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The development and implementation of an expert system for the advisement of undergraduate business administration majors
Abstract
The idea of incorporating the concepts and thought processes of an expert into a computer system has intrigued computer scientists and computer users for decades. Advances in technology and in software have led to the creation of Expert Systems, a computer software and hardware system that models the approach an expert might take. In the last decade expert systems have become commercially feasible, and thus making expertise available on a desktop for many people. In the academic realm, faculty members assist students in the selection of courses, and as advisors to students in their academic careers. With increasing enrollments in business administration degree programs, faculty members are faced with time pressures to advise students, conduct research, and to prepare and teach classes. Some faculty members do an excellent or expert job in advising, while others are less skilled. This dissertation details the development and implementation of an expert system for the advisement of undergraduate business administration majors. It describes a research study that utilized an experienced advisor, an inexperienced advisor, and an average advisor who advised business administration majors using an experimental expert system and the traditional approach. It presents the research findings based on the null hypothesis that there would be no statistical difference in both the efficiency and effectiveness of expert system advising as compared to traditional approaches. Statistical evidence is presented to reject the null hypothesis that the expert system is as efficient as the traditional approach. Evidence is also presented that no real statistical difference exists between the expert system approach and the traditional approach in terms of effectiveness, although a significant difference occurred where students indicated that the expert system approach was very helpful. Evidence is given that suggests that there are statistical differences between individual advisors in terms of the effectiveness of the expert system approach as compared to the traditional approach, where some advisors function better under one method or the other method.
Subject Area
School administration|Management|Computer science|Academic guidance counseling|Business education|Artificial intelligence
Recommended Citation
White, Bruce Allan, "The development and implementation of an expert system for the advisement of undergraduate business administration majors" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9118481.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9118481