Consistent with the vision of the COB, the DOE aspires to be a distinctive scholarly community from which students reach their full potential. The mission of the Department of Economics (DOE) is to create value and opportunity for our studerts by providing a high quality education at the Ellensburg campus and university centers in the Puget Sound and central regions of Washington State. The meaning of the DOE’s mission is further explained in the paragraphs below.
The DOE strives to strengthen the mission of CWU and the College of Business (COB) to provide an outstanding academic and student life on the Ellensburg campus and the University Centers. Also, the DOE strives to promote regional and national prominence for the university.
The DOE will continue to emphasize core competencies in the areas of principles of economics, quantitative methods, critical thinking, and communication. It will also strive to strengthen students’ understanding of a multicultural and increasingly globalized world. Internationalizing the economics curriculum will continue to be an important goal of the DOE. The faculty of this department is exceptionally equipped to achieve this objective. Serving our place-bound students at the Centers, and in particular the West Side which is experiencing FTE growth, is a special challenge for the COB and hence the DOE as well. There is a new effort underway presently to approach distance learning more innovatively. One important goal of the COB is to achieve AACSB accreditation. Recognizing that the primary goal of our university is to educate students, the DOE faculty will maintain a proper balance in teaching, service and scholarship objectives, and abide by the standards of the college.
At the end of each quarter, the DOE faculty members conduct student evaluations in each section of each course. Students are requested to fill out a questionnaire as well as write a short essay concerning their overall impression of the instructor. These results are tabulated and made available to the instructor after the quarter has been completed and student grades are turned in. Results of faculty evaluations are a major p art of the criteria used in evaluating faculty for retention, promotion, and salary increases.
The strength of the DOE comes from its faculty. All full-time members of the economics faculty have Ph.D. degrees and are actively involved in teaching, research, and public service.
In March 2004, Dr. Thomas Trulove (Department of Economics at Eastern Washington University)reviwed the program of the DOE. In addition to concluding that we have a "very good department with a sound program and an outstanding faculty," recommended that the department be granted additional faculty to maintain a professional respectable program." He also recommended that the DOE continue to provide programs that fit the needs of its students. In response to these recommendations, the DOE has made three reivisons in its program which became effective in academic year 2007-2008. 1. A new specialization was developed, Economics and Business Forecasting. 2. To improve on the assessment of our Economics program, a new course was developed, EC 406/Assessment. This is a required course that is taken by all students majoring in Economics and who are about to graduate. Besides providing a review of economic principles, the course helps prepare students for the job market and graduate school. Students also complete an exit questionnaire of the economics program. 3. The replacement of our internally developed assessment exam in Economics with the Economics exam provided by Educational Testing Service.
The DOE has continued to hire terminally qualified faculty. The most recent addition to our faculty is Dr. Thomas Tenerelli (September 2007). DOE faculty have continued to make teaching their top priority. Besides providing excellent classroom instruction, faculty show much interest in the welfare of students and make themselves available to students for advising and personal assistance. In the area of service, DOE faculty are actively involved. They actively participate on committees at the department-college-university levels. Service to the Ellensburg community, the State of Washington, and the economics profession are other areas of accomplishment.
The DOE faces some significant challenges in the areas of recruitment, hiring, and retention of terminally qualified faculty. An inadequate salary structure of the university is often an obstacle for making competitive offers to qualified candidates. Faculty members of the DOE also have the incentive to look elsewhere for better compensation. Hiring faculty at the Ellensburg campus is difficult because Ellensburg offers few job opportunities to the spouse/partner of a faculty member. In combination, these two factors remain challenging constraints for making this an attractive living environment for many promising academics. In the face of changes and emergent needs which are inevitable institutional realities, the challenge of adhering to the twin principles of “maximum flexibility for all” and of assigning tasks with attention to “comparative advantage” will remain.
The DOE strives to provide an outstanding academic life on the Ellensburg campus and at the university centers. Our economics program provides a rigorous curricula and faculty members have achieved regional and national prominence for the university.
