The Relationship Between Simulation Strategies And Exit Exam Scores: A Correlational Assessment Of Glo-Bus And Peregrine

Simulations are used in business education to improve skill attainment and application. Exit examinations, however, remain imperative measures used for accreditation. This research assesses the relationships between skill sets across business students to test the hypothesis that competencies within and between Glo-Bus as a simulation and Peregrine as an exam positively correlate. We find that while all Peregrine competencies correlate, 11 of 36 possible correlations are present within the Glo-Bus competencies and 47 of 153 possible correlations are present between Glo-Bus and Peregrine competencies. Overall, Glo-Bus and Peregrine scores are weakly, positively correlated, r (157) = .242, p < .01.


INTRODUCTION
here have been two significant trends in higher education aimed at improving learner knowledge and retention of material, with the goal of transparency related to actual skills gained in an undergraduate or graduate program. The first trend is toward the use of inbound and outbound examinations to assess the level of learning that has taken place, with the examinations often being used for accreditation and reporting (Economic Policy Committee,n.d.,p. 39). Another trend has been the use of simulations to improve learner understanding and retention, thereby, in theory, improving the outbound examination scores and student knowledge (Kaufman & Ireland, 2016). It is widely believed that simulation games help learners comprehend real world opportunities within the theoretical framework of a course and may potentially improve knowledge and retention. Models and simulations are increasingly being used in advanced experiential learning environments to place the student in the "world" by which the instructor seeks for students to interact with phenomena being studied. From a student-centered constructivist approach, simulation often includes placing the student in a game, activity, or roleplay scenario to allow them to control ambiguity by making strategic, informed decisions, after which the instructor can determine the achievement of the desired educational impact of the simulation. Rather than "surface learning" scenarios such as memorization, simulations may promote deeper learner through immersion and the application of concepts. One such simulation, Glo-Bus offers an online gradable exercise where teams of students run companies that are in a race for global market leadership. Simulations, such as those offered by Glo-Bus, allow students to practice their learning in an environment that is free from risks and considered more enjoyable for the learner (Karriker & Aaron, 2014).
It has been noted that a student's approach to learning and his or her attainment of desired materials is correlated, particularly when taking a deep, rather than superficial, approach to learning (Gijbels, Van de Watering, Dochy, & Van den Bossche, 2005), which in theory, simulations could provide. Across disciplines, simulations allow students to apply course content in realistic situations, reinforcing the relevance of this content as it is engaged with through Peregrine examinations are nationally normed programs for internal and external evaluation of learner understanding, which may be used to meet accrediting guidelines and requirements for transparency (Peregrine Academic Services, 2018). They can be used to guide university administrators and faculty into a more thorough understanding of inbound and outbound measurements with regard to competencies in the business domain. They are often used as a midpoint assessment to determine if intervention or modification to a learning plan is needed to improve outbound scores (Peregrine Academic Services, 2018).
It is widely promoted that the Peregrine examination provides a direct measurement of the value-added learning that an institution has offered a student (Peregrine Academic Services, 2018). The domains assessed using the Peregrine examination include accounting, business ethics, business finance, business integration and strategic management, business leadership, macroeconomics, microeconomics, global dimensions of business, information management systems, legal environment of business, management, human resource management, operations and production management, organizational behavior, marketing, and quantitative research techniques and statistics.
Business simulations and examinations have been related to Bloom's taxonomy and learning theory to add approaches to improve learner understanding in both practical and theoretical dimensions (Cotae et al., 2016). It has been noted, however, that available programs do not necessarily follow the academic progression as defined by typical coursework, and therefore may have some significant limitations as assessments (Cotae et al., 2016). This has been noted as significantly limiting in the area of international business, for example, and indicates a growth area for business schools (Cotae et al., 2016).

