Executive Summary and Introductory Chapter
UVic Business
Self-Evaluation Report for AACSB Accreditation
April 2010
Note: The following material reflects the state of the Gustavson School of
Business
in early 2010. Since then, there have numerous changes, including the
naming of the school and the Sardul S. Gill Graduate School, as well as
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BackgroundLocated on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada, the Faculty of Business (known as UVic Business) is part of the University of Victoria, rated as one of the top three universities in its category in the country.
This report will show that the strategy and structural design of the Faculty at the time of its inception were (and remain) unusual. UVic Business was born in a state of innovation, and continues that tradition to this day. Moreover, its dedication to internationalization and deliberate linkage to the corporate community are hallmarks of the program. We strategically adopted an unconventional approach to business education at our inception, and are pleased to report that we are achieving the goals we set for ourselves at the inception of the school.
The Faculty of Business is one of ten faculties and two divisions that make up the University of Victoria. It is relatively new, having been established 20 years ago. The University of Victoria has an enrolment of approximately 19,000 students. It is widely recognized for leadership in research, inspired teaching and community engagement, UVic provides innovative programs and real-life learning experiences in a diverse and welcoming West Coast environment.
Because of its unique West Coast island position in the provincial capital, which is a major tourist centre, the Faculty of Business (“UVic Business”) has a mandate to concentrate on International Business, Entrepreneurship and Service Management. It has built upon this mandate in a distinctive manner. Instead of offering traditional functional majors, it has blended the customary core business subjects into the aforementioned specialty areas in a highly integrated system. For example, instead of doing a Marketing major, students would opt for one of the specialties, such as International Business (IB). The degree would emphasize IB, but would be quite cross-functional and have a general focus. This unique approach is one example of the significant autonomy enjoyed by the Faculty. Our program areas have won
significant recognition and awards over the years. Strategic Plan
UVic Business has an up-to-date, clearly articulated strategic plan which is based on a year-long
interactive process involving all stakeholders within the Faculty including representatives from students, faculty, and the corporate community. The plan is comprehensive, but is presented in a unique one page summary. We have chosen to base the strategic plan on four pillars: International, Integrative, Innovative, and Socially Responsible/Sustainable. Our Vision is to produce outstanding research and develop global business leaders to create a better world. Our Mission is to provide an experiential education that is international, integrative, innovative and socially responsible and is anchored in excellence in scholarship. Our educational approach is experiential, cohort-based, collaborative, niche-focused, and community-oriented.
The strategic plan outlined in Chapter Three is comprehensive; it includes our Strategic Pillars, our Promise, specific Aims, Key Initiatives, and Priorities. Through careful management of the resources received from university budget allocations and a growing list of corporate and personal donors, the
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Faculty finds itself adequately financed to undertake its key activities. A recent major gift has enhanced this considerably.
The Four Pillars
International – Being appreciative, well-informed and perceptive of the diverse, complex world we live in and having the skill-set required to succeed in it.
Integrative – Having a deep understanding of the fundamental areas of business combined with an awareness of how these areas continuously interact with one another and abilities to use this knowledge. Innovative – Being flexible and creative to view the world, issues and opportunities from different perspectives and secure enough to take risks and try new things.
Socially Responsible/Sustainable – Having the awareness and skills to consider the economic, environmental and social consequences of decisions in business and personal contexts.
UVic Business currently offers two degrees: a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business
Administration. In September 2010, we will launch a new PhD program in International Management, a new Master of Global Business and a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship.
Given its history and relatively small scale, UVic Business is essentially a high quality “niche” school, providing programs differentiated not only by their academic content but also by their delivery methods and the inclusion of important co-curricular elements. The content is highlighted by a commitment to internationalization of the students and the development of a “global mindset” within them. The Faculty also has a major commitment to experiential learning. This is accomplished through a mandatory co-op program.
