Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Mohammad Abdolmohammadi

Department of Accountancy, Bentley College, USA

Janice L Ammons

School of Business, Quinnipiac University, USA

Noah P. Barsky

College of Commerce and Finance, Villanova University, USA

Sak Bhamornsiri

Department of Accounting, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA

Joseph H. Callaghan

Department of Accounting and Finance, Oakland University, USA

Gail L Cook

Department of Accounting and Finance, Brock University, Canada

Michael F. Cornick

Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Winthrop University, USA

Curtis L DeBerg

Department of Accounting and Management, Information Systems, California State University-Chico, USA

Jane Dillard-Eggers

Massey School of Business, Belmont University, USA

Rajib Doogar

Department of Accountancy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Lola W. Dudley

School of Business, Eastern Illinois University, USA

Cindy D. Edmonds

Accounting and Information Systems, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

Thomas P. Edmonds

Accounting and Information Systems, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA ix

Albert H. Frakes

School of Accounting, Information Systems and Business Law, Washington State University, USA

Martin J. Hornyak

Department of Management/MIS, University of West Florida, USA

Martha Howe

Department of Accountancy, Bentley College, USA

Karla Kay Jensen

Department of Communication Studies, Nebraska Wesleyan University, USA

David S. Kerr

Department of Accounting, Texas A&M University, USA

Roann R. Kopel

School of Business, Eastern Illinois University, USA

Edward G. Malmgren

Department of Accounting, University of North Carolina Charlotte, USA

Dawn W. Massey

Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Fairfield University, USA

Alfred R. Michenzi

Department of Accounting, Loyola College in Maryland, Sellinger School of Business and Management, USA

Bernard J. Milano

KPMG Foundation, USA

Sherry K. Mills

Department of Accounting and Business Computer Systems, College of Business Administration and Economics, Mexico State University, USA

Elizabeth V. Mulig

Department of Accounting and Business Law, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, College of Business, USA

Thomas R. Nunamaker

School of Accounting, Information Systems and Business Law, Washington State University, USA

xi

Eileen Peacock

Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business Administration, Oakland University, USA

Dasaratha V. Rama

School of Accounting, Florida International University, Miami, USA

Kenneth Ryack

Department of Accounting and Information Systems, University of Massachusetts, USA

Arline Savage

Department of Accounting and Finance, Oakland University, USA

Joann R. Segovia

Department of Accounting, University of North Dakota, USA

L Murphy Smith

Department of Accounting, Texas A&M University, USA

Jay C. Thibodeau

Department of Accountancy, Bentley College, USA

John M. Thornton

School of Accounting, Information Systems and Business Law, Washington State University, Tri-Cities, USA

Howard Turetsky

Department of Accounting and Finance, San Jose State University, USA

Joan Van Hise

Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Fairfield University, USA

Gerald Weinstein

Department of Accountancy, John Carroll University, USA

Lourdes E White

Department of Accounting, Merrick School of Business, University of Baltimore, USA

Thomas C. Wooten

Massey School of Business, Belmont University, USA

EDITORIAL BOARD Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi Bentley College

Thomas P. Edmonds University ofAlabama Birmingham

Joseph H. Anthony Michigan State University

Terry J. Engle University of South Florida

Richard E. Baker Northern Illinois University

Carol Fischer St. Bonaventure University

Bruce H. Biskin American Institute ofCPAs

Michael J. Fischer St. Bonaventure University

Frank A. Buckless North Carolina State University

Timothy J. Fogarty Case Western Reserve University

Thomas Calderon University ofAkron

Taylor W.Foster III New Mexico State University

Anthony Catanach Villanova University

Mary Anne Gaffney Temple University

Alan A. Cherry Loyola Marymount University

Marshall A. Geiger University of Richmond

James W. Deitrick University of Texas-Austin

Michael H. Granof University of Texas-Austin

Bruce Dehning University of New Hampshire

Julie Hertenstein Northeastern Universtiy

Mary S. Doucet California State University Bakersfield

Joe Ben Hoyle University of Richmond

Michael T. Dugan University of Alabama

Mohamed E. A. Hussein University of Connecticut xiii

XIV

James P. Jennings St. Louis University Julia Karcher University of Louisville Thomas E. King Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Philip R. Olds Virginia Commonwealth University Richard L. Ott Kansas State University Sue P. Ravenscroft Iowa State University

Carol F. Venable San Diego State University

Jane L. Reimers Florida State University

Ralph E. Viator Texas Tech University

Alan Reinstein Wayne State University

David Williams The Ohio State University

Robin W. Roberts University of Central Florida

James M. Kurtenbach Iowa State University

Linda V. Ruchala University of Nebraska

Linda M. Lovata Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Timothy J. Rupert Northeastern University

Susan A. Lynn University of Baltimore James J. Maroney Northeastern University Maureen Mascha Elmhurst College James R. Martin University of South Florida Steven M. Mintz Claremont-McKenna College Mark Mitschow SUNY-Geneseo Gale E. Newell Western Michigan University

David Ryan Temple University Georgia Saemann University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Michael S. Schadewald University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Richard G. Schroeder University of North Carolina Charlotte Barbara W. Scofield University of Texas-Permian Basin

John Sennetti Nova University

Donald E. Wygal Rider University

Michael K. Shaub St. Mary's University

Marilyn T. Zarzeski University of Mississippi

L. Murphy Smith Texas A&M University

Douglas Ziegenfuss Old Dominion University

LEARNERS AS DESIGNERS OF EDUCATIONAL HYPERMEDIA IN ACCOUNTING Janice L. Ammons and Sherry K. Mills ABSTRACT This paper describes a project in which students, as "hypermedia authors," research a topic and design hypermedia materials that other students can subsequently use to learn about accounting concepts and practices. We designed our hypermedia-authoring project as a learning tool to take advantage of an information-rich environment, to motivate our students to seek out new knowledge and skills, to connect their learning to the real world, and to raise their own thought-provoking questions. Students have an opportunity to: (1) conduct intentional web-based research and critically evaluate that information; (2) transform and communicate their understanding of accounting concepts using resources found on the Web; and (3) develop a reflexive awareness about the process ofpersonal knowledge construction. Students in graduate accounting information systems and managerial accounting courses at a small northeastern U.S. university and a graduate managerial accounting course at large southwestern U.S. university completed the project. The paper presents the project model, student reactions, and instructor insights about the project.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,1-25 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.10167S1085-4622(03)05001-6 1

2

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

INTRODUCTION The World Wide Web offers digital documents in the form of hypermedia. Hypermedia can include text, visual images, and sound. Hypertext connects hypermedia items by linking them (usually through highlighted words or hot buttons). Hypermedia offers "a multitude of paths in order to create an environment that affords immediate, yet random access to large amounts of information" (Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, p. 52). Some educators advocate the use of the World Wide Web because it enables access to vast amounts of information (Nielsen, 1995). The Web's proliferation of information resources also presents a challenge to users. Without experience in efficiently searching, navigating, and evaluating hypermedia information, learners may become lost among the Web's vast resources (Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, p. 54). On its Web page entitled "Fostering Change in Curriculum and Teaching Methods," the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA, 1999) observes: The Internet provides students with easy access to volumes of information undreamed of in prior generations. The problem now is sifting through the mass of information to find that which is truly relevant and reliable. It is unrealistic to expect students to develop this insight on their own. They need a guide - a role that faculty can play.

The body of accounting knowledge is growing and changing rapidly (Holcomb & Michaelsen, 1996, pp. 278-279, 287-288), increasing the importance of information literacy as an educational outcome for our students. An information literate individual can: distinguish between critical questions and secondary questions based on information needs, identify potential sources of information, develop successful search strategies, critically evaluate information and its sources, integrate information into an existing body of knowledge, and communicate or disseminate that knowledge in an effective format based on the audience and purpose (University of Vermont Libraries Information Core Competencies/Educational Outcomes Task Force, 1998). Like others in business education (Brown, Nielson & Sullivan, 1996; Bryant & Hunton, 2000; Sangster & Lymer, 1998), we sought to enhance information resources in our courses by incorporating material from the Web. These resources sometimes provide in-depth information on selected topics and valuable illustrations of their application in businesses. Some accounting educators assign Web-based scavenger hunts that require students to search the Web for materials that are not available from the traditional resources found in library databases. These scavenger hunts introduce students to navigating the Web and familiarize

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

3

students with the types of information resources available, but instructional strategies that focus exclusively on Internet search skills often do not go far enough in developing necessary competencies for accounting students. Holcomb and Michaelsen (1996, p. 286) recommend that accounting students learn information display skills that can enhance communication in electronic media. They also acknowledge the importance of engaging students in thinking about the process of learning in order to provide life-long learning skills. This paper presents a project that offers opportunities for students to reflect on their learning process, enhance their information literacy, and develop hypermedia communication skills as they create instructional web-based materials. The project required graduate students to locate or create information resources that would spark another learner's curiosity or add to another person's appreciation of the relevance or potential impact of the selected issue on current accounting practices. After gathering and analyzing information available from online and offline sources, students created their own Web pages. Some of these pages presented concepts that our assigned textbooks do not address; others extended coverage of existing topics by illustrating some real-world applications. Subsequently, we used some of the student-designed web-based instructional materials to engage students in other courses to explore their own understanding of accounting concepts and practices. Thus, the students who designed the web pages became the masters to new apprentices who learned by using those hypermedia products. The paper is organized as follows. The first section describes the basic components of the hypermedia-authoring project and explains the motivation for the project. The second section outlines the process through which students design and author the hypermedia products. The third section conveys the reactions of those students as hypermedia designers and of other students who later used some of those products. The fourth section presents our insights and conclusions.

MOTIVATION FOR AUTHORING HYPERMEDIA VIA A WEBQUEST WebQuest Bernie Dodge and Tom March developed the concept of a WebQuest in 1995 as a way to help teachers in middle and secondary schools integrate the Web into their teaching (Dodge, 1998; March, 1998, 1999). A WebQuest is more than a set of web pages that discuss a particular topic. A WebQuest takes the user on a quest to

4

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

build his/her own knowledge about an issue by guiding the user through existing Web-based resources, and by engaging the user in a task that poses questions. Wellconstructed questions require the user to explore various perspectives and to apply higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, judgment and problemsolving. Although a designer must undergo a quest of his/her own while creating the hypermedia pages that serve as a web-based tutorial, the term "WebQuest" does not refer the hypermedia creation process. Rather the term "WebQuest" refers to an educational product that is posted to the World Wide Web so that others may learn by reading the content of the WebQuest, accessing the informational resources that are linked to the WebQuest, and then solving the questions or task posed by the WebQuest. Figure 1 illustrates the structure of a WebQuest on business continuity plans. A graduate student enrolled in an accounting information systems course authored this WebQuest in Spring 2000. This WebQuest includes several elements that are common to most WebQuests: an introduction, information on the author of the WebQuest, task requirements for the user of the WebQuest, an explanation of the activities to complete the task (embedded in "prepare your research" and the "concerns" of various perspectives), an evaluation rubric for the task (in "the board's vote"), and a conclusion. The task in this WebQuest directs the user to develop a proposal for presentation to a board of directors of a medical practice. The proposal (task) must convince the board that a disaster recovery plan is critical to the long-term success of the practice. The WebQuest identifies the concerns of each of the board members and offers links to relevant resources available on the Web. In responding to the task, the user must create a proposal in the form of a presentation that demonstrates how disruption will affect the medical practice from a clinical perspective, operations perspective, financial perspective, and human resources perspective. This WebQuest had a very linear structure, providing a clear path of progression for the user to take. Some WebQuests have a more nonlinear structure. However, the author of the illustrated WebQuest believed that this structure allowed her to scaffold a user's learning by building on what the user knows and requiring higher level thinking as the user progressed. Some authors refer to this as cascaded problem solving (Holcomb & Michaelsen, 1996, p. 283). In Dodge and March's implementation of WebQuests as learning tools, instructors designed the WebQuests so that students would have a structure in place to guide them through instructor-selected web resources in order to build understanding on a selected topic. Rather than constructing WebQuests ourselves, we placed our students in the role of hypermedia authors so that the students would have to conduct research, reorganize the information they obtained from that research, and communicate their own knowledge representation in a hypermedia document from which others could learn.

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

5

Fig. 1. Organization of a Business Continuity Plan WebQuest. How Constructivism and Information Literacy Motivate our Hypermedia-Authoring Project Constructivism emphasizes learning rather than teaching (Jonassen, 1996, p. 12; Lehrer, 1993, p. 197; Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, p. 54). A constructivist learning process permits the emergence of "intentional learning" as more

6

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

students view themselves in charge of their own learning (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989, p. 363; Resnick, 1989). Constructivism encourages inquiry that nurtures the learner's own curiosity. Constructivists believe that new learning occurs by making connections with previous experiences or knowledge, and that people learn best when they actively construct their own understanding (Akhras & Self, 2000, p. 6; Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, pp. 12-13). Technological advances offer educators an opportunity to move away from instructional strategies that focus on delivering content, storing knowledge, and recalling facts from memory. Particular aspects of these technological changes the volume of information that is available on computer networks and the numerous ways that people search and use that information - have led several educators to consider the implications of constructivism for their instructional-design practices (Campbell, 1998; Duffy & Jonassen, 1992; Harper, Hedberg, Corderoy & Wright, 2000, p. 231; Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996). Some literature suggests that students learn more if instructors place them in the role of designers of their own hypermedia learning materials (Jonassen, 1996, p. 190). Students as designers must make decisions about content, navigation, presentation, and assessment (Campbell, 1998). Consistent with constructivist pedagogy, such projects allow students to initiate exploration, integrate new learning with previous knowledge, and create representations of their own understanding by using their own modes of expression (Jonassen, 1996, p. 190). Projects can promote information literacy by requiring students to access information competently, formulate essential questions that will direct their search, evaluate information as to accuracy and relevance for each need, make connections with previous knowledge, and use this information to problem solve or to communicate effectively (Hancock, 1993). Figure 2 illustrates how we designed our hypermedia-authoring project as a learning tool to take advantage of an information-rich environment, to motivate our students to seek out new knowledge and skills, to connect their learning to the real world, and to raise their own thought-provoking questions. The WebQuest-authoring project requires students to act as researchers and hypermedia authors. The students must explore the Internet, evaluate their findings, and communicate their understanding by creating web-based tutorials in the form of a WebQuest. Each WebQuest includes an introduction, information resources, and a task or assessment activity. Learning Objectives of the Project In particular, we wanted this project to achieve the following learning objectives: (1) Search and critically evaluate information presented over the Web. Exposing students to the wealth of accounting and business information that exists on the

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

7

relevance, authority/bias, evidence, incremental value of search results

Fig. 2. Hypermedia-Authoring Project as a Learning Tool.

Web is not enough. Our intention is for students to become more efficient and critical consumers of information presented over the Web. We want our students to develop better information search strategies and a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different search engines and databases. With electronic media, more information is available from a wider variety of sources created by individuals with varying degrees of expertise. Our students need to better recognize relevant, authoritative, unbiased evidence that has incremental value to the accounting or business concept or practice in question. By completing this project, students may gain confidence in their own ability to conduct independent research to keep up-to-date on developments in their field.

8

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

(2) Demonstrate understanding of accounting concepts by authoring hypermedia that integrates resources found on the Web. When designing a WebQuest, students improve their ability to effectively communicate contemporary accounting issues by authoring their own Web pages and integrating links to other sites. This process not only inspires the student to access professional sites and accounting-relevant information, but it also reinforces propositions about the currency of such concepts in today's business. As designers, these students scaffold learning to help other learners who may become subsequent users of these WebQuests. (3) Develop a reflexive awareness about the process of knowledge construction. We encourage students to draw on their own prior and emerging experience and connect it to the work they create in their WebQuest. Structured reflection through journal writing during this hypermedia construction process can prompt students to consider how different people learn, and can improve an awareness of their own individual learning style.

MODEL OF THE PROCESS Students constructed WebQuests to demonstrate their understanding of a topic, building on any prior work or personal experiences, prior discussions in class, as well as information available in the required text materials. They synthesized this prior knowledge with new information gained in their research. Their primary design objective was to create their Web pages in such a way that other students would find the WebQuest to be an enjoyable way to learn about a particular tool used in contemporary management accounting systems or to illustrate specific applications of accounting information systems issues. Most students worked in teams in the graduate management accounting courses and worked individually in the accounting information systems course. The graduate managerial accounting courses had larger class sizes so teams were necessary to avoid excessive repetition among selected topic areas. The student-authors in two separate managerial accounting courses selected from among five topics: activity-based management, economic value added, target costing, balanced scorecard, and performance measurement. Students in the graduate accounting information systems course selected from among four topics: enterprisewide systems, electronic payments, disaster recovery plans, and confidentiality through encryption. Table 1 provides the Web addresses for these assignments and the completed projects. In the process of completing a WebQuest project, students engaged in the following learning activities: preparation, brainstorming, Web search, elaboration on

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting Table 1. Web Pages of Accounting WebQuest Assignments and Completed Projects. Accounting Information Systems - WebQuest Design Project Spring 2000 - Quinnipiac University Course syllabus http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/ac617syl.asp WebQuest assignment http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/ guidelines, design process webquestassign.asp and useful links Brainstorming tips http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/ brainstorm.asp Grading criteria http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/rubric.htm or http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/rubric.doc Index to completed WebQuests http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/webquest/ for this course index.asp The WebQuest that Fig. 1 of this paper illustrates is available at: http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/webquest/ edwards/disasterrecoveryplanhomepage.asp Management Accounting - WebQuest Design Project Spring 1999 - Quinnipiac University Index to completed WebQuests http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/business/accounting/Quest/ for this course webquest.asp Management Accounting - WebQuest Design Project Fall 1998 - New Mexico State University Index to completed WebQuests http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~smills/webtrek/webtreks.html for this course

content and learning objectives, Web page design and testing, peer reviews, and project presentation. Table 2 summarizes the tasks that students performed for each key learning activity. We set the stage for the project by discussing the motivation for the project and the relationship between the project and the content that we would address elsewhere in the course. Students prepared for the WebQuest project by reviewing project requirements and developing team rapport. We also encouraged students to be creative in choosing the content of the WebQuest and in designing the layout of the Web pages. Students set goals and identified specific actions and timelines to achieve those goals. Students brainstormed topic ideas next. We used a Web page (see link in Table 1) to communicate ways to stimulate the creation of ideas, such as considering different points of view other than the textbook's view, looking at other disciplines and comparing their views, or adapting successful approaches used by others. During this stage, students had the opportunity to hypothesize, speculate, pose thoughtful questions, identify an issue, and generate alternatives. Once they completed brainstorming, students searched the Web using various search engines. They assessed the value of the information they found on Web

9

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

10

Table 2. Tasks Performed for Each Project Learning Activity of the WebQuest Authoring Project. Project Learning Activities

Student Hypertext Author Tasks

Preparation

• Review project requirements and some potential topics • Compare existing WebQuests to identify what works well and doesn't work well • Review links about WebQuests basics and suggestions on exploring possibilities for WebQuests • Reflect on your own prior and emerging experience so that you can draw on this and connect it to your research for this WebQuest • Develop a timeline for project completion

Brainstorming

• Identify various potential slants (perspectives) on chosen topic • List interesting questions or problems that the WebQuest could target • Reflect on the learning objectives for a user of your WebQuest • Identify what background information is relevant to address those questions or problems

Web search

• • • •

Elaboration of WebQuest content and learning objectives for their specific WebQuest

• Elaborate on nature of subtopics, their integration with the task or ability that will actively involve the WebQuest user and engage him/her in meaningful learning; the task captures how the learning will materialize for the WebQuest user • Potentially use storyboarding or concept mapping to organize your WebQuest's structure • Compare planned content with learning objectives (consider match between your application and your goals) • Submit site definition and initial planning documents

