Abstract:

The graduate Business Department at Wagner would like to introduce a new approach to student evaluation and assessment that we believe to be iconoclastic and unique among MBA programs. The triangular foundation of our MBA programs are goal oriented at the terminal improvement of.
• Critical Thinking/Learning Skills
• Oral Presentation
• Written Expression
Our professors continuously stress the advancement of the student’s critical engagement of ideas and strategy in all of our course work. This practice is enhanced by utilizing current case studies with proactive and preemptive problem solving methods, the “What if” method is prevalent.
The second and third legs of this foundation are areas where our professional networking and outreach efforts have discovered that these qualities need to be constantly improved among all levels of management, to this end we will initiate the following. P.O.W.E.R or Progressive Oral and Written Evaluation Ranking will be tabulated at the end of each course and displayed as an average alongside the G.P.A. The P.O.W.E.R scale will be based upon the highest level being “10” so as not to be confused with the “4” level ranking of the G.P.A. These inputs will be taken directly from the established Oral and Written Rubrics now in place on all MBA programs. Students will be able to see their absolute rank and this will enable the College and Graduate Business Department to witness relative values over the duration of the student’s matriculation here at Wagner. We will be able to cross reference against previous students—as the data grows—and can adjust course content and direction based on the results. We have also established the “Graduate Writing Center” open to Graduate students from all disciplines and hope that our accumulating data will actually help across all Departments.
Implementation and inputting should not be an impediment as the P.O.W.E.R. grades can be submitted directly by the professor into WWAM on a semester basis. This process will be a very good way of approaching assessment both as an indirect and direct measurement from the subjectively objective view of the professor. It also acts as a subtle evaluation of our own teaching skills as the student ideally will improve during their stay at Wagner. The P.O.W.E.R. approach can become the subject of a future research paper once the data base is established and measured with and against G.P.A. performance.

Keywords:

P.O.W.E.R Progressive Oral and Written Evaluation Ranking.