UVic Business has been able to attract high quality students. The target is to have students who are high academic achievers and also have extracurricular interest or work experience that displays leadership and community service. Having high quality students goes a long way towards the ultimate success of a school’s graduates. However, we recognize that the quality of strong students can be enhanced by an innovative and creative program. This document shows that we have done this. It is an implementation of our Promise: To prepare leaders who think differently, act responsibly and have a global mindset; to provide opportunities to learn by doing – to ensure our graduates are world ready.
Our faculty members have many strengths. They are relatively young, are terminally qualified, exhibit good teaching skills, and are strong researchers. They have all graduated from highly-ranked universities. Because of the specialist focus rather than traditional discipline focus, faculty members are expected to have an understanding and empathy for this approach, and to participate in interdisciplinary teaching and research with colleagues as well as teaching courses directly related to their discipline. Currently there are 40 core faculty in addition to sessional instructors and other teaching staff. We have hired another two faculty members, who will join us in July 2010.
Processes that Support the Achievement of our Plans
Within the Strategic Plan, our priorities have been specified. Furthermore, the plan is further broken down to identify key initiatives. These are linked to our priorities and specify actual targeted completion dates.
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In addition to the Strategic Plan, the Faculty has a well-defined process for tracking progress towards its achievement. The outcome of this process is Our Promise, a document published and circulated widely that elaborates on the values and goals cited in the plan. The companion to this document is Keeping Our Promise, a live document that lists specific initiatives and sets responsibilities and time lines for their implementation, creating accountability as well as clear and specific benchmarks of our progress. Each program area has created a set of metrics that are collected on a regular basis and can be compared over time, to identify trends and patterns indicative of movement toward our goals. The system is designed to be updated regularly on our intranet site and uploaded periodically to our web site, with “tick boxes” to indicate those initiatives that have been completed or set into motion. As well, the initiatives will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and can be modified or added to if necessary.
As a result of our strategic planning process, the Faculty added the strategic pillar of Social Responsibility/Sustainability in 2008-09. This reflected the path that the Faculty had been on for a number of years and brought it to a sharp focus. Further change that has emerged has been the decision to add more graduate programs, including a PhD. An outcome has been an increase in the rate of hiring qualified faculty members.
Our Strategic Plan clearly and specifically directs our mission development activities. Our organizational structure reflects the plan, as do our courses and their delivery. Research activity is also enhanced through interaction with other disciplines, rather than narrow discipline-oriented research.
Summary of Performance Related to AACSB Standards.
A. Strategic Management Standards (Standards 1-5): For the past ten years, the Faculty has profited from having a clearly articulated and well-published mission and plan which were developed with input from faculty, staff, students and the business community. The latest iteration has become even more specific and includes details such as our priorities and key initiatives and expected time line. This is a very strong area and clearly meets the standards.
B. Participants’ Standards (Standards 6-14): The Strategic Plan and the Mission of the School are strongly reflected in the implementation of these standards. High quality students are recruited, and retention rates are high. A strong support system is in place including sufficient staff to provide high quality student service. Faculty sufficiency is more than adequate in each specialisation area, with a qualification ratio of 94% for the School. Aggregate faculty and student responsibilities are all undertaken well and with integrity. The Faculty fully fulfills each of the standards in this section.
C. Assurance of Learning Standards (Standards 15-20): This has been an area of challenge for the Faculty. It is also an area where we have made great progress. We have always had learning goals, and have had in place a number of assessment procedures which have led to changes in teaching approaches. The new AACSB criteria have caused us to be much more rigorous in our approach to assessment of learning. Learning Goals now directly reflect our Mission. We now are in the second or third iteration of measurement according to the new standards. Course embedded and other measures are used and the results are collected and supplied to the program leadership for review and remediation, if necessary. In addition, we have developed a system and a database
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for handling the information. In this area, we can say we are meeting the Standards, but as time goes on we now have a system in place to be even better, as well as to continuously improve. Effective Practices Inherent to the Success of the Plan
1. A clearly stated Strategic Plan and Mission Statement that has been jointly formulated through consultation and input from every person in the Faculty and key stakeholder groups.