Web page design and testing

• Compose text and organize information located during the search phase consistent with design principles highlighted in useful links below • Include hypertext links as resources for the WebQuest user • Select media to represent the information (text, tables, graph, video, still-images, PowerPoint) • Review your checklist and prepare a rubric to assess a WebQuest user on the task that you designed. Review purpose of rubrics and additional notes on this stage of design • Compose your own "solution" to the task that you designed and review the grading rubric that you designed for it • Review the grading criteria

Project presentation

• Articulate the motivation for your topic, task(s) presented to a user of your WebQuest, and highlight insights gained

Use various search engines and different search terms Assess the value of the search results Refine search Possibly refine topic focus or raise additional question to target (use an iterative process)

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

11

sites and refined the search to locate relevant information. Since a thorough search of the Internet requires extensive time, team members searched individually and then met as a group to compare findings. Many students lacked experience in searching the Web effectively so we provided a brief interactive demonstration on the use of browsers and search tools. During this demonstration, we also asked students to critique Web pages that resulted from these searches on the basis of their design, reasoning quality, authority and potential for bias. This activity was meant to help students with the search phase, which required them to prioritize, identify assumptions and main ideas, compare and contrast information, search various sources of information, and analyze the information gathered to determine its value in creating their own WebQuest. After conducting Web searches outside the classroom, students elaborated on the learning objectives and content of their own WebQuest by narrowing the topics and identifying subtopics and sequences of concepts. The elaboration phase required students to apply skills in organizing, classifying, and sequencing information in order to communicate knowledge effectively and promote learning by anyone who might subsequently use their finished WebQuest. Each student or student team submitted a site definition or concept map as well as initial planning documents, which typically consisted of the learning objectives of the team's WebQuest. Additionally, the planning documents briefly described the task that the student(s) would design into the WebQuest. A task prompts the end-users of the WebQuest to do something meaningful with the resources embedded in the WebQuest. In one implementation of this assignment, each student team presented a fiveminute overview to the entire class. Other class members (including the instructor) offered ideas that could help the team structure its WebQuest. Using the class as a whole to evaluate each proposed model of a WebQuest helped students consider alternatives and extensions as well as ways to troubleshoot potential difficulties (such as the inability to locate the information needed). This activity was consistent with a constructivist approach because it engaged the students in conversations to help build upon their existing knowledge and experiences (Resnick, 1989; Wilson, Teslow & Osman-Jouchoux, 1995). After the initial elaboration and exchange of ideas, students began designing and testing the Web pages. The majority of our students had no prior experience in creating hypermedia documents on the web. One of us devoted approximately two hours of class time to Web page construction, offering students a hands-on exercise using Microsoft FrontPage and detailed handouts on typical HTML tags. Recommended texts in that course also included a quick reference guide to HTML tags. In the implementation of this project that did not feature in-class discussions

12

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

on Web page creation, students obtained assistance from computer lab workers, peers, or other instructors if they were unfamiliar with Web page construction. The process of authoring the web pages required students to organize information located during the search phase and compose text that would guide a WebQuest user appropriately with prompts to apply the information. Thus, the students selected resources that provided useful information about the topic. They incorporated information resources from library materials and also made many Internet resources directly accessible using hyperlinks. Some students constructed web pages that included visual images, tables, charts, and PowerPoint slides. None of the students designed WebQuest pages to include video or sound. Students incorporated various types of assessment exercises in their web pages. Some were directed questions. Some required the user to create memos or presentations in order to address the WebQuest task's requirements. The objectives of these exercises were to provide both enjoyable and useful evaluations of the materials presented in the WebQuest. We also required the student-authors to submit their answers to their own assessment exercise after constructing their WebQuest. Instructors reviewed these answers to verify that the student-authors read their selected materials and understood the content and meaningfully integrated it themselves. Before the final stage of the presentations, peer reviewers examined a classmate's WebQuest and provided suggestions for improving its introduction, task, or resource elements. The project's grading criteria (summarized in Table 3) provided a basis for peer reviewer's feedback. However, peer reviews did not assess the WebQuest-author's journal or the author's proposed answers to the task. After making final revisions to their WebQuests, students made oral presentations to the class. We asked students to address the following in their presentations: • Nature of the topic and its importance or relevance; • How they structured the process to motivate interest and to support the learner as he/she addresses the task; • Any significant changes they made subsequent to the peer review; • Things that surprised them or sparked their curiosity as they developed their own knowledge on this issue. We allotted about 20 minutes to each presentation. Peer reviewers also shared with the class what they learned or found effective in the WebQuests completed by their classmates. During the Spring 2000 implementation of this assignment, we asked students to use journals to write reflectively about the process and what they were learning. We intended the journal writing activity to promote self-monitoring on the part of the students and to further cement the students' understanding of what they were

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

13

Table 3. Key Elements of WebQuest Evaluation Criteria. Introduction • Engagingly describe a compelling issue or problem • Task (activities/thinking required of the user when progressing through the WebQuest) • Clear, structured approach that identifies a series of steps needed to solve a problem or address increasingly complex questions • Develop the topic in an enlightening, interesting way • Prompt the user to work with the ideas or information presented, raise additional questions or considerations, make connections among ideas, and draw insights to form their own understanding Resources • Links or text composed provide good foundational knowledge and deepen understanding of essential related issues that are illuminated through the WebQuest task • Links consistently provide incremental value relative to other links presented • Proper attribution of authorship (complete citation of resources used) • Links are incorporated into the discussion or task in a way that clearly guides the learner so that the instructional purpose of each link is clearly evident Journal • Journal entries analyze the developer's own emerging understanding of the topic • Relate specific experiences in WebQuest design process to what the developer is learning • Reflect on what it means to scaffold learning • Indicate comfort-level with various elements of the process and learning pauis that are other than teacher-to-learner or text-to-learner Author/Designer's submission of answers to the task • Solution is reasonable with clear, strong supporting justification • Demonstrates thinking beyond simple recall of information resources provided in the WebQuest itself

learning while they completed the project. We also hoped that these journals would provide insights into the students' preferred learning styles (text-based, linear, nonlinear, etc.) or how the use of technology affected the students' satisfaction with the project. Students could also use the journals to describe challenges they faced in locating appropriate resources, or to describe why they believed their WebQuest task would provide an enlightening, interesting way of helping someone else learn about the topic they selected.

SUBSEQUENT USE OF HYPERMEDIA PROJECTS BY STUDENTS WHO DID NOT AUTHOR THOSE PRODUCTS During Spring 2000, we asked 25 students of an undergraduate accounting information systems course at Quinnipiac University to use a graduate student's

14

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

WebQuest to learn about electronic-cash security issues such as confidentiality and encryption. The undergraduates (16 male and 9 female) worked in groups to answer selected questions from the WebQuest. We collected anonymous surveys from 100% of these students. The questionnaire appears in Appendix 1. When we asked these undergraduate students to describe their overall satisfaction with their experience using the WebQuest, sixteen students indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied, four students indicated they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and five students indicated they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. Converting thefivecategories of satisfaction to a Likert-type scale (where 5 = very satisfied and 1 = very dissatisfied), the average level of satisfaction was 3.56. The questionnaire also asked students to use a Likert-type scale (where 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree) to indicate the extent to which five different aspects of the project motivated them to read and spend time thinking about the WebQuest: the "Harry the Hacker" (a central character of the storyline within the WebQuest) made learning fun (mean = 3.08); the real world relevance of online security issues like confidentiality and authentication (mean = 3.68); the WebQuest related to their own personal experience with on-line ordering (mean = 3.12); the ability to work with a team to develop solutions to the WebQuest problem (mean = 3.84); the assignment weight of 15% of the course grade (mean = 4.36). So the most motivating factors were the grading weight and their involvement in a team. The questionnaire asked students the extent to which they agreed that the use of the WebQuest made them think more about how the accounting profession needs to address security issues in electronic business environments. The mean of those responses was a 3.64. To complete the assignment, students (on average) took 1.6 hours to initially read the WebQuest and 2.1 hours to think about the possible answers to the questions, revisit the WebQuest, and meet with team members to complete the assignment. Assignments that involve the use of a WebQuest that is already available require much less time than assignments to author those hypermedia products. The last question on the survey asked the students to set aside their perceptions about the topic of the assigned WebQuest and think about the WebQuest as a learning method (where a user goes through an introduction, consults linked information resources, and responds to requirements posed in a specific task). Specifically, this question asked students whether they believed that future students would find a WebQuest on another topic a potentially valuable learning experience. Their responses indicated that students see value in the use of a WebQuest particularly when the topic is interesting, a story line facilitates exploration of the topic, the linked resources allow them to spend time learning rather than looking up information, and the topic has real-life implications and relevance to their field.

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

15

Responses to the last question on the survey also provide some insight into potential factors that affected the students' satisfaction using the WebQuest. Topic difficulty, time requirements, timing of assignment, and overall course complexity were factors possibly influencing student satisfaction. Some found the information on encryption too difficult to understand. One of the reasons for assigning this specific WebQuest was that the graduate student who designed the WebQuest volunteered to meet the undergraduate class to introduce those students to the overall structure of his WebQuest and to the topic of encryption. The instructor knew the topic might be challenging but hoped the interaction with the author would motivate the undergraduates to engage in further discovery of the topic by digging in deeper with the resources contained in the WebQuest. One student commented that the presentation by the graduate student who authored the WebQuest was very helpful, but the assignment was still too time consuming and poorly timed relative to final exams. Finally, students' comments on course evaluations indicated that the course placed heavy demands on students. So this perception may have affected students' evaluation of the WebQuest, which was the last assignment they received. Based on this feedback, we believe students will be more receptive to using a WebQuest that is assigned earlier in the semester and that presents a topic that is conceptually simpler and has a clearer relevance to accounting. During Spring 2000, Fall 2000, and Spring 2001, junior-level business students in an integrated supply chain course at New Mexico State University, used a WebQuest on target costing that Quinnipiac University graduate students authored in Spring 1999. The undergraduate students used the target costing WebQuest by working on an individual basis to answer five questions that appeared in the evaluation (assessment) section of the WebQuest. At the end of each semester, the students (approximately 250 each semester) provided anonymous feedback on the usefulness of various resources in the integrated supply chain course. The means of students' responses regarding the usefulness of the WebQuest on a scale of 1-7 (where 1 = very unhelpful to me; 4 = moderately helpful to me; 7 = very helpful to me) were: 4.72 (Spring 2000); 4.53 (Fall 2000); and 3.88 (Spring 2001). These averages were above those that students gave for the usefulness of the textbooks (4.00; 3.23; 2.94), but below the averages for the personal marketing plan activity (5.77; 5.16; 5.46) each semester. This result is not surprising, given that the personal marketing plan has been consistently rated the most useful tool in the course for the past four semesters. While the WebQuest reinforced a single topic, the personal marketing plan allowed students to apply marketing and accounting tools in a personally compelling manner. During a Fall 2001 Quinnipiac University managerial accounting course offered to MBA students (who did not have accounting undergraduate degrees),

16

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

the course web page included links to several of the WebQuests that prior MBA students authored two years earlier. We did not require the Fall 2001 students to author their own WebQuests. Instead we directed students to use the available WebQuests as they saw fit in order to prepare their own research and oral presentations to the class on managerial accounting issues. Twenty-eight students self-selected into 8 teams. Two teams (with six students in total) selected topic areas that the available WebQuests did not address (quality costing and standard costing with variance analysis). The remaining students (22) formed six teams with topics that corresponded to those represented in the available WebQuests. During the last day of the course, 16 students (eight male and eight female) who had worked with the WebQuests anonymously completed a questionnaire about their use of the WebQuests. Thus, the response rate on the questionnaire was 73% (16 out of 22). Students said that they used the WebQuests as a tool to familiarize themselves with the topic and to brainstorm directions to take with their presentations. Students generally liked the organization of the WebQuests that they used. However, one student indicated not liking to "click through several levels to get to the meat of the subject matter." Some noted the value of the WebQuest as a springboard to other sources of information. Some thought the WebQuest(s) presented information that was "too basic." The questionnaire asked students to suggest changes that would improve the usefulness of the WebQuest(s). Students' comments included suggestions that: improved organization would make navigation through the WebQuest(s) easier; updating links would eliminate or fix a few URL (uniform resource locator) addresses that failed; a table of contents upfront would enable users to get to the details quickly; and more examples of cases to add various interpretations of the topic would be useful. In response to a question that asked whether the students would prefer the assignment they completed or an assignment to create their own WebQuest, only two students indicated a preference for a WebQuest project. One thought that "group presentations are numerous in classes these days" and that "the hypermedia project would be a new challenge." This student also recognized that such a project would mean reduced coverage of material in the course, but nevertheless thought it would be valuable. One other student said that the hypermedia-authoring project would have been more fun, but would prefer not to author a WebQuest because it would require additional web-authoring training. A few students expressed concern about the learning curve to create information in a WebQuest format. Several students commented that authoring a hypermedia project would require a lot more time than simply researching a topic and preparing an oral presentation. The questionnaire asked each student to estimate how many hours he/she devoted to his/her

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

17

group project. The time commitment ranged from 5 to 25 hours, and the mean was 13 hours (compared to an average of 55 hours for the hypermedia design projects).

EDUCATORS' INSIGHTS Benefits and Value of Educator in the Process From our perspective, the hypermedia-authoring project offers several benefits. First, by placing the students in the role of "learners as designers," students usually take the assignment more seriously and enjoy creating a product that demonstrated what they had learned. By taking responsibility for their own knowledge creation on a complex project, they can develop tools to use for life-long learning in the workplace. Second, the project orients both educators and students away from the notion of the educator as the primary dispenser of knowledge. The project results in a cross-fertilization of information sources because of the diversity in materials and sources used. By examining the completed hypermedia documents, we saw the influence of some in-class discussions, textbook readings, many online resources that we may not have previously read, as well as information unique to that student's work environment. For example, one student incorporated archival information on the United States Postal Service's implementation of Economic Value Added since that was a new initiative he faced at work. Thus, this project offers an exploratory environment that can exploit the interest of each particular student. Providing sufficient resources online or offline to introduce the basic nature of the topics is valuable. Conversations with students early in the course can briefly introduce relevant topics for the WebQuest, and discussions about their work experiences also helps students develop a topic that is meaningful to them. Motivating the project - the process as well as the topics themselves helps achieve "buy in" on a project that imposes some rigorous demands on the learners. Based on analysis of course/instructor evaluations that students completed, our own enthusiasm for the hypermedia-authoring project and for the concepts addressed are essential in stimulating and maintaining the students' curiosity. Because of the ambiguous nature of the project, students rely on our enthusiasm and expertise in accounting to provide support as they struggle to define topics and boundaries for their WebQuest. Another key component to the potential success of this project is the overall task management. Students as well as educators must act as "task managers" in this setting. Constructivist pedagogy places more emphasis on students to

18

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

be their own task managers. They must manage their own interactions with the information resources available to them online and offline (such as traditional library research). They decide how best to direct their research and how to shape the perspective that they want to communicate in their final products. Without sufficient task management from instructors though, students may experience too much cognitive complexity too early in the process. We believe that students can become overwhelmed and frustrated if left completely alone to fend for themselves. Instructors can play an important role as task managers themselves by "scaffolding" or "coaching." For instance, critiquing existing WebQuests or offering good introductory activities during class time to help students improve their information search skills, information evaluation skills, and hypermedia authoring skills, can make the project less daunting for the students.

Journal Writing Analysis of the journal writing activity revealed three important insights. First, the more students could relate the topic to their prior knowledge and experience, the more satisfied they appear with their learning experience. Second, although reflective writing like this has the potential to reveal unanticipated, serendipitous learning that occurred as students progressed through the project, most of the journals failed to convey extensive reflective thought about their process of personal knowledge construction. Third, students lack experience in reflective journal writing in business courses. To prepare students for this type of thinking, we briefly introduced the concepts of constructivism and discovery learning when motivating the assignment and discussed our role as a guide rather than as the primary dispenser of knowledge. As we guided students through previous WebQuests and compared different media (e.g. textbook versus WebQuest), we also highlighted linear formats with a highly directed learning sequence and nonlinear formats that offered higher levels of learner control. A few students wrote in their journals about their preference for one format over the other. Although the students underrated the journal writing requirements, we still believe that reflective writing plays an important role in accounting courses that require students to complete complex assignments. Students may gain confidence in business settings that require them to justify their positions or explain their performance when they develop reflexive awareness about the process of personal knowledge construction. To better support journal writing in the future, the educator could pose specific questions that the students must address in their journals at intermediate dates. This structure would help prevent

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

19

students from delaying this activity until the end of the project. Another alternative is to facilitate such reflection during periodic class discussions throughout the semester.

Importance of Scaffolding Our evaluation of the hypermedia documents that student-authors constructed also revealed that students have trouble "scaffolding" the elements of the WebQuest. For example, a well-designed task within a WebQuest requires that the designer/author scaffold learning so that "instruction" proceeds from simple to more complex skills. Students appear better able to design a scaffolding learning structure into their own WebQuests when we demonstrate the concept of scaffolding by explicitly identifying how a concept we discussed in class formed the foundation for more advanced material that they would see later in the course. We explicitly tie back to the earlier concepts as we address later concepts, while reiterating that this is how to scaffold learning.

CONCLUSION This paper presents a hypermedia-authoring project as an instructional strategy to help students develop web-based information search and communication skills. The WebQuest project requires students to intelligently explore the information resources of the Internet, develop information search strategies that promote efficiencies in data collection processes, and use creativity to develop Web pages that communicate what the students learned and provide links to the resources that shaped their learning. Based on our observations and the student feedback, we believe that this project improved accounting students' ability to research and critically evaluate web-based information and to transform and communicate their understanding of accounting concepts using resources found on the Web. In the role of learners as designers, the students gained a better understanding of an accounting concept while developing a web-based platform to help others learning about accounting. We believe that accounting educators can use this project to support curriculum outcomes for development of communication, project management, and technological skills. The assignment is also consistent with initiatives to foster information literacy as a core competency for graduates in any discipline. While this project offered students the opportunity to explore their own process of learning and reflect on their own learning style, we experienced difficulty in

20

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

producing descriptions of reflective behavior from students regarding their own knowledge construction process or preferred learning style. Despite encouraging students to engage in self-explanations about their own learning process, students appeared loath to do this. It leaves open the question of whether students just were not motivated to engage in reflective writing or whether they did not care to think about different ways of learning and constructing knowledge. We recommend the hypermedia authoring assignment for senior-level or graduate-level courses. The project requires much time for students as well as instructors. If instructors assign the project for students to complete on an individual basis, instructors willfindthe project more manageable with 12 students or less. The project works well in larger classes if groups of students work together to complete the assignment. The use of graduate students to answer questions on technical issues (such as HTML coding problems) would likely ease the burden of the instructor. The extensive detail provided on one of our websites will provide structure to improve time management for everyone involved in the project. Regular feedback to each team is essential. Students will require assistance with technical difficulties as well as guidance in recognizing learning objectives and evaluating their own progress in linking those objectives successfully to their Web page content and assessment task. Due to this additional time commitment and effort, inclusion of a WebQuest design project may mean less coverage of material (number of topics) during the term. For instructors who want students to build skills in project management, research, information organization, and presentation skills, this project offers these creative experiences through a hypermedia authoring activity. For those learners who would be overwhelmed with the cognitive complexity of this semester-long project, instructors may wish to have students use WebQuests that are already constructed. Such WebQuests provide sufficient structure, sequencing, and resources to reduce the learner's cognitive load, while enabling the learner to gain more familiarity with the particular topic.