Curricula reflect current needs and developments in business and promote an understanding of theory and its practical application. Education at a high level of quality derives from concern for students at the individual level, and personalized, innovative instruction supported by appropriate learning technologies. In addition to emphasizing economic theory in classroom lectures, DOE faculty members regularly provide practical illustrations of theoretical techniques. Several examples may help illustrate this point: • Faculty members routinely bring examples of contemporary economic problems into the classroom that illustrate the relevance of theory to the real world. • Case studies are used in many economics classes. • Students are encouraged to participate in internship programs with government agencies, financial institutions, public utilities, hospitals, and so on. • Microcomputers have been integrated into the curriculum. • An economics research methods course is available for our students. This course is designed to familiarize them with a systematic approach for utilizing economic principles and quantitative techniques as a frame of reference in conceptualizing, designing, and carrying out analyses of problems. • The DOE has internationalized its curriculum by including international topics throughout the material taught in the principles of macroeconomics and microeconomics courses. Upper level economics courses with international themes are part of the curriculum. DOE majors have participated in foreign exchange programs with universities in the Pacific Rim countries and Europe. Foreign students interact with American students on a regular basis in economics courses.
The DOE curriculum is patterned after that of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The DOE stresses the quality teaching and advising of students. However, scholarship and service to the university and community are expected of the faculty. Concerning scholarship, all tenured and tenure-track members of the DOE are expected to conduct scholarship which leads to publications in outlets such as refereed journal articles and books. In response to the needs of employers, the DOE initiated its Economic and Business Forecasting specialization in 2007.
Concerning instruction, the DOE maintains that faculty members should actively share their educational background as well as research experience with their students. Not only do faculty members maintain formal office hours, but they have an open door policy and are willing to help students throughout the day. Faculty members integrate their research findings into their economics lectures. Faculty members also direct students with research projects, some of which have led to publications and presentations at professional meetings. Faculty of this department remain active in outreach programs and participate actively in SOURCE and Douglas Honors College. This allows the faculty and students of DOE to interact vigorously with other faculty and students across campus, and makes this department one of the most visible on campus.
Assessment results are communicated to faculty in department meetings and via email.
The DOE has made changes in its program in response to the comments of our students, student employers, external reviewer, and AACSB accreditation reviewers.
For our EC 201 and 101 courses, we utilize intensive personal contact with our students and also exams during courses to ensure that students maintain competence in the perspectives on the cultures and experiences of the United States.
In its EC 406 course (Economic Assessment), students complete the Economics exam of the Educational Testing Service. This exam emphasizes critical/analytical thinking skills of students.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
The DOE uses a combination of live instruction and two-way video to offer its classes. Live instruction is the method used to serve students at the main Ellensburg campus. The DOE uses two-way video to offer classes to students at both West Side Centers, Lynnwood and SeaTac. The economics faculty also provides distance education instruction to students in Yakima, Wenatchee, and Moses Lake. The growth areas for the distant education program are on the West Side, with very few students taking distant-ed courses in Yakima, Wenatchee, and Moses Lake.
Blackboard technology (Applia) is used in EC 201 and EC 202. Internet support other than Blackboard is used in EC 101, EC310, EC 330, EC 351, EC 324, EC 325, EC 401, EC 401, EC 426
Serving our place-bound students at the Centers, and in particular the West Side which is experiencing FTE growth, is a special challenge for the COB and hence the DOE as well. There is a new effort underway presently to approach distance learning more innovatively. While students at our centers need to be served, there is usually no technological substitute for time with an instructor. One way of preventing the degradation of the learning experience, which can happen in the distance environment, is to create a “blended learning” environment. Blended learning within the distance learning framework would create an integrated approach involving, face-to-face interaction, web-based instruction, as well as traditional distance learning.
The same terminally qualified faculty teach courses at the learning centers and at the main Ellensburg campus. Identical textbooks and other learning resources, student outcomes, academic standards and advising processes are used to ensure uniformity.