2. A niche strategy which provides specializations that fit the environment in which the Faculty is found.
3. This is a “high touch” program which includes many enriching features and functions. The staff is adequate to make it happen.
4. A consultative environment which produces a strong esprit de corps.
5. A commitment to internationalization which permeates every specialty, and involves every student.
6. A strong commitment to research, and commensurate research outputs. Conclusion
This Self Evaluation Report shows that UVic Business has made real progress toward accreditation through the guidance of our original mentor, and our current Chair. We feel that we can justly say that we have met the Standards set out by AACSB, and we respectfully ask that accreditation now be granted.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
The Parent Institution
The University of Victoria (UVic) is located in the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Victoria is situated on Vancouver Island, the most westerly area of Canada. It is the largest island on the North American west coast and has a population of approximately 750,000.
The population of Greater Victoria is approximately 350,000. Because of its unique character and beauty, the city receives about 3.3 million tourists per year.
The University of Victoria was established in 1963 and is one of four traditional universities in British Columbia. The University Act, which governs the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Northern British Columbia, gives these universities the mandate to provide undergraduate and graduate instruction in a wide range of disciplines and to establish facilities for the pursuit of original research. The research and scholarly activities undertaken by these universities are global in scope.
The mission of the University of Victoria and its consonance with that of the Faculty of Business is discussed in the next section, Standard 1.
UVic has a student population of 19,475 (including 2,514 graduate students and 2,370 international students). It employs 4,124 employees (including 790 faculty, 455 sessional instructors, 677 specialist / instructional staff, and 2,202 other staff) and has over 68,400 alumni with known addresses. Of those alumni, 81% live in British Columbia.
The University comprises ten faculties and two divisions: the Faculties of Business, Education,
Engineering, Fine Arts, Graduate Studies, Human & Social Development, Humanities, Law, Science, and Social Sciences, the Division of Continuing Studies, and the Division of Medical Sciences.
UVic has Western Canada’s largest university co-operative education program, integrating academic studies with relevant paid work experience in more than 40 academic areas. In 2005/06, for example, UVic co-op students completed 2,706 work term placements across Canada and in 31 other countries. In the case of UVic Business, co-op is mandatory and students are employed across Canada and overseas through the School’s extensive international connections.
As a research institution, UVic is known for its research strengths. UVic is one of Canada's top three comprehensive universities in terms of size and number of grants in the areas of medicine and science per faculty member and is in the top 3 with respect to research grants per faculty member in the Humanities and Social Sciences. UVic researchers were awarded more than $112 million in outside research grants and contracts in 2008/09, a 26% increase over the previous year. As will be shown later, UVic Business faculty participate fully and are active and productive researchers.
UVic’s Innovation and Development Corporation (IDC) helps researchers and students develop the commercial potential of their ideas. Since 1992, IDC has assisted more than 43 UVic spin-off companies and filed more than 250 patents based on UVic research and innovations. Graduates from the UVic
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Business as well as faculty are employed or involved in these activities.
UVic owns more technology transfer space than any other B.C. university. Our Vancouver Island Technology Park houses the greatest concentration of high-tech companies on Vancouver Island, which contribute $280 million annually to B.C.’s economy.
As a public institution, the University of Victoria is subject to the jurisdiction of the province of British Columbia. The Provincial Minister of Advanced Education oversees all post-secondary education. The President of the University is responsible to the Minister and the University’s Board of Governors. The university is governed according to the University Act and is composed of a chancellor, a convocation, a board, a senate and faculties. The University allows a great deal of autonomy and delegates strategic planning to each Faculty, which must take into consideration the overall strategic plan of the University. The University Senate approves major academic changes and serves to ensure that high academic standards are upheld.
The university campus is beautifully situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It covers some 162 hectares (400 acres) of sports fields, student spaces, walkways, woods, trails, and extensive gardens, including Finnerty Gardens, one of Canada’s best collections of rhododendrons. On-site facilities include student accommodation, libraries, bookstores, pubs and cafes, movie theatre, athletic facilities, and public performance halls.