REFERENCES AICPA (1999). Fostering changes in curriculum and teaching methods. [Onlinel. Available http://Web.aicpa.org/edu/foster.htm. Last accessed July 17,2001. Akhras, F. N., & Self, J. A. (2000). Modeling the process not the product of learning. In: S. P. Lajoie (Ed.), Computers as Cognitive Tools, Volume Two: No More Walls (pp. 3-28). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Bereiter, C, & Scardamalia, M. (1989). Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. In: L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 361-391). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting

21

Brown, C. E., Nielson, N. L., & Sullivan, D. (1996). Enhancing business classes with World Wide Web. Journal of Education for Business, 77(6), 317-319. Bryant, S. M., & Hunton, J. E. (2000). The use of technology in the delivery of instruction: Implications for accounting educators and education researchers. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(1), 129-162. Campbell, K. (1998). The Web: Design for Active Learning. [Online] Available http://www.atl. ualberta.ca/articles/idesign/activel.cfm. Created April 10, 1999. Last accessed July 17, 2001. Dodge, B. (1998). The WebQuest Page. [Online] Available http://edWeb.sdsu.edu/Webquest/ Webquest.html. Created February 28, 1998. Last updated March 2, 2000. Last accessed July 17,2001. Duffy, T. M., & Jonassen, D. H. (1992). Constructivism: New implications for instructional technology. In: T. M. Duffy & D. H. Jonassen (Eds), Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction: A Conversation (pp. 1-16). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Hancock, V. E. (1993). Information literacy for lifelong learning. ERIC Digest - ED 358870. [Online]. Available http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed358870.html. Last accessed July 21, 2001. Harper, B., Hedberg, J., Corderoy, B., & Wright, R. (2000). Employing cognitive tools within interactive multimedia applications. In: S. P. Lajoie (Ed.), Computers as Cognitive Tools, Volume Two: No More Walls (pp. 227-245). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Holcomb, T, & Michaelsen, R. (1996). A strategic plan for educational technology in accounting. Journal ofAccounting Education, 14(3), 277-292. Jonassen, D. H. (1996). Computers in the classroom: Mindtoolsfor critical thinking. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Lehrer, R. (1993). Authors of knowledge: Patterns of hypermedia design. In: S. P. Lajoie & S. J. Derry (Eds), Computers as Cognitive Tools (pp. 197-227). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. March, T. (1998). WebQuests and more, http://www.ozline.com/learning/index.htm. Launched June 1, 1998. Last accessed July 17, 2001. March, T. (1999). Ten stages of working the Web for education. Multimedia Schools, 6(3), 26-30. Nielsen, J. (1995). Multimedia and hypertext: The Internet and beyond. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press. Resnick, L, B. (1989). Introduction. In: L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 1-24). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Sangster, A., & Lymer, A. (1998). How to survive a new educational era. Issues in Accounting Education, 73(4), 1095-1109. Thompson, A. D., Simonson, M. R., & Hargrave, C. P. (1996). Educational technology: A review of the research (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. University of Vermont Libraries Information Core Competencies/Educational Outcomes Task Force (1998). Information core competencies and educational outcomes in the University of Vermont's new learning environment. [Online]. Available http://cit.uvm.edu/projects/tic/core.html. Last accessed July 21,2001. Wilson, B., Teslow, J., & Osman-Jouchoux, R. (1995). The impact of constructivism (and postmodernism) on ID fundamentals. In: B. B. Seels (Ed.), Instructional Design Fundamentals: A Review and Reconsideration (pp. 137-157). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. [Online] Available http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~jlteslow/idfund.html. Last accessed July 17,2001.

22

JANICE L. AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

APPENDIX 1 Survey of Undergraduate Students Who Used a WebQuest that a Graduate Student had Authored (Spring 2000 - Accounting Information Systems Course) Do NOT write your name on this form. Circle one selection in each column: Soph/Jnr/Senior (class status this term)

Computer Science Dual Major? Yes/No

Male/Female

Which response best describes your overall satisfaction with your learning experience using the WebQuest on E-Cash Security? Check One Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Please place an "X" in the column that best corresponds to your agreement with each statement: Statement

After the initial presentation of the WebQuest, I saw the topic as relevant and valuable to me. The WebQuest increased my depth of knowledge on the nature of encryption and

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neither Agree Agree nor Disagree

Strongly Agree

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting A P P E N D I X 1. Statement

the different forms it takes in different settings. I was motivated to read and spend time thinking about the WebQuest because "Harry the Hacker" made the learning fun. I was motivated to read and spend time thinking about die WebQuest because of the real world relevance of online security issues like confidentiality and authentication. I was motivated to read and spend time thinking about the WebQuest because it drew on my own experiences with on-line ordering or email whereas the textbook coverage on encryption was more abstract. I was motivated to read and spend time thinking about the WebQuest because I was working with a team to develop solutions to the WebQuest problem. I was motivated to read and spend time thinking about the WebQuest because the solutions to the WebQuest count for 15% of the course grade.

Strongly Disagree

{Continued)

Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

24

JANICE L.AMMONS AND SHERRY K. MILLS

A P P E N D I X 1. Statement

The WebQuest helped to promote team discussions that displayed diversity of thought. The WebQuest will prompt me to explore the Web more on this topic. The use of the WebQuest and discussions with team members made me think more about how the accounting profession needs to address security issues in electronic business environments. The use of the WebQuest and discussions with team members made me think more about the security of my own personal transactions online. I read the solutions to the questions that weren't assigned, which were posted to the public folder. I would have liked it if the WebQuest had allowed me to research the Web to locate additional web site links.

Strongly Disagree

(Continued)

Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Learners as Designers of Educational Hypermedia in Accounting APPENDIX 1.

25

{Continued)

Estimate how much time you spent on the following: Activity

Time (please denote whether you are using minutes or hours)

Reading the WebQuest (the first time through) Thinking about how to answer the questions and revisiting the WebQuest (outside of class) Select the statement that best characterizes your experience: Statement

Mark One

I did not read the WebQuest. Not at all useful. I read the WebQuest, but I primarily/totally relied on my team members to address the required questions. Not at all useful. I did not learn anything about issues of confidentiality (through encryption) or authentication (through certificates) when I completed the WebQuest. Useful. I learned some knowledge of confidentiality (through encryption) or authentication (through certificates) when I completed the WebQuest. Very useful. I learned much about confidentiality (through encryption) or authentication (through certificates) when I completed the WebQuest. Evaluate the learning method (rather than the content): Set aside your perceptions on the topic of the assigned WebQuest and think about the WebQuest method itself. A WebQuest presents a set of Web pages that include an introduction, task (things for you to think about or answer), information resources (some external Web page links or links to other articles in addition to the WebQuest content itself)* and a conclusion. Do you think that future students would find learning from a WebQuest on another topic (like disaster recovery) a potentially valuable experience? Why or why not?

MAKE STUDENT FEEDBACK MEANINGFUL: "CUSTOMIZING" COURSE CRITIQUES John M. Thornton and Martin J. Hornyak ABSTRACT Ninety-five percent of the accounting programs in North America use student evaluations of teaching (SETs) to rate teaching effectiveness (Calderon & Green, 1997, p. 235). Unfortunately, end-of-term SETs do not provide timely information ofa specific nature to improve the current course. The purpose of this paper is to provide instructors with a method where they can create their own "customized" course critiques to improve current-semester teaching effectiveness. In our method, instructors use a minute paper (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 148) early in the term to obtain feedback on what would help students learn more effectively. Based on this feedback, instructors create a customized course critique that allows students to rank the relative importance of classmates' recommendations to improve the course. The new feedback is specific, timely, representative of all students in the course, and useful for discussing student differences and course objectives, enabling instructors to make meaningful improvements to the extant course.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,27-41 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.10167S1085-4622(03)05002-8

27

28

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

PROLOGUE I had been teaching for four years, earned a teaching award from the faculty, and on student evaluations was scoring about 4.6 on a 6-point scale. I would scour my student evaluations each semester looking for things to improve, being pleased when students called me the best they'd ever had and wounded whenever they said I was a "loser." After having taught my courses between 10 and 20 times, my evaluations reached a plateau. I knew I'd score relatively high on "knowledge of course material" and "instructor enthusiasm," but relatively low on "course relevance," "course organization," and "instructor's ability to stimulate my interest." Overall, I was pleased with my performance. Then one day a senior faculty member informed me that my student evaluation ranking was not only below average among the business faculty, it was the lowest score among all my department colleagues. Presuming student evaluations were at least moderately correlated with teaching effectiveness, I felt like a failure. After the initial shock and admittedly too much introspection, I set out to improve my teaching effectiveness. The problem was, try as I might, student evaluation scores remained relatively unchanged over the next couple of semesters. I was particularly frustrated by the lack of student feedback that I could use to make specific changes to improve my courses. At one of the many faculty development workshops that I attended over the next few years, I learned of a method for enhancing teaching effectiveness called the start-stop-continue. The exercise was in the vein of the one-minute paper (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 148) asking the following questions, "What can I start/stop/continue doing that will help this course be a more effective learning experience for you?" The instructor uses these questions to obtain student feedback early to mid-semester, after the students have had long enough to form an educated opinion about the course's path, but while there is still time left to implement necessary course changes. I administered the start-stop-continue at mid-semester, then eagerly typed every student comment in bullet point form for easy analysis. By the time I'd finished, I had scores of recommendations of how to improve the course. Unfortunately, while some of the recommendations seemed meritorious, some of the most frequent recommendations seemed shallow ("more movies") or contradictory ("spend more time on homework," versus "less time on homework"). These results left me perplexed. In search of clearer feedback, a colleague and I developed a method that has proven to be an epiphany for me in obtaining meaningful student feedback for improving my courses. Research has shown that mid-course requests for student feedback help faculty identify teaching methods that can best contribute to students' understanding of

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing" Course Critiques the material (Davis, 1993, p. 345). Our experience finds that implementation of informal student feedback becomes problematic as the student "recommendations for change" may not adequately represent the majority opinion, are contradictory to other recommendations, or appear frivolous. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and demonstrate a method developed to overcome many of these informal student feedback shortcomings. The end-product is a customized student feedback form that instructors can use as a powerful catalyst for positive change in the current term's course. Our method involves four steps. Mid-way through the term the instructor should: (1) ask students to answer the question, "What do you want me to start, stop, or continue doing that will help you learn better?" (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 148; Cohen & Kugel, 1994, p. 82); (2) compile students' recommendations and summarize them into principle themes; (3) use a Likert-type scale (1-5) to create and administer a course-specific student feedback form based on the principle themes the students identified; and (4) reevaluate the student feedback to determine what course corrections create the most value for the course. This method retains several of the original start-stop-continue benefits, including ease of use, low time commitment, and timely information, yet gives considerably different student feedback than the original responses because the information is more representative of the majority opinion. Further, the method helps instructors explain contradictions in student feedback and evaluate what appear to be frivolous student recommendations. Instructors can use the information in a variety of ways, including to: (1) make course changes, where appropriate; (2) discuss differences in student perceptions; and (3) explain reasons for extant course content, policies, and procedures. We organized the remainder of the paper as follows. First, we provide a brief background on the summative and formative usefulness of student evaluations of teaching (SETs) for evaluating teaching effectiveness. Second, we introduce our method for evaluating informal student feedback, and the theory supporting it. Third, we illustrate the method by examining one of the author's successful implementation. Finally, we conclude by highlighting the benefits and limitations of the customized course critique so that faculty can create their own instruments.

BACKGROUND ON SETS Despite their many differences, one fundamental goal all colleges and universities share is to produce the highest possible quality of student learning (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 3). It follows that effective teaching is important. However, measuring teaching efficacy is difficult. While multidimensional approaches to evaluating teaching effectiveness are available (e.g. teaching portfolios, Calderon et al., 1996,

29

30

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

p. 61; Calderon & Green, 1997, p. 221), by far the most common method of measuring teaching effectiveness is through student evaluations of teaching (SETs). The frequency of assessors* using SETs has increased dramatically over the last 50 years, from relative obscurity to close to 95% of accounting departments using them by 1994 (Calderon et al., 1996, p. 43). Researchers have debated the usefulness of SETs for decades (see Calderon et al., 1996, pp. 43-55). Critics have identified several shortcomings of student evaluations. Wallace and Wallace (1998, pp. 444-445) warn that SETs can lead to measuring outcomes contrary to university goals. Instructors may try to "buy" evaluations by inflating grades or reducing the course'srigor."Since the students* happiness index tends to reflect both workload and grades received, a bias is inbred into the system to reduce the former and raise the latter" (Wallace & Wallace, 1998, p. 445). In addition, subtle forms of reduced rigor may include dropping the student's lowest score, no final examination, few hand-in assignments or cases, and take-home finals. "Surprise" good news prior to evaluations, such as announcing no final or canceling the remainder of the class (Wallace & Wallace, 1998, p. 445), may have a positive effect on evaluations, whereas the expectation of remaining work (e.g. an exacting comprehensive final) may have a negative effect on evaluations. Critics also contend that students are incapable of evaluating several SET items, including a professor's competency, propriety of the material presented, workload, professor's "caring coefficient," course content, and appropriateness of technology used (Calderon & Green, 1997, p. 223; Wallace & Wallace, 1998, pp. 443^144). Green et al. (1998, p. 25) found that "roughly 60% of student evaluations contain at least one item that requires students to make inferences beyond their background and experience." Proponents of using SETs to measure teaching effectiveness argue that students' unique classroom vantage point makes them the most credible evaluators (Wallace & Wallace, 1998, p. 443). Moreover, Chen and Hoshower (1998, p. 533) conclude, after reviewing numerous studies, that student evaluations are reliable (in that they remain consistent over time and from student to student) and valid for measuring constructs such as teaching effectiveness and student bias. Summarizing the education literature, the Accounting Education Change Commission (1993, p. 5) concludes that students can validly report their own reactions to workload, course materials, instructor enthusiasm, professionalism, and rapport. Proponents of student evaluations also find the quantifiability of student evaluations appealing, affording an easy comparison between faculty members on their relative performance (McKone, 1999, pp. 406-410). After a thorough evaluation of the accounting education literature on SETs, Calderon et al. (1996, p. 47) concluded: "Overall, the available research supports the view that, properly designed, [SETs] can be a valuable source of information for evaluating certain aspects of faculty teaching performance."

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing " Course Critiques Properly designed SETs should only include items to which students can validly respond. Green et al. (1998, p. 19) provide a literature summary of over twenty studies examining demographic factors correlated with student ratings. These studies report student evaluations are positively correlated with overall GPA, student interest, and student effort. The relationship between SETs and course difficulty is mixed. Other demographics, such as gender, year in school, and undergraduate vs. graduate courses, have no significant effect on student evaluations. While these extraneous factors may have a small impact individually, when grouped together their impact could be very material (Calderon et al., 1996, p. 51).

Formative SETs The growing reliance on SETs as a measure of instructors' effectiveness is quite simply the situation where most faculty find themselves, regardless of which side of the "student evaluation effectiveness" arguments they fall. While instructors commonly use end-of-term SETs to measure effective teaching (i.e. a summative function), they are less useful for guiding instructors to make positive changes to extant courses (i.e. a formative function). This is unfortunate, since the key factor that motivates students to participate in the student evaluation process is the potential for improved teaching (Chen & Hoshower, 1998, p. 531). Students' motivation to provide quality feedback is significantly associated with the expectation that feedback will be helpful. How can we make student feedback meaningful? While closed-ended SETs may be primarily summative, Calderon et al. (1996, p. 51) report that open-ended questions on SETs can provide important insight into the formative evaluation of an instructor's teaching. However, there are difficulties in using open-ended questions. They warn that open-ended feedback is more difficult to summarize and report, and there are some areas where students are less able to assess teaching effectiveness. Calderon et al. (1996, p. 54) report that students can contribute significantly in the evaluation of instructors' presentation skills, moderately in the evaluation of course materials, pedagogical methods, and guidance and advising, and very little in the evaluation of curriculum design and course development.

THE "CUSTOMIZED" COURSE CRITIQUE Instructors need course evaluation approaches available to them that are easy to administer, provide timely feedback, are directed at individual classes, and give specific recommendations for positive change. Using the Framework for

31

32

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

Evaluating Effective Teaching's (Calderon et al., 1996, pp. 37, 54) modified version of the Accounting Education Change Commission's Dimensions of Effective Teaching, we develop a four-step method that increases the usefulness of formative student feedback to improve extant courses.

Step 1: The Start-Stop-Continue Minute Paper Teaching experts Angelo and Cross (1993, pp. 3-6) propose the use of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) to monitor learning throughout the semester. CATs should be learner-centered, teacher-directed, and context-specific, with the purpose of improving the quality of student learning. The instructor can adapt one of the most frequently used CATs, the Minute Paper (Angelo & Cross, 1993, pp. 148-153; Cohen & Kugel, 1994, p. 82), into an SET. Instructors ask students the question, "What can I start/stop/continue doing that will help this course be a more effective learning experience for you?" Instructors should ask students this question after they have been in the course long enough to form an opinion, but prior to mid-semester. Asking this question prior to mid-semester insures time for the instructor to adjust the course and benefit students who provide the feedback. It is also beneficial to wait, if possible, to ask the start-stop-continue question until after students take at least one exam. Because tests normally are an integral part of the course, students provide much richer feedback once they have experienced an exam. Students also tend to give more "offensive" feedback immediately following exams, so instructors should be forewarned. Cohen and Kugel (1994, p. 82) warn instructors to expect as much affective guidance ("I hate it when you turn your back on me half way through my answer") as cognitive or technical guidance.

Step 2: Principle Themes After collecting students* initial feedback, instructors should read students' comments to determine the principle themes (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 152). To determine the principle themes, instructors may find it useful to compile students' feedback under the category headings of start, stop, and continue. When several students make substantively identical recommendations, the instructor can keep a running tally with respect to that recommendation. This feedback may be subject to availability bias (Libby, 1981, p. 64), where individuals more readily retrieve vivid and sensational items from memory than other items.

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing" Course Critiques Step 3: Creating the Customized Course Critique Based on the principle themes in the prior step, instructors select 15-20 items that form a representative list of student recommendations. Instructors should consider several factors when selecting principle themes to include in the instrument. First, students' formative recommendations are subject to many of the earlier criticisms of summative SETs (e.g. recommendations may be beyond students' background or experience, or may seek to reduce the courserigor).According to the Framework for Encouraging Effective Teaching (FEET) (Calderon et al., 1996, p. 54) students are most effective in evaluating the following: (1) Instructors' Presentation Skills - whether the instructor stimulates students' interest and active participation - whether the instructor responded to student questions - whether the instructor was enthusiastic about the course - perceived level of professionalism in the class (2) Pedagogical Methods - perceived value of group activities - perceived learning value of exams, tests, projects, etc. - perceived link between exams, tests, etc. and the specified course content (3) Guidance and Advising - instructor availability - extent of individual attention - perceived utility of instructor's outside of class help/advice (4) Course Materials - whether instructor covered current events and topics - whether instructor covered certain critical topics (e.g. ethics) - the extent to which material used in the class helped in learning - the extent to which the material used in the class challenged students to think (5) Design and Development - clarity of the course objectives - whether the sequencing of topics helped them - whether the instructor integrated material from prior classes. In addition to these factors, instructors should include items on the feedback form that require additional clarification. Initial feedback frequently results in items that are contradictory (e.g. "less lecturing," versus "spend more time lecturing"), sensational (e.g. "more field trips"), or counter-productive (e.g. "stop giving such hard test questions," or "no more case studies"). By placing these items on the customized course critique, instructors gain a representative measure of all students'

33

34

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

positions and can use the feedback as a venue for an open discussion of important issues. Including issues generally considered beyond the students' experience level (e.g. the course's objectives or the instructor's grading philosophy) may even be appropriate, if the instructor's intent is to establish a platform for dialogue. Instructors may find it useful to begin the customized course critique with a brief heading (i.e. course name, year) and instructions to students to rank the importance of each of the student-based items using a Likert-type scale. Instructors teaching more than one course may want to create a separate instrument for each course, in keeping with guidance from Angelo and Cross (1993, p. 5) that the best CATs are context-specific. Separate instruments for each course may be especially beneficial for instructors who teach a wide range of courses (e.g. a principles course and a graduate course).

