A Strategic Review
of the
DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM
in the
College of Administration and Business
Louisiana Tech University
Dr. Shirley P. Reagan, Dean (Retired - June 2007)
Dr. Marc Chopin, Associate Dean (Former)
Dr. Rebecca Bennett, Associate Dean (Currently – Professor of Management)
January 5, 2007
B-i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents .................................................................................................... ii
History......................................................................................................................1
Student Diversity ................................................................................................2
Contributions to Instruction by Doctoral Teaching Assistants ...........................2
Doctoral Student Credit Hours............................................................................6
Contributions to University Doctoral Degrees ...................................................7
Placement/Success of Graduates.........................................................................9
Possible Future Directions for the DBA Program .................................................10
Costs of the DBA Program ...............................................................................10
Value of the DBA Program...............................................................................13
Future Directions ..............................................................................................16
Continue the DBA Program with Limited Changes OR Change
From DBA to a PhD with Five Concentrations .......................................17
Continue DBA Program with Fewer Concentrations Changing
To PhD in Future .....................................................................................18
Discontinue the Doctoral Program...............................................................18
Role and Value of the Business Doctoral Program ...............................................19
Conclusion and Recommendations ........................................................................20
Appendix A ............................................................................................................21
Universities with Doctoral Programs in Business ............................................22
Appendix B ............................................................................................................25
Placement of DBA Graduates ...........................................................................26
B-ii
Strategic Review 2006-2007
Doctor of Business Administration
College of Administration and Business
Louisiana Tech University
The following report was developed in response to a request by the AACSB Accounting
Accreditation Team that we complete a strategic review of the Doctor of Business
Administration (DBA) program in the College of Administration and Business. The program
evaluation includes the program history, an evaluation of program costs and benefits, and a
discussion of possible future directions. In conclusion, the report identifies the role and value of
the program in light of College resource needs and proposes actions for the future.
History
The Doctor of Business Administration program is beginning its 39th year. The Doctor of
Business Administration and Doctor of Philosophy in Economics programs were established in
1967. The first graduate completed the DBA with a concentration in Management Science in
1971. This student is one of the 275 who have completed the programs since their inception. A
listing of the academic areas and the number of graduates is provided below.
Accounting
Business Educ
CIS
Finance
Management
Mgmt Sc
Marketing
QA
Econ
74
5
1
52
48
6
52
24
13
The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics was terminated in October 1976. DBA
concentrations in Business Education and Management Science were eliminated as changes in
business disciplines occurred. The CIS Concentration was added to the program in 2004.
The doctoral degree in business brings prestige to Louisiana Tech University given the limited
number of such degree programs available nationwide and the reputation of universities that
have such a degree. Doctoral degrees in the concentrations offered by Louisiana Tech are
available at a limited number of United States universities. A search conducted with the AACSB
Database found 86 universities including Louisiana Tech that are either business or
business/accounting accredited by AACSB and that offer the doctorate in accounting, CIS,
finance, management and marketing (See Appendix A). Of these universities, 22 are in the top
50 universities and 48 in the top 100 universities as reported by U.S. News and Report.
The only other university that offers a comprehensive doctoral business program in Louisiana is
Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge. Universities in contiguous states that offer a
B-1
comprehensive business doctorate include: University of Arkansas, University of Mississippi,
Mississippi State University, University of North Texas, University of Texas (at Arlington,
Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio), Texas A & M University – College Station, and Texas Tech
University.
Student Diversity
Students who enter the DBA program represent a diverse mix of undergraduate universities and
geographic regions. Table 1 shows the location of residence and universities awarding bachelors
and masters degrees to students who received their DBA between 2001 and 2006. Table 2
provides the same information for students currently enrolled in the DBA program. Of the 60
students listed, twelve are from Louisiana, two have undergraduate degrees from Louisiana
Tech, and 12 have masters degrees from Louisiana Tech. Of the 60, 38 are international students
representing 15 different countries. This diversity enriches the experiences of all students
enrolled in the program, the CAB, and the University.
Contributions to Instruction Made by Doctoral Teaching Assistants
The College of Administration and Business recognizes that doctoral teaching assistants (TAs)
need to develop strong research skills, and, if they plan to seek employment in higher education,
they need strong instructional skills. Generally, doctoral TAs are assigned teaching
responsibilities after their first or second year of study. During the first two years of study, TAs
work with doctoral faculty to initiate their research, develop research skills, and undertake
publishable research projects so they can center the job market with papers that are published, in
press, or under reviews. These first two years, also, provide TAs experiences that prepare them
to teach principles and other undergraduate classes. After TAs complete their first/second year
of study, academic unit heads assign most students between two and four courses per year.
These assignment parameters are designed to provide doctoral graduates the opportunities to
enter the job market with both journal publications and teaching experiences. A graduate who
has mastered his/her content area and who has a strong teaching record as a TA combined with
publications in high quality journals has the credentials for placement at higher quality
universities. Current students and recent graduates have received invitations to interview at
universities such as Ball State, Pennsylvania State, Baylor, and Kansas State.