The Business School
Established in 1990, UVic Business is the newest faculty at the University of Victoria. UVic Business launched its Bachelor of Commerce program in 1990, followed by its MBA program in 1992 and Executive Programs in 1993. Mandatory co-op, the extensive international experience, and a strong connection to the business community have been the hallmarks of the Faculty’s programs since its inception.
UVic Business serves a total 690 full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate students, 105 FTE graduate students, and has over 3800 alumni. UVic Business awards two degrees – Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration. Of the 690 undergraduate students, approximately 480 are our full time BCom students, and the rest are undergraduate students from around campus in Business option or minor programs, or those who take service courses. Our graduate students consist of about 90 FTE day time and 15 FTE evening students (each evening MBA student is generally counted as 1/3. The total head count of MBA students in the program is typically 130-140 students). We are excited to be introducing three new programs in 2010: a PhD in International Management, a Master of Global Business degree (MGB), and a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship. These new programs are a culmination of several years of careful and systematic planning.
UVic Business is a specialist program: it focuses on specializations in International Business,
Entrepreneurship and Service Management rather than traditional functional majors. The BCom program also offers an open electives option for students who wish to customize their program. This specialization approach is based on the founding mandate and continuing chosen mission for the school. At its founding, the government encouraged these foci to broaden options for students and to minimize competition with already-established programs at UBC and Simon Fraser University.
These specializations fit our environment well. Entrepreneurship fits the smaller business environment of B.C. Services Management contributes greatly to the strong tourist industry of B.C. as well as the overall growth in services enterprise. International Business blends strongly with our West Coast location and
3 strong focus on international trade.
The undergraduate BCom degree admits students directly from high school and after the first two years of university. All students enter the Faculty in the third year as it provides a two year business concentration (a 2+2 program). The MBA is a seventeen month program enriched with many value-added features. The MGB is a twelve-month program built on a previous business undergraduate degree. The international dimension permeates all of the program areas.
UVic Business students have access to an excellent work and study environment. Not only is the campus beautifully situated, with access to plenty of green space and just minutes from the ocean, the business building is modern and includes quality classrooms, study and lounge areas, co-op and career services, and other amenities. Students have access to a newly refurbished, state-of-the-art University library and computer facilities. In addition, University expansion projects, currently underway, will allow UVic Business to expand and grow its current operations.
Major New Funding
Since the Faculty’s inception, the School has made a point of interacting closely with the business community. This has been of benefit to both sides. The Faculty has received sound advice, and continues to be closely grounded with business, its constituency. On March 19, 2010 UVic Business celebrated its twentieth birthday. The day was made extra special because of a generous gift of $10 million from a member of the business community. The funding is open to supporting students, research, and
professorships. Its effect will be felt for years to come. Because it is so new, it should be noted that the rest of this document reflects the positive situation of the School before the gift. We can only imagine the incredible effect this will have in the future.
Faculty Complement
UVic Business currently has 40 regular faculty members, with another two who take up their
appointments in July 2010. Of these positions, ten are Full Professors, fourteen are Associate Professors, and nine are at the rank of Assistant Professor with another seven Senior Instructors. In addition to these regular positions, we engage 15-20 sessional instructors and Adjunct Faculty members as well as two colleagues as Professors Emeriti. The following table lists the regular faculty complement as of July 2010.