Step 4: Evaluation and Use of New Student Feedback Instructors can begin evaluating the new student feedback by calculating a few basic statistics. The mean and range of student responses is often sufficient to help the instructor make decisions about the future course direction. Instructors might want to use medians rather than means when the number of respondents is low, since means may give too much weight to outliers. In addition, instructors may find other statistics (e.g. variance, standard deviation) or methods (e.g. factor analysis) useful in assessing the new student feedback. To perform a simple validity check, instructors should make a cursory review of each student's feedback sheet for a trend of nonsensical responses (e.g. reversing the scale, ranking all items one number, etc.). Invalid responses are usually obvious. After a basic analysis, instructors should share the results with the students, and determine what course corrections create the most course value. This step requires the instructor's judgment. In addition to knowledge of what course factors students can effectively evaluate (see Step 3 above), the instructor should consider the institution's mission, goals, and objectives, important stakeholders, and the necessity to maintain the course rigor and standards (Calderon et al., 1996, p. 26).

IMPLEMENTING A "CUSTOMIZED" APPROACH We have used our method for over three years, at three different universities, in over 10 different courses ranging from accounting principles through graduate work. In this section, we provide a step-by-step example from one of the author's experience using the method in a recent Principles of Managerial Accounting course.

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing " Course Critiques

Step 1: The Start-Stop-Continue Minute Paper Two class periods after the first exam, the instructor asked students to divide a sheet of paper into three parts and spend a couple minutes answering the question, "What can I start/stop/continue doing that will help this course be a more effective learning experience for you?"

Step 2: Principle Themes After class, the instructor summarized the student feedback under the headings, "Start," "Stop," and "Continue" (see Table 1). Students offered over 50 different recommendations, some as many as fourteen times.

Step 3: Creating the Customized Course Critique Using criteria previously discussed, the instructor selected 20 items from the student feedback as principle themes and created the customized course critique (see Fig. 1). Some of the items (e.g. What's Up, Doc?) were new additions to the course, and the instructor wanted specific feedback on them. The instructor was careful to include items where students made conflicting recommendations (e.g. homework), in hope of obtaining further clarification. Also, the instructor included frequently recommended items, even when theory suggested students might be incapable of addressing them (e.g. case and test difficulty, emphasis on topics).

Step 4: Evaluation and Use of New Student Feedback In the next class period, the instructor asked students if they would spend a few minutes filling out a feedback form to give their perception on the importance of their classmates' recommendations. After class, the instructor computed the means and ranges of students' responses on a summary sheet (see Fig. 2). The next class period, he showed students the summary statistics and used the new data to open a follow-up discussion to cement the exercise's value in improving the course. In this case, the instructor offered to implement the four highest priority student recommendations, which were: (1) Homework answers on the net, mean 4.5, range 3-5: The instructor had, on an ad hoc basis, scanned and posted homework solutions to the school

35

1. Pop quizzes for IP* points 2. Taking roll 3. Letting Scottb talk 4. Homework for points (4) 5. Letting Brent sleep in class 6. Too slow per topic 7. Super hard case studies 8. In the name of love 9. Straight lecture 10. Cases/group work is terrible 11. Assigning homework not pertinent to test

1. More test prep (for multiple choice) 2. Make homework worth more points (2) 3. More IP* opportunities 4. Real business steps/actual statements 5. More time on homework (2) 6. Keeping Hamboneb under control 7. Working examples as you teach 8. More movies/video (2) 9. Homework due day of test (not before) 10. Emphasizing most useful parts of text 11. Talk about more fuzzy stuff in class 12. Solutions to homework (2) 13. Real world examples (3) 14. Making homework optional 15. IP* for class participation 16. More advanced notice on homework 17. Allocate more time for questions pre-test 18. Broaden IP* for more than homework 19. Something for those close to the cut line 20. Board work or at desks during class 21. Diagrams/graphs/illustrations 22. Being specific about points for homework 23. More instruction on case

1. Homework(13) 2. Homework for more points 3. Examples on board (2) 4.TheFarSidec(14) 5. What's Up, DocT1 (14) 6. Real life problems (4) 7. Everything 8. Sponges' 9. Good reviews 10. Readings guidance 11. Notes (2) 12. Answers on the net 13. Homework for points (4) 14. The way class is taught 15. Enthusiasm 16. Scaring us before a test

Continue

"IP stands for Instructor Prerogative. IP points are given at the instructor's discretion to reward students for a variety of activities (e.g. homework, quizzes, participation, etc.). b Scott (nicknamed Hambone) is a gregarious individual who participated frequently but with varying levels of relevance. c The Far Side is a comic strip by Gary Larson that I often include at the beginning of the class. d What's Up, Doc? are three-to-five minute end-of-class vignettes on various social issues related to money. Frequently in the form of an expose, topics are designed to pique students' interest. e A sponge: a pre-class question written on the board to focus attention on the day's topic.

Stop

Table J. Start-Stop-Continue Summary Managerial Accounting (Spring 2000).

Start

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing" Course Critiques Instructions: Rank each of the following items on a scale of 1-5 (1 = less, 3 = about the same, 5 = more). 1. Homework 2. Points for Homework 3. I F opportunities 4. I F for class participation 5. Student boardwork 6. Lecture 7. Movies 8. Diagrams/graphs/illustrations 9. Real world examples 10. The Far Side" 11. What's Up, DocT 12. Time spent reviewing for tests 13. Scaring you before tests 14. Homework solutions on the net 15. Advance notice on homework 16. Keeping Hambone" under control 17. Time spent on each topic covered 18. Case difficulty 19. Test difficulty 20. Sponges*

ess I L L I L I I I I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I I 1 I

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

same 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

more 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

* IP stands for Instructor Prerogative. IP points are given at the instructor's discretion to reward students for a variety of activities (e.g. homework, quizzes, participation, etc). " Scott (nicknamed Hambone) is a gregarious individual who participated frequently but with varying levels of relevance. c The Far Side is a comic strip by Gary Larson that I often include at the beginning of the class. * What's Up, Doc? are three-to-five minute end-of:class vignettes on various social issues related to money. Frequently in the form of an expose, topics are designed to pique students' interest ' A sponge: a pre-class question written on the board to focus attention on the day's topic. Fig. 1. Student Course Feedback, Managerial Accounting (Spring 2000).

network subsequent to the due date. The instructor began to post solutions regularly. (2) Real world examples, mean 4.3, range 5-5: The instructor agreed to increase this emphasis. (3) Time spent reviewing for tests, mean 4.2, range 3-5: The instructor offered to set aside some additional class time directed at preparing students for exams.

37

38

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

Instructions: Rank each of the following items on a scale of 1-5 (1 = less, 3 = about the same, 5 = more). Mean Range 2.8 1-5 1. Homework 2.8 1-5 2. Points for Homework 1-5 3. IP* opportunities 3.3 2.7 1-5 4. IP* for class participation 5. Student boardwork 2.5 1-5 6. Lecture 2.8 1-4 7. Movies 4.0 1-5 8. Diagrams/graphs/illustrations 3.9 1-5 9. Real world examples 4.3 3-5 10. The Far Side" 4.1 1-5 11. What's Up, DocT 4.1 1-5 12. Time spent reviewing for tests 4.2 3-5 13. Scaring you before tests 2-5 3.5 14. Homework answers on the net 4.5 3-5 15. Advance notice on homework 4.1 3-5 16. Keeping Hambone'1 under control 3.7 2-5 3.2 1-5 17. Time spent on each topic covered 2.3 1-4 18. Case difficulty 2.5 1-4 19. Test difficulty 20. Sponges* 2.9 1-5 * IP stands for Instructor Prerogative. IP points are given at the instructor's discretion to reward students for a variety of activities (e.g. homework, quizzes, participation, etc). * Scott (nicknamed Hambone) is a gregarious individual who participated frequently but with varying levels of relevance. c The Far Side is a comic strip by Gary Larson that I often include at the beginning of the class. ' What's Up, Doc? are three-to-five minute end-of-class vignettes on various social issues related to money. Frequently in the form of an expose, topics are designed to pique students' interest. ' A sponge: a pre-class question written on the board to focus attention on the day's topic. Fig. 2. Student Course Feedback Statistical Summary, Managerial Accounting (Spring 2000).

(4) Advance notice on homework, mean 4.1, range 3-5: Previously, the instructor only identified homework about a week in advance. He agreed to identify all homework problems related to an exam block at each block's beginning. Next, the instructor informed students he would not increase class time allocated to What's Up, Doc? (mean 4.1, range 1-5) and The Far Side (mean 4.1, range 1-5).

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing" Course Critiques What's Up, Doc? was a three- to five-minute expose at the end of each class on a social topic related to money, designed to make students stop and think (e.g. a Ponzi Scheme, the E-world's penchant for less-than-zero contribution margin, the ethic "maximizing the wealth of the firm" in contrast with other ethics, etc.). The Far Side is a cartoon by Gary Larson. While pleased that students enjoyed these items, the instructor did not want to take additional time away from the course's primary purpose. With respect to case difficulty (mean 2.3, range 1-4) and test difficulty (mean 2.5, range 1-4), the instructor informed students that the levels would remain high and challenging. He explained the department's rigorous test and case development process, designed to enhance students' technical development and critical thinking. The instructor took the opportunity to remind the students that the school's seniors averaged in the top 3% on national standardized content exams for the past three years, and that graduates surveyed ranked the school number one for "best overall academic experience" in The Princeton Review's Best 331 Colleges. These achievements were in part due to course rigor, and students would ultimately benefit from a prestigious university graduation. The instructor and students also discussed the use of board work (mean 2.5, range 1-5) in class. The idea was experimental for the instructor, based on teaching research that indicated collaborative and active teaching methods increase students' long-term retention of material and critical thinking skills. The instructor was committed to increasing proficiency at the pedagogy's implementation, but admitted needing additional work on appropriate questions. The most beneficial discussion centered on the wide range of student responses to the amount of homework assigned (mean 2.8, range 1-5) and the relative weight of points received for homework (mean 2.8, range 1-5). The feedback sheet demonstrated that students have a wide variation in expectations, but overall the amount of homework and the points awarded were fairly well balanced, given differing student expectations. The instructor's policy was to assign as few homework assignments for credit as possible in an attempt to balance the need to have students prepared for class while avoiding redundancy. Additional homework was available for practice (if students so desired), but the instructor's preference was to have students demonstrate their mastery of the concepts on tests and cases. As a final note, when the instructor compared the original feedback from the start-stop-continue minute paper (Table 1) to the new feedback from the analysis of the customized course critiques (Fig. 2), a different picture of the course-changes most important to students emerged. With the start-stop-continue, students were most interested in Far Sides and What's Up, Doc? In the new feedback, students were more interested in Homework answers on the net. Real world examples, Time spent reviewing for tests, and Advance notice on homework. This finding suggests

39

40

JOHN M. THORNTON AND MARTIN J. HORNYAK

that in this case, the new SETs were useful in providing the instructor with a higher quality of student feedback.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In this paper, we develop and illustrate a method instructors can use to create their own formative SETs. Building on theory of SETs contributing to effective teaching (Calderon et al., 1996, pp. 37, 54), the method extends the usefulness of the start-stop-continue minute paper (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p. 148) to obtain specific student feedback to improve the current course. The new feedback is timely, context-specific, and representative of all students in the course. Moreover, the method is useful for exposing differences in students' perceptions, allowing faculty and students to clarify and discuss previously contradictory feedback. The new information may be less subject to the availability bias (Libby, 1981, p. 64), effectively reducing an overemphasis of sensational and frivolous student feedback. There are several limitations to this paper. First, instructors must exercise good judgment when implementing our method. While the student feedback obtained using our method should create a platform for open dialogue between the instructor and students about future course direction, the burden of using this information positively rests on the instructor. If instructors request student feedback, but do not make any changes, students may form a lower opinion of the course than before. Also, instructors must use their judgment to assure the changes they implement actually improve student learning, rather than reduce quality for the sake of higher ending SETs. Finally, whether or not our method improves teaching effectiveness across a diverse group of instructors is an empirical question that requires future research. While we have had a positive experience using the method, both through better formative feedback and improved end-of-term SETs, these results may not be generalizable to all instructors.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (April, 1993). Evaluating and rewarding effective teaching. Issues Statement No. 5. Torrance, CA. Angelo, T., & Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Calderon, T., Gabbin, A., & Green, B. (1996). A framework for encouraging effective teaching: Report of the committee on promoting and evaluating effective teaching. James Madison University, Center for Research in Accounting Education.

Make Student Feedback Meaningful: "Customizing"

Course Critiques

41

Calderon, T., & Green, B. (1997). Use of multiple information types in assessing accounting faculty teaching performance. Journal of Accounting Education, 75(Spring), 221-239. Chen, Y., & Hoshower, L. (1998). Assessing student motivation to participate in teaching evaluations: An application of expectancy theory. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(3), 531-549. Cohen, J., & Kugel, P. (1994). The class committee and other recipes for gourmet teaching. College Teaching, 42, 82. Davis, B. (1993). Tools for teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Green, B., Calderon, T., & Reider, B. (1998). A content analysis of teaching evaluation instruments used in accounting departments. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(1), 15-30. Libby, R. (1981). Accounting and human information processing: Theory and applications. Prentice Hall. McKone, K. (1999). Analysis of student feedback improves instructor effectiveness. Journal of Management Education, 25(4), 396-415. Wallace, J., & Wallace, W. (1998). Why the costs of student evaluations have long since exceeded their value. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(2), 443-447.

A FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH TO TEACHING ACCOUNTING VALUATION Albert H. Frakes and Thomas R. Nunamaker ABSTRACT Accounting valuation (or measurement) follows a mixed attribute approach, e.g. historical costs, current cost, current market value, net realizable value, etc. Financial accounting textbooks typically organize around the balance sheet, presenting each account or class of accounts to the reader, one chapter at a time. Texts then discuss different valuation rules depending on the asset or liability in question. When teaching topics in this fashion, students perceive that professional success depends upon learning detailed, seemingly-unrelated accounting rules and procedures, which is counter to the contemporary educational path of teaching students how to learn on their own. In this article, we present and discuss a framework for understanding and teaching accounting valuation, and illustrate both general and specific applications of the framework.

INTRODUCTION Accounting valuation (or measurement) follows a mixed attribute approach. Depending upon the transaction or event in question, currently used valuation methods include historical costs, current cost, current market value, net realizable value, and present value of future cash flows. FASB Concepts Statement No. 5 (1984), paragraph 70 states: Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,43-54 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05003-X

43

44

ALBERT H. FRAKES AND THOMAS R. NUNAMAKER Rather than attempt to characterize present practice as being based on a single attribute with numerous major exceptions for diverse reasons, this concepts Statement characterizes present practice as based on different attributes. Rather than attempt to select a single attribute and force changes in practice so that all classes of assets and liabilities use that attribute, this concepts Statement suggests that use of different attributes will continue and discusses how the Board may select the appropriate attribute in particular cases.

Though perhaps a sound strategy for standard setting, the approach to valuation characterized in Concepts Statement No. 5 is deficient when used as a pedagogical basis for structuring afinancialaccounting course. Financial accounting textbooks usually organize around the balance sheet, presenting each account or class of accounts to the reader, one chapter at a time. Texts then discuss and apply different valuation rules depending on the asset or liability being presented. When teaching topics in sequential order, students perceive that success in the accounting profession depends upon learning detailed accounting rules and procedures. Friedlan (1995, p. 57) found that both traditionally and nontraditionally taught accounting students believe that the most important technical/intellectual skill is knowledge of detailed accounting rules and procedures. Having students solve exam problems by applying memorized valuation rules conflicts with AECC (1990, p. 309) recommendations that we teach students to learn on their own. Price (1997, p. 216) acknowledges the apparent conflict between a discrete, account-by-account approach to teaching complex accounting standards and the desire to build a meaningful foundation when she asks "Do I teach valuation principles or do I teach standards?" Students should come away from their formal education with foundation knowledge, enabling them to independently extend their accounting knowledge beyond specific transactions and accounts covered by their instructors. Raby (1964, p. 167) emphasized the importance of providing students with a framework or structure in the highly rule-based discipline of taxation. He argued that the instructor should first focus on the concepts and principles that promote lasting understanding of the field and secondarily on the exceptions and peculiarities in the codified rules representing current tax law. These comments apply tofinancialaccounting today, as the proliferation of rule-based standards make generally accepted accounting principles resemble the tax law. This paper presents and discusses a framework for use with any financial accounting text to help students understand accounting valuation. The framework uses the distinction between monetary and nonmonetary items to describe valuation methods. The immediate benefits of this framework accrue to both instructors and students. Instructors can use the framework to emphasize valuation principles and illustrate them with well-chosen examples. More flexibility in the use of class time may result as the urgency to go over every single rule and

A Fundamental Approach to Teaching Accounting Valuation

45

application fades. More time may be available to pursue other learning objectives, such as improving teamwork and communication skills. Students should see the conceptual threads that link various valuation rules dispelling the impression that financial accounting is composed of numerous, unrelated rules. Students should be better prepared to apply their accounting knowledge to solve unstructured problems, to think critically, and to learn and grow as professional accountants.

FUNDAMENTAL VALUATION METHODOLOGY Present value methods are fundamental to the valuation methodology instructors teach in economics and finance. While the focus is on determining the value of an asset or liability to a particular entity, these valuation methods underlie marketdetermined values as well. Present value analysis is a pervasive, conceptual and operational tool for valuing assets and liabilities, affecting all measurement attributes identified in FASB Concepts Statement No. 5 (1984, para. 70). FASB Concepts Statement No. 7 (2000, para. 19) asserts "Moreover, the present value of estimated future cashflowsis implicit in all market prices, including the historical cost recorded when an entity purchases an asset for cash." In February 2000 the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 7, Using Cash Flow Information and Present Value in Accounting Measurements, to provide a framework for using future cash flows as the basis for an accounting measurement. Statement No. 7, paragraph 4, notes that the measurement attributes in Concepts Statement No. 5 (1884, para. 70) are inadequate to determine when and how to use present value methods. Paragraph 22 notes that present value is not an end in itself but rather a methodology for arriving at some observable measurement attribute of assets or liabilities. In initial recognition and fresh start measurements, paragraph 25 identifies "fair value" as the attribute to be measured by present value methods. However, the Statement acknowledges that continuing to use present value methods with historical interest rates in subsequent valuations of a receivable or payable captures the historical cost attribute. Likewise, present value methods can capture entity-specific value, another measurement attribute, although the FASB believes that fair value is more relevant and reliable for financial statements. Suppose Smith Co. is negotiating for a piece of land that is near an airport. Smith expects to use the land as a parking lot for 10 years before selling the lot for airport expansion. Smith determines the maximum price he is willing to pay by projecting the future cash flows from his use of the land. Smith discounts the future cash flows to their net present value using his time value of money (cost of capital) of 10%. If Smith expects net cash inflows from parking operations of

46

ALBERT H. FRAKES AND THOMAS R. NUNAMAKER

$10,000 at the end of each of the next 10 years and an additional $100,000 at the end of the 10th year when the land is sold, the net present value of the land is $100,000, an entity-specific valuation. Smith goes into the land market and attempts to buy the land, competing with other buyers who have made similar entity-specific valuations. The seller of the land negotiates to obtain the highest possible price given its entity specific valuation. The land's market value represents a consensus of the entity-specific values of the market participants that may diverge from Smith's valuation because of different cash flow estimates and discount rates. Smith will buy the land if the market price is less than or equal to $100,000, the Company's entity-specific valuation. Seeing more risk, the market discounts Smith's estimated cash flows at 11% and establishes a price of $94,111. If Smith buys the land at this price, his expected rate of return on the investment (internal rate of return or IRR) is 11 %, exceeding his 10% cost of capital. Additionally, the historical cost attribute of the land is $94,111. At purchase, because the input and output markets for land are the same, the following relationships exist: historical cost = current cost = current market value == entity specific valuation at IRR (11%) < entity specific value at 10%, Smith's cost of capital. Net realizable value reduces current market value for the costs that must be incurred to sell the land. As time passes and market values change, most of these relationships cease to exist.

