.What course did you find most rewarding? Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations? End-of- Course Evaluation End-of- Program Survey

Summary of Student Evaluation Measures Mean Values, By Course, First and Second Highest Values in Bold End-of-course and End-of-Program Survey Questions, Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Alumni Data Quick Survey Focus Group Alumni Survey great guest speakers doing as well as learning something is worthy, relevant It helps in the real world and application what I take out something I can apply in the real world maybe a course that cant be applied, but in which I learned something Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Hypotheses H1: Post graduation, students believe career relevance is more important in determining the level of satisfaction for a given course H2: Post graduation, students believe instructor performance is less important in determining the level of satisfaction for a given course Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Results Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations? * Logistic coefficients / 10

Conclusions H1: Consistent with focus group observations, career relevance clearly grows with time in importance for determining course satisfaction H2: Instructor performance becomes relatively less important Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Forecasting Alumni Satisfaction Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations? Key question: Can we forecast alumni course satisfaction using end-of-course student evaluation perceptions? Answer: To some extent Regression Results Adjusted R-Square13.1% F-stat t-statSignificance LearningS Career RelevanceS InstructorS

Key Takeaways for Faculty Instructor can improve their alumni course satisfaction if they incorporate real-world applications in the curriculum, as well as enhance their in-class presentation But, instructor faces a challenge: they need to teach material which will be useful in the real world, but students may not fully appreciate it, which may not help the instructors student evaluations Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Key Takeaways for Students 1.Analyze Career Relevance rating in addition to course and instructor ratings 2.Ask instructor how skills learned in class are applied on the job 3.Be patient in the classroom, especially with casework 4.Remember building blocks courses may not be directly applicable in your internship Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Appendix Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

How address issue? 1.Measures of teaching effectiveness utilized for decision making purposes shouldnt stress too highly traditional measures of student satisfaction 2.Schools curriculum should include material useful for the real world 3.One suggestion: form a council of alumni who can provide advice on appropriate curricula Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations?

Literature ReviewModel of Education Course Satisfaction Course Rewarding Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations? Nature of the students Subject being taught Time of day Teaching environment Availability of resources Prior knowledge Personal organization, interest and motivation for particular subjects and tasks Personal Characteristics Performance Teaching techniques Adapted from Ding & Sherman 2006

Forecasting Alumni Satisfaction Correlation = 0.58 Do Student Evaluation Match Alumni Expectations? Derivatives Economics Fixed Income Equity Analysis Port. Mngmnt.