Mission Statement
The Mission of the College of Business is to provide excellence in undergraduate and select graduate business education.

To accomplish this, the College

• Fosters an integrated, experiential, and personalized learning environment
• Encourages critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, effective communication, ethical decision making, social responsibility and life-long learning

The College is committed to the teacher-scholar model in which faculty members are simultaneously engaged in teaching and research. The College provides service and outreach to its stakeholders in keeping with this aspect of the University's land-grant mission.

Vision Statement
The College of Business at Montana State University will provide a locally revered and nationally recognized business education for undergraduate students and in selected areas of graduate study. The programs of study will be distinguished by the personalized attention accorded to students, an integrated and contemporary curriculum, and the dedication of the faculty to creating an extraordinary classroom environment and facilitating career opportunities for graduates.

Core Values: Code of Excellence

1. Recruiting and Retaining Exceptional Students - The recruitment and retention of exceptional students is ensured by sustaining high-quality throughout the College and by strategically communicating with all stakeholders. Emphasis is given to our rigorous curriculum, qualified faculty, student services, job placement, student mentoring, and commitment to students in an energizing living and learning environment.
2. Curriculum Design and Delivery - The COB curriculum is accessible, integrated and experiential combining the breadth of liberal arts education with the depth of business practice. It is designed to prepare students for productive careers while fostering lifelong learning, critical thinking, effective communication, and ethical decision-making.
3. Mentoring - Faculty, staff and administration initiate and cultivate interactive student mentoring relationships in support of the academic and professional development of students, and engender student commitment to learning, personal responsibility, effective problem- solving, and ethical judgment.
4. Research and Creative Activity - Faculty members model life-long learning and critical/creative thinking by engaging in research and creative activity that contributes to the inventory of knowledge, strengthens each student's classroom experience, and supports the land-grant mission of MSU.
5. Balancing Personal, Professional and Societal Responsibilities - The College sets work-load expectations for faculty, staff and administration that promote a balance of personal, professional and societal responsibilities and fosters faculty involvement with university, city, state, nation, and world communities.
6. Professional Fulfillment - In support of long-term individual growth and college-wide progress, faculty and staff are afforded the opportunity and resources to pursue personal/professional activities linked directly to consistent, identifiable, desired organizational goals.
7. Organizational Resources and Rewards - The College of Business values and cultivates members of the faculty, staff and administration by allocating substantive resources to recognize outstanding performance and to invest in the future and enhancement of our mission and core values.
8. Organizational Culture - As a dynamic learning community of shared vision and goals, the College of Business culture nurtures the personal and professional growth of faculty, staff and students through trust, openness, good humor, collegiality, accountability, unity, diversity and an enthusiasm for change and individual differences.

STRATEGIC PLAN:
The Path to Greatness

Introduction
The College of Business at Montana State University is an extraordinary learning environment. The faculty and staff have made a sincere commitment to delivering an outstanding and innovative curriculum in a personalized and nurturing environment. Within the philosophy of the Bracken Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education, faculty and staff have devoted their energy to insuring that students are provided a compelling classroom experience along with a wide range of other supportive resources to prepare them for productive and ethical business careers.

The College is approaching what has come to be known in modern business parlance as classic "inflection point." An inflection point is that point at which an organization moves from being a "good" organization on to the path toward being a "great" organization. There is more than ample support for the College of Business to set it's sights on "greatness." The quality of the faculty, the achievements of the students, and the stature of the programs all support the path to greatness. With the addition of 13 tenure track faculty in the last five years, a corps of highly skilled professional faculty, and distinguished student performance on national aptitude and professional examinations, we set our goal to achieve greatness.

The most recent prior strategic plan for the College of Business at Montana State University was proposed on January 17, 2001. The faculty of the College ratified that plan and set about to implement several key features including a Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education (now the Bracken Center), a center for entrepreneurship (now the Center for Entrepreneurship for the New West), and the implementation of three new minors in the College curriculum - entrepreneurship (now the Alderson Program in Entrepreneurship), management of information technology and international business.

At the College-wide Strategic Planning Retreat held August 21, 2006, the faculty expressed their collective belief that the achievements and momentum created by elements of the original strategic plan warranted continued, dedicated effort. In addition, there are several new goals that the faculty believe will further enhance the College's efforts and these are reflected in the final section of the Strategic Plan: The Path to Greatness.

ASSESSMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ENVIRONMENT

An evaluation of the environment facing the College of Business identifies strengths and weaknesses of the organization, along with opportunities and threats which should be considered as the College establishes a strategic plan and direction.

I. Strengths

• Bracken Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education philosophy, facilities and services (e.g., internships, recruiter relations, communications coaching)
• Every class taught by a faculty member/no graduate student instructors
• Small class sizes averaging 25-30 students
• Every student assigned a faculty member as an advisor
• Outstanding tenured/tenure track Academically Qualified faculty (13 new since 2000)
• Outstanding corps of adjunct Professionally Qualified faculty
• An innovative core curriculum especially the Freshman and Senior Seminars
• Well conceived options and minor curricula
• Growing percentage of out of state students
• Student performance on ETS Major Field Test (90th percentile in 2006)
• Growth in demand for College programs (25 percent increase since Fall 2004)
• Redesign of the administrative structure in the College in 2003 specifying two Associate Deans - Associate Dean for Administration and Finance and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs - as well as the Assistant Dean for Student Services
• The addition of much stronger administrative support staff personnel
• Newly achieved stature and presence on campus as evidenced by campus wide faculty and student awards
• Nationally recognized programs in Entrepreneurship and Accounting
• Partnerships with TechRanch and local businesses
• Growing number of corporate recruiters (20 in 2000, 64 in 2006)