THE BASIC FRAMEWORK In his analysis and evaluation of the methodology accountants use to describe financial position and measure income, Canning (1929, pp. 182-185, 206-247) distinguishes direct from indirect valuation. Because assets involve future benefits and liabilities involve future payments, Canning sees present value methods as the conceptual starting point for accounting valuation. Assets like cash and receivables, and most liabilities, have cash flows that are contractually fixed as to both timing and amount. Accountants* value these monetary items directly based on expected future cash flows, hence the term "direct valuation." For nonmonetary assets such as inventory, equity investments, land, building, equipment, and intangibles, direct valuation is problematic. Direct valuation of an asset to be sold requires estimates of both timing of sale and selling price. Direct valuation of productive assets requires estimates of cash flows from the sale of resulting products or services and the allocation of those cash flows among individual productive assets. In addition, the choice of an appropriate discount rate is also problematic because of the difficulty of assessing the various risks of owning these assets. Hence, GAAP rejects direct valuations as too subjective.

A Fundamental Approach to Teaching Accounting Valuation

Al

Fundamental Approach to Valuation Direct Valuation = Present Value of Future Cash Flows

Are Direct Valuations Possible?

YES for Monetary Items Cash Flows are Relatively Certain as to Timing and Amount

1

1 NO for Nonmonetary Items Cash Rows are too Uncertain as to Timing and Amount

Value Monetary Items by Direct Valuation

Use Historical Cost as the Basic Indirect Valuation Approach

Fig. 1. Basic Framework for Accounting Valuation.

Accountants usually take an indirect approach in valuing uncertain future cash flows (nonmonetary items). The options for indirect valuation include historical cost, current or replacement cost, selling prices under normal business conditions (current market value or net realizable value), and liquidation values. Accounting theory texts such as Wolk, Tierney, and Dodd (2001, pp. 13-22) describe each of these valuation (and income measurement) approaches. Accountants favor historical cost for several reasons. They rule out liquidation values by assuming the business to be a going concern. Current costs and selling prices under normal conditions are too subjective, risking premature recognition of gains and profits. Historical cost is objective and conservative. The basic framework for accounting valuations appears in Fig. 1. Only a few current textbook authors use the framework in Fig. 1 to present accounting valuation. In their ninth edition, Stickney and Weil (1997, pp. 48-53) still use the framework for organizing their discussion of accounting valuation. Pratt (2003, pp. 78-83) uses direct versus indirect valuation in presenting one of the better conceptual discussions of accounting valuation to appear in a contemporary introductory accounting text.

TEACHING USES OF THE BASIC VALUATION FRAMEWORK Students can use the valuation framework in Fig. 1 throughout their accounting studies. The certainty of future cash flows leads to either direct or indirect valuation.

48

ALBERT H. FRAKES AND THOMAS R. NUNAMAKER

The framework identifies historical cost as the traditionally preferred method for valuing most nonmonetary items. We believe there are both general and specific ways to use the framework to enhance financial accounting instruction. Our classroom experience indicates that students can grasp the concepts, apply the framework, and see the conceptual threads that link the various accounting valuation rules and methods. We shall now describe three general uses of the framework. Introductory Accounting A particularly useful application of the framework is in structuring an introductory accounting course where only one semester is devoted to financial accounting. It is difficult to cover all or even most of the asset, liability, and equity topics in the typical introductory text. The framework helps resolve this dilemma by allowing the instructor to provide an overview of asset and liability valuation that gives students a general understanding of the information content of a GAAP-based balance sheet. Then, the instructor can be selective in illustrating specific valuation rules as time allows. Intermediate Accounting The framework has uses in at least three places in intermediate accounting. An overview of the balance sheet is among the first four or five chapters in the typical intermediate text. The account-by-account discussion of valuation tends to overwhelm students with numerous, often unfamiliar, valuation rules. The framework gives students an understanding of general approaches for valuing assets and liabilities in a GAAP-based balance sheet, leaving detailed valuation rules for subsequent chapters. The framework also is useful in giving perspective to the chapter on the time value of money. Because of its role in valuation, many intermediate accounting texts discuss the time value of money after the balance sheet overview but before considering detailed rules for various asset and liability accounts. The framework helps students understand why we teach the time value of money before detailed valuation rules. Finally, the framework can serve as a point of reference when studying valuation issues for specific asset and liability accounts, challenging students to apply the basic framework. If students understand the framework, they will classify the asset or liability as either monetary or nonmonetary leading to either a direct or indirect valuation approach. Students can organize specific rules for valuing representative

A Fundamental Approach to Teaching Accounting Valuation

49

monetary and nonmonetary items around the framework. Identifying apparent inconsistencies in GAAP rules should facilitate discussing alternative methods and the political process for establishing accounting standards. Instructors have more flexibility because coverage of various accounts and transactions need not be exhaustive to teach the framework.

Advanced Accounting Early introduction of the monetary/nonmonetary distinction builds continuity among beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level courses as well. Students encounter price-level accounting and foreign-currency accounting issues in advanced accounting and in reviewing for the CPA examination. We have found that the computation of purchasing power gains and losses and the translation of foreign currency financial statements are much easier when the monetary/nonmonetary distinction is a familiar valuation concept.

THE COMPLETE FRAMEWORK As students study specific GAAP rules for various asset and liability accounts, a more complete formulation of the framework evolves. Students can rationalize and organize the rules by viewing them as adaptations or exceptions to the general approaches for valuing monetary and nonmonetary items. Figure 2 summarizes the adaptations or exceptions that are part of current GAAP rules. Figure 2 facilitates identification of significant trends in the evolution of accounting valuation methods. The increasing role of discounting (direct valuation) in valuing monetary items suggests a movement towards the framework. In addition, increased use of fair market values for indirect valuation of nonmonetary items illustrates ongoing changes in the relevance/reliability tradeoff. Recent concept statements and accounting standards reinforce the framework and the fundamental role of present value analysis when they identify present value methods for use in estimating unknown fair market values of impaired nonmonetary assets, including goodwill. Selected applications of the framework follow.

Trade Receivables and Payables The framework suggests that all receivables and payables be measured at present value. APB Opinion No. 21 (1971, para. 3) clarifies the application of interest

Trade Receivables and Payables Not Discounted

Equity Method for Investments With Significant Influence

Nonmonetary Assets Held for Use

FMVfor Asset Impairments

Exceptions and Adaptations

FMVfor Trading and Available for Sale Investments

Nonmonetary Assets Held for Sale

LCM for Inventory

Deferred Income Tax Amounts Not Discounted

Historical Cost: the Basic Indirect Valuation Approach

NO for Nonmonetary Kerns Cash Flows are too Uncertain as to Timing and Amount

Fig. 2. Complete Framework for Accounting Valuation.

Convertible Bonds

Adaptations and Exceptions:

Troubled Debt After a Modification of Terms Debtor Cannot Use Present Values

Value Monetary Items by Direct Valuation

YES for Monetary Items Cash Flows are Relatively Certain as to Timing and Amount!

Are Direct Valuations Reliable?

Fundamental Approach to Valuation Direct Valuation = Present Value of Future Cash Flows

A Fundamental Approach to Teaching Accounting Valuation

51

concepts and direct valuation to receivables and payables, exempting trade receivables and payables from discounting. Valuing these items at undiscounted amounts (net realizable value) is conceptually consistent with direct valuation of monetary items. Future cash flows are the basis for valuation but they are undiscounted because the interest element is thought to be immaterial.

Troubled Debt: Modification of Terms Using the framework as a guide, students should assume that discounting is appropriate for both debtors and creditors in revaluing impaired loans and measuring restructuring gains or losses after a modification of terms. Although SFAS No. 114 (1993, paras 13-16) moves accounting rules for restructured loans closer to this expectation, it falls short. The standard requires creditors to discount restructured cash flows in revaluing a loan receivable and measuring a restructuring gain or loss. However, debtors follow SFAS No. 15 (1977, paras 16-18) and use undiscounted cashflowsto measure restructuring gains on loans payable. The valuation framework in Fig. 2 should help students recognize these inconsistencies, affording instructors the opportunity to discuss the political and pragmatic nature of the standard setting process.

Convertible Bonds From the issuer's perspective, GAAP rules account for convertible debt just like nonconvertible debt because the debt and equity elements are inseparable. The framework permits instructors to challenge students to evaluate such treatment. Is convertible debt monetary or nonmonetary? Students should observe that the debt is monetary while the conversion feature is nonmonetary, like a warrant. Direct valuation of the debt's interest and principal elements at the market interest rate for similar nonconvertible debt is a logical way to allocate the proceeds of the convertible debt between the monetary and nonmonetary elements. In classifying accounts for purposes of computing purchasing power gains and losses, FASB Statement 89 (1986, para. 96) classifies convertible bonds as either monetary or nonmonetary depending on whether the security trades more like a debt instrument or an equity instrument. This discussion leads to an appreciation of the limitations of any dichotomous classification scheme and provides an opportunity to discuss the controversy surrounding APB Opinion 14 (1969) on convertible debt. In addition, the instructor has the opportunity to discuss possible inconsistencies in accounting for convertible debt by the issuer versus the investor. FASB Statement No. 133 (1998,

52

ALBERT H. FRAKES AND THOMAS R. NUNAMAKER

paras 11 and 198) requires the investor in a convertible bond to divide the security, accounting for the conversion feature at fair value as an embedded derivative and the host security as a debt investment.

Investments in Debt Securities In discussing accounting for investments in debt securities, instructors should challenge students to classify the investment as monetary or nonmonetary. Most students probably view the investment as "held to maturity," classify it as monetary, and use direct valuation methods, just as they would account for the related liability. Ask them to identify the specific valuation attribute being captured. The initial valuation represents both current market value and historical cost. However, unless present value calculations use the current market rate of interest rather than the original effective rate, subsequent valuations reflect historical cost ("amortized cost") rather than current market value. Also, instructors should consider the effect on the certainty of future cash flows of holding the debt security as either an "available for sale" or "trading" investment. The added uncertainty apparently changes the debt security investment to nonmonetary because GAAP requires an indirect valuation of the investment at market value. Either direct or indirect valuation of the asset is appropriate depending on whether the investment is "held to maturity" (monetary asset-direct valuation) or is either a "trading" or "available-for-sale" investment (nonmonetary asset-indirect valuation). FASB Statement 89 (1986, paras 96-98) also uses investment purpose to classify investments in debt securities as monetary or nonmonetary.

Exceptions to Historical Cost for Nonmonetary Assets When a business holds assets for sale rather than use, GAAP makes exceptions to historical cost valuation. The lower-of-cost-or-market rule for inventories demonstrates a willingness to use market values (replacement costs or net realizable values) for indirect valuation when inventory losses occur. The rule, with modification, extends to trading and available for sale investments permitting both write-ups and write-downs to market. SFAS No. 121 (1995, paras 4-14) and SFAS No. 142 (2001, paras 15-38) clarify exceptions to historical cost valuation when a business holds assets for use rather than sale. These standards require revaluation of assets like land, building, equipment, and intangibles, including goodwill, at current fair value when their

A Fundamental Approach to Teaching Accounting Valuation

53

value is impaired. Book value in excess of current fair value indicates impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets not subject to amortization. For all other tangible and intangible assets held for use, book value in excess of the sum of remaining future cash flows from using the asset indicates impairment. Note that the sum of future cashflowsreflect the elements of direct valuation without discounting. Additionally, when determining current fair value for use in impairment accounting, GAAP suggests using direct valuation methods to estimate current fair value if reliable market values are not available, again illustrating the fundamental role of present values in accounting valuation.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS With identification of exceptions and adaptations, the framework evolves towards Fig. 2, helping students understand GAAP valuation rules in the context of an organizing framework. The framework helps identify inconsistencies in valuation methods and facilitates discussion. Students should have a better reference point for understanding evolving GAAP valuation methods as the FASB continues to prescribe the role of present values in both direct and indirect valuation. One of the most important goals of accounting education is to help students understand the foundation knowledge needed for lifelong learning. Accounting instructors should use frameworks and constructs that promote understanding of foundation knowledge. We argue that a conceptual valuation model, based on direct and indirect valuation approaches for monetary and nonmonetary items respectively, provides students with one such framework. Furthermore, the framework permits a shift in focus from a laundry-list approach to accounting valuation emphasizing authoritative rules and pronouncements to a concept-based approach as recommended by Zeff (1979, p. 592) in his critique offinancialaccounting instruction. This paper suggests an alternative way of approaching accounting valuation that should promote student understanding and give professors a better model for course design and instruction.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: position statement number one. Issues in Accounting Education, 307-312. Accounting Principles Board (1969). Accounting for convertible debt and debt issued with stock purchase warrants. Opinions of the Accounting Principles Board No. 14. New York: AICPA. Accounting Principles Board (1971). Interest on receivables and payables. Opinions of the Accounting Principles Board No. 21. New York: AICPA.

54

ALBERT H. FRAKES AND THOMAS R. NUNAMAKER

Canning, J. B. (1929). The economics of accountancy. New York: Ronald Press Company. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1977). Accounting by debtors and creditors for troubled debt restructurings. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 15. Stamford, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1984). Recognition and measurement infinancialstatements of business enterprises. Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 5. Stamford, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1986). Financial reporting and changing prices. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 89. Stamford, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1993). Accounting by creditors for impairment of a loan. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 114. Norwalk, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1995). Accounting for the impairment of long-lived assets and for long-lived assets to be disposed of. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 121. Norwalk, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (1998). Accounting for derivative instruments and hedging activities. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133. Norwalk, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (2000). Using cash flow information and present value in accounting measurements. Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 7. Norwalk, CT: FASB. Financial Accounting Standards Board (2001). Goodwill and other intangible assets. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142. Norwalk, CT: FASB. Friedlan, J. M. (1995). The effects of different teaching approaches on students' perceptions of the skills needed for success in accounting courses and by practicing accountants. Issues in Accounting Education, 47-63. Pratt, J. (2003). Financial accounting in an economic context. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Price, R. A. (1997). The FASB project on present value-based measurements: an educator's perspective from participation in a FASB roundtable discussion. Issues in Accounting Education, 215-218. Raby, W. L. (1964). A decision-making approach to the first tax course. The Accounting Review, 167-172. Stickney, C. P., & Weil, R. L. (1997). Financial accounting: An introduction to concepts, methods, and uses. Orlando, FL: Dryden Press. Wolk, H. I., Tearney M. G., & Dodd, J. L. (2001). Accounting theory: A conceptual and institutional approach. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing. Zeff, S. A. (1979). Theory and intermediate accounting. The Accounting Review, 592-594.

THE USE OF PEER TUTORS IN INTRODUCTORY FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING Jane Dillard-Eggers and Thomas C. Wooten ABSTRACT This paper describes our use and assessment of a peer tutor program in introductory financial accounting classes. Peer tutoring differs from other types of tutoring due to its focus on collaborative-style learning and studentto-student interactions. We provide background information on peer tutoring, and discuss the benefitsfor both students and tutors. We then describe our peer tutor program, and present our assessment of the effectiveness of the program using student descriptive information, student survey data and open-ended responses, and peer tutor reflective essays. We found a significant positive relationship between peer tutor usage and course grade, even after controlling for the students' prior GPA. In addition, our results indicate that students with lower ACT scores were more likely to use the peer tutors than those with higher ACT scores. The program was very popular with the students as reflected in their helpfulness ratings and their open-ended comments. We also discuss the reasons students gave for failure to use the peer tutors, and provide information regarding benefits to the peer tutors andfaculty. Overall, our assessment suggests that peer tutor programs are an effective way to enhance student learning.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,55-80 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05004-l 55

56

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOGTEN

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to describe our use of a peer tutor program to enhance student learning in introductory financial accounting courses and to present our assessment of the program's effectiveness. Peer tutors are upper-division students who obtain course credit for becoming a resource for students in an introductory-level class. The peer tutor builds relationships with students in order to. facilitate student learning. We believe the peer tutor program is a "win-win-win" situation. The introductory students have another student, a peer, someone close to them in age and experience, to help interpret and validate the learning experience. The peer tutor is someone with whom they can regularly spend time to answer questions and provide learning assistance as needed. The peer tutors have an opportunity to learn and reinforce basic principles by teaching them to others. In addition, the peer tutors develop interpersonal skills of listening, speaking, and teaching in their major discipline. Faculty members benefit from insights regarding class dynamics and student needs that they may otherwise miss. Peer tutors also allow for more one-on-one assistance for students, because the tutors can give help even when a faculty member is not available. This paper is organized as follows. Wefirstprovide background information on peer tutoring and discuss the program benefits for both students and tutors. We then describe our peer tutor program and present the results of our assessment of the program. We address questions regarding peer tutor usage and the impact of usage on student learning, reasons why some students failed to use the peer tutors and the perceived helpfulness of the tutors. We also discuss benefits to the tutors and faculty. In the final section, we identify limitations and discuss the contributions of our research.

BACKGROUND Tutoring programs are prevalent at all levels of college and university education. What began as an educational experiment in the early 1970s has become an accepted part of post-secondary education (Bruffee, 1993, p. 80). The word "tutor" can have different connotations. Some individuals may think of a tutor as someone who is paid to help another student with a particular course; or perhaps tutoring takes the form of an accounting lab where upper-level students take turns being available to help students with homework problems. Tutoring can be done by a professor, a fellow student, a graduate teaching assistant, or even with computer software.

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

57

What differentiates peer tutoring from other forms of tutoring is the degree of student-to-student collaboration. A peer tutor program uses a collaborative style of tutoring that facilitates interdependence and uses peer influence to meet the students' educational needs. While peer tutors are a resource for the faculty, their primary purpose is to guide and support the students. Peer tutors do not have any administrative or grading role in the classroom. They are not part of the "institution." Peer tutors often will function as coaches to empower and encourage students and to help them overcome fears and anxieties about a subject that many have never studied (Bruffee, 1993, p. 91). Thus, the role of the peer tutor is not just to answer homework questions for the students or to go over study questions to prepare for an exam. They attempt to bring accounting to life and help to move the student from a more superficial and partial knowledge to a more connected sense of understanding. According to Bruffee (1993, p. 91): Peer tutors engage in conversation with their tutees, helping them to translate... at the boundaries between the knowledge or discourse communities they already belong to and the knowledge or discourse communities they aspire to join.

Imagine a student sharing with another student how much fun a particular concert or university party was. Now try to think of a professor sharing that same common bond and enthusiasm. The professor cannot usually "connect" due to differences in roles and authority. Imagine a student sharing with another student the excitement of making business decisions or seeing how marketing and management ties into accounting for sales. Peer tutors offer a compliment to the instruction students receive in the traditional classroom setting. The tutors attend class, participate in class activities, and meet with students outside of class all to build relationships that lead to enhanced learning. They are models of the personal, social and intellectual maturity that instructors would like their students to achieve.