Measuring Progress in Quality of Academic Programs
Institutions are expected to be in a continual state of improved achievement, as defined by the institution, the accrediting agency, and other stakeholders. Colleges and universities are being asked to provide some assurance of learning and outcomes (Green, Stone, & Zegeye, 2014;Lawrence, Reed, & Locander, 2011). While always looking for the best ways to improve outbound scores and therefore achieve a higher status in the academic hierarchy, faculty, administrators, and future hiring managers also have a stake in the learning that takes place in the collegiate classroom. Programmatic accreditation requires transparency, and the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) has recently strengthened its requirement of public disclosure (Castiglia & Turi, 2011).
Making continuous improvement in student outcomes is time and resource intensive. Glo-Bus, Peregrine, and other simulations can have significant barriers in their application. They can be costly and difficult to implement, confusing for students and faculty, and IT-intensive. Even the most straight-forward and most often used methods of assessment result in only minor modifications to courses, and pushback from faculty occurs due to the time commitment and lack of knowledge required to conduct studies of student achievement (Kelley, Tong, & Choi, 2010). When analyzing the value and impact that simulations such as Glo-Bus and tests such as Peregrine have on student learning, it is helpful

DISCUSSION
Do Glo-Bus simulations improve Peregrine scores? Glo-Bus is utilized for its direct application of principles (Cotae et al., 2016), but to date, no studies have assessed the alignment of the scores that Glo-Bus produces based on these principles with those of Peregrine exit exam scores. Thus, it is unknown if Glo-Bus improves Peregrine scores and as such, if Glo-Bus competencies provide instructors with any indication of Peregrine scores. As simulations are being increasingly used in business education to improve skill attainment and application, it is essential to explore their relationship with exit exams for numerous reasons, including for improving instruction, for selecting simulation programs, and for aligning these programs to accreditation and reporting. Thus, the results of this study are of interest to university faculty and administrators who may wish to identify the impact of simulations as they relate to student skillset and exit examination scores. This research has assessed the relationships between interdisciplinary skill sets across business students in a senior undergraduate capstone course to test the hypothesis that competencies within and between Glo-Bus as a simulation and Peregrine as an exam positively correlate. Rather, we explored if and to what extent competencies correlate within and across the Glo-Bus and Peregrine.
Given the increasing reliance on exit examinations (Economic Policy Committee,n.d.,p. 39), as well as the increased reliance on simulations in instruction (Kaufman & Ireland, 2016), the results of this study hold numerous implications. First, while simulations may be more enjoyable to the learner (Karriker & Aaron, 2014;King, Mayer & Richardson, 2011), in the example of the Glo-Bus simulation and Peregrine exam, there is no consistency in correlation between the competencies of the two tools. Using data from 158 exiting undergraduate Supervision and Management majors at a state college in the Florida College System in 2017, we found that while all Peregrine competencies correlate, 11 of 36 possible correlations are present within the Glo-Bus competencies and 47 of 153 possible correlations are present between Glo-Bus and Peregrine competencies. Overall, Glo-Bus and Peregrine scores are weakly, positively correlated. Second, as Glo-Bus is noted to be direct in its simulation and application of principles (Cotae et al., 2016), instructors can use the statistically significant relationships presented within this study to improve areas in the Peregrine in which students may be under-performing. For instance, the data indicate that there is a positive statistically significant correlation between the Glo-Bus Strategic Analysis and Planning (SAP) competency and 14 of the 17 Peregrine competencies. Thus, improving SAP through the use of the Glo-Bus simulation is demonstrated to have the greatest effect on Peregrine scores.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Candace Forbes Bright is Assistant Research Professor at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. Her research focuses on methodological advances across disciplines. E-mail: brightcm@etsu.edu Justin Bateh is a Professor of Business at Florida State College at Jacksonville. His research, focusing on both scholarly advancement and practical management implications, addresses multi-faceted aspects of business operations, often highlighting the nuanced managerial decisions of organizations, for the purpose of applying evidence-based practices to improve outcomes.
Danielle Babb is a Professor of Business at American Public University in West Virginia. Her research focuses on online education, entrepreneurship, faculty satisfaction, and student success factors. Most of her work centers around finding a strong balance between an entrepreneur-based education work environment that promotes strong student success with satisfied faculty. E-Mail: danielle.babb@my.apus.edu