Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Assessment Plan

In the College of Business we continuously strive to improve our program through ongoing assessment of our student's learning. All graduating seniors in our undergraduate and MBA programs take the Major Field Test (MFT) administered by the Educational Testing Services (ETS) at the end of the Spring and Fall terms each year. The MFT tests are comprehensive undergraduate and MBA outcomes assessment designed to measure the critical knowledge and understanding obtained by students in a major field of study. ETS offers comprehensive national comparative data for the Major Field Tests, enabling the College of Business (COB) to evaluate our students’ performance and compare our program's effectiveness to those at similar institutions nationwide. Currently there are more than 500 institutions at the undergraduate level and more than 40 institutions at the graduate level administering the MFT. Our students both at the graduate and undergraduate have consistently scored above the 75th percentile in most subject areas.

We use the results from the MFT tests to

  • prepare students to succeed by using test results to improve curricula
  • demonstrate the strengths of our program to prospective students and faculty
  • help ensure our students have mastered their field of study

This year we focus on one area, Finance at the MBA level, where we have used the results from the MFT exam to make changes to our curriculum.

In the area of Finance we used the results from the MFT tests to improve our curricula and better prepare our students for the job market. We recently introduced an area of concentration in finance at the graduate level. After completing the core MBA class in Managerial Finance, students take two elective classes, Advanced Corporate Finance and Investments. In the Advanced Corporate Finance class, students learn to apply financial principles of leasing, fuel hedging, mergers, and acquisition analysis to the airline industry. In the Investments class, students use simulation software to manage a virtual portfolio. This helps students learn not only the specific financial application to the airline industry but also offers them a broad-based exposure to other opportunities in the area of Investments.

As a result of these changes our students have scored in the 85th-95th percentile in the area of finance in the MFT exams for Fall and Spring 2007 which is well above our target of scoring in the 75th percentile. The Finance area of concentration has also helped our students secure positions as senior financial analysts with major airlines such as Continental Airlines, United Airlines, and U.S. Airways.