BENEFITS TO THE TUTORED STUDENTS Peer tutors do make a difference. Research indicates that peer tutoring is effective in enhancing academic performance. The early focus of peer tutoring was on student writing skills. Some of the most successful and popular programs are in this area (Holladay, 1990, pp. 5-6). As these successes were publicized, additional programs appeared in other general education and upper-division classes including classes in the business area (Bush, 1985, pp. 171-177; Kelley & Swartz, 1976, pp. 52-54). Greer and Poirstok (1982, p. 123) found that use of peer tutors enhanced the tutored students' math and reading scores on standardized tests. In economics, Kelley and Swartz (1976, p. 54) found that poor performing students who elected to participate

58

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

in student-to-student tutoring scored higher course grades than poor performing students who did not take advantage of tutoring. In accounting, Bush (1985, p. 174) found high levels of satisfaction when he surveyed students involved in peer tutoring, and that many of these students believed that their course grade increased because of participation in the program. The benefit of a peer tutor program depends greatly on the skills of the tutor (Bruffee, 1993, p. 91). Peer tutors receiving systematic training in how to deal with people under stress and how to empower and encourage students are more likely to be successful. However, research indicates that gains are possible even in a less formal peer tutor environment. Lidren et al. (1991, p. 75) found that students scored higher and rated their peer tutor experiences as positive in both intensive and less-intensive peer tutor environments (i.e. well trained compared to minimally trained peer tutors). While students in the highly structured and more intensive programs showed the greatest gain, students in the less-structured system also performed better than the control group.

BENEFITS FOR THE TUTOR Benefits also accrue to the tutor. The tutors have an opportunity to review the basic materials in their field of study, and, by teaching the material, they gain a new depth of understanding (Rafoth, 1998, p. 245). Gillam (1990, p. 99) found that peer tutors appear to invoke higher-level critical thinking skills. They seem to internalize the language of the subject and become more aware of how they think about problem-solving in the discipline. Rafoth (1998, p. 246) reported that both academic achievement and self-esteem increase for the tutor. In addition, tutors have an opportunity to enhance interpersonal skills. May et al. (1995) found that 77.8% of faculty they surveyed believed that educators should place more emphasis on interpersonal skills. The Accounting Education Change Commission (1990, p. 307) asserts that communication and interpersonal skills are necessary outcomes of the educational process. The commission states that students should gain skills and capabilities such as interview, inquiry and listening skills and the capability to convey information effectively in both an oral and written manner. Regarding interpersonal skills, the Commission's objectives stress that students should be able to motivate others to perform in an effective and timely manner and to appraise work performance. The peer tutor relationship provides an opportunity to practice and improve these skills. A peer tutor must be a good listener to understand what the students do not understand, and they must use written and verbal methods to explain concepts and ideas. Peer tutors also must be coaches to encourage and motivate the students to work hard and

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

59

study, and they must be able to critique the students' work and explain what was done incorrectly.

OUR PEER TUTORING PROGRAM We implemented a peer tutor program in four introductory financial accounting classes taught by two professors at a private, liberal arts university. The university enrolls approximately 3,000 students, and 30% of these students live on campus. The average ACT score for the university is 24, and approximately 50% of the students work 20 hours or more a week. Each class met twice a week and contained about 30 students. Three of the classes were morning classes and one was an afternoon class. The authors of this paper taught the four classes. We invited four students to serve as peer tutors, one for each of the four courses. In return, the students received three hours of elective course credit. The peer tutors were accounting majors; one was an undergraduate student in the senior year, and three were graduate students in their fifth year of study. One tutor was a student athlete, and all three of the others had additional employment or internships. We gave each tutor a textbook and a solutions manual. We explained that the tutors are a resource for the students and would perform no administrative functions for the professor. The professors and tutors defined specific roles for the class and made a written agreement that clarified these roles and expectations. Figure 1 shows the agreement that each peer tutor signed. Additionally, as part of their course responsibilities, the peer tutors wrote both a research paper on peer tutoring and a reflective paper about their experiences. We required each peer tutor to attend at least three of the four peer tutor training sessions sponsored by the University's Teaching Center. During these sessions, the tutors gained a better understanding of the teaching-learning process and formed relationships with others in the peer tutor group. The tutors discussed with the Center's director and one another the successes and difficulties they had encountered through their tutoring experiences. The purpose of the Teaching Center training was to foster collaborative learning and growth within the tutor group. Each peer tutor attended all class sessions; they asked questions and participated like other students. Class attendance enabled the peer tutors to understand the material covered in class and how the professor had presented the subject matter. Also, students could use the time before and after class to ask questions of the peer tutors and to get to know them. Additionally, the peer tutors were able to be part of in-class individual and small group activities. Both the professor and the peer tutor were able to circulate around the room to answer questions as the activities were going on.

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

60

The peer tutors also held office hours and conducted study sessions for the students. They shared an office, so they had a place to meet the students regularly. Each peer tutor held a total of four office hours weekly that spanned at least two days. Additionally, all of the peer tutors shared e-mail addresses and phone numbers Overview By invitation of a professor, a student may serve as a peer tutor for a course. The student normally receives from 1 to 3 hours of upper level credit in the discipline. Each professor works with the peer tutor to define the specific role in the class. The peer tutor does not grade or keep other records for the class; the peer tutor should remain a "peer" to the other students as much as possible.

Duties & Responsibilities Below is a list of possible duties and responsibilities of the peer tutor. The professor and peer tutor should initial the items that apply to the particular situation Inclass •

Arrive to class 15 minutes early for student availability and assistance

•

Attend every class meeting

•

Act like a student by participating and asking questions

•

Assist with individual and small group exercises

•

Teach one or more classes

Outside of class •

Maintain 4 hours of office hours per week.

•

The office hours will be Schedule individual appointments with students as needed. Fig. 1.

Peer Tutor Responsibilities.

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting •

Conduct out of class test preparation and review sessions

•

Publish e-mail address for on-line assistance

•

Publish phone number for out of class assistance

Improvement •

Talk to the professor if things are not going right

•

Let the professor know the pulse of the class

•

Meet informally with the professor at least once a week

Documentation of experience •

In consultation with the professor, prepare a paper regarding peer tutoring and your experiences

•

Attend at least 3 out of 4 of the Teaching Center training sessions

•

Keep a journal of experiences as a peer tutor. This should include at least one entry per week

•

Develop a list of ideas and suggestions for improving the class

Evaluation The peer tutor will be evaluated by me on each of the above mutually agreed upon dimensions. Additionally, students will have an opportunity to provide written feedback regarding their experiences with the peer tutor. You will be rated as excellent (A), good (B), marginally satisfactory (C), unsatisfactory (F). Fig. 1.

(Continued)

61

62

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

with the students to make it easier for them to pose questions or set up additional appointments. Each student could attend office hours and make appointments with any of the peer tutors, not just the tutor assigned to his or her particular class. During the scheduled office hours and individual appointments, the tutor might "talk through" an unclear concept or provide assistance with homework problems; dealing with students individually and addressing each student's specific needs. The appointments and office hours provided time for collaboration between the tutor and students as they worked together to solve a problem or answer a question. The peer tutors often provided support and encouragement as students demonstrated anxiety or lack of confidence in their ability to do the work. The interaction during this unstructured time created trust, and formed relationships that could facilitate the learning process. Each peer tutor held one or more review sessions before each exam where the students could raise questions regarding the course material and get answers prior to the exam. The peer tutors did not have access to the exam, only the exam review materials provided to the students, so there was no pressure to provide exam specifics to the students. The peer tutors also provided on-going dialogue with the professors regarding class dynamics, students with particular problems, and ideas for improvement. While we never required or desired that the peer tutors break confidential conversations with the students, it was often helpful for the professor to know what topics needed additional coverage, or that student "x" was having a hard time and needed more help.

ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM In order to assess the effectiveness of the peer tutor program we posed the following questions: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Who used the peer tutors? How did the students use the peer tutors? Did the use of peer tutors improve student learning? Why were some students non-users? Did the students perceive the peer tutor program to be helpful? Did the peer tutors benefit from the program? What insights did peer tutors provide for faculty?

To answer these questions, we gathered descriptive information regarding each student's GPA, age, semester credit hours, ACT score, gender, class level and major. In addition, students completed surveys responding to questions regarding

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

63

their usage or non-usage of peer tutors. Both the students and peer tutors responded to open-ended questions regarding their experience (see Appendix for a copy of the survey). The student surveys were not anonymous. We told the students that this was thefirsttime we had used peer tutors, and that we wanted to gather information to assess the effectiveness of the program. The students earned minimal points on theirfinalgrade for thoughtful completion of the survey (five points out of a total of 600 points in the course). We also obtained permission from the students to access their student records to gather descriptive information for use in our analysis of the data. We encouraged the students to be honest in their assessment, and we assured them that their responses would not influence their grade nor the grade of the peer tutors. The students completed the surveys either during the final examination period or outside of class and returned them to the professor the next class period. The response rate was 100%.

Who Used the Peer Tutors? We implemented the program with the hope that peer tutor use would help the average and low performing students improve their understanding of accounting and enable them to improve their grade. However, peer tutor usage was not a requirement for the class. In order to benefit from the program, students would have had to seek out peer tutor assistance in some manner. To identify characteristics of students who sought peer tutor assistance, we examined relationships between each of the descriptive characteristics and three different measures of peer tutor usage. We consider multiple measure of peer tutor usage in an effort to better identify all significant relationships. We consider a continuous measure of peer tutor usage (number of uses) and a two-category measure of usage (user compared to non-user). We also defined peer tutor usage as a four-category measure: high, medium, low or non-user. The split between high, medium and low usage achieved a comparable number of students in each category. Table 1 presents a breakdown of descriptive information for high, medium, low and non-users. We found that none of the descriptive characteristics was significantly related to a categorical measure of usage (user compared to non-user). The continuous measure of peer tutor usage (number of uses) was significantly correlated with the students' ACT score (p = 0.028). Students with lower ACT scores used the peer tutors more frequently than students with higher ACT scores. Assuming that ACT score is a proxy for general ability, the students who may have needed the extra attention to learn the subject matter utilized the resource available. Two characteristics are significantly related to the four-category measure of usage: major, and number of semester credit hours.1 Fifty percent of accounting

50% 19% 11% 10%

Major0 Accounting Music business Other business Non-business 20% 18% 44% 32%

29% 29% 21% 0% 50% 0% 32% 25% 26%

29% 26% 26% 17% 38%

30% 25%

3.18(1.90-3.94) 20.5 (19-38) 15.5 (9-19) 24.8 (19-31)

34

Low Users (1-2 Times)

70% 69% 81% 68%

86% 71% 63% 100% 88%

77% 70%

3.11 20.6 15.0 24.0

92

Total Users

30% 31% 19% 32%

14% 30% 37% 0% 12%

23% 30%

3.04 (2.24-4.0) 20.8 (17-27) 14.2(7-17) 24.6(16-30)

35

Non-Users

10 62 36 19

7 87 19 6 8

43 84

3.09 20.6 14.7 24.2

127

Grand Total

•Discriminant analysis indicates a significant relationship between the four-category peer tutor usage measure and semester credit hours (p = 0.040). b Spearman correlation indicates a significant negative relationship between ACT score and the continuous measure of peer tutor usage (p — 0.028). c Chi-square analysis indicates a significant relationship between the four-category peer tutor usage measure and major (0.034).

29% 15% 16% 83% 0%

Level Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Unreported

33% 25%

Percent of grand total for each characteristic Gender Male 14% Female 20%

35 3.08 (2.30-3.97) 19.8 (19-23) 15.2(10-19) 24.0(15-31)

23

Number of students

Medium Users (3-5 Times)

Average (range) in usage category Prior GPA 3.06(2.08-3.77) Age 21.8(19-40) Semester credit hours* 13.8 (4-19) ACT* 22.9(13-31)

High Users (>5 Times)

Level of Usage (Number of Times)

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics of Users and Non-Users.

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

65

majors were classified as high users of peer tutor compared to 10-19% of the other majors (p = 0.034). Accounting majors should be more likely put forth the effort to understand the material because this is their primary area of study. The knowledge gained in the introductory financial accounting class would be critical to success in other more advanced accounting classes. Regarding the significant relationship between peer tutor usage and number of semester credit hours taken (p = 0.040), students classified as high users of peer tutors registered for fewer semester credit hours, 13.8 on average, compared to 15.2 credit hours for medium users, 15.5 credit hours for low users, and 14.2 credit hours for non-users. It seems that students with fewer semester credit hours might have more time to seek out the peer tutors for help. Non-users reported the second lowest number of semester credit hours, which may indicate that these students had other non-academic reasons for not using the peer tutors. Perhaps they were working more hours at their job or had greater family responsibilities that caused them to take fewer credit hours, and their schedules did not allow them to utilize the peer tutor resource. This reasoning is consistent with the reasons for non-use of peer tutors reported later in this paper.

How Did the Students Use the Peer Tutors? To assess the effectiveness of the program, we gathered information regarding the relative use of peer tutors for different activities. We expect that students will seek help more frequently for activities that they believe will provide them the greatest benefit. Thus, these represent the areas where we should focus our efforts on improvement and availability. As shown in Table 2, the most popular peer tutor activity was the exam review sessions with 78% of all users attending at least one of the review sessions. Approximately 41-45% of the students who used peer tutors sought help with the class projects,2 while 35% sought help with general questions, and 17% sought homework help. While many students took advantage of the peer tutors for help on the projects and other questions, the results indicate that the students were most highly focused on preparation for the exams. We also considered the combined effect of the students' descriptive characteristics (reported in Table 1) and peer tutor usage for particular activities (reported in Table 2). We wanted to know if a particular type of student sought help for particular types of activities. Because some of the activities were very similar, to augment sample size we grouped activities for statistical tests. We combined general and homework questions for statistical testing. We did not collect or grade homework. We assigned homework so students could practice applying

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

66

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of Students Utilizing Peer Tutors Usage by Activity. Level of Usage (Number of Times)

High Users (>5 Times)

Medium Users (3-5 Times)

Low Users (1-2 Times)

Total Users

Number of students

23

35

34

92

Activity Exam Review Sessions Percentage attending Average number of times

96% 2.9

86% 2.1

59% 0.9

78% 1.9

Monopoly Project3 Percentage attending Average number of times

74% 1.3

43% 0.7

27% 0.3

45% 0.7

Company Analysis Project" Percentage attending Average number of times

61% 1.3

49% 0.5

21% 0.2

41% 0.6

General Questions Percentage attending Average number of times

91% 2.7

23% 0.3

9% 0.1

35% 0.8

Homework Help Percentage attending Average number of times

39% 1.3

20% 0.3

0% N/A

17% 0.4

100%

100%

100%

100%

9.5

3.9

1.5

Percentage attending at least one activity Average total number of times •See Note 2.

the concepts before the test. Thus, they served the same purpose as the general questions for clarification of the technical course material. For statistical testing, we also grouped the two required class projects. We did not test a four-category peer tutor usage measure for particular activities because of the small numbers in some categories. Rather, using a two-category measure (used, not used), we identified a significant relationship between peer tutor usage for general and homework questions and students' ACT score (p = 0.056). We also found that the students' ACT score was significantly correlated to the continuous measure of peer tutor usage for general and homework questions (p = 0.052) and for project assistance (p = 0.062). Thus, students with lower ACT scores seem to take advantage of the peer tutors on a one-on-one basis, not solely for the review sessions. Peer tutor usage for the exam review sessions was not significantly related to any of the students'

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

67

descriptive characteristics. Therefore, we conclude that usage for review sessions was very broad and encompassed all types of students.

Did the Use of Peer Tutors Improve Student Learning? We chose to make the peer tutors available to all of the accounting principles students rather than to implement an experimental design utilizing a control group. Thus, it is more difficult to assess whether the use of peer tutors made a difference in student learning. Despite this drawback, we believe we have evidence that suggests that the use of peer tutors had a positive impact on student learning. We assessed the impact of peer tutor usage on student learning in two ways. First, we determined whether the use of peer tutors was associated with a higher course grade, after controlling for prior GPA. We used prior GPA as an indication of the grade that the student could have made without the additional assistance provided by the peer tutors. In other words, did the use of the peer tutors enable students to make a higher grade than they would have made otherwise? We considered overall peer tutor usage and also use for particular activities. Second, we compared the grade distributions and class averages for our classes in Fall 1999 that made peer tutors available with the same classes in other semesters where the instructors did not use peer tutors. Table 3 presents descriptive information regarding peer tutor usage by course grade.3 Eighty-seven percent of the students who scored an "A" in the course used the peer tutor resource in some way, compared to 70% of the "B" students, 67% of the "C" students, and 57% of the "D/F" students. Peer tutor usage for different activities varied somewhat by grade. A larger percentage of the "C" students sought help with general and homework questions compared to the other students, while "A" students sought help more frequently with projects and attended review sessions more frequently. The analysis of the impact of peer tutor usage on course grade appears in Table 4. We calculated a difference score by subtracting the average course grade from the average prior GPA for each category. This difference score is negative for all categories indicating that students scored lower in this accounting course than they had been able to perform in classes taken previously. This is not surprising because students commonly view accounting as one of the most difficult subjects, and the grades would reflect this level of difficulty. For our analysis, the smaller the negative difference the greater the positive impact of the peer tutors to help the students score better than they would have otherwise scored. We found a significant relationship between the four-category usage measure and the difference score (p = 0.062). Pairwise comparisons indicate that the grades

68

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS CWOOTEN

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of Users and Non-Users Usage by Grade and Activity. Course Grade (Number of Students)

A (30)

B (54)

C (36)

D/F (7)

Total (127)

Activity Exam Review Sessions Percentage attending Average number of times

67% 2.3

52% 2.6

56% 2.7

57% 1.8

57% 2.5

Monopoly Project" Percentage attending Average number of times

40% 1.3

31% 1.5

28% 1.9

29% 1.5

32% 1.5

Company Analysis Project* Percentage attending Average number of times

40% 1.3

22% 1.6

33% 1.6

29% 1.00

30% 1.5

General Questions Percentage attending Average number of times

13% 3.2

20% 2.3

39% 2.4

29% 1.00

25% 2.4

Homework Help Percentage attending Average number of times

13% 3.7

11% 2.2

17% 2.00

0% N/A

13% 2.5

87%

70%

67%

57%

72%

Percentage attending at least one activity •See Note 2.

of low and medium users were impacted significantly more than the grades of non-users, and the grades of medium users were impacted more than the grades of high users. The finding that low and medium users* grades were impacted significantly more than non-users grades is not unexpected. However, somewhat surprising is thefindingthat the grades of the high users of peer tutors were not impacted more that of non-users. Recall that high users had lower ACT scores than the other students. Thus, very frequent use of the peer tutors may indicate that the students were having trouble with the course material, and they needed multiple visits to the peer tutors to gain a better understanding. The medium and low users may only have attended the review sessions or come to the peer tutors with specific, limited questions to clarify the class material. The results are actually encouraging, to see that even marginal use of the peer tutors can enhance a student's performance. In order to test the relationship between grade and peer tutor usage for the various activities we also considered the two-category measure usage (user, non-user). We

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial

69

Accounting

Table 4. Comparison of Grade Differences by Level of Use. Level of Use High Medium Low Non-user Totals

Average Prior GPA

Average; Course Grade

3.06 3.08 3.18 3.04 3.09

2.67 2.98 2.98 2.57 2.81

Difference8 -0.39 -0.10 -0.20 -0.47 -0.28

Significant pairwise comparisons: Non-users marginally significant difference from low users (p = 0.077); Non-users significantly different from medium users (p = 0.014); Medium users marginally significant difference from high users (p = 0.078). •ANOVA model significant p = 0.062.

found a significant positive relationship between the difference score and peer tutor usage overall (p = 0.040) and peer tutor usage for project assistance (p = 0.021). Thus, students who sought help with the two course projects improved their grades more than those students who did not. To further consider the effect of peer tutor usage on students' grades, we examined the grade distribution and class averages for these classes in Fall 1999 compared to this information for the same classes taught by the same instructors in Fall 1998 and Fall 2000. As shown in Table 5, a higher percentage of the Fall 1999 students who had the peer tutor resource available earned a grade of "A" (24%) compared to the "A" students in the prior year (13%) and subsequent year (20%). The cumulative percentage of "A" and "B" students in the Fall 1999 term Table 5. Comparative Grade Distributions and Average Grade Semesters with and without Peer Tutors. Course Grade

Percent of students with each grade Peer tutors available Fall 1999 percent 24% (24%) (cumulative percent) Peer tutors NOT available Fall 1998 percent 13% (13%) (cumulative percent) Fall 2000 percent 20% (20%) (cumulative percent)

D/F

B

Class Average Grade

43% (67%)

28% (94%)

6% (100%)

81.5

37% (50%)

33% (83%)

17% (100%)

76.1

36% (56%)

19% (75%)

25% (100%)

79.2

70

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOGTEN

was 67% compared to a cumulative percentage in Fall 1998 of 50% and in Fall 2000 of 56%. Conversely, a lower percentage of Fall 1999 students who had the peer tutor resource available earned a grade of "D" or " F ' (6%) compared to the "D" and "F* students in Fall 1998 (17%) and in Fall 2000 (25%). The average grade for Fall 1999 classes where peer tutors were available was 81.5. This average compares favorably with an average of 76.1 and 79.2 in Fall 1998 and Fall 2000, respectively, semesters where peer tutors were not available. Thus, both the comparative grade distributions and class average grades for these years provide evidence to support that peer tutor usage did contribute to student learning.

