A Cycle of Assessment on Business Dress: Flies in the Ointment

This manuscript shares the findings of a four-year learning assurance project conducted at an AACSB-accredited university used to assess first-year business students' competency regarding different forms of business dress. Despite various educational interventions, the results of these assessment cycles indicated that students were unable to successfully match the appropriate dress style to two different scenarios: meeting with a client outside the office, and day-to-day in the office. Further research utilizing focus groups revealed incorrect mental models used by students that were contributing to the deficiencies in their learning. The students were themselves the flies in the ointment that prevented the educators from closing the loop completely on a learning outcome. The findings from the assessment cycle, alternative interventions attempted to enhance student learning, the method used to uncover the incorrect mental models, and a description of the incorrect mental models are presented. The authors provide narratives and insights regarding the educators' challenges in closing the loop.