4 Table 1-1 UVic Business Faculty 2010-11
First
Name Surname
Regular Faculty
Tenured
Faculty Title Expertise
Graduate
School Degree Type Year
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Brent Mainprize Yes No Limited
Term Assistant Professor Entrepreneurship, Finance Swinburne U PhD, Business Administration 2005
Mia Maki Yes No Senior
Instructor Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Finance
U of Victoria MBA, CMA 1990,
1997
Lynne Siemens Yes No Limited
Term Assistant Professor Entrepreneurship & Policy U of Hertfordshire PhD, Business Administration 2007
Brock Smith Yes Yes Professor Marketing,
Entrepreneurship U of Western Ontario
PhD, Business
Administration 1992
Marilyn Uy Yes No Assistant
Professor Entrepreneurship, Org. Behaviour, Human
Resources
U Colorado PhD, Business
Administration 2009
Charlene Zietsma Yes Yes Associate
Professor Entrepreneurship, Strategy U of BC PhD, Business Administration 2003 SERVICE MANAGEMENT
Mark Colgate Yes Yes Associate
Professor Service Management, Hospitality Marketing U of Ulster PhD, Business and Service Marketing 1996
Vivien Corwin Yes No Senior
Instructor Service Management, Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources U of BC PhD, Business Administration 1999
Heather Ranson Yes No Senior
Instructor Hospitality and Service Management, Marketing
U of Guelph MBA, CMP 2005,
2002
Steve Tax Yes Yes Professor Service
Management, Marketing Arizona State U PhD, Business and Marketing 1993
Liana Victorino Yes No Assistant
Professor Service Management, Operations Management
U of Utah PhD, Business
Administration 2008
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Josh Ault Yes No Lecturer International
Business, Sustainability University of South Carolina PhD in Business Administration (in progress) 2010
Jen Baggs Yes Yes Associate
Professor International Business, International Finance and Trade U of British Columbia PhD, Business & Commerce 2002 A.R. (Elango)
Elangovan Yes Yes Associate
Professor Organizational Behaviour, Cross-Cultural Management U of Toronto PhD, Business Administration and Organizational Behaviour 1993
Carmen Galang Yes Yes Associate
Professor Human Resources, Cross-Cultural Management and Communications
U of Illinois PhD, Labour & Industrial Relations
5 First Name Surname Regular Faculty Tenured
Faculty Title Expertise
Graduate
School Degree Type Year
Anthony Goerzen Yes Yes Associate
Professor International Business, Strategy U of Western Ontario PhD, Business Administration and Marketing 2001
Saul Klein Yes Yes Professor International
Business, International Marketing
U of Toronto PhD, Marketing 1986
Basma Majerbi Yes No Assistant
Professor
Finance, International Finance
McGill U PhD, Finance 2004
Sanghoon Nam Yes Yes Associate
Professor Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources
U of Oregon PhD,
Management 1991
Ignace Ng Yes Yes Professor Organizational
Behaviour, Human Resources
Simon
Fraser U PhD, Labour Economics, Industrial Relations
1985
Sorin Rizaneau Yes No Lecturer International
Finance University of South Carolina PhD in Business Administration (in progress) 2010
Linda Shi Yes No Assistant
Professor International Business Michigan State PhD, Business Admin 2005
Hao Zhang Yes Yes Associate
Professor International Finance Concordia U PhD, Finance 1992
CORE AND OPEN ELECTIVES
David Boag Yes Yes Professor Marketing U of Toronto PhD, Business
Administration and Marketing
1983
Ali Dastmalchian Yes Yes Professor,
Dean Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Behaviour, Cross-national Management U of Wales PhD, Business Administration and Organizational Analysis 1981
Angela Downey Yes No Limited
Term Associate Professor Organizational Behaviour, Accounting, Health Management U of Western Ontario PhD, Management Accounting 2000
Pat Elemans Yes No Sr.
Instructor Management Skills, Entrepreneurship
York U MBA,
Entrepreneurship 1991
Dale Ganley Yes No Assistant
Professor Information Technology, Global Economics U of California, Irvine PhD, Management Information Systems 2005
Chris Graham Yes No Sr.
Instructor Accounting, Strategy U of Western Ontario
MBA, CGA-BC 1980,
2002
Rebecca Grant Yes Yes Associate
Professor MIS, E-Commerce U of Western Ontario
PhD, Business & Information Systems
1989
James Hopkins Yes No Limited
Term Associate Professor Economic Development, Law and Entrepreneurship Harvard U LLM, ITP 2000
Margaret Klatt Yes No Sr.