Why Were Some Students Non-Users? In order to improve the peer tutor program and better meet the needs of the students, we questioned why some students were non-users. We wanted to identify any barriers to the students' ability to use the peer tutors. Table 6 summarizes the reasons the students gave for non-use of the peer tutors for particular activities. On the whole, the most common responses were that they were able to master the material on their own (27%) or were able to get help from others (23%). These results seem consistent with the fact that students with higher ACT scores did not participate as frequently because they did not need the help. We reported earlier that non-users carried an average of only 14.2 credit hours during the semester, and attributed this to other non-academic responsibilities possibly related to work or family. The fact that 17% of non-users stated that the hours were not convenient to their schedules is consistent with this interpretation. Also, 20% of the students cited no particular reason for not participating, they just did not take the time, afindingthat is consistent with the number of non-users that were the poorer performers in the classes. The reasons cited for failure to use the peer tutors differed somewhat among the different activities. For example, 41% cited inconvenient hours for failure to attend exam review sessions. Because review sessions generally occurred only once before each exam, the students were constrained to participating on a specific date and time. For both of the course projects and the homework questions, a large number of the non-users stated that they either were able to understand the material on their own or with the help of others (75% of the responses for Monopoly, 63% for the Company Analysis Project, and 46% for homework). In contrast, 32% of students stated that they just did not take the time to seek help for general questions. One possible way to encourage peer tutor use for those students who stated that they just did not take the time to seek their help is to incorporate a course assignment that requires the student to seek out the peer tutors early in

0 2% 13% 40% 23% 14% 8%

24% 9%

Company Analysis Project*

2% 3% 41% 12% 9%

Exam Review Sessions

Note: Common reasons cited for "other" were as follows: Comment Responses Asked teacher instead 11 Too busy to go 9 Able to consult knowledgeable family members 5 Didn't know they were available 3 Forgot about it 2 •See Note 2.

Reason for non-use A. Did not do much with this activity; did not need their help. B. Did not think the time would be productive. C. Hours not convenient to my schedule. D. Able to get the material on my own; did not need their help. E. Able to get help from other students and materials; did not need their help. F. No particular reason; just did not take the time. G. Other

Activity

11% 4%

0 1% 9% 37% 38%

Monopoly*

32% 6%

2% 4% 16% 17% 23%

General Questions

19% 4%

11% 4% 16% 27% 19%

Homework

Table 6. Students NOT Utilizing Peer Tutors for Specific Activities Reasons for Failure to Use Peer Tutors.

20% 6%

4% 3% 17% 27% 23%

Total

72

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS CWOOTEN

Table 7. Students Utilizing Peer Tutors-by Level of Use Helpfulness Ratings by Activity (Range of Responses). Level of Use

Average Rating by Usage Category Exam Review Sessions (range 1-4) Monopoly Project* (range 1-4) Company Analysis Project" (range 2-4) General Questions (range 2-4) Homework Help (range 2-4) Overall Average by Usage Category

Overall Average for Activity

Medium (3-5 Times)

Low (1-2 Times)

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.5

3.5

3.6

3.2

3.5

3.7

3.5

3.1

3.5

3.8

3.3

3.7

3.6

3.4

3.6

No users

3.5

3.7

3.5

3.3

33

High (>5 Times)

Scale: 1 = not helpful at all; 2 = slightly helpful; 3 = moderately helpful; 4 = very helpful. •See Note 2.

the semester. Hopefully, this contact would break down barriers and increase the motivation of these students to take advantage of the peer tutor resource.

Did the Students Perceive the Peer Tutors to be Helpful? Another measure of the success of the peer tutor program is the students' perceptions. Similar to Bush (1985) we expected students to rate the peer tutors as helpful if the students perceived that the program aided their learning. We investigated the relationship between helpfulness ratings and usage, grade, and other descriptive characteristics to determine whether a certain type of student was more likely to find the resources helpful. As shown in Table 7, the overall helpfulness rating for all activities was 3.5 on a 4-point scale, with little variability among the activities. The average helpfulness rating was not significantly related to peer tutor usage. The helpfulness ratings by grade presented in Table 8 showed more variability, with the highest ratings given by the "A" students (3.7) and the lowest ratings given by the "D/F' students (2.8), with "B" and "C" students rating 3.4 and 3.5, respectively. The average helpfulness score overall was significantly correlated with course grade (p = 0.015). As a note, none of the students' descriptive characteristics were significantly related to the helpfulness rating.

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

73

Table 8. Students Utilizing Peer Tutors - by Grade Helpfulness Ratings by Activity (Range of Responses). Course Grade"

A

Average Rating by Activity Exam Review Sessions (range 1-4) Monopoly Projectb (range 1-4) Company Analysis Projectb (range 2-4) General Questions (range 2-4) Homework Help (range 2-4) Overall Average by Grade

3.9 3.5 3.6 3.8 3.3 3.7

B

3.4 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.7 3.4

C

D/F

3.5 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5

2.2 4.0 4.0 3.5 No users 2.8

Overall Average for Activity 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5

Scale: 1 = not helpful at all; 2 = sbghtly helpful; 3 = moderately helpful; 4 = very helpful. •Significant positive correlation between average helpfulness rating and grade (p = 0.015). b SeeNote2.

There were very few extremely low helpfulness ratings, and it appears that most all the users were satisfied with the helpfulness of the peer tutors. We noted only three rating of " 1 " (not helpful at all) of a total of 199 ratings. Two of these were from "D" students and related to the exam review sessions. The reasons given were "Tutor was not helpful" and "It was more confusing." The third rating of " 1 " was from a "B" student related to the Monopoly project with the explanation that "Answer given by the tutor was incorrect." Two of these three students were low users and the third was a medium user. Possibly because of these three perceived unhelpful experiences these students failed to seek peer tutor assistance at other times and in other ways where they could have derived benefit. This failure to give peer tutors a "second chance" could have contributed to a lower grade. In addition to the numerical helpfulness ratings, students also provided openended responses to questions on the survey regarding what they liked best about the program, what they liked least, and suggestions for improving the program. We had a total of 103 positive comments written about the program. The most frequent response to what they liked best about the program was that they appreciated the fact that the peer tutor resource was available to them. Students made the following comments: "The best thing was that you offered it," "I liked the fact that they were there if I needed help," "It was nice to know someone was there." Consistent with other reported results, 20% of the student responses expressed appreciation for the review sessions. We also received multiple positive comments about help with general questions and course projects. Seventeen percent of the positive responses related to the outcome of working with a peer as opposed to the professor. Students stated that "hearing the information from someone other than the professor" or having questions answered from "someone who is not responsible

74

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

for your grade" was helpful. Fifteen percent of the student responses were very flattering comments about specific peer tutors. Nine students responded that they had not used the peer tutors, but had heard from their friends that the tutors were a great help. We received 80 responses to our question regarding what the students liked least about the program and negative experiences. Twenty-five percent of these responses were from students who said that they could not think of anything negative to say about the program. Approximately 30% of the negative comments related to the peer tutor office hours and study session times not being convement to the students' schedules. However, most of the students acknowledged that no hours would have suited everyone, and that their hectic schedules made it difficult to work around the posted peer tutor schedule. Some of the specific comments were: "There was really not enough time outside of class for me to go to them, and knowing that they were there and willing to help killed me because I could hardly ever go. I never once had a negative experience with a peer tutor" and "I liked least that I did not use it more." Twenty-four percent of the negative comments related to students feeling that they received incorrect or unclear information and answers from the tutors. While it is impossible to know to what extent these comments are a reflection on the tutors or an indication of lack of preparation or misunderstanding on the part of the students, these comments do clearly demonstrate the need for tutors to possess strong technical knowledge and communication skills. Six students commented that the peer tutors should have known the test questions in advance so that the review sessions could have been "more specific." This comment represents a misunderstanding on the part of the students regarding the purpose of the exam review sessions. We made a deliberate choice not to let the peer tutors see the exams before the study sessions because the study sessions were intended to clarify issues that were confusing to the students attending, not to convey the information on the exam. Lastly, a few students commented about feeling rushed, feeling ignored, that the tutors were doing the professor's job, it was just not that helpful, and that it was too crowded. Regarding suggestions for improvement, the most common response was that they could think of no ideas for improvement, or to "just keep doing it." Eleven students recommended giving more encouragement for students to attend. They recommended that the faculty members "More effectively advertise their availability and willingness to help," "Encourage the students to go more," and "Find some way to convey to the students how really helpful they are." Eight students expressed concern about the peer tutor training and ability. The students recommended that we "Make sure all tutors know the material well" and

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

75

make sure the peer tutor and the professor "are on the same wave-length." Some students wanted the professor to share specific exam information with the tutors. Other recommendations were that we share the idea with other departments on campus, that we pay the tutors, that the professor should be more available, and that the tutors should be more involved with in-class activities.

Did the Peer Tutors Benefit from the Program? We did not formally survey the peer tutors; however, each peer tutor wrote an essay about their reasons for becoming a peer tutor and gave a summary of their work during the semester. While the tutors' comments may be somewhat biased because they wrote them as part of their grading process, their essays suggest that they also benefited from the program. All of the peer tutors enrolled in the program for academic credit. Their additional reasons for joining included an opportunity to "gain a better understanding of the basics of accounting," "to offer a perspective that is a little closer to the student" and "to explore the option of becoming a teacher." All four tutors stated that their goals had been met. One tutor stated, "in the past, I've always felt that I understood basic accounting concepts, but teaching the concepts to someone else takes a different kind of understanding. I actually had to be able to explain the concepts in a way that the undergraduate student could understand..." Another tutor stated "overall I was very pleased with the peer tutoring experience. I knew the program worked when I tutored for eight hours the day before the final. This showed me that the students were willing to come to me as a peer to help t h e m . . . " One tutor felt that " . . . as the semester passed, I became more and more comfortable tutoring students. I gained confidence and a better understanding of the kind of dedication it takes to become a teacher." All of the tutors felt the program should continue. Their ideas for improvement focused on breaking down the barriers between the students and the tutors earlier in the semester. The tutors were anxious to help the students, while it took the students some time to become comfortable with the program. As one tutor admitted, "the first few weeks started off very slow," but before long "I found that students walking by would stop and talk to me even when they did not need any help with accounting." Another tutor stated "students would tell other students that the sessions offered a great chance to get more help with accounting. My regular office hours became more frequently visited, and I was asked accounting questions at various times all around campus."

76

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN What Insights Did Peer Tutors Provide for Faculty?

As faculty members, we benefited in many small, subtle ways that helped us to make the classes better. For example, because of input from a peer tutor one faculty member realized that more class time was needed to clarify misunderstandings regarding the Monopoly project. Peer tutors also regularly provided information to faculty regarding specific topics for which the students frequently requested assistance and topics that were generally misunderstood. The tutors were able to experience the course from a student's perspective and pass these insights on to the faculty. With this information we were able fine-tune the course on a day-to-day basis and enhance the learning experience for the students. Our experiences with the peer tutor program have given us a much greater appreciation for the benefits of student-to-student collaboration. Whether the students are peer tutors, friends or fellow students in the class, we believe there are many opportunities for students to learn from one another. On an on-going basis, we strongly encourage students in all of our classes to work together, to help one another on practice homework problems, preparation for exams or in other ways. The results of our assessment also highlight the importance of the exam review sessions to the students. We both currently conduct exam review sessions for all of our accounting principles classes.

CONTRIBUTIONS, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS The purpose of this paper is to describe our use of a peer tutor program in introductory financial accounting courses and assess the effectiveness of the program. We initiated the program with the hope that both the tutors and the principles students would benefit. While this was not a controlled experimental study, our assessment data lead us to believe that the program was beneficial and warrants further development and study. This study contributes to the peer tutor literature in accounting in many ways. While, Bush (1985) associated peer tutor usage only with student perceptions of improvement, we investigate the relationship between peer tutor usage and actual course grades. In addition, we examine data that answers questions regarding characteristics of peer tutor users, reasons for non-use, and perceived helpfulness of the tutors. We also document benefits to tutors and faculty. We were pleased to find that peer tutor usage was significantly related to improvement in course grades. Also, only minimal use of the peer tutor resource was required to enhance ones course grade. The grades of students classified as low

77i£ Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting and medium users of the peer tutors improved significantly more than the grades of non-users. Comparative grade distributions and course averages between semesters where peer tutors were and were not available also support our conclusion that the use of peer tutors is associated with better course performance. Consistently high helpfulness ratings for the peer tutors also provide evidence of enhanced student learning. We also noted that students who probably needed greater assistance seemed to take advantage of the resources provided. Students with lower ACT scores were the most frequent users of the peer tutors and that they tended to use the peer tutors more frequently for one-on-one questions. Further, we examined reasons provided for failure to use the peer tutors to identify ways to eliminate barriers to peer tutor use for future classes. Our results suggest that the peer tutors also gained from participating in the program. The positive responses from the students and the peer tutors indicate that the tutors were very effective in their interaction with the students. They were able to effectively communicate complex accounting topics to a group of novices. These interactions should enhance their understanding of the material and increase their interpersonal communication skills. As with any empirical study, there are limitations associated with our work. While our results are consistent with earlier studies that conclude that peer tutoring can enhance academic performance, we are limited in our ability to draw conclusions regarding cause and effect because we did not utilize an experimental design that incorporated a control group. We present anecdotal evidence that incorporates data from only four sections of one course, in one semester, at one university. Thus, further research is needed to test the generalizability of our conclusions. Based on our assessment results, we conclude that the peer tutor program was beneficial to all involved. Our evidence suggests that the learning experience was enhanced for accounting students, peer tutors and faculty. We believe that there are many opportunities or settings where peer tutors can provide benefit, and we encourage other accounting faculty and faculty in other disciplines to consider this as an enhancement to their classes.

NOTES 1. Class level was also significantly related to peer tutor usage (p = 0.025), with seniors using peer tutors more than the other grade levels. However, with only six seniors in our student group, we are reluctant to generalize this finding. 2. The introductory financial accounting classes had two projects. The Monopoly project consisted of playing the game Monopoly and keeping the accounting records on computerized general ledger software. The students played the game twice and turned in

77

78

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C. WOOTEN

financial statements twice during the semester. The company analysis project required the students to select a company and to analyze the company's financial statements, ratios, and other financial measures from the 10-Ks and annual reports. The students had two due dates when the written analysis was submitted. 3. We collected data only from those students who completed the course. Every semester students who perform poorly are allowed a period of time to drop the course prior to completion. The grades of the students who dropped the course would probably be " D " or *T" had they completed the course. This late drop policy is one reason for the relatively low number of surveys from " D " and " F ' students.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: Position statement number one. Issue in Accounting Education, 5,307-312. Bruffee, S. (1993). Collaborative learning. John Hopkins: Printing John Hopkins. Bush, J. L. (1985). A peer tutoring program for introductory accounting courses. Journal ofAccounting Education, 3,171-177. Gillam, A. M. (1990). Learning through response. English Journal, 70,98-99. Greer, R. D., & Poirstok, S. R. (1982). Collateral gains and short-term maintenance in reading and on-task responses by inner-city adolescents as a function of their use of social reinforcement while tutoring. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 15,123-139. Holladay, J. (1990). Writing across the curriculum: Thinking made visible. Annual Report to the Monroe County Community College: Monroe County Community College. Kelley, A. C , & Swartz, C. (1976). Student-to-student tutoring in economics. Journal of Economic Education, 8,52-54. Lidren, D. M., Meier, S. E., & Brigham, T. A. (1991). The effects of minimal and maximal peer tutoring systems on the academic performance of college students. The Psychological Record, 41,69-77. May, G. S., Windal, F. W., & Sylvestre, J. (1995). The need for change in accounting education: An educator survey. Journal of Accounting Education, 13,21-43. Rafoth, M. A. (1998). Sharing the secret: Peer tutoring and independent learning. Teaching and Change, 5,245-260.

APPENDIX Peer Tutor Questionnaire As you know, we offered a new peer tutor program to your ACC241 class this semester. We need to get some feedback from you to evaluate the program. If you thoughtfully answer the following questions, you will be awarded five bonus points.

The Use of Peer Tutors in Introductory Financial Accounting

79

Please know that all of your responses will be confidential! The responses will not be used to evaluate you or any individual peer tutor; they are being used to evaluate the program as a whole. We would like to compare the groups' answers to demographics such as GPA, major, number of hours taken, etc. so please initial on the following line if you will give us permission to consult your student records to gather this information. Yes, I agree to the above

,

Instructions: Did you use the peer tutors this semester? How often you visited the peer tutor and for how long. Please mark in: • Box "A" the number of times you visited the peer tutor for each reason numbered 1-5 below. • Box "B" the average amount of time you spent with the peer tutor on each visit. • Box "C" the number 1-4 that represents how helpful the peer tutors were in each of the areas. 1 = not at all helpful; 2 = slightly helpful; 3 = moderately helpful; 4 = very helpful. If you did not use the peer tutors for one of the items numbered 1-5 below, please explain why by writing the letter(s) of the reasons in box "D," you may use more than one letter if needed. Answers for Box "D," if needed: Reasons for not using the peer tutors. (a) I did not really do much with this activity; therefore, I did not need their help (b) I did not think the time would be productive (c) Office hours were not convenient to my schedule (d) I was able to get the material on my own; I did not need their help (e) I was able to get enough help from other students and materials; I did not need their help (f) No particular reason, I just did not take the time to use them (g) Other. Please list

80

Reason for going to see the peer tutor

JANE DILLARD-EGGERS AND THOMAS C.WOOTEN Box A

BoxB

BoxC

BoxD

How many times did you go to the peer tutor during the semester?

On each visit, about how many minutes did you spend with the peer tutor?

Did you find the time with the peer tutors helpful? (answer 1-4 from above)

I did not use the peer tutors for this activity because (answer a-g from above)

1. Homework help 2. Review session before an exam 3. Company analysis project help 4. Monopoly project help 5. General questions about the material What did you like best about the peer tutor program? Did you have any positive experiences that you would like to share? What did you like least about the peer tutor program? Did you have any negative experiences you would like to share? What could we do to improve the program?

