Skip to content
Clark University
School of Management

Assurance of Learning within the School of Management at Clark University

In accordance with guidelines set by AACSB International, our accrediting body, the School of Management participates in a rigorous Assurance of Learning (AoL) process. Throughout the accreditation cycle, we assess student competencies to ensure that our curriculum is effectively preparing our students to be successful in their chosen field at graduation.

Each degree program has a series of high-level learning goals, such as:  critical thinking; social responsibility, sustainability, and ethical business practice; communication; and discipline-specific knowledge and competence.

The faculty of each degree program break the high-level learning goals down into smaller, concrete competencies that indicate whether students are achieving the learnings goals of their degree programs. For example, graduate programs break the critical-thinking learning goal down into three competencies: recognizing an issue that requires critical thinking, identifying appropriate tools for analyzing the issue, and applying those tools to come to a well-reasoned conclusion about the issue.

Each competency is assessed at least twice in each degree program during every five-year accreditation cycle. In some cases, faculty assess competencies directly, using assignments from core classes within a degree program. In other cases, faculty assess indirectly, but working with a variety of SOM’s stakeholders (students, staff, internship supervisors, alumni, etc.) to gauge how prepared students are to apply their competencies beyond the classroom setting, such as at their first job after graduating from the SOM. For both direct and indirect assessments, SOM aims for at least 70% of students within a program to be competent. In the event that an assessment finds fewer than 70% of students are competent, the faculty stage an intervention to improve the teaching of the competency within core classes.

Assurance of Learning Goals by Program

All Graduate Programs

Learning Goal 1: Critical Thinking

  • Competency 1: Recognize an issue that requires critical thinking.
  • Competency 2: Identify appropriate tools for analyzing the issue.
  • Competency 3: Apply those tools to come to a well-reasoned conclusion about the issue.

Learning Goal 2: Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Ethical Business Practice

  • Competency 1: Recognize a conflict that requires an analysis of social responsibility, sustainability, and/or ethical business practice.
  • Competency 2: Identify consequences arising from that analysis.
  • Competency 3: Propose and defend a resolution to balance the interests of different stakeholders in the conflict.

Learning Goal 3: Effective Communication

  • Competency 1: Write a professional-quality document.
  • Competency 2: Give a professional-quality oral presentation.

Program-Specific Learning Goals

MS in Accounting Learning Goal 4: Accounting Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Identify an appropriate topic for an accounting research project.
  • Competency 2: Determine the appropriate accounting standards to apply to the topic of research.
  • Competency 3: Apply the standards to the topic to come to a well-reasoned conclusion.

MS in Accounting Analytics Learning Goal 4: Accounting Analytics Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Apply analytical and visualization tools to make it easier to come to a well-reasoned conclusion about an accounting-related business decision.
  • Competency 2: Apply computation and data-management techniques in accounting analytics applications.

MBA and MS in Management Learning Goal 4: Teamwork

  • Competency 1: Create and effectively manage a timeline for a team project.
  • Competency 2: Meet individual responsibilities on a team project.
  • Competency 3: Accomplish team goals with high quality.

MS in Business Analytics Learning Goal 4: Business Analytics Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Apply analytical and visualization tools to make it easier to come to a well-reasoned conclusion about a business decision.
  • Competency 2: Demonstrate an understanding of the use of computation and data management techniques in business analytics applications.
  • Competency 3: Use and apply appropriate software in developing business analytics solutions.

MS in Finance Learning Goal 4: Finance Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Understand the effect of financial decisions on shareholder value and contrast them with stakeholders’ interests.
  • Competency 2: Describe how different types of securities are structured, valued, and used in fashioning an effective financial or investment strategy.
  • Competency 3: Explain the concept of risk, describe investment and risk-management strategies, and describe the tools used in managing risk.
  • Competency 4: Use and apply appropriate software in developing financial decisions.

MS in Marketing Learning Goal 4: Marketing Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Demonstrate an understanding of marketing principles and practices underlying a successful business enterprise.
  • Competency 2: Apply analytical and visualization tools to enhance marketing decision-making.
  • Competency 3: Use and apply appropriate software in developing marketing solutions.

MS in Marketing Analytics Learning Goal 4: Marketing Analytics Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Demonstrate an understanding of marketing analytics principles and practices underlying a successful business enterprise.
  • Competency 2: Demonstrate an understanding of the use of computation and data management techniques in marketing analytics.
  • Competency 3: Use and apply appropriate software in developing marketing analytics solutions.

Undergraduate Programs

Learning Goal 1: Critical Thinking

  • Competency 1: Recognize a decision that requires critical thinking.
  • Competency 2: Identify basic concepts needed to analyze the decision.
  • Competency 3: Use at least one of these concepts to analyze the decision.
  • Competency 4: Draw conclusions based on this analysis.

Learning Goal 2: Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Ethical Business Practice

  • Competency 1: Identity an issue that relates to social responsibility, sustainability, and/or ethical business practice.
  • Competency 2: Identify key stakeholders and their stake in this issue.
  • Competency 3: Understand the consequences of different proposals to address the issue.

Learning Goal 3: Effective Communication

  • Competency 1: Write at a level demonstrating readiness for graduate study or entry-level work.
  • Competency 2: Give a presentation demonstrating readiness for graduate study or entry-level work.

Program-Specific Learning Goals

Finance Learning Goal 4: Finance Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Identify the effect of a financial decision on shareholder value.
  • Competency 2: When given examples of multiple securities, explain differences in how they are structured, valued, and/or used.
  • Competency 3: Identify financial risk and a tool that could help manage that risk.
  • Competency 4: Demonstrate basic competency in using a software program to assess a financial decision.

Management Learning Goal 4: Teamwork

  • Competency 1: Meet deadlines throughout a long-term project.
  • Competency 2: Deliver a high-quality, integrated product, such as a paper or presentation, as a team.

Marketing Learning Goal 4: Marketing Knowledge

  • Competency 1: Identify a current global challenge or trend that is influencing marketing strategy.
  • Competency 2: Provide an example of effective marketing and branding practice implemented in product and/or service markets.
  • Competency 3: Explain the role sustainability is playing in a brand’s marketing.