B-2
Table 1
Geographic Residence and Universities Awarding Undergraduate/Masters Degrees to DBA Graduates 2001-2006
Name
Kenneth Green
Musa Dwairi
David Williams
Peter Ochlers
Chaitanya Singh
Jian-Zhou Zhu
Lisa Toms
Debra Hunter
Kuan-Shun Chiu
Morsheda Hassan
Nicholas Twigg
Teresa Webb
Amy McMillan
Can Topuz
Harold Davis
Kaveephong Lertwachara
Kulkanya Napompech
Natalya Delcoure
Xueming Luo
Khaled Elkhal
Residence
Monticello, AR
Jordan
Wichita Falls, TX
Voorhees, NJ
India
China
Magnolia, AR
Delhi, LA
Taiwan
Egypt
Hammond, LA
Troy, AL
Jackson, MS
Turkey
Hammond, LA
Thailand
Thailand
Russia
China
Tripoli
University Awarding Degree
University of Arkansas/Louisiana Polytechnic
Alexandria-Eygpt/Central State Univ/Univ of N Texas
McMurry Univ/Texas Tech University
Drexel University
University Delhi-India/Univ of Louisiana Monroe
Shaani Institute of Finance and Economics
Southern Arkansas University/Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana College/Baylor
Pittsburg State Univ/University of Central Oklahoma
University of Helwan-Egypt/Grambling State Univ
State Univ of New York/Southeastern State Univ
Troy State University
San Diego State Univ/Mississippi College
Univ of Yildiz Istanbul/Yidiz Univ/St Jospeh's Univ/Univ of New Orleans
Southeastern State University
King Mongkut's Institute/Univ of Utah/Southern La. Univ
Chulalonghoru Univ/Central Missouri State University
Labour Institute-Moscow/University of Louisiana - Monroe
Hunan University/China
Bilkent University/Louisiana Tech University
Degree(s)
BS/MBA
BA/MBA/DBA
BA/MBA
MBA
BC/MBA
BE/ME
BA/MBA
BS/MBA
BBA/MBA
BA/MBA
BS/MBA
BS/BA/MBA
BA/MBA
BA
BS/MBA
BS/BS/MBA
BA/MBA
Bacc/MBA
BS
BS/MBA
Quarter
Entered
1979 F
1992 SP
1994 F
1994 F
1995 F
1996F
1996F
1996 SU
1997 F
1997 F
1997 F
1997F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 F
1998 SP
Quarter
Graduated
2002 W
2004 W
2001 F
2003 W
2002 W
2001 SP
2004 SP
2004 W
2002 SU
2002 SU
2004 W
2004 SP
2003 SP
2002 W
2002 F
2003 SP
2002 W
2001 SP
2003 W
2002 F
B-3
Name
Kyle Ristig
Gary Whitten
Kishwar Joonas
Cynthia Daily
Margaret Chen
Colin Pillay
Xiaoli Wang
Gordon Mosley
Iman Akour
Barbara Allison
Son Le
Fang Zhao
Mary Anderston
Dheeraj Sharma
Residence
Ft. Smith, AR
Arkadelphia, AR
India
Arkadelphia, AR
Taiwan
South Africa
China
Newburyport, MA
Jordan
Alabama
Vietnam
China
Mississippi
India
University Awarding Degree
Arkansas Tech University/Louisiana Tech University
Ouachita Baptist Univ/Henderson State University
University of Bombay
Henderson State University
Nat'l Taiwan University/Louisiana Tech University
Univ of Durban-S Africa/Iowa State U/Texas
Wuhau University/Louisiana Tech University
Michigan State University
Yarmouk University/Grambling
University of Alabama/University of Alabama
Enational Economics Univ/Boise State University
Tianjin University/Louisiana Tech University
Arizona State University/Univ of Southern Mississippi
University of Delhi/Dr. Bhim Rao Amberkar University
Degree(s)
BS/MBA/MA
BA/MBA
BS/Master
BS/MBA
BA/MS
Bach/MS/MBA/MS
BA/MBA/MPA
BA/MBA
BS/MBA
BS/MBA
BA/MBA
BA/MBA
BS/MBA
BC/MBA
Quarter
Entered
1998 W
1999 SP
1999 SP
1999 SU
1999 SU
1999 W
2000 F
1995 F
1997 F
1999 F
2001 SP
2002 F
2002 SU
2004 SU
Quarter
Graduated
2004 SP
2004 SP
2004 SU
2002 F
2003 SP
2004 SP
2004 W
2006 W
2006 W
2005 SU
2006 W
2006 SP
2005 SU
2006 W
B-4
Table 2
Geographic Residence and Universities Awarding Undergraduate/Masters Degrees to DBA Students Enrolled Fall 2006
Name
Wai Man Caroline Leung
Donald White
David Romer
Hua Wang
Laurent Josien
Tracy Bundy
Laura Marler
Pavani Tallapally
Beth Hegab
Eugenie Goodwin
Hui Di
Shalini Wunnava
Susie Cox
Wei-Chih Chiang
Ying Wang
Yingxu Kuang
Abdullahel Bari
Krist Swimbergh
Steven Hanke
Katherine Loveland
Residence
Hong Kong
Louisiana
Tennessee
China
France
Louisiana
Louisiana
India
Louisiana
Louisiana
China
India
Louisiana
Taiwan
China
China
Bangladesh
Belgium
Wisconsin
Louisiana
University Awarding Degree
Hong Kong Shue Yan College/ULM
Grambling State University
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Shanghai Univ of Finance & Econ/Louisiana Tech
Southeastern Louisiana Univ/LSU - BR
University of Louisiana - Lafayette
Louisiana College / Louisiana Tech University
Osmania Univ/ Indiana Univ of Pennsylvania
Georgia Institute of Tech/Louisiana Tech University
Northeast Louisiana University
Tianjin Foreign Studies Univ/Louisiana Tech Univ
Osmania University
Louisiana Tech University
Tsinghua University/Wayland Baptist University
Shandong University/Colorado State University
Central South University/Hunan University
Bangadesh Univ of Engr&Tech/Oklahoma State U/LA Tech
Catholic Univ of Brussels/Catholic Univ of Louvain
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Lewis & Clark College/Univ of Tennessee
Degree(s)
Quarter
Entered
BE/MBA/ME
BS/MBA
BS/MBA
BE/MBA
MS/MBA
BS/MBA
BS/MBA
BC/MBA/MBA
BIE/MSIE/MBA
BA/MBA
BA/MBA
BA/MBA
BS/MBA
BS/MBA
BE/MS
Bachelor/Master
BS/MS/DE
Bachelor/Master
BA/MBA
BA/MPA
1998 F
1998 SP
1998 W
2000 F
2000 F
2001 SP
2002 F
2002 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 F
2004 SU
2004 SU
2004 SU
2005 SP
B-5
Name
Residence
Shaji Khan
India
Benjamin McMillan
Karen Pierce
Michael Clayton Posey
Jim Watkins
Lorraine Woodard
Alabama
Kentucky
Mississippi
Louisiana
Louisiana
University Awarding Degree
Governors State University
Birmingham Southern College/Univ of Alabama/
Univ of Alabama @ Birmingham
Morehead State Univ / Univ of Kentucky
Capiah-Lincoln Com Col / Miss. State / Jackson State
Louisiana Tech University
Muskingum College
Degree(s)
Quarter
Entered
BA/MS/MBA
2005 SU
BA/MBA/BS
BSA/MBA
AA/BBA/MBA
BS/MPA/MBA
BA
2005 F
2005 F
2005 F
2005 F
2006 SP
B-6
The TAs who provide undergraduate instruction are important to achieving the instructional
goals of the CAB. Without these teaching assistants, course offerings would be severely limited
unless the number of instructional faculty were increased. Over the past six years (Fall 2000 –
Spring 2006), TAs have taught 162 course sections (504 semester credit hours) with an
enrollment of 7495 undergraduate students (Table 3) for a total of 22,485 student credit hours.
