By W. Howe, Dean of Academic Affairs
A recent survey of CIBU alumni now off and running on the great track of life, resulted in 25 responses. Responses were received from alumni who had been in the BFS, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral programs. A review of the data across all items on the survey is impossible here, but I thought it would be revealing to set out data on some items in particular, primarily because those items get at how we’re doing in educating students.
Respondents, I would note, are citizens of seven different nations, including Germany (9), France (8), Switzerland (2), Denmark (2), Korea (2), and the United States (2). The industries they currently represent include Renewable Energy, Radio, International Fairs, Infrastructure Investment, Fashion, IT, Automotive, Home Décor, Banking, Visual Products, Education, Web Marketing, Marketing, and Music. Job titles they hold include Project Manager, Project Director, Chief Operations Officer, Sales Associate, Project Analyst, Owner, Banking Products and Operations Specialist, Key Account Manager, Dean of Faculty, Product Manager, Executive Assistant, and Customer Relations Manager.
In terms of CIBU, their education at the university, and their San Diego experience , alumni indicated the following (Note: Some alumni graduated as far back as 2001, others as recently as 2014; thus, one has to be cautious in aggregating responses, particularly as in some respects the university has changed significantly during that time):
Overall academic experience:
Very satisfied: 6
Satisfied: 16
Neutral: 1
Dissatisfied: 1
Living in San Diego:
Very satisfied: 20
Satisfied: 4
Quality of the academic program:
Very satisfied: 4
Satisfied: 15
Neutral: 4
Dissatisfied: 1
Quality of student services:
Very satisfied: 4
Satisfied: 12
Neutral: 4
Dissatisfied: 3
Quality of teaching at CIBU:
Very satisfied: 6
Satisfied: 16
Very dissatisfied: 1
Favorite class at CIBU:
Marketing (4)
Entrepreneurship (3)
Finance (2)
Business Communication (2)
Law
Organizational Development
Strategic Management
e-Commerce
BFS
Human Resources
Leadership
Statistics
Research Methods
Sales and Service
Women’s Leadership
International Business and Cultures
Social Media
Worldwide Marketing Research
Comments:
Likes:
Group experiences
Examples that are presented in classes
Staff and teachers are always available to help and want students to succeed
Teachers have both educational and professional experience
The university is small and personal, with dedicated professors
There is a strong international student body
I learned how to be independent from my parents
I really miss it!
I really loved the family feeling. You build lifetime relationships and friends
Great support from the faculty and administration; academic and professional rigor
Close supervision and personal relationships between me and my professors
A comfortable place to study and to be social with faculty and students
Teachers and students dialogue … so students learn how to speak up
Live knowledge! Hands on experiences!
Great programs, professors, staff members, and peers
Awesome location!
Enabled me to build up my confidence as we were asked to do presentations….
By the end of the program I had a better understanding of international business
I am really satisfied with the quality of teaching
Areas for improvement:
We should be provided with international transcripts to study anywhere in the world
Too much theory and cannot use it
Some students have difficulty with English, which decelerates the education
Some students have low skill levels
Accounting, Financial Management, and Economics were disappointing
Given my experience, a lot of the courses were things I already knew
Should expand the school internationally to work with alumni who can help with growth
Work experience is more valuable than courses
The work load should be slightly heavier
Many students did not do the reading
Conclusions:
1. CIBU students are clearly satisfied with their overall academic experience, with the quality of the academic programs, and with the quality of the teaching.
2. CIBU students love San Diego. To be sure, San Diego is a big attraction and a big plus for the university.
3. The quality of student services at the university could be improved.
4. The depth and breadth of “favorite classes” indicates that CIBU is doing well in offering courses that are well liked at all levels and across several disciplinary areas.
5. CIBU students most appreciate the university’s practical focus, small size and family feeling, caring faculty and staff who offer personalized service, the dedication and professionalism of the faculty, the internationalism of the student body, the academic rigor, and the engaging teaching strategies that include dialogue, group work, and presentations.
6. There are academic challenges that can be addressed – e.g., the international student body creates some difficulties in delivering education in English effectively to all students; the skill levels and degrees of experience of the diverse students vary widely; academic rigor, though generally good, should be monitored across all courses.
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