SUBJECT: Change in academic organization within the School of
Business and Management Sciences.
DATE: March 28, 1988
DISPOSITION: To the Presiding Officer for Implementation
Resolved, that the Senate approve the attached proposals for
thc creation of ncw departments and realignment of programs and faculty
in the School of Business and Management Sciences. The proposals, and the
rationale or justification for each, are:
Proposal 1: The current Department of Business and Economics
be divided into the three following departments:
Department of Accounting - This seven-member department offers a
concentration in accounting at both the associate and baccalaureate degree
levels as well as a post- baccalaureate certificate in accounting. The
department has in excess of 200 students concentrating in its courses of
study. In addition to offering accounting courses, business law courses
are typically offered through this unit.
Department of Economics/Finance - Effective with the current academic
year the economics and finance units were combined into a single unit.
The ten-member department includes eight economists and two finance professors.
The department offers concentrations at the baccalaureate level in business
economics and finance and it also offers the economics course work required
for a B.A. in economics. The department includes approximately 40 majors.
Department of Management/Marketing - From among the nine faculty
positions located in this department, there are three marketing faculty,
three quantitative analysis/management information systems faculty, and
three faculty members in management. The department, which has approximately
200 majors, offers concentrations at both the associate and baccalaureate
levels.
Note: These three departments will replace the Department of Business
and Economics within the B & MS organizational structure.
Proposal 2: Place the Office Administration program and its
three faculty members in the Department of Supervision. Since the Office
Administration program and its faculty had little in common with any of
the three departments listed above, the OA faculty decided that their professional
interests and the interests of their program and students would best be
served through placement within the Department of Supervision. I concur
with their wishes in this regard. For the next 1-2 years the OA faculty
plan to offer the courses which will enable students to either complete
an office administration option in either Indiana University's associate
of science degree in applied business studies degree and in Purdue University's
associate in applied science degree in supervision. Although I anticipate
that the option in the former degree will be dropped in the near future,
the long-term viability of the Office Administration program will hopefully
be assured by offering both options to students during a reasonable transition
period. The institutional affiliation of the OA faculty and its programs
shall not be affected by the acceptance of this proposal.
Proposal 3: Formal designation of the Consumer and
Family Sciences unit as the Department of Consumer and Family Sciences.
While admittedly the CFS department will be the smallest department in
numbers of faculty within B & MS (three faculty), the RHI (restaurant,
hotel, and institutional management) and interior design programs have
in excess of 100 students pursuing associate degrees therein. As I evaluated
other possible departmental affiliations for the CFS faculty, I was unable
to come up with any alternative which made good academic sense. Since the
CFS faculty will soon develop a proposal for a baccalaureate program in
RHI and since this was clearly the basis for locating CFS within B &
MS, the program's viability will best be served by conferring it formal
department status.