Fall 2005  End-of-Term Evaluation

MBA 685  Human Resource Management

Dr. Randy Richards

Q1.      Comments on the method of learning

1. It forces you to get involved and makes you learn more than just facts.

2. This is an excellent way to learn as a working adult – professionals learning form each     other.

3. No comment.

4. Learning experience was fantastic, self-motivation was challenged.

5. I learned more about conducting myself as a professional than I would have in a regular class.

6. I learned so much more about myself through this style of learning.

Q2.   Comments on amount of work/study

1. The amount of work done is up to the student.

2. The work was encompassed within my daily work duties, which masked the actual amount of time spent.

3. I didn’t think it was any different than other classes if you just planned your schedules correctly.

4. Depends on the project, but setting goals and a timeline was like the pressure of an exam.

5. No comment.

6. It was harder but the amount took the same time.  It was also nice being part of my job.  Double Dipping.

Q3   Comments on  project growth

1.                  It grew but became more focused.

2.                  I spent more time researching corporate silos/politics than I ever imagined.

3.                  I enjoyed working on it and I learned a lot by working on it.

4.                  After further clarification, my understanding of the major tasks to be completed was minimized.

5.                  No comment.

6.                  I needed to set a scope limit and it stayed there.

Q4  Comments on  project difficulty

1. It is not easy to get people to change!

2. The politics within my organization created the additional burden.

3. There were few difficulties on it, but nothing too major.

4. Corporate environment proved to be more challenging. Team work was always an issue (what’s the point of a cross-functional team w/out teamwork?)

5. Buy-in from supervisors was lower than expected.

6. No comment

Q5  Comments on level of supervisor attention to project

1. No comment.

2. No comment.

3. Just to my boss right now but could go higher – not sure.

4. No comment.

5. No comment.

6. No comment.

Q6  Comments on taking another work based project class

1.                  I like things that are outside the box.

2.                  I would research the corporate politics more to make sure I had company support.

3.                  More hands – found it very enjoyable.

4.                  I would choose a project that challenged me in different areas.

5.                  No comment.

6.                  It was real life applicable – I don’t need any more theory, that was undergrad.

Q7    Assessment of change of roles

1. I think it is very appropriate at the graduate level for the students to step up!

2. The professor was a mentor – it allowed me to manage the project.

3. Better.

4. No comment.

5. I believe it gets more appropriate information to the learner.

6. I liked it.  I didn’t learn things that were useless.  I only learned things that I cared to learn and these will stick with me.

Q8   Comments on group

1.         Their thoughts were helpful to find weakness in my plans.

2.         Excellent team building environment.

3.         Not much input needed.

4.         Mixed background and didn’t always relate to my project.

5.         I received feedback and suggestions every step of the way,

6.         The groups were a great source of support and ideas.  Over half of my improvements came from them.

Q9   Strengths of this approach to learning

1. Gets you involved.

2. Real work and real value – ability to learn form each other.

3. Fun, enjoyable and a lot easier way of learning (your own pace).

4. Self-motivation, standing out in the workplace, variety of challenges.

5. It allows a student to grow both professionally and academically.

6. I learned about myself, my organizations and other organizations. It opened my eyes to the politics out there.

Q10     Suggestions for improvement

1.                  It could use some more specific guidelines for what the projects can or can not be. This         would help the student avoid dead ends.

2.                  Midway through class mix up teams – more variety in feedback.

3.                  None – all was great.

4.                  Not sure . . . more info on project topics selected.

5.                  I don’t have anything else to add other than to reinforce the fact that I learned and grew tremendously through this class.

6.                  Making people feel that they can leave if the lecture doesn’t apply.

Q11     Comments on professor’s performance

1.         He cares about our learning and progression in life.  That is clear and the most important             attribute.

2.       Great learning environment.

3.       It was a great experience.  Excellent job!

4.         No comment.

5.         No comment.

6.         I loved this course and have already suggested it to others.!  Great job, I’m so glad I took it.

Spring 2005  End-of-Term Evaluation

MBA 685  Human Resource Management

Dr. Randy Richards

Q1.      Comments on the method of learning

1. More in depth on less topics

2. I retained more information because topics and projects were addressed and revisited each week.

3. The idea is really good. Nevertheless, I felt that there was a lack of theory.  We only focus on our individual projects.  I wish we would have had some extra lectures.

4. This class provided a real life application.

5. My reflection paper speaks for itself.

6. Much more enjoyable and more motivating than traditional learning methods.

7. There’s room for both types, but this was a great learning experience.

8. I would have liked to have found out skill sets would be learned – or expected to be learned – the project could have included to what extent we felt the goal was accomplished.

9. No comment

10. Experience was an  excellent teacher for this type of project.  I couldn’t have guessed all

    the problems or issues I would have to deal with unless  they just come up as you do them.