The goal is to maintain enrollment between 40 and 45 doctoral students with approximately 35
enrolled as full time students and serving as TAs. At that enrollment, TAs would teach
approximately 50 course sections or 150 semester credit hours each year which would be the
equivalent to instruction delivered by ten to twelve tenure track faculty or six instructors at a cost
of $480,000 to $1,000,000.
Table 3
Doctoral Student Undergraduate Course Coverage and Enrollment
Fall 2000 to Spring 2006
Quarter
Fall 2000
Winter 2001
Spring 2001
Summer 2001
Fall 2001
Winter 2002
Spring 2002
Summer 2002
Fall 2002
Winter 2003
Spring 2003
Summer 2003
Fall 2003
Winter 2004
Spring 2004
Summer 2004
Fall 2004
Winter 2005
Spring 2005
Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Winter 2006
Spring 2006
TOTALS
Number of Sections
10
18
16
11
6
7
6
12
8
10
10
8
2
5
2
5
6
4
5
5
2
4
6
168
Enrollment
364
774
837
312
356
323
298
404
486
482
523
285
217
247
79
184
322
189
158
193
75
189
198
7495
Doctoral Graduate Student Credit Hours
Over the past six years (Fall 2000 through Spring 2006), our faculty taught 96 doctoral seminars
or 288 semester credit hours of doctoral course work (Table 4). These figures do not include AB
690: Research and Dissertation or Independent Studies.
B-7
The TAs delivered 453 semester credit hours of instruction as they received 288 semester credit
hours through doctoral course work. Further, the graduate students generated over 22,000
student credit hours of instruction.
Table 4
Number of Doctoral Courses Taught
Fall 2000 – Spring 2006
Quarter
Fall 2000
Winter 2001
Spring 2001
Summer 2001
Fall 2001
Winter 2002
Spring 2002
Summer 2002
Fall 2002
Winter 2003
Spring 2003
Summer 2003
Fall 2003
Winter 2004
Spring 2004
Summer 2004
Fall 2004
Winter 2005
Spring 2005
Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Winter 2006
Spring 2006
TOTAL
Number of Course Sections
3
4
4
0
3
4
4
0
4
5
6
0
5
5
3
0
6
5
7
1
9
9
9
96
Contributions to University Doctoral Degrees
DBA graduates have made a significant contribution to the pool of Louisiana Tech University
doctoral graduates. Over the past 19 years, Louisiana Tech University has produced 404
doctoral graduates and 171 or 42% have been DBA graduates (Table 5). A summary of DBA
graduates (1985-2006) by concentration is provided in Table 6.
In the last 191 years (1987-2006), the DBA students comprised 32% of the doctoral enrollment
for Louisiana Tech University (Table 5). Over the full 18 year period, enrollment in the DBA
program has ranged from a high of 82 to a low of 24.
During the mid- to late-1990s the CAB worked to support the University’s goals of increased
doctoral enrollment and ultimately increased doctoral graduates. From 1990 through 1999
1
Period selected on basis of information available. The first Louisiana Tech University Fact Book was for
the period of 1987-1992.
B-8
doctoral enrollment in the CAB ranged from a low of 47 to a high of 67. While recruiting efforts
helped to identify qualified DBA applicants, many of those accepting admission to the program
during this period struggled to complete their doctoral studies despite significant (and in some
cases continuing) efforts of the faculty.
Table 5
Louisiana Tech University DBA and Doctoral Enrollment and Graduates
1987/88 to 2004/2005
Academic
Year
2005/06*
2004/05
2003/04
2002/03
2001/02
2000/01
1999/00
1998/99
1997/98
1996/97
1995/96
1994/95
1993/94
1992/93
1991/92
1990/91
1989/90
1988/89
1987/88
Total
*Projected.
DBA
Students
University
Doctoral
Students
30
239
26
235
24
230
36
235
38
193
43
198
51
173
57
188
56
187
47
151
55
138
56
108
67
120
61
111
65
129
69
127
67
127
63
133
82
127
993
3149
Not included in totals or averages.
DBA Stu./
Univ. Stu.
