Our Mission
We are a student-centered community of
scholars and professionals dedicated to providing
students with the foundation necessary to have a
lifelong positive impact on business and society.
Our Values
The College values engagement in its approach to education, research, and service. We value active faculty engagement with students. Engagement with industry advisory committees helps inform curricula and other course decisions, keeping our content relevant and preparing graduates to participate and lead in their areas of study. Faculty engagement with other academics in their fields is also encouraged. We value staff guidance and engagement with students. We also encourage students to engage with organizations in the region, gaining practical experience and a broader perspective while adding value to our surrounding community.
We believe in the mission and values articulated by Western Washington University. A liberal arts educational foundation engages students with faculty and the community, builds professional skills, and provides an environment with diverse perspectives. Students are encouraged to become responsible stewards of resources whether they are financial, human, or environmental.
To accomplish these goals our faculty must be teachers-scholars with a strong disciplinary expertise who are also motivated to be innovative teachers.
The College mainly serves traditional-age undergraduates from western Washington. However, we welcome students from the region, nation, and the world, with all backgrounds and perspectives.
The College seeks to recruit, select, hire, and develop teacher-scholars. We value scholarship that has a disciplinary focus, and we strive to keep faculty actively engaged in the current issues related to their field as well as applicable pedagogical research. We encourage supplementary expertise in research that informs public policy and practical application.
The College embraces innovative forms of student learning, research, and community engagement. Opportunities to advance student learning that lead to a process of continual improvement are highly valued. Faculty are encouraged to experiment with new teaching formats designed to enhance student experiences. Curricula are regularly reviewed and updated to better prepare students for current industry practices.
The College values the positive impact that our programs, research, and applied work have on the lives of our students and on the greater community. To be the most impactful, these programs should go beyond technical expertise. We prepare our students to be critical thinking, ethical participant leaders in their fields. Our faculty and staff are encouraged to make a difference in the broader community through service on advisory boards, volunteer work, and consulting.
- Creation & Acquisition of Knowledge
- Preservation & Dissemination of Knowledge
- Congenial & Supportive Academic Environment
- Professionalism
- Application of Knowledge
- Search for truth
- Intellectual integrity
- Free exchange of ideas
- Lifelong learning
- Independent thought
Strategic Goals
The College supports and works toward Western Washington University’s strategic goals within the context of business and economics education and the values stated above. Below is the CBE’s 2021-2026 Strategic Initiatives.
Preparing and graduating students for leadership positions so they can serve as change agents to society. To put our students in such leadership positions, we believe our students should:
- Strategic Initiative A: Be professionally ready.
- Metric A1: Placement
- Metric A2: Student Internships
- Strategic Initiative B: Possess a global mindset
- Metric B1: Courses with Global Content/Cultural Intelligence
- Metric B2: Opportunities to Study Abroad
- Strategic Initiative C: Appreciate, support, and excel in an equitable and inclusive environment.
- Metric C1: Retention
- Metric C2: Student Climate
- Strategic Initiative D: Be trained with a "state-of-the-art" curriculum.
- Metric D1: Program/Course Reviews
- Metric D2: Skillset Match
Hiring, retaining, and developing faculty and staff that contribute to the well-being of society. We do this through:
- Strategic Initiative E1: High quality research (see. Revised faculty qualifications)
- Metric E1: High Quality Research
- Strategic Initiative E2: Active participation in projects that create societal impact.
- Metric E2: Societal impact
- Strategic Initiative E2: Design and implement an onboarding, mentorship, and professional development process that fosters community and increases engagement and opportunity for CBE staff
- Metric E3: Initiatives and Awards
Working with external stakeholders who in turn contribute to the well-being of society. We will do this using:
- Strategic Initiative F: Regular connection with alumni.
- Metric F1: Number of alumni engaged
- Metric F2: Number of Alumni Engagement Efforts
- Strategic Initiative G: Executive education programs to connect with the local communities.
- Metric G1: Number of learners engaged
WESTERN'S STRATEGIC GOALS
Western Washington University’s strategic mission guides all of its colleges, including the College of Business and Economics. We align with these core values:
- Western provides a transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity to foster the development of engaged citizens who combine critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning to effectively address the challenges facing the state, the nation and the world.
- Western advances understanding of and engagement with place, based upon knowledge of the region, its communities, and set within a global context.
- Western fosters a caring community where all members are supported, where everyone has a voice and the ability to be heard, and where the definition of community is broad and inclusive.
- Western pursues justice and equity in its policies and practices.
HOW CBE CONTRIBUTES
We support these goals by:
- Focusing on student learning and professional engagement.
- Encouraging professional interactions between students, professionals, and teacher/scholars.
- Supporting research that has an impact on the body of business knowledge.
- Encouraging innovative teaching styles, research, and service.
Assurance of Learning
At the College of Business and Economics (CBE), teaching and learning are at the core of our mission. We are committed to delivering high-quality academic programs and preparing graduates for successful, fulfilling careers.
Our Assurance of Learning (AoL) program is how we ensure our degrees remain rigorous, relevant, and continuously improving. Through the AoL process, we assess what students are learning, evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum, and revise programs based on results.
What the AoL Program Does
Each degree program has specific learning goals and outcomes. These are shared with students, faculty, and other stakeholders to set clear expectations.
We measure how well students are meeting these goals using data from exams, assignments, and other assessments. This helps us identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Faculty regularly review assessment results and revise the curriculum to ensure it stays aligned with student needs and industry standards.
This process helps us stay in compliance with accreditation requirements from organizations like AACSB and NWCCU, and reinforces a culture of accountability and excellence.
HOW THE PROCESS WORKS
The AoL process follows a continuous improvement cycle:
- Define program learning goals and objectives
- Measure student learning outcomes
- Compare outcomes to benchmarks
- Revise programs to improve learning
- Repeat
Learning Goals by Program
Critically analyze a problem or an issue.
Learning Objective: Effectively apply a critical-analysis framework and provide a supported and defensible recommendation.
Effectively Communicate.
Learning Objective: Produce clear, concise, and coherent written documents appropriate for the intended audience.
Apply quantitative methodology to support decision making.
Learning Objective: Effectively assess data, apply quantitative methods, and draw conclusions.
Able to build and maintain high-quality professional relationships and collaborations.
Learning objective: Students can effectively contribute to collaborative task work and team-building work within a self-managed project team.
- Produce quality business documents
- Analyze problems using an ethical perspective
- Analyze the legal implications of business decisions
- Critically analyze problems and defend resolutions
- Apply global perspective in conducting business
- Identify and analyze social consequences of business activities
- Understand the importance of environmental sustainability
- Demonstrate knowledge of financial concepts
- Demonstrate knowledge of economic concepts
- Demonstrate knowledge of accounting concepts
- Analyze economic data using quantitative techniques
- Produce quality business documents
- Demonstrate written communication skills
- Demonstrate oral communication skills
- Demonstrate ability to synthesize business knowledge
- Analyze business decision using a global perspective
- Understand and be able to use emerging technology in business decision-making
- Increase ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate complex topics in accounting
- Demonstrate the application of skills in professional accounting
- Demonstrate expertise in synthesizing knowledge and skills in professional accounting
- Demonstrate understanding of current and emerging technologies
- Demonstrate understanding of global impact of accounting
Contact Us
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