The DOE provides for advising by full-time faculty members, which enables students to formulate a program of study to meet their individual needs and desires. All students receive advising upon expressing their intent to major or minor in economics. After initial advising, individual degree plans are formulated for the remainder of the student’s tenure at CWU. Career orientation and flexibility are stressed when formulating programs of study. A report, Jobs for Economics Students, is prepared by the DOE and made available to our students. All members of this department take advising seriously. In order to distribute the advising load equitably, we create an Advising Schedule each quarter. This allows us to be available to students so that there is at least one faculty member who is always available to advise students during the times when we expect a higher density of student visits. We take pride in such availability to our students. Periodically, we also publish a list of our majors and minors. This allows colleagues to share this information and begin a process of redistribution of loads when the loads become inequitable. The collegiality of this department is such that most individual members step forward with suggestions for sharing arrangements, without the chairperson having to take any initiative beyond the generation of this document. Not only do faculty members maintain formal office hours, but they have an open door policy and are willing to help students throughout the day. Faculty members integrate their research findings into their economics lectures.
Concerning transfer credits, equivalent lower division (100-200 level) courses may be transferred toward meeting the pre-admission requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. Upper division (300-400 level) courses may be transferred toward meeting the major requirements only with the approval of the Chair of the Economics Department and the College Dean or designee. Transfer students must earn a minimum of 45 quarter credits at CWU to be eligible for the Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. Transfer students earning fewer than 45 quarter credits in their Economics major at CWU must receive approval from the College Dean prior to graduation.
Students are recruited through the university and COB web site. Faculty also attend the university recruiting forums during the academic year.
The DOE recognizes that certain students may have special educational needs. Efforts are made by the DOE to deal with these students. The DOE makes available academic support services including study skills and individual tutoring. Several DOE faculty have been designated as faculty mentors to help minority students succeed at CWU. DOE advisors help students select career paths and refer them to the CWU Financial Aid Office to obtain information concerning scholarships.
Economics Club Omicron Delta Epsilon (national economics honorary soceity for students)
Faculty of this department remain active in outreach programs and participate actively in SOURCE and Douglas Honors College. This allows the faculty and students of DOE to interact vigorously with other faculty and students across campus, and makes this department one of the most visible on campus. Faculty members also direct students with research projects, some of which have led to publications and presentations at professional meetings.
Faculty periodically meet with recruiters from business firms and government agencies when they attend professional meetings. The DOE also provides its publication, "Jobs for Economics Students," which it continually updates.
Faculty staffing needs are based on projected student enrollments. The lack of qualified economists in the Ellensburg area result in the Economics Department relying almost totally on full-time faculty.
To support their teaching missions, all members of the Economics faculty are engaged in research and publication. Attending professional meetings, and presenting research at these meetings, is part of our reasearch agenda.
Criteria for promotion and tenure evaluation build upon the criteria specified by the Faculty Code and the COB. The weights to be used among the three areas of responsibility are the same as those used for the merit process: Teaching Effectiveness (40%); Scholarliness and Productivity (25-35%); and Special Services (25-35%). Promotion to Associate Professor or Granting of Tenure The tenured full professors and associate professors of the Department of Economics constitute the Personnel Committee for determining whether the candidate has continued his or her professional development beyond the requirements for the assistant professor rank. The tenured full professors of the Department of Economics constitute the Personnel Committee for determining whether the candidate has continued his or her professional development beyond the requirements for the associate professor rank.
The balance of teaching, scholarship, and service is seen in the Faculty Workloads of faculty. For the typical faculty member: Teaching = 67%, scholarship=33% service=19%.
At the end of each quarter, the DOE faculty members conduct student evaluations in each section of each course. Students are requested to fill out a questionnaire as well as write a short essay concerning their overall impression of the instructor. These results are tabulated and made available to the instructor after the quarter has been completed and student grades are turned in. Results of faculty evaluations are a major p art of the criteria used in evaluating faculty for retention, promotion, and salary increases.
The strength of the DOE comes from its faculty. All full-time members of the economics faculty have Ph.D. degrees and are actively involved in teaching, research, and public service. One DOE faculty member has won the CWU Distinguished Professor of the Year Award-Teaching and three have won the CWU Distinguished Professor of the Year Award-Research. Several faculty members have also won various teaching and service awards sponsored by the COB and Central Washington University.
Data provided by Instructional Research and other appropriate offices.
