Objectives

Mission

The programs offered by the Department of Economics are designed to (1) provide a general understanding of the functioning of the economic system and the role of institutions, groups, and regions within that system; and (2) prepare the student for employment in industry, the professions, and government, or to pursue graduate work toward such advanced degrees as the M.A., M.B.A., or Ph.D. in economics, business, or related fields.

Goals

  1. The Development of Critical Thinking Skills and the Accumulation of Factual Knowledge
  2. Application of Critical Thinking to Factual Knowledge and the Development of Effective Decision Making Skills
  3. The Development of an Understanding of Micro and Macroeconomic Theory and Their Application to the Economic Sub-fields.
  4. The Development of an Understanding of Basic Statistics, Econometrics and Regression Analysis and Their Application in Applied Research.
  5. Offering a Diverse Selection of Courses to Foster a Broad Knowledge Base in the Field
  6. Provide Strong Foundation Courses (Micro and Macro) for Non-majors

Student Learning Outcomes and Measurement Tools

General

To ensure quality instruction:

  1. Every section of every course is and will continue to be subject to student evaluations.
  2. Each course will be subject to mid-course correction.
  3. Junior faculty will have their teaching effectiveness reviewed by classroom visits from senior faculty. (Ongoing)
  4. All faculties will have their evaluations reviewed by the Department Chair and their scores will be circulated to all members of the Department. (Ongoing)
  5. Every course will have its syllabus together with its goals and objectives posted on the internet. (Ongoing)

To ensure the acquisition of factual knowledge and strong foundation courses:

  1. Students will be expected to demonstrate critical thinking applied to factual knowledge through the completion of a capstone research paper in Econometrics. The capstone must be quantitative and analytical, use an economic or social data set and demonstrate an understanding of multivariate statistical analysis. (Ongoing)

To ensure the development of an understanding of Micro and Macro Theory and Their Application to Economic Sub-Fields (Ongoing):

  1. Students will be required to take seven (7) elective courses.
  2. Students will be required through examination and written research papers and assignments to demonstrate proficiency in the subject. Examples include required research papers in Labor Economics, Health and Related topics, and financial economics.
  3. The required capstone paper in Econometrics, which must focus on an economics field when the student is an economics major.

To ensure The Development of an Understanding of Basic Statistics, Econometrics and Regression Analysis and Their Application in Applied Research (Ongoing):

  1. All economics majors must successfully complete:
    1. Calculus
    2. Statistics
    3. Econometrics
  2. All students intending to pursue graduate study in economics are and will be advised to complete:
    1. Unified Cal I, II, and III
    2. Differential Equations
    3. Linear Algebra
    4. Statistics II
    5. Math Econ
  3. All students must demonstrate knowledge of the general linear model, some nonlinear models (probit and logit, simple maximum likelihood), and the standard statistical tests for cross section, panel and time series models. This knowledge must be demonstrated in the capstone economics paper in Econometrics.
  4. Each student must complete assignments using SAS, STATA, E-Views or other software which demonstrate the ability to gather data, formulate a model, test a hypothesis and apply standard statistical tests in the capstone paper in Econometrics.

Graduation Survey

Each graduating senior will be surveyed to determine the satisfaction with the major as a whole, with strengths individual courses and modes of testing, evaluation and instruction. (Begins with May 2011 graduates)

Alumni Survey

Alumni will be surveyed to determine strengths and weaknesses in the major with respect to preparation for one’s career or professional placement. (Begins with fall 2011 – surveyed every three years)

Program Review

Every three years at a minimum the entire economics curriculum is currently reviewed. This shall continue with the additional following steps:

  1. Alumni and graduation surveys shall be reviewed for course additions, deletions or modifications.
  2. Economics programs at comparable research universities will be examined to ensure that our major reflects the profession’s assessment of the major.
  3. Faculty will examine all course and catalogue descriptions, and revise them as appropriate.
  4. The pre and post testing results for Micro and Macro will be distributed to each member of the Department and syllabi and instructional time shall be adjusted to foster maximum student achievement in the core instructional area.

Outside Review

The university has an outside review of all departments complete with a full departmental assessment. The Economics Department has been most recently assessed by faculty from the Economics Departments at The University of Pennsylvania and Wellesley University.