II. Weaknesses

• Level of faculty and staff funding in the face of increasing student demand
• Outdated physical facilities, both for instruction and faculty offices
• Visibility/Media Relations
• Instructional expenditures funding at approximately 70% of peer schools
• Administrative staff is too lean

III. Opportunities

• Continued growth and enhancement of the specialized minors, particularly in the management of information technology minor
• Positive environment for creating a "Fellows" program for outstanding students
• Specialized graduate programs serving local and regional constituents, particularly in the areas of entrepreneurship and technology management
• Specialized executive education short courses on a wide range of topics across multiple industries designed for local business constituents
• High growth rate of technology firms in the Bozeman area
• Strong and growing entrepreneurship culture in Bozeman area
• Expanding opportunities for student internships
• Growing donor enthusiasm within the threat cited below
• Increasing the number of international student and faculty exchange relationships
• Grant funding for innovative/growing programs
• Collaborative fundraising efforts between the CoB and other Colleges and departments
• Growing the Master of Professional Accountancy to 50 students

IV. Threats

• Surges in student demand for College programs
• Pressure to increase class sizes
• Increasingly difficult hiring market for qualified faculty
• Campus-wide competition for funding
• Potentially depleted donor capacity by 2008

ON-GOING STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Within the context of the strategic planning environment, several aspects of the original strategic emphasis in the College are considered to be highly effective and therefore deemed worthy of continued focus.

I. The Bracken Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education

1. Dedication to the delivery of integrated content in the core/option area curricula and personalized attention to student learning
2. Maintenance and enhancement of contemporary minor areas of study
   1. Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
   2. International Business
   3. Management of Information Technology
   4. Accounting
   5. Business Administration (for non-business majors)

II. Integrative "hands-on" Learning Initiatives

1. Center for Entrepreneurship for the New West entrepreneur projects
2. Management Practicum course
3. Advertising Campaign Development marketing course and competition
4. Beta Alpha Psi accounting student case competition
5. Entrepreneurship business plan competitions
6. VITA student volunteer tax program
7. Bracken Center high-technology conference rooms for student use

III. Maintain Quality and Prominence of Master of Professional Accountancy

1. Continue to hire outstanding faculty in the accounting option
2. Grow the Master of Professional Accountancy program to 50 students
3. Continue to evolve the curriculum to satisfy demands of recruiters

THE PATH TO GREATNESS

The following are initiatives and activities that build on the current strengths and momentum in the College. Organized around key elements of the learning environment - people, programs and place - the faculty and staff are focused on creating a truly outstanding experience for students and serving the needs of the college's wide ranging constituent groups.

I. People: Create a Culture of Achievement, Responsibility and Professionalism

1. Create High Expectations for Students
   1. Create a student Code of Excellence to parallel the faculty's Code of Excellence
   2. Create, and provide opportunities in support of the expectation that all students will engage in professional development activities (internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, etc.)
   3. Create an honors program within the College of Business
   4. Emphasize professional interactions with potential employers
   5. Enable student participation in regional and national competitions
   6. Professionalize student clubs by enabling high quality student leadership
   7. Create student "professional portfolios" for job placement featuring both intellectual capital and social capital
2. Create an Advising Model That Develops Student Professionalism and Utilizes the Strengths of the Faculty
   1. Place responsibility for education and career decisions on students
   2. Enable faculty to advise students on academic and employment choices in light of students' career plans
   3. Develop an advising/mentoring program for "at risk/struggling" students
3. Recruit, Develop and Retain Outstanding Corps of Professionally Qualified Faculty
   1. Provide active mentoring and training
   2. Provide resources to support the continued development of Professionally Qualified faculty members
   3. Implement annual evaluation processes
4. Improve Rewards for Dedication to the College's Mission
   1. Create and fund new faculty award for exemplary performance related to enhancing the student culture of achievement, responsibility and professionalism
   2. Increase funding for existing Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service and for Code of Excellence Award
   3. Fund Professorships and/or Faculty Fellowships in each option area and Entrepreneurship
5. Provide Sufficient Staff Support to Achieve the College's Mission
   1. Create and staff sufficient positions to support faculty, administration and students
   2. Reward staff for performance through salary, bonuses and other recognition

II. Programs: Offer Curricula that Highlight Professionalism and Achievement

1. Deploy Faculty in the Curriculum to Achieve the College's Mission
   1. Establish the proper deployment of academically qualified and professionally qualified faculty in the Business Pre-Core, Core and option courses
2. Continuously Improve Curriculum to Stress Professional Skills and Knowledge
   1. Stress professional skills such as ethics, team work, leadership and communication while continuing to deliver a rigorous curriculum
   2. Improve student writing skills
   3. Establish a Financial Learning Institute and lab
   4. Identify course programs consistent with CFA (registered TM) and CFP (registered TM) certifications, and seek formal recognition for each of the course programs from, respectively, the CFA Institute and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
   5. Expand and promote international opportunities for students and faculty
3. Evaluate Options for Executive Education Programs
   1. Multi-industry executive weekend short courses
   2. Custom designed "in-house" coursework for selected businesses

III. Place: Build Facilities Consistent with the Stature and Quality of the College's Faculty, Programs and Students

1. Create a physical environment that reflects and contributes to the College's culture of professionalism and academic excellence
   1. Position the College prominently in the University's Comprehensive Capital Campaign
   2. Launch a fundraising effort to support a facility that reflects the stature of the College's programs and student achievements
      

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 7/05/2005