.13
.11
.10
.15
.20
.22
.29
.30
.30
.31
.40
.52
.56
.55
.50
.54
.53
.47
.65
Average .32
DBA
Graduates
7
1
8
10
7
9
6
10
8
9
11
13
17
4
8
7
6
16
14
171
University
Doctoral
Graduates
31
34
33
36
21
28
23
26
14
13
20
18
19
11
15
10
10
25
17
404
DBA Grads/
Univ. Doc
Grads
.26
.03
.24
.28
.33
.32
.26
.38
.57
.69
.55
.72
.89
.36
.53
.70
.60
.64
.82
Average .42
Also during the 1990s and early 2000s, the AACSB revisited the guidelines for business
accreditation. Of significance were changes in the AACSB preferences and expectations with
respect to appropriate doctoral enrollment for a given faculty. Therefore, beginning in the late
1990s and in preparation for the College’s self study and re-affirmation visit, the College
restricted admissions to the DBA program. Concurrent with these efforts, the CAB faculty
worked diligently to facilitate doctoral student progress and completion to help achieve the
University’s goal of 30 doctoral graduates per year. During the five years from the fall of 2000
through 2004 the ratio of doctoral graduates to doctoral graduate faculty in the CAB averaged
0.22. Together these efforts to restrict enrollment and facilitate progress for those in the program
resulted in decreased doctoral student enrollment, for which the AACSB visit team commended
the College.
B-9
Table 6
DBA Graduates by Academic Concentration
1985-2004
Academic
Year
2005/06
2004/05
2003/04
2002/03
2001/02
2000/01
1999/00
1998/99
1997/98
1996/97
1995/96
1994/95
1993/94
1992/93
1991/92
1990/91
1989/90
1988/89
1987/88
1986/87
1985/86
*
One CIS graduate
Acct
Fin
Mgmt
Mktg
QA
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
2
2
1
3
6
2
3
6
1
3
1
3
3
9
4
2
1
2
4
2
1
2
2
1
3
3
0
1
1
4
0
7
3
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
1
3
3
3
0
2
1
1
4
0
0
3
3
1
2
2
0
2
1
2
1
0
2
3
6
1
1
1
1
1
0
3
5
0
2
0
1
0
2
0
1
1
1
2
1
1
0
1
1
2
2
0
CAB
Total
7
1
8*
10
7
9
6
10
8
9
11
13
17
4
8
7
6
16
14
10
12**
University
Total
31
34
33
25
21
28
23
26
14
13
20
18
19
11
15
10
10
25
17
**
One Business Education graduate
During 2001 the College emphasized doctoral student recruiting efforts in anticipation of a new
doctoral student class beginning the program in the fall of 2002. The terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, and the limited availability of international student visas hampered
recruiting efforts. In addition, three students who were expected to join the program during the
fall of 2002 did not begin their studies. Further, two doctoral students chose to leave the
program at the end of the 2002-03 academic year. In February of 2003 the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak also impacted international students’ ability to travel to
the US to study. The College’s recent student recruiting efforts have been more successful, with
a total of 25 new students beginning their studies in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Six new students
started the program in the 2006 academic year.
From 1987 to 2004, the ratio of doctoral graduates to the number of doctoral faculty has
averaged 0.22 and ranged from a low of 0.03 to a high of 0.31. The ratio for the current year is
0.23.
Placement/Success of Graduates
Many DBA graduates have enjoyed considerable professional success and are serving in
universities across the country. See listing in Appendix B. For example, graduates are presently
working in universities such as Cornell, Indiana University, Texas A&M (2), University of
Arkansas-Fayetteville (3), University of Mississippi (2), University of Montana, University of
Wyoming, Ball State University, and many others. Graduates also play a significant role in the
administration of colleges and universities across the country. Several graduates are presently or
B-10
have served in the past as Dean, Associate Dean and Department Head in universities such as the
University of Arkansas, Mississippi State University, and many others. At least one graduate has
served as Provost (Coastal Carolina University). Graduates also assist in business higher
education regionally with many graduates employed as faculty and administrators in sister
schools in Louisiana and colleges and universities across the region.
With the changes that have been made in the program, the placement of students will continue to
improve. Graduates of the program are readily employable with many students accepting
employment at the ABD stage. The need for qualified faculty in business schools is growing
with an average of 4.43 faculty members being hired by U. S. business schools each year.
Demand is increasing as the number of doctoral business graduates declined and then increased
slightly (Table 7). Also, business schools are experiencing a large number of retirements, a trend
expected to continue for the next decade as Baby Boomers retire.
Table 7
Trends in the Number of Business and Management Doctorates Awarded by AACSB Accredited
Universities by Field/Disciplines – U. S.
Field/Discipline
1998
2003
2004
Accounting
154
106
131
Banking/Financial Support Services
83
79
106
Business Administration/Management
348
342
372
Business/Managerial Economics
57
44
60
Human Resource Development
86
International Business
33
44
35
MIS/Business Data Processing
86
86
94
Marketing Management and Research
142
111
134
Operations Research
57
26
51
Organizational Behavior
103
111
124
Business Management/Admin. Services, General
38
18
23
Business Management/Admin. Services, Other
71
68
48
Total
1,172
1,035
1264
Copied from Pocket Guide to Business Schools produced by AACSB International in 2005 (page 33) and 2006 (page
17).
Possible Future Directions for the DBA Program
Costs of the DBA Program
The primary costs of a doctoral program compared to undergraduate/master’s only program in
business are related to faculty salaries and doctoral teaching assistant stipends. The difference in
faculty salaries is the most difficult to determine; whereas, the doctoral stipends can be defined
fairly easily.