Instructor Accounting Wilfred Laurier U MBA, CMA 1990, 1984
Daniel Krause Yes Yes Associate
Professor Operations, Supply Chain Management
Arizona
State U. PhD, Purchasing & Logistics Management
1995
Aegean Leung Yes No Assistant
Professor Human Resources, National U. of Singapore PhD, Management & 2007
6 First Name Surname Regular Faculty Tenured
Faculty Title Expertise
Graduate
School Degree Type Year
Entrepreneurship Organization
Paul Levie Yes No Sr.
Instructor Accounting U of Western Ontario
CA, CMA 1982,
2003
David McCutcheon Yes Yes Associate
Professor Operations Management U of Western Ontario
PhD, Business and Operations Management
1988
Ana Maria Peredo Yes Yes Associate
Professor Sustainability, Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship
U of Calgary PhD,
Management 2001
Craig Pinder Yes Yes Professor Organizational
Behavior Cornell U. PhD, Organizational
Behaviour
1975
Ken Thornicroft Limited
Term Professor
Law, Labour and Human Resource Management Case Western Reserve U; U of BC PhD, Labour & Human Relations Policy, LLB 1995, 1979
Michael Valente Yes No Assistant
Professor Strategy, Sustainability, Social Responsibility
York U PhD, Business
Administration 2007
Monika Winn Yes Yes Associate
Professor Environmental and Business Policy, Strategy
U. of Irvine,
California PhD, Business Administration 1996
Richard Wolfe Yes No Limited
Term Professor Business Policy and Strategy, Sports Management U of Michigan PhD, Business Administration 1989
Total Regular Faculty 42 (+ 1 vacant position still to be filled)
UVic Business internal structures are organized around the UVic Business Strategic Plan and vision, and resources are focused on facilitating the work of the program areas and specializations.
At the top of the organization, the Faculty is led by the Dean, an Associate Dean, and two Assistant Deans. Instead of departments, the following teams and structures serve to facilitate and advance its goals. Each is led by a Director, Manager, or Champion. This is illustrated further in the Faculty of Business Organizational Chart (Appendix 1).
Undergraduate Programs Office (Academic Director and Associate Director) MBA programs Office (Academic Director and Program Director)
MGB Programs Office (Academic Director and Associate Director) PhD Programs Office (Academic Director and Program Manager)
International Programs (Director and Associate Director). In addition to the main program area offices (above), the International Programs office is tasked with advancing
internationalization of the student body and the Faculty as a whole. Major resources are allocated for this purpose as will be outlined in the next section.
Specialization Areas (Champions). As mentioned earlier, UVic Business has distinguished itself as a “non-traditional” business school. As a result, UVic Business has chosen to organize its programs according to specializations rather than functional areas. Each area of specialization – International Business, Service Management, and Entrepreneurship, has been assigned faculty “champions” who are tasked with managing and advancing excellence in their areas of specialization, on both a teaching and a research level. Specialization champions are given the autonomy to make decisions and allocate funds to support their
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Business Co-op and Career Office (Manager and staff). The experiential aspect of the UVic Business vision is supported mainly through the Business Co-op and Career Office, which is funded through the University of Victoria Co-op Department and also through UVic Business. The Co-op office reports to both parties but its operation is tied most closely to UVic Business in its vision and goals.
Executive Programs Office (Director and Manager). Management of all executive education and summer institute program offerings.
Program Management Team. Composed of the foregoing Directors and Managers and the Dean to co-ordinate administrative activities.
