The Curricular Issues Miniconference provides a forum to learn from those at the forefront of curriculum innovation and improvement, and to share experiences and lessons learnt. Separate tracks on undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs will offer ideas and insights for those responsible for designing, teaching, and administering business programs.

David C. Yen, Miami University, School of Business, yendc@muohio.edu

Shin Yuan Hung, National Chung Cheng University, Department of Information Management, syhung@mis.ccu.edu.tw

The continuous growth of technology and the increasing demand for efficient and effective decision-making to meet the challenge of the economic uncertainties have led to a great interest in the repositioning of the academic curriculum. Shareholders, regulatory bodies, government, industries, and employees are increasingly demanding that the academic institution adopt an innovative approach to the sustainable management of increasingly scarce resources while at the same time continuing the necessary maintenance and improvement of the quality of the higher education. Curricular issues are more than ever an imperative in academic domains such as manufacturing, logistics, operations research, and IS/IT, all of which have become pervasive throughout society and different industries.

The purpose of this miniconference is to advance theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the emerging curricular issues and to gain a better understanding of innovation, academic initiatives, and research being conducted on this aforementioned subject area. Hence, submissions of high quality papers that report on academic curriculums, empirical research, and/or case studies including but not limited to the following topics are appreciated.

1.Curricular issues, problems, and or challenges

a. Research – oriented vs. teaching - oriented institutions

b. Public vs. private institutions

c. Bachelor degree vs. associate degree institutions

d. Undergraduate vs. graduate curriculum

2. Curricular design - global perspective

a. International education/studies opportunities

b. Internships and student exchanges

c. 2+2 programs and joint programs/workshops

3.  Innovative curricular methods and/or approaches

a. Interdisciplinary programs

b. Collaborative approach for courses

c. Various teaching pedagogies

4.  Potential topics for curricular development such as

a. Business intelligence

b. Green IT

c. Information auditing/security

d. Newer development in SCM, or ERP

5.  Other important curricular issues

a. Building consistency for core courses

b. Enhancing oral and written communication in the curriculum

c. Developing leadership and team skills in the curriculum

d. Teaching business ethics concepts in the curriculum

6.  Curricular assessment, evaluation, and other related issues

a. Learning outcome assessment

b. Collaboration with other academic divisions

c. Joint opportunities with other academic institutions