When AACSB International began including graduate programs in their accreditation of business
programs, the standards for faculty teaching in doctoral programs increased. A critical number
of faculty who have discipline-based research is necessary for every doctoral program. Faculty
members with these research credentials are, thus, in great demand; however, the supply is
limited and the salaries necessary to hire these faculty are relatively high compared to salaries for
B-11
faculty without the discipline-based research. Also, employment packages typically include
summer research stipends. Because these faculty are teaching doctoral seminars and working
with students on dissertations, their teaching loads are less than those of faculty who teach
undergraduate and/or master’s level course work. The exact cost differential is very difficult to
determine. One would assume that the operating budget per full time faculty member would be
greater for universities with doctoral programs; however, a review of Table 10 shows that this is
not uniformly true for public colleges/universities in Louisiana. The Louisiana Tech College of
Administration and Business operating budget per full time faculty member ($133,415) is less
than the operating budget per full time faculty member for each of the following business
programs:
 Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge (has doctoral program) at $181,732
 University of New Orleans (doctoral program in economics) at $165,590
 Southeastern Louisiana University (bachelor’s and master’s) at $140,530
For the Louisiana public universities with bachelor’s and master’s programs, the range is from a
low of $70,439 (McNeese) to a high of $140,530 (Southeastern).
Doctoral teaching assistant stipends in the College of Business are currently $15,000 for 12
months. This stipend is comparatively low given the fact that most universities with business
doctoral programs include a tuition waiver as part of the assistantship package. A 2006 survey
of doctoral business programs reported that doctoral student stipends ranged from $11,700 to
$30,000 with a mean of $18,448. Over 90% of the schools provided a waiver of tuition as part of
the graduate assistant package. Work requirements ranged from none to a high of 20 hours per
week with a mean work week requirement of 14.6 hours.
At the current time (November 2006), there are 28 DBA students with 21 being employed as
teaching assistants. The goal is to have between 30 and 35 students enrolled full time and
employed as teaching assistants. Given our current stipends the costs for teaching assistantships
is shown below:
 2006-2007 with 21 on teaching assistantships: $315,000
 Goal for future enrollment
o 30 on teaching assistantships: $450,000
o 35 on teaching assistantships: $525,000
B-12
Table 8
Data for Public Colleges and Universities Offering Business Degree Programs
2004-2005
University
Operating
Budget
Op. Budg./
FT Faculty
FTE
FT
Faculty
FT Fac FT Students/
with
FT Faculty
Doc.
47
25
LA Tech
7,071,016
133,415
55
53
UNO
14,075,164
165,590
99
85
76
27
LSU-BR
20,353,988
181,732
118
112
96
17
LSU-S
2,983,501
114,750
29
26
22
30
UL-Lafayette
6,132,612
98,913
74
62
42
38
Southeastern**
8,993,919
140,530
77
64
50
39
UL – Monroe
4,440,717
108,310
44
41
34
21
McNeese
2,113,183
70,439
33
30
23
33
Nicholls
3,211,153
80,279
41
40
34
22
Northwestern**
2,225,277
63,579
39
35
22
26
Undergraduate
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
1247/
118
2265/
1165
1569/
134
755/
273
2345/
333
2288/
414
831/
223
900/
179
819/
183
912/
127
305
647
806
108
404
519
198
183
222
168
Masters
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
66/
5
0/
1032
303/
133
33/
66
0/
187
190
Doctoral
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
64
26
9
380
40
4
193
82
16
29
NA
NA
62
NA
NA
95
NA
NA
39/
43
81
35
NA
NA
23
NA
NA
48/
68
NA
0
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
B-13
Table 8
Data for Public Colleges and Universities Offering Business Degree Programs
2004-2005
University
Grambling**
Mean
Operating
Budget
2,080,535
Op. Budg./
FT Faculty
FTE
FT
80,021
27
26
112,505
Faculty
FT Fac FT Students/
with
FT Faculty
Doc.
18
31
Undergraduate
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
805/
41
149
Masters
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
NA
NA
Doctoral
Enr.
Degrees
FT/PT
NA
NA
28
*Data from AASCB website, October 2006
**Data Southeastern, Northwestern, and Grambling is noted on website as 2003-2004.
B-14
Table 9
Peer Institutions Ranked by Operating Budgets 2003-2004
Faculty
University
Southern IllinoisCarbondale
Binghamton U
Louisiana Tech
U of Rhode Island
Mississippi State
U of Mississippi
New Mexico State
U of Oregon
Cleveland State U
U of Missouri-Columbia
U of Massachusetts
Amherst
U of Kansas
Clemson
U of North Texas
U of Kentucky
UT-Arlington
Operating
Budget
Operating
Budget/
FT Faculty
Undergraduate Enrollment
FTE
47
FT
44
FT with
Doctorate
42
FT
Students/
FT
Faculty
37
Masters Enrollment
Doctoral Enrollment
FT
1402
PT
121
Degrees
397
FT
165
PT
11
Degrees
111
FT
70
15
245
80
47
246
123
108
239
231
297
182
10
13
160
0
370
304
369
721
1937
380
281
355
464
756
136
62
71
150
45
41
120
250
150
152
17
24
15
62
63
15
27
8
40
62
97
1342
166
1373
457
644
786
759
1094
437
128
418
199
426
23
138
234
123
96
126
330
26
18
52
56
69
6,622,389
6,900,000
6,911,966
7,372,032
7,963,954
7,000,000
10,807,954
10,970,091
11,748,183
12,194,623
12,490,869
150,509
168,293
132,922
129,334
113,771
152,174
154,399
182,835
165,467
243,892
141,942
46
55
59
85
50
75
66
97
64
102
41
52
57
70
46
70
60
71
50
88
34
42
55
66
43
68
48
62
49
79
37
30
23
35
48
27
40
19
78
30
1267
1434
1233
2162
2078
1752
2131
1095
3554
2395
12,649,531
12,973,399
13,079,945
13,563,896
14,760,319
269,139
154,445
128,235
176,154
141,926
53
85
109
85
111
47
84
102
77
104
43
69
93
72
83
29
26
40
33
32
913
2000
3646
2314
2751
200
222
336
309
81
826
85
46
589
408
106
701
PT
13
2
48
3
6
20
Degrees
8
3
12
9
5
6
4
8
3
10
3
4
5
0
7
10
B-15
Faculty
University
U of Utah
U of Oklahoma
U of WisconsinMilwaukee
U of South Florida
Florida State Univ
U of Buffalo
U of Nebraska-Lincoln
U of Colorado-Boulder
Virginia Commonwealth
U
UT-San Antonio
U of Cincinnati
Texas Tech U
LSU
Virginia Tech U
Florida Atlantic U
Oklahoma State U.