Board of Advisers (BOA) Business Dean’s Council. In addition to the extensive
connections to the corporate community through the Co-op and Career office, UVic Business retains strong links with the local business community through its approximately 70 member Board of Advisers and, more specifically, its Business Dean’s Council. The Dean’s Council, made up of 15 - 20 Board of Adviser members, regularly consults with the Dean on matters concerning program content, executive programs, development, community connections and major events. While the Board does not have power to veto decisions, it does possess considerable influence on the visionary and foundational level of faculty initiatives. Faculty Council / Executive Committee. The integrative nature of the structure of UVic Business is further supported through the two main policy approval bodies – the Faculty Council and the Executive Committee. Both these groups involve a collegial process for seeking approval and encourage a diversity of participants. The Faculty Council is made up of students, staff, and faculty and is the main internal forum for approving new initiatives, seeking feedback and encouraging discussion. The Executive Council is a more senior committee, largely made up of faculty members, and is the main body through which initiatives are vetted before moving to Faculty Council for approval.
Dean. Ultimately, all major decisions must be approved by the Dean who, by process of counsel and discussion from the above mentioned offices and bodies, acts on behalf of UVic Business at the higher levels of the University. The Dean reports to a designated University Vice-President.
University of Victoria Senate / Board of Governors. Beyond UVic Business, higher-level approvals involving such matters as calendar changes and tenure and appointment are finalized by either the University of Victoria Senate or Board of Governors. These bodies ensure quality and consistency of offerings throughout the University faculties and departments.
Special Activities of UVic Business
Unique Specializations Rather than Majors
UVic Business programs are positioned differently than traditional university business programs. In the undergraduate program, UVic Business offers three specializations (International Business, Services Management, and Entrepreneurship) plus an electives option. Of course, all of the functional subjects are covered in the core similar to that of a traditional program. In the MBA program, the specializations are the same. The PhD is in International Management and it goes without saying that the MGB is also international. The latter is based on study at partner schools in three countries.
This positioning of specializations also fits the market situation. It differentiates UVic from our largest competitors, UBC and SFU, which offer good quality traditional business programs. As indicated earlier, the international focus fits our coastal location; entrepreneurship enhances the smaller business nature of
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Victoria; and service management serves the huge tourist market of Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia as well as the growing role of services in business.
Deep International Focus
It should be clear by now that the commitment of UVic Business to internationalization extends significantly beyond a strong policy statement. It is an active presence in the Faculty’s daily operations. Internationalization is the philosophical and pedagogical anchor for the Faculty that vibrantly permeates its conceptual, strategic and operational dimensions.
UVic Business has established an International Programs (IP) office which is the centre for initiating and implementing UVic Business’ international and educational philosophy. Through the IP office, all activities relating to the promotion and facilitation of internationalization, from student exchange to faculty research, are managed. The IP Office and its staff are central to UVic Business realizing its goals and priorities relating to the international dimension.
UVic Business has one of the largest international exchange programs in Canada with 62 active partnerships in 29 countries. The strength of these partnerships is represented in the total number of outbound students: each year, approximately 80% of BCom and 100% of MBA students participate in international exchanges and study tours. All MBA students participate in an International Integrative Management Exercise (IIME) and in 2009-10, UVic Business is teaching 92 international degree-seeking students through its BCom International (BCI) program.
The IP Office plays a pivotal role in the creation and delivery of an “international experience” for the students, faculty and staff of UVic Business through the BCI program, the International Exchange program, and International Services Initiatives. The BCI program is specially designed to assist
international students in their quest for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. We recruit international students, guide their entry into the BCom program, support their progress both academically and culturally, foster their integration with domestic students, and maintain relations after graduation.
Beyond this, the International Exchange program provides opportunities for BCom and MBA students to spend an academic term abroad. The Faculty develops and maintains exchange agreements with
universities overseas; select, place and prepare UVic students for outgoing exchange; and host and assist incoming exchange students from our partner institutions.
Other international services initiatives cover a variety of activities that promote and offer opportunities for students, faculty and staff to gain international experience and perspective. The IP office facilitates the international-oriented portions of BCom and MBA orientation sessions; supports cross-cultural student events and clubs; provides international exchange opportunities for faculty and staff, including the Faculty Short Visit research opportunities with partner institutions; and serves as a resource centre for internationally-related information and teaching aids.