11. It gave me that edge into what I was looking.  This “hands on” project will stay with me

     forever.  I learned a lot from this experience.

12. I retained more information when the project dealt with my day to day job duties.

13. No comment

14. By doing rather than reading/testing, I believe I will better remember the information.  

      Stories and anecdotes of the other students, will make retention and examples easy when

      discussing issues with others.

15. I do believe this method is/was helpful.  Next time I will start small. – Guess I expected

      too much from myself.

16.  Good, but there are a lot of concepts from HR that could be learned.

17.  It is nice to have a change of pace, but I would not want all my classes to be like this.

18.  I learned things I wouldn’t have in this but missed out on lectures.

19.  I like the project based classes however, I would like some basis for HR

information (semi structured).

Q2.   Comments on amount of work/study

1.                  Didn’t study as many areas but learned more in depth.

2.                  No comment

3.                  (Less)  And I guess that this was my responsibility.  I could have researched more, read more, etc.

4.                  Much of the work was done outside of the job, even though it was focused on the job.

5.                  (More)  As I stated in my comment above.

6.                  Work was focused more toward learning I was doing for myself and that I chose.                                   

7.                  (More) But a lot of the workload was spent on company time.

8.                  Self induced!

9.                  No comment

10.              No comment

11.              I actually went out in the field and did recruiting.

12.              Due to starting a new job, I was caught in between finding that balance between work and study.

13.              No comment

14.              While the work was different, it was about the same quantity as a more traditional class.  The good part was that I could do the effort at work and by boss encouraged it.

15.              I found I spent a lot of time at work.

16.              The action project tied in with what I do at work, so it was very little work

          to do at night.

17.              No comment

18.              Same amount – just different.

19.              No comment

Q3   Comments on  project growth

1. No comment

2. The project grew as I came to understand the HR concepts & functions of orientation,

     training and mentoring.

3. It was actually a pretty interesting adventure.

4. Many possible ideas branched from the initial project.

5. As I looked at my presentation w/ supervisor. There’s areas that I can blow up.

6. It grew beyond anything I could have hoped for.

7. No comment

8. I had scope creep and had to back down a notch.

9. No comment

10. It grew daily it seems to get everything everyone wanted.  It was similar to doing an

      addition to your house, it just kept growing.

11.  I  approached more people than what I started off with.

12.  It turned out to be an overall huge ordeal at work, due to it being a very controversial

 topic.

13.   I worked on more ideas/projects than I originally planned.

14.   Management became excited by the concept and everyone wants to participate.

15.   Big time.

16.   It started out small and grew.

17.   No comment

18.   No changes (major ones)

19.   No comment

Q4  Comments on  project difficulty

1. No comment

2. No comment

3. I got involved with a lot of people from different departments and used their help.

4. No comment

5. No comment

6. I envisioned a large amount of out of class work.

7. No comment

8. No comment

9. No comment

10.  No comment

11.  After my first encounter with Triple I , I became disheartened and the more I approached

people I realized how difficult fund raising is.

12.   I only say more because I did not expect so many people to really be this upset.

13. No comment

14.  I didn’t expect the expansion, but I did anticipate other difficulties which did not occur.

15.  No comment

16.  No comment

17.  No comment

18.  No comment

19.  No comment

Q5  Comments on level of supervisor attention to project

1.   No comment

2. No comment

3. The Director of the Library came to my presentation. The Director of Residence Life

The Vice President Dr. Loftus

4. I did not focus on a project out of my span of control.

5. No comment

6. No comment

7. No comment

8. No comment

9. No comment

10.  No comment

11.  No comment

12.  They all knew at the top.

13.  No comment

14.  No comment

15.  V.P. Finance and CEO

16.  No comment

17.  No comment

18.  No comment

19.  No comment

 Q6  Comments on taking another work based project class

1. No comment

2. I would see if the course topic was feasible to my department/company.

3. I will check for “just in case” instruction.

4. It provided an incentive to really work hard.  Also, the networking of classmates was beneficial.

5. Depends on my personal time and classes.

6. No comment

7. No comment

8. No comment

9. No comment

10.  Depends on the class – some things don’t seem to lend themselves to this, like a math or finance class.

11.  No comment

12.   I retained more information

13.  No comment

14.  The experience is great.  Actual benefits are realized immediately for both myself and my employer.

15.  I did learn a lot – not only about my skills in compensation – but also stress level.

16.   No comment

17.  No comment

18.  No comment

19.  No comment

 Q7    Assessment of role of professor

1. Teaching came from the experience from others and trial and error.

2. If the professor is capable of listening w/ understanding and very quickly, effectively

     coming up with constructive criticism and suggestions, the role change can be positive.   