Auburn University
U of Arkansas
U of Memphis
Washington State U
Operating
Budget
15,494,383
15,694,239
16,374,000
Operating
Budget/
FT Faculty
186,679
253,133
221,270
16,452,025
16,482,631
16,494,000
16,660,966
17,510,945
114,250
143,327
266,032
252,439
236,634
18,300,990
18,413,006
18,490,787
18,837,698
19,322,011
19,383,087
19,700,000
19,818,407
19,872,865
19,884,175
20,056,527
20,396,390
181,198
214,105
222,781
209,308
170,991
161,526
157,600
222,679
228,424
213,808
192,851
221,700
Undergraduate Enrollment
FTE
89
77
82
FT
83
62
74
FT with
Doctorate
64
56
67
FT
Students/
FT
Faculty
28
52
40
157
122
69
74
85
107
144
115
62
66
74
101
86
95
55
64
62
87
16
45
39
43
48
18
1947
4975
1898
2706
3297
1614
103
85
91
122
124
164
112
94
97
108
97
86
83
90
113
120
125
89
87
93
104
92
71
70
68
91
107
101
89
80
79
92
92
43
24
49
16
33
23
38
43
30
19
16
3407
1879
4114
1520
3642
2756
3452
3535
2607
1946
1221
Masters Enrollment
Doctoral Enrollment
FT
2019
3054
2680
PT
898
490
560
Degrees
827
751
724
FT
230
152
254
PT
440
184
473
Degrees
232
139
249
FT
48
36
47
1599
593
254
217
1290
1422
580
643
742
417
314
69
471
50
176
190
552
161
165
173
73
285
347
150
339
114
103
166
59
81
49
104
46
32
4
10
8
12
9
8
785
519
984
858
951
719
909
1071
633
557
682
260
112
269
239
215
16
317
178
106
0
147
464
305
204
165
239
775
337
302
108
440
187
202
200
209
64
150
242
216
196
136
295
85
28
40
49
88
69
42
67
17
49
73
62
0
6
10
5
14
2
4
8
3
11
11
1042
1381
97
553
174
67
2720
591
280
380
847
322
PT
1
8
14
26
Degrees
6
7
1
B-16
Faculty
University
Operating
Budget
Operating
Budget/
FT Faculty
227,660
241,312
150,258
330,429
249,640
536,188
202,175
272,303
291,095
203,756
FT with
FTE FT Doctorate
U of Houston
21,400,000
105
94
87
U of Alabama
101
93
91
22,442,041
U of Central Florida
176
156
111
23,440,279
U of Pittsburgh
84
71
66
23,460,450
UT-Dallas
23,715,760
109
95
87
U of California Irvine
24,664,652
62
46
45
U of South Carolina
137
125
101
25,271,916
Florida International U
27,774,917
126
102
78
U of Iowa
29,109,538
117
100
95
Georgia State U
36,063,016
219
177
143
U of Delaware
114
107
92
Kent State U.
77
69
59
Data from College Profiles on the AACSB Website. Collected Summer 2005.
Data for Mississippi State University not listed on website and was provided by Dean.
Undergraduate Enrollment
FT
Students/
FT
Faculty
55
43
35
27
21
6
23
34
36
26
21
39
FT
5090
3695
5277
1589
1454
2571
3343
3329
3710
2074
2382
PT
204
2074
74
823
148
2584
274
1737
411
Degrees
1093
882
1808
456
568
635
1424
791
1014
624
713
Masters Enrollment
FT
0
243
124
221
458
238
224
42
212
872
193
219
PT
1081
32
800
484
1360
620
111
405
902
1384
361
184
Degrees
404
184
270
361
676
265
338
226
362
870
170
148
Doctoral Enrollment
FT
53
77
43
77
84
46
49
23
101
97
29
56
PT
1
0
14
3
3
Degrees
16
12
0
10
9
9
10
0
9
15
6
7
B-17
In addition, to the teaching assistantship stipends and tuition waivers, most other universities
provide conference/travel funds (range of $200 to $1500 with mean of $614 per person). Some
provide research and travel support for doctoral students as well.
Unlike programs in the sciences, the availability of research grants to provide faculty research
support, graduate assistantships and other doctoral student support is quite limited. Because of
this limitation, business colleges must rely upon operating budgets and funds from external
development to support these endeavors. External support for these endeavors is difficult to
achieve unless the College has large endowments.
Value of DBA Program
It is recognized that the doctoral program in business is expensive to staff and that the
grant/contract funds available to support research of business faculty and doctoral students are
very limited. However, the value of the program manifests itself in a number of ways.