Compulsory Co-op Program
Since the inception of the UVic Business program, participation in co-op has been required for every student. Graduate students may be exempted if they have sufficient prior work experience. UVic follows the model of The World Association for Co-operative Education (WACE) which describes the following as essential features of a co-operative education program:
It is a strategy of applied learning;
It involves a structured program developed and supervised by an educational institution in collaboration with one or more employing organizations;
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program and an essential component of the final assessment; It normally commences and terminates with the academic period;
It involves productive work and comprises a reasonable proportion of the total program; and It maintains excellence, at whatever level the programs are offered.
The approach of UVic Business to career placement and support goes beyond the normal “placement process.” First, the university has a philosophy of integrating academic education with supervised, integrated experiential education. This is done through the University Co-operative Education program. Students take a normal full academic load, and then alternate those academic terms with work terms that put students into meaningful, paid and supervised positions in business. The process is integrated into the academic program by regular visits of Co-op Coordinators to the work place as well as written reports by employers, and also student reports on the work experience.
Co-op not only provides on-the-job training, but is also a powerful means of putting students and employers together for employment after graduation. The Business Co-op and Career Centre (BCCC) places approximately 680 students per year. It has an ongoing list of more than 500 active client companies.
The goal of the BCCC is to integrate the co-operative education experience with the academic
experiences students gain in their programs. The BCCC delivers a preparation program prior to the first work term. Then, the students’ work term experience is monitored and evaluated on the basis of an assessment of pre-identified learning objectives and on the students’ actual experience during the work term. Students thus gain an understanding of the competencies they possess and of those they still require to obtain or strengthen their ultimate career objectives.
Types of Degrees Awarded
As of September 2010 the Faculty of Business will increase the degrees awarded from two to four plus a Graduate Certificate:
Bachelor of Commerce
Master of Business Administration
Master of Global Business (program starts in September 2010) PhD (program starts in September 2010)
Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (programs start in May 2011)
The AACSB Accreditation Process
As part of UVic Business’ vision for local and international recognition for excellence in research and business education, we have decided to pursue accreditation through AACSB and other internationally recognized accreditation bodies. In February 2007, UVic Business received three year accreditation through the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). This accreditation has since been renewed. In May 2007, UVic Business submitted its eligibility application to AACSB. The application was
reviewed by the Pre-Accreditation Committee (PAC) and the Faculty was accepted as eligible for accreditation. A number of concerns were flagged by PAC in its review of the School’s Eligibility Application.
Our mentor, Dr. Art Kraft from Chapman University, subsequently visited UVic Business in January 2008, for the dual purpose of assisting us in responding to the concerns raised by PAC and reviewing how
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the Faculty satisfies each standard in preparing the analysis that underpins the Accreditation Plan. Under his mentorship, the Faculty has made great progress.
Dr. Kraft advised PAC that the Faculty had satisfactorily responded to the concerns raised. He also advised PAC that in his judgment the Faculty’s programs, faculty, students, staff and resources are of sufficient quality for us to complete an Accreditation Plan and proceed to the preparation a Self
Evaluation Report. An Accreditation Team has now been appointed, and a visit is scheduled for October 2010.
The purpose of this document is to present the School’s Self Evaluation Report and show how it meets the AACSB Standards for Business Accreditation. The main body of the document is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three categories of standards adopted by AACSB: Strategic Management Standards, Participants’ Standards, and Assurance of Learning Standards. Each of the standards is discussed in turn, followed by the School’s evaluation of performance against the standards. The information provided and the initial evaluation of performance specifically address the ‘basis of judgment’ identified for each standard in the AACSB documentation.
Throughout this document, the following terminology has been adopted:
'Faculty' refers to the Faculty of Business at the University of Victoria, which is the body seeking accreditation -- officially in the University, this is the Faculty of Business, not the School or College of Business;
'UVic Business' is used synonymously with 'The Faculty of Business; 'Academic staff' corresponds to 'faculty’ (members)