3. It’s good but it should be more balanced.

4. It was different but very good.  I learned more in this class than any others.

5. Refreshing and different.

6. Very good and well structured.  Getting the information “as needed” really benefited me in the learning process.

7. Not all professors could pull this off.  I think Randy is successful because he is so much into it and feels passionate about it.

8. I felt that it was more of a business type environment than a class room  environment (good !!)

9. I feel that I will retain more from this class than others.

10.  If mgmt is moving towards “coaching” which I believe it is - then it helps us prepare for more empowerment and less direct day to day involvement. 

11.  This forces the student to get aggressive and learn.

12.   I enjoyed the change.  I really think this type of learning works better.

13.   Was both good and bad.  We learned what we wanted to learn but maybe not have had instruction in all that we should have learned in this class.

14.  No comment

15.  No comment

16.  Very odd at first.  It took time to get used to.

17.  No comment

18.  I liked this role but I think that more lecture on various topics was needed.

19.  With little knowledge of HR I would prefer more guidance from the professor.  

 Q8   Comments on group

1. My group was good.  I just didn’t need a lot of support.  I tried to help them as much as

     possible.

2. I could have used more criticism, input, and evaluation w/in  my group.

3. Working with them was the best experience of the class.  I truly enjoyed them.

4. Very helpful – presented ideas I never thought – more experienced and had questions to help.

5. A great team!  I’m proud to be associated with them.

6. Great feedback

7. No comment

8. No comment

9. No comment

10.  No comment

11.  Because of team, I was able to continue and move forward.  Their support and Randy’s support and encouragement made me move on and approach others.

12.  Great team to work with.

13.  No comment

14.  The learning was expanded through participation in other projects.

15.  No comment

16.  The work groups were invaluable.

17.   No comment

18.  They had no experience or background with my topic.

19.  No comment

Q9   Strengths of this approach to learning

1. Very in depth

2. Practical application, improved communication skills, better use of diversity in students.

3. Is really practical.  It’s also only for the organization and the students.

4. Real application – more ideas and thoughts.

5. Teamwork, Networking within

6. Independent, self-motivated learning. Applicable to real-world”

7. Great for projects of this type.  Not sure it would work well for memorizing facts/methods ex. accounting

8. I feel that the learning is open ended – it isn’t learn this chapter for this test.  Books cannot hold all info – many students studying independently can bring in many ideas.

9. It’s work that will be of importance.  I’ll be able to use what I did.

10. Learning about so many different jobs, projects, experiences has been great.

11.  Being involved.  Starting a project from ground up and seeing it through.

12.  You retain more.

13.   Actually using work based class.  Bringing in more real world ideas.

14.  No comment

15.  In working on something that I needed to do anyway.

16. The work groups and hands on experience.

17.  Actual experience

18.  Can always learn from hands on experiences

19.   Strengths include using class to gain more knowledge on work business structure.

Q10     Suggestions for improvement

1. I would involve some kind of additional learning to fill in the slow times.  Possibly important issues in the field that weren’t being discussed.

2. More  “just in case” handouts for discussion to cover topics not addressed by action projects.

3. The idea is really good. Nevertheless, I felt that there was a lack of theory.  We only focus on our individual projects.  I wish we would have had some extra lectures.

4. More teaching, try to present just in time instruction to class (or give option to hear).

5. As you did in this class make sure you explain this new approach to teaching to new           

          students.

6. More instructor-based guidance on select HR topics.

7. No real problems noted.

8. Provide skill sets that may be learned.

9. Maybe provide more info without having to ask students to tell you what they need.

10.  No comment

11.  It’s great the way it is.

12.  No comment

13.  More in class instruction

14.  No comment

15.  Tell folks to start small – especially when it comes to compensation for a large  organization.

16.   I think some book learning of HR concepts would be good.

17. Since there is no book, provide an outline of HR and other info.  More time to work on projects in class – have the teacher spend time with each student reviewing work personally.

18.  More lecture on various topics.

19.  I would include a little more structured learning.

Q11     Comments on professor’s performance

1. This is a new class, involved a little confusion.  You did a fine job, think in the future it will be perfected.  It’s promising.
   
    
2. There is still development of the method to be done to consider this class “superior” to traditional courses.

3. The lectures that he gave were really enjoyable and well prepared.  I just wish there would

      have been more.

4. Very helpful and great insight

5. Keep up the great work!

6. Very positive and motivating

7. Great job!

8. Positive attitude

9. No comment

10.  Really helpful personal advice.  Lots of info sent to us when we need it and good classroom presentations as well.

11. This was a unique experience for me.  I will never forget it.  It made me grow personally.

12.  The best teacher I have had so far!

13.  I would have enjoyed more class lecture.

14.  Like the idea of some time “just-in-case”

15.  Instructor was always available – provided requested materials in a timely manner.                     

16.  No comment

17.  No comment

18.  No comment

19.   Slightly above average