 When compared to other doctoral business colleges, the program is cost effective. The
Louisiana Tech University College of Administration and Business has continued its doctoral
program and enhanced its quality while keeping costs down comparatively. Table 9 presents
Peer Institutions Ranked by Operating Budgets. The operating budget for the Louisiana Tech
University College of Administration and Business is one of the lowest for operating budget
per full time faculty member of the 48 universities listed.
 The program attracts students from a very diverse geographic area – national and
international. The applicant pool is projected to increase rather than diminish as occurs with
programs that focus on enrolling students residing in the immediate geographic region. It is
important that Louisiana Tech University have an array of programs that attract students
outside the immediate geographic region.
 There is a high demand for doctoral business graduates. The number of doctorates awarded in
business/management in the U. S. has not increased substantially at a time when the demand
for university faculty has increased greatly. The result has been increasing salaries for new
university faculty hires. AACSB in collaboration with businesses and universities has a
number of projects dedicated to increasing enrollments in university doctoral programs.
 At full enrollment, we project that our program can produce 8-10 graduates per year. This
assumes an average enrollment of 40 students.
 The recent implementation of our new policies (requirement of full time enrollment for
coursework, promotion of research publication prior to graduation, and instructional mentors
of TAs) will enhance placements of our graduates. Doctoral teaching assistants make a
significant contribution to undergraduate instruction in the CAB.
 Over the past six years, TAs have taught 168 course sections with an enrollment of 7495
undergraduate students. This is an average of 28 courses per year with an annual enrollment
of 1249 students.
 CAB doctoral faculty have strong research/publication records. These research and
publication records are important in attracting doctoral students and providing doctoral
students quality learning and research experiences. Given that these faculty teach in the
MBA, the MPA and undergraduate programs as well, all students in the CAB benefit from the
level of expertise of the faculty. Louisiana Tech faculty publishing research articles in quality
professional journals lends prestige and recognition to the University as well.
B-18
A strong undergraduate experience and a productive faculty are necessary as the base for a
doctoral program. Students completing their baccalaureate degrees in business are very vocal
about their experiences in the College. Over the past few years, their exit interviews indicate
increased satisfaction with their educational experiences. Employers hiring Louisiana business
graduates continue to verbalize that their strongest entry level employees complete their degrees
at either LA Tech University or LSU. The average student credit hours generated per business
faculty member exceeds the university average and is the second highest for the University
(Table 10).
Table 10
Student Credit Hours by College and Per Faculty by College 2004-05
College
Student Credit
Hours/Faculty
CAB
807
ANS
652
Educ
1361
COES
757
LA
748
University
702
Data from Louisiana Tech University Fact Book
Faculty
45
70
40
89
128
372
Student Credit Hours
Generated
36,327
45,676
54,444
67,373
95,770
299,590
B-19
Future Directions
There are four possible future directions for the Louisiana Tech University DBA program.
These are as follows:




Continue the DBA program with limited changes
Change the program from a DBA to a PhD
Continue the program (DBA or PhD) with fewer concentrations
Discontinue the doctoral program
The first two directions are similar and are discussed together. Although the current DBA
program has six concentrations: accounting, computer information systems, finance,
management, marketing, and quantitative analysis, students are not being admitted to the
quantitative analysis concentration because of the limited course offerings and limited number of
faculty.
Continue the DBA Program with Limited Changes OR Change the Program from a DBA to a
PhD with Five Concentrations. In the section above, the following values of the doctoral
program in business were stated with supporting information/documentation:
 CAB program is cost effective compared to doctoral programs in colleges of business at other
universities.
 Students in the program are admitted from national/international pools which does not result
in the saturated market that occurs with programs with local/regional pools.
 Program graduates are in demand and most have employment at graduation.
 At full enrollment (40), the program can produce an average of 8 to 10 doctoral graduates
each year.
 New policies will enhance quality of placements bringing greater recognition to Louisiana
Tech University.
 Teaching assistants make a significant contribution to undergraduate instruction.
 Strong publication/research records of CAB faculty and DBA students bring
recognition/prestige to the University
 The doctoral program is built upon the base of an undergraduate program which is being
continually strengthened through an effective assessment program.
The major cost/disadvantage of the doctoral program is the expense; however, statistics show
that the program has been delivered and strengthened while the operating budget per full time
faculty member is one of the lowest for doctoral granting business schools in the United States.
The primary expenses of the program are the relatively high faculty salaries and the need to
provide competitive teaching assistant stipends for our doctoral students. It is especially difficult
to secure university funding for these stipends when doctoral students in fields such as
engineering and science support their students through grant funding which is very limited for
business faculty.
Nationwide, there are a very limited number of DBA programs. A review of the AACSB data
base revealed DBA programs at Boston University and Cleveland State University. Drexel
University and Indiana University offer both the research-oriented PhD and a practitioner-
B-20
oriented DBA. The PhD more effectively reflects the focus of the current doctoral program at
Louisiana Tech University. The goal is to produce graduates who are grounded in the theory of
their field, who have strong research skills, and who have teaching/presentation skills necessary
for university teaching.
The recommendation would be to change to the PhD in Business with concentrations in
accounting, CIS, finance, management, and marketing. The concentration in quantitative
analysis would be eliminated. The proposed calendar/process for change (By Fall 2008, ten or
more students should have graduated from the recently [2002] revised DBA program):
 Fall 2007 through Spring 2008 – Collect and summarize data about program. Prepare
materials for consultants to visit campus. Identify and secure consultants
 Fall 2008 – Consultants visit campus and provide report/recommendations
 As soon as the report from the consultants is received, consider changes recommended by
consultants and select those to be adopted
 Spring 2009 – Submit proposal for change from DBA to PhD to ULS
Continue Program with Fewer Concentrations Changing to a PhD in Future. The DBA could
be continued with fewer concentrations. Table 6 provides the historical listing of Louisiana Tech
DBA Graduates by concentration. If we reduce the number of concentrations, the applicant pool
will decline because we will be recruiting for a narrower list of academic specialties. In addition,
if we reduce the number of concentrations without increasing the number of faculty in the
selected areas, there would be a decline in the number of students that can be accepted into the
program. The result would be fewer students enrolling and graduating from the program. With
fewer doctoral students, there will be a reduction in the number of courses taught by doctoral
students thus increasing the need for faculty in areas/disciplines not offering the doctorate.
