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48 BizEd MAY | JUNE 2015 tutions around the world. It also sends one or more faculty members every year to the International Faculty Program o•ered by IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Despite making the investment in developing its own professors, ZSEM continuously searches for new PhD faculty. Njavro notes that, when the school launched, it was di§cult to find candidates from Europe or America who were interested in living and working in Croatia. He adds, "Today, the situation is much better than ten years ago." FOCUSING ON RESEARCH In addition to developing a pipeline of well-qualified faculty, ZSEM has changed the research culture of the school to one that focuses more heavily on publishing in peer-reviewed jour- nals. Traditionally in Croatia, faculty members write their own books for the courses they teach. Additionally, across all universities in the centralized tenure system, faculty are required to publish books and monographs—which are con- sidered the primary means of making intellectual contributions. At first, some of the more experi- enced ZSEM faculty found it di§cult to transition to publishing in peer-re- viewed journals (PRJs), but in time they embraced the strategy. ZSEM helped them understand its importance by creating a development plan that guides scholars toward the activities and certifications that the school values most. To come up with the plan, faculty and administrators worked together to establish targets for educational qualifications, training, and intellectual contributions over a five-year period. To further support faculty develop- ment, the school produced "Guidelines for Publishing Activities," which helps faculty understand the importance of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and conducting research allied with the school's mission. The school also organizes workshops with titles such as "The Production of Intellectual Contri- butions," "Qualitative Research Meth- ods," and "Insider's Guide to Getting Published in International Research Journals." These development work- shops are run by both in-house and external experts. Additionally, the school has devel- oped an incentive system to reward faculty research activities. For instance, professors receive financial rewards for publishing in PRJs and financial support for presenting papers at international conferences. The school also o•ers small research grants that provide startup funding for faculty to pursue so-called mini projects, says Maslać. "In February 2014, we organized our first 'Festival of Science' to highlight our faculty's research and motivate other professors to apply for startup funds," she continues. "With the funding comes an obligation to publish a peer-reviewed article." She believes the incentive pro- gram works because it not only rewards what is important to the school, but it also shows the faculty that the school appreciates their hard work. EMBEDDING AOL As ZSEM continued on its path toward accreditation, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome was faculty resistance to assurance of learning. Jalšenjak notes that measuring outcomes and doing self-assessment are not common prac- tices in Europe. "At first, I didn't like that approach," he says. "It seemed to me like additional paperwork." But once the results came in, faculty were surprised and pleased to discover that the system worked. "We were able to ask the dean for additional resources, because we had data to back up our re- quests," Jalšenjak says. As faculty real- ized that AoL could significantly impact student learning, they began using it as a teaching tool. While about 95 percent of the faculty participate in the AoL process, the responsibility for developing and sustaining AoL protocols falls primarily to Martinović and Jelavić. To adminis- ter AoL processes in the school's nine undergraduate departments and 11 specialized MBA programs, the school developed an internal organization. This group includes approximately 30 AoL supervisors, who are experienced faculty, and coordinators, who are junior faculty and academic assistants. Martinović admits that at first the task seemed overwhelming until they applied management techniques to each stage of the process—analysis, plan - ning, and implementation. Still, she and Jelavić believe the program only suc- ceeds because the team works together smoothly and spreads responsibility broadly. "ZSEM invested a great deal of time Eighty-three international students from 27 countries gather for Orientation Day in the fall of 2014. In the past year, 240 international students came to ZSEM and 132 ZSEM students studied abroad. PHOTO BY ZSEM STUDENT PATRICIA MICHELLE HERCEG