The DOE relies on the library of Central Washington University for books, journals, and government documents needed to support teaching and research. Interlibrary loan is another source of information for economics faculty and students. Each year, the library provides the DOE $3,485 for the purchase of books and $1,023 for subscriptions to journals. Our library facility is an excellent one for an undergraduate program in economics. The faculty has reported that the library is very prompt in ordering materials that are needed for courses in economics. The DOE is a significant user of the reserve section of the library for courses and is a consistent user of materials throughout the library.
The library does not carry the kind of holdings that provide support for widespread faculty research in economics. This is not the fault of the library, but a reflection of limited budgets. With the high cost of books and professional journals today, only a limited number of these items can be obtained. However, the staff of the library are very helpful purchasing books and journals most vital to the mission of DOE, and also with requesting materials through interlibrary loan. The DOE bears some of the cost of subscriptions to journals and books necessary for teaching and research. DOE faculty strongly recommend that the library continue to receive funding for the purchase of educational materials.
The College of Business provides support to the DOE in the area of information and technology. An information technology systems specialist is available to provide support in the areas of computers, power point, showing of videos, and the like. This support is very helpful and should be encouraged. The College of Business also provides budgetary assistance to help DOE faculty purchase books and journals necessary for teaching and research.
One member of the DOE faculty reviews book acquisitions of the library
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION ANI) GOVERNANCE The DOE is a member of the COB along with the Department of Accounting and the Department of Business Administration. The DOE consists of seven fill-time faculty, one part-time faculty who teaches jointly for DOE and the Department of Business Administration, one secretary, and one work- study student, as seen in Table 1. A dual chair arrangement exists for the DOE. Currently, Bob Carbaugh chairs the department during the Summer and Fall quarters and Koushik Ghosh chairs during the Winter and Spring quarters. This arrangement allows these individuals to not stagnate in university administration while maintaining themselves as productive scholars. This structure is an organizational innovation at Central Washington University which manages a department through shared leadership. The department chairs are able to retain maximum scholarly productivity which allows them to serve as role models for faculty peers. Department chairs are able to lead by example through their participation in teaching, scholarship, and service.
The DOE includes two working groups: • Department Faculty Committee--meets periodically to discuss departmental matters and form policies concerning curriculum, allocation of finds, purchase of equipment, and the like. This committee includes all faculty members of the DOE. Because the DOE is relatively small, the chairs are able to discuss many issues with faculty on a frequent and informal basis. Therefore, formal meetings involving the Department Faculty Committee are held to a minimum and used only when topics of major importance must be considered. • Personnel Committee--establishes policies and procedures concerning teaching, scholarship, and service for department members. The committee also makes recommendations regarding reappointment, promotion, and merit salary increases as well as conducts faculty searches. The members of this committee include all tenured faculty of the DOE.
Adequate resources exist for our faculty to fulfill their teaching, scholarship and service objectives.
The Economics Department is not currently involved in fundraising. However, the Dean of the College of Business raises funds to support the research mission of the college.
Adequate
Adequate
Additional computer technology will be neede for faculty to provide students with essential technical skills.
All members of the Economics Department, including faculty and secretary, consult at department meetings to evaluate office space and resources.
The Department of Economics statement of ethics is consistent with that of the College of Buiness as seen below: The College of Business is a learning community committed to a set of core values based on integrity, respect and responsibility that guide our interactions. Integrity: the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards Members of our community are expected to act with integrity and honesty. These qualities are essential in providing a basis for trust, and are at the foundation of what molds the character of business professionals. Respect: to show consideration or thoughtfulness in relation to others Our community respects the right of all people to express their ideas, beliefs, and opinions. Our relationships are based on mutual respect for one another, and differences of opinion are discussed openly and civilly. These discussions will focus on the issues, rather than attacking either party, and are presented in a courteous manner. We are sensitive to the impacts of both our words and actions on others. Responsibility: the state, fact, or position of being accountable and responsible We accept responsibility for our actions and the consequences resulting from them. We understand and expect those around us to hold us accountable for our dealings and behavior. We deliver on the commitments and promises we make to others. Code of Honor As College of Business students we pledge to uphold these standards of professionalism and conduct ourselves in accordance with them. We will not lie, cheat, or steal, and will not tolerate those who do. Our behavior defines who we are and what we will become.
The above ethics statement is periodically reviewed and modified with the consensus of the College of Business Faculty.