Conversely, staffing a smaller number of disciplines with doctoral graduate faculty would
decrease costs to a certain extent. However, a large decrease in costs is not anticipated as
salaries for faculty in colleges offering the masters and the doctorate are not greatly different.
It is anticipated that if concentrations in the DBA are deleted, many faculty, those in academic
areas not impacted as well as those impacted, will seek employment at other universities which
have comprehensive business doctoral programs. Faculty necessary to replace them will be hired
at market salaries which are in many cases higher than salaries of our current faculty.
If the decision is made to reduce the number of concentrations being offered, it is recommended
that admission to the selected concentrations be closed rather than terminating the
concentrations. If the University funding available for the program increases in the future, any
closed concentrations could be reopened for admission.
Discontinue the Doctoral Program. If the doctoral program at Louisiana Tech University
is discontinued, a number of factors should be considered by the University:
 Savings will probably not be substantial. Table 8 provides a summary of data for LA Tech
and other public Louisiana universities that offer business programs of study. As can be
noted all these universities have a substantial percentage of faculty who hold the doctoral
B-21







degree. This is required for a business college to maintain its accreditation. Even programs
that do not provide graduate instruction must have a substantial proportion of their faculty
holding doctoral degrees in the teaching fields. The MBA is inadequate for continuing
coverage of a course unless the faculty member has hours beyond the masters degree (which
is not typical) or has professional qualifications.
Loss of the university prestige for having one of only two comprehensive doctoral programs
in business in Louisiana. Only LSU-BR and Louisiana Tech University offer comprehensive
doctoral programs.
Loss of 8-10 doctoral graduates in business disciplines each year
Loss of program that attracts students from a wide geographic region
Loss of program that is not dependent upon regional prospective student population and thus
is less likely to become a saturated market
Loss of faculty with a strong research orientation. Faculty would need to engage in research;
however, it likely would be more practitioner (professional practice) oriented. Disciplinebased research is more closely aligned with the vision of Louisiana Tech University.
Loss of instruction provided by doctoral students resulting in need for additional faculty to
cover those sections.
Loss of many current faculty who would seek employment elsewhere because they want to
teach at a university with a doctoral program. Costs of replacing faculty would be high:
o Would have to hire replacements at market salaries which are considerably more
than most current doctoral graduate faculty are being paid.
o Search costs and faculty orientation costs (include both financial costs and
opportunity costs)
In terms of benefits, there would be some cost savings; however, it is not believed that the
savings would be substantial. In fact, if a large number of faculty leave and have to be replaced,
salaries for a number of the replacements are expected to be higher than some of the doctoral
graduate faculty members who have been at Louisiana Tech University for a number of years.
Role and Value of the Business Doctoral Program
The doctoral program in business is congruent with the vision and mission for Louisiana Tech
University. A diverse mix of doctoral programs enhances the reputation and appeal of a
University. Strong doctoral programs in business are often associated with top research
institutions. The DBA program at Louisiana Tech which has produced 42% of all Tech doctoral
graduates has a long history of contributing to the reputation and stature of Louisiana Tech.
The doctoral business students make positive contributions to the College and the University.
While in residence doctoral students increase instructional and research productivity of the
faculty. In addition to participating in numerous research projects, the doctoral teaching
assistants have taught over twice (453) as many semester credit hours of instruction as they
received (204) for the last five year period. DBA students hail from widely diverse cultural and
regional backgrounds, thereby enhancing the diversity of the student body and providing a large
and continuing pool of prospective students.
B-22
Doctoral graduates enhance the reputation of the College and the University. As doctoral
business students approach completion of their degrees, they are enjoying increasing success
upon their entry to the job market. While many graduates have chosen to remain in the region,
serving as faculty and administrators in universities throughout Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi,
Texas, current students and recent graduates are increasingly receiving several invitations to
campus visits from highly regarded universities across the country and around the world. The
success of these graduates enhances the reputation of the College of Administration and Business
and Louisiana Tech University as well as assisting in faculty recruitment and student recruitment
and placement at all degree levels.
The doctoral program attracts strong faculty who also produce high quality research. We are
able to hire faculty who might not otherwise consider us because of the doctoral program. These
faculty in turn enhance educational experiences of undergraduate and masters level students. In
addition, the research contributions of these faculty are congruent with the University focus on
strong research portfolios.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Consideration of role and value of the doctoral program along with the costs and benefits, the
College believes that the College should retain the doctoral program in business and move to
change the program from a DBA to a PhD with five concentrations. The timeline outlined
earlier in this document appears to be appropriate for the University to consider in making this
change.
The doctoral program is expensive; however, the marginal costs are not significantly more than
the costs are for staffing a strong undergraduate/masters level business programs. A review of
budget figures for peer institutions and other state institutions demonstrates this. Funding the
difference in faculty salaries and providing competitive doctoral student stipends is worth the
benefits obtained.
B-23
Appendix Accompanying Strategic Review of DBA Program
“Appendix A”
B-24
B-25
Appendix Accompanying Strategic Review of DBA Program
“Appendix B”
B-26
B-27
B-28
B-29
B-30
B-31
B-32
B-33
B-34
B-35