HOW TO STIMULATE LEARNING IN LARGE CLASSES Karla Kay Jensen and Joann R. Segovia ABSTRACT This paper combines a variety of educational literature and personal anecdotes that identify techniques that enhance the teaching effectiveness and learning in large classes1 by creating a more personal and enjoyable classroom atmosphere for both the students and instructors. Some research in accounting has shown no difference in student performance in large sections, yet the students have negative perceptions of courses when class size is greater than 100 students (Hill, 1998, p. 48). Student evaluations demonstrate that through the implementation of classroom techniques identified and discussed in this paper, the overall quality of the course and the overall effectiveness of the instructor improved. Instructors in all courses, regardless of size, may find that negative perceptions of students will be mitigated and student involvement increased through successful implementation of the classroom techniques that address thefollowing areas: classroom rules and regulations, classroom climate, a variety of teaching techniques, and instructor commitment and availability. These suggested techniques provide various ways for instructors to improve and enhance the delivery of material with the goal of increasing student motivation to learn in larger classes.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,81-98 © 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05005-3

81

82

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

INTRODUCTION Nelson and Pearson (1999, p. 348) review the challenges of large lecture courses and point out that class size may not be the most important variable in teaching effectiveness. Who teaches the class and how he/she teaches it may be more important variables. These researchers state that teaching a large lecture class in a creative, well-organized, enthusiastic manner is just as effective as teaching a small class. Similarly, Baldwin (1993, p. 109) found little evidence to suggest that teaching introductory accounting in mass-section of 420 students by an outstanding professor is inferior to using doctoral students to teach the course in small classes of 55. The question is, how does an instructor become outstanding in delivering material to large classes? Another concern stated by the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) in Statement No. 2 (1992, p. 250) is that "teachers of the first course in accounting should put a priority on their interaction with students." As constraints on university budgets and resources result in larger class sizes, student-teacher interaction becomes more difficult. As noted by Gilbert (1995, p. 4), "the independence fostered by large classes may help produce the independent, self-directed, lifetime learner everyone seeks." The first Position Statement of the AECC states that accounting education should provide a base to build life-long learning through the development of communication, intellectual and interpersonal skills (AECC, 1990, pp. 307 and 310). The AECC (1990, p. 309) states that "students should be taught the skills and strategies that help them to learn more effectively and how to use these effective learning strategies to continue to learn throughout their lifetimes. Students must be active participants in the learning process, not passive recipients of information." This paper reviews accounting and communication research to identify ways to improve student perception of a large classroom environment by good delivery of classroom materials and by increasing student motivation to learn. This paper also identifies potential problems of teaching large classes and provides techniques to increase teaching effectiveness and interaction between instructor and students. This paper further addresses specific approaches that instructors can use to foster an environment where students do not feel like mere numbers and where instructors do no feel like a textbook with a voice. Anecdotal evidence from our teaching evaluations, as well as a significant increase in teaching evaluation ratings when we employed the techniques discussed in this paper, demonstrate the effectiveness of these techniques in large lecture classes.

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

83

BACKGROUND The classroom environment is a significant factor that influences student learning in introductory accounting classes (Wooten, 1998, p. 368). The students' perception of classroom environment influences student motivation to learn. Wooten states that "the appropriate use of class time, a caring instructor, good instructional materials, etc., should all increase the students' level of expectancy, thus increasing motivation (p. 361)." One of the primary issues in large classes is the negative perception held by students and faculty. Even though some research has found that class size does not have a significant effect on student performance and student perception of teaching effectiveness (Baldwin, 1993, pp. 108-109; Hill, 1998, p. 48), students perceive mass sections as too large (Hill, 1998, p. 48). These perceptions may affect student motivation and, thus, performance. Students complain that little opportunity exists, in large classes, to interact with other students and the instructor, or to obtain feedback (Lowman, 1987, pp. 71-72). Similarly, students report feeling uninvolved in large classes that use a lecture format (Pearson, 1986, p. 2). Students also may feel less pressure to participate in and to attend large classes because no personal relationship exists with the instructor. Large classes compound these problems for introductory accounting courses comprised of mostly non-accounting majors who often have negative perceptions of the course material. Faculty perceptions of large classes also are negative due to the belief that large classes will lead to lower teaching evaluations. Chism (1989, p. 3) points out that faculty "more commonly offer definitions based on a personal sense of how large a class2 has to be before size significantly affect their teaching behaviors or student performance." Prior research states "the size of the lecture sections alone made it virtually impossible to develop any rapport with students" (Kempner, 1970, p. 365) and "after 10 minutes... the attention of a considerable number of students begins to wander" (Schattke & McAllister, 1962, p. 558). Because rapport and lecture effectiveness often appear in evaluation forms, large classes may result in lower evaluations in these categories. To stimulate learning in a large class, the literature suggests four main areas that may lead to enhanced delivery of instructional materials, improved classroom environment and increased student learning. The four main areas are: (1) classroom rules and regulations; (2) classroom environment; (3) variety in teaching techniques; and (4) instructor's commitment and availability. In the following sections, we discuss these areas and provide suggestions for improvement. Professors in various areas of education have used these suggestions to improve effectiveness of learning.

84

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

SUGGESTIONS TO STIMULATE LEARNING Classroom Rules and Regulations Nelson and Pearson (1999, p. 354) state "the bottom line in large classes is that the professor controls the class or little learning will occur." When one of the authors of the current studyfirsttaught a class larger than 150 students, evaluation comments from the students were: The instructor does not have enough control over the class. Attention is at a lower level than expected. I thought the class was too big. People weren't interested in learning the material and it made it difficult for those who wanted to learn. Too much talking going on.

As a result of these comments, we investigated ways to better control the classroom environment. A review of the literature indicates that the information in the syllabus and the way that the instructor conducts the class can create a more controlled environment. To control the class, the instructor needs to establish rules, take attendance, and provide timely feedback to the students. (1) Establish rules: The syllabus is the contract that will guide the class. Many sources provide advice on what to include on the syllabus (Friedrich & Cooper, 1999, p. 295; McKeachie, 1994, p. 16; Wulff & Nyquist, 1999, p. 316). Beside the general information on course objectives, office hours, texts, grading, and a detailed schedule of readings and the assignments, the syllabus should provide the attendance policy and other "rules" of the course. For example, what is the policy on making up exams? Turning in late work? Coming late to class or leaving early? Eating or drinking in class? Reading the newspapers or using phones? The instructor should clearly state the policy outlining the consequences of student behaviors. Instructors should seriously review the syllabus during the first class. One of the authors of this paper requires students to sign a statement that the student has read and understands the policies presented. In addition, a few questions on the first exam or quiz originate from information on the syllabus. The instructor should post the syllabus on a departmental or instructor web site to further emphasize the usefulness, importance, and availability of the document. (2) Take attendance: Nelson and Pearson (1999, p. 354) suggest that lack of an attendance policy invites nonparticipation and negatively affects performance, and that the simple act of taking attendance causes students to feel more involved. Administrative applications such as attendance records or seating

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

85

charts can decrease students' feelings of anonymity. Students report feeling more obligated to go to class when the instructor knows the students are present (Chism, 1989, p. 4). Determining attendance through written activities performed in class, seating charts, sign-in cards, or attendance sheets will decrease the time required to take attendance. One creative way to perform the task is assigning students to discussion sections on the first day of class and having a teaching assistant in charge of each discussion section take attendance during each class. To assign students to discussion sections, a "color-coded" overhead might show the students where to sit by matching the colors on the overhead with a coding in the lecture hall that designates the rows of their section. The instructor could use these sections throughout the semester for various classroom or lab activities. (3) Return exams and assignments promptly: Most students care about their work and desire timely feedback. As soon as instructors complete grading exams, they should post exam scores to an electronic gradebook. Instructors who give timely feedback demonstrate respect for the students' efforts and a willingness to assist them in the course. To ensure instructors provide timely feedback within one or two class periods, teaching assistants or graders probably will need to provide assistance. Due to large class size and time constraints, the instructor may decide not to return exams but simply to make a transparency of one of the versions and review the exam during the next class period following the exam. Most students will be satisfied with seeing the transparency during class, but instructors also should provide students the opportunity to review individual exams during office hours. (4) Prepare appropriate exams: For large classes, instructors have a tendency to prepare thought-provoking objective questions rather than essay examinations (McKeachie, 1994, p. 81). However, in a 500-student course, McKeachie (1994, p. 81) regularly includes an essay item on the final examination with the stipulation that the answer only would be read if it would affect the student's letter grade for the course. Since the majority of the students clearly establish their grades, the instructor will not read all responses. To limit the length of the response, essay questions should be very focused. (5) Control the exam environment: Unwary instructors are more likely to encounter cheating in large classes. In order to prevent cheating on exams, instructors can reduce pressure by offering a number of opportunities to achieve course goals rather than one single exam and by developing group norms supporting honesty (McKeachie, 1994, p. 84). Due to the large number of students in the room, instructors require assistance from multiple proctors. The instructor and proctors can stroll the room to convey a sense of helpfulness while strolling down the aisles and watching for questions rather than poised

86

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

to spring at potential cheaters. If some proctors watch students from the front of the classroom, students will be less inclined to have wandering eyes. Instructors should inform students that their eyes should be only on their exams or looking at a specific location such as the ceiling. (6) Reduce student copying from other students: As a first step to reduce cheating, instructors should obtain a large enough classroom to assign students to alternate seats. Next, strategies such as establishing an exam seating chart (available only immediately before the exam), requiring students to provide picture identification before entering the lecture hall or when turning in their exams, and distributing multiple versions of the exam effectively prevent plagiarism. Before the exam, instructors should sit in various areas of the exam room to determine how easily students can view other student's exams and should prepare a seating chart to eliminate seats that others can easily view. To decrease the students' ability to recognize a similar exam, instructors can arrange questions so students cannot determine the version of the exam and can code multiple versions of the exam to allow easy sorting of the versions. Typing and formatting a date or heading differently on the alternative versions, or the placing a numeric code of several digits on the lower comer of the first page that will appear meaningless to the students will allow easy sorting of the exams. The instructor should plan a pattern for distribution of exams so students will have limited access to similar versions. The pre-numbering of exams to correspond with seat numbers, or pre-writing students' names on the exams will assure that each student receives the intended version of the exam. Instructors should avoid exam versions on different colors of paper, as this allows students to easily determine which versions are similar.

Classroom Environment Instructors feel that large sections provide students with a sense of anonymity that decreases their perceived responsibility toward the subject matter, fellow students, and the instructor (Pearson, 1986, p. 3). This lack of responsibility may result in students sleeping, talking to others or reading in class rather than listening and participating. Instructors also complain that students ask fewer questions in large classes, as a result of the lack of relationship between the instructor and students, and/or the anxiety associated with speaking in front of a large group of people. In a large class, students find that getting to know the instructor or other students is difficult. Student evaluation comments, obtained from teaching larger classes, reinforce the importance of knowing students:

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

87

Best teacher I've had in my three years at Tech. She really cares for the students. She is the only teacher I've had in a large lecture class who knew my name. Lots of work and harder than most people think, but it is all explained well and it was fun. She knew our names and that made us feel good. I was surprised that she expected so much. I was surprised that she made the class fun. I was surprised that she knew my name. I liked how she tried to get to know everyone. I couldn't believe she was actually learning names.

Space is one of the chief causes of students' perceived lack of responsibility in the classroom and the lack of classroom discussion. Lecture halls typically create physical and perhaps psychological distance between students and the instructor. In his pioneering work to identify distances people use to separate themselves from each other, Hall (1998, p. 83) classified space usually not associated with interpersonal interaction or discussion as "public" space. Clearly, a lecture setting falls into this realm with chairs bolted to the floor with a distance between the "stage" and the first row of desks. Many instructors find the setting makes it more difficult to establish an interpersonal relationship with students. Evaluation comments that support the relationship of space and interaction include: Good relationships with students, involved us even in the large lecture class. The instructor was wonderful. I enjoyed the camaraderie and interpersonal communication we had in class. The big class felt like a small class. All your tricks and assignments forced me into knowing the other people in my class. I didn't feel like I could be invisible.

Instructors can create a classroom environment that invites participation and welcomes students to greet the instructor and other students through various methods. We discuss several suggestions next. (1) Know students' names: Verbal immediacy research shows that calling students by name increases the students' learning and motivation (Christensen & Menzel, 1998, p. 89; Christophel & Gorham, 1995, p. 303; Jensen, 1999, p. 223). The objective of knowing names is to convey to students that the instructor recognizes the students as individuals. Pearson (1986, p. 10) suggests that, to the extent possible, instructors should learn the names of at least some of the students in class. When an instructor demonstrates that he or she knows a few names of the people in the class, students will generalize and believe that faculty know all or most names.

88

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

One way to learn the names of students is take photos, or request students to provide them. Software such as Courselnfo from Blackboard, Inc. provides web pages for each student in the class so students can easily submit personal information or photos on their individual pages, or else the instructor can post photos under a specific area. If students complete informational sheets, they may provide information that assists in recognition of the student. Suggestion numbers 3,7, 8, and 9 also may assist the instructor in learning the students' names. (2) Play music before class: In the authors' experiences, the selection of up beat, popular music to play during the change of classes can result in several benefits. First, music played through the auditorium's AV system can break the awkward silence and send the message to the students that the class is desirable to attend. Second, toe-tapping tunes can energize lethargic students for learning. Third, when the instructor turns off the music, students learn to stop talking to one another and focus on the instructor, thereby eliminating the "OK people, let's settle down" speech. Instructors may consider selections such as songs from the original "Blues Brothers" soundtrack; Stevie Ray Vaughan selections such as "The House is Rock," "Crossroads," and 'Tightrope"; and Brian Setzer's "Jump Jive an' Wail" or "This Cat's on a Hot Tin Roof." We also invite students to bring their own music to play. (3) Greet students in class: The instructor should always arrive early to class and greet students 10-15 minutes before the class begins. Many more students will approach an instructor at this time rather than during office hours. By assigning an assistant to start the music, arrange lecture notes, or set-up AV equipment, the instructor is free to move throughout the entire lecture hall, shake hands, make introductions to students, and ask students about their progress in the course. (4) Provide an informational overhead: As music plays and the instructor greets students, the instructor can display an informational overhead or Powerpoint slide that outlines the week's readings and assignments, next week's readings and assignments, the day's objectives and any other important announcements such as tests or upcoming college events. Although the syllabus provides students this basic information, such overheads remind students of their responsibilities and focus students on the course before each class begins. (5) Use cartoons: The instructor will gain students' attention and start the class in the right direction through the use of a cartoon that relates to the day's material. Students also can bring cartoons that relate to the course. (6) Address out-of-class questions: During the class period, the instructor can identify insightful questions and state the names of the students who posed

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

89

them. Students will realize their questions are important and may become more comfortable asking them in the future. The instructor also can post these questions and answers on a web site through the use of a discussion board. (7) Create a "Group of the Day": The instructor can appoint a group of students to provide the majority of the class feedback for the day. If the instructor implements discussion groups, he/she can designate one of the discussion groups as the "group of the day" and invite these students to sit in the front rows. By rotating students to the front rows, the instructor will get to know students in all parts of the lecture hall. Also, students will feel that the instructor is taking an individual interest in them. To engage other students, who are not the "group of the day," the instructor can include some review questions of previous materials that links the current material to the previous materials. Assigning one-minute papers or giving short quizzes that address the current day's material will require students to identify the important concepts of the day (Aimer et al, 1998, p. 485). A one-minute paper that requires students to respond to questions such as "What are three main concepts or procedures that you learned today?" will provide the instructor feedback concerning what information students perceived as important. (8) Move around the lecture hall: The instructor should leave the podium in order to reduce the physical distance to students and appear less remote and authoritarian (Geske, 1992, p. 153). If a microphone constrains movement, the instructor needs to use the whole "stage" of the lecture hall. However, an instructor should try not to use a microphone even for classes up to 400 students, as one's regular speaking voice is much more personal than the artificial sounding amplified voice. If an instructor sounds more "real" to them, students may pay more attention. Research indicates that free, relaxed movement and a pleasant speaking voice can improve students' attitudes toward the course and the instructor (Kearney et al., 1988, p. 64), learning and motivation (Rodriguez et al., 1996, p. 302), and compliance (Kearney et al., 1988, p. 64). (9) Create an out-of-class greeting: Nelson and Pearson (1999, p. 350) encourage the creation of a class greeting that students can use to greet one another and the instructor on campus. On the first day of class, students suggest and decide on a greeting that includes the name or number of the course or the creation of a nickname. On a large campus, we observed that some students seem to really enjoy greeting others and provide positive feedback concerning the use of the greeting. Instructors also can invite students to introduce themselves "in the wild" (i.e. at the movies, grocery store, sporting events, etc.) to establish a more personal relationship that does not naturally exist in large courses.

90

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA Variety in Teaching Techniques

Hill (1998, p. 62) and Baldwin (1993, p. 98) indicate that large sections encourage, and perhaps even require, use of the lecture method. However, a lecture-only style often leaves students feeling passive and disinterested. Lectures with organization and enthusiasm can acquaint students with concepts not otherwise available, allow for maximum instructor control of the learning experience, and appeal to aural learners (Weaver & Cotrell, 1987, p. 64). Variety in presenting material addresses students' different learning styles. The instructor should implement techniques that encourage students to contribute to the lecture and to feel a greater sense of ownership of the course, thus taking the class more seriously. Brophy (1987, p. 41) suggests that students are more likely to want to learn when they appreciate classroom activities and when they believe they can succeed. Course evaluations of the authors have included comments such as: The instructor was very good at teaching the subject. She presented the material in several ways that were easy to understand. She also seems to have a genuine concern for her students. The use of short exercises and breakout sessions were extremely beneficial. I think that everyone helping each other in groups plus excellent presentations of materials along with attending class everyday are what helped me learn the material the best. The structure of the lecture helped me not be bored. We were always moving and doing something. This wasn't like other blow-off lectures where they don't even know you are there.

Suggestions to vary the teaching style include the use of the interactive lectures, cooperative learning, different activities that vary from class to class, small group discussions, and the submission of test questions by students. (1) Use the interactive lecture: By inviting students' participation during the lecture, instructors make students feel included in the learning process. The following techniques will increase student involvement. First, students can brainstorm about a specific topic or develop answers to specific questions about chapter material. Students' responses will allow the instructor to assess the students' knowledge level and ascertain how to appropriately cover material for that group. Second, the instructor can invite student-initiated written questions. Students who are hesitant to ask questions in class will more readily submit written questions. Third, the instructor can hold a press conference that invites students to ask probing questions of the instructor and puts the instructor on the spot instead of the students (Frederick, 1987, p. 50). When students speak, they need to speak loudly and the instructor always should repeat their contributions. In addition, calling on students can be a perfect opportunity to

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

91

ask for and use students' names when the instructor thanks students for their participation. Classes of 15-200 students can effectively use cooperative learning (Cotell & Mills, 1993, p. 42). Instructors can use in-class activities for grading, as well as for attendance purposes. The potential noise level needs to be controlled; instructors must clearly state that students communicate in quiet voices, and use a signal, such as turning the lights on and off to indicate when the noise is too high (Cotell & Mills, 1993, p. 43). (2) Vary the types of activities: Instructors can implement various activities such as the pause procedure, short writes, one minute papers, three minute thesis, or games such as Break for Trivia. With the pause procedure (Bonwell, 1996, p. 35), the instructor stops the lecture every 13-18 minutes to allow students to take a break from listening. When students return to listening to the lecture, their performance is more efficient. During the pause, students compare notes, ask questions, engage in writing or trivia activities, or simply take a break. A short write (Bonwell, 1996, p. 35), one minute paper (Aimer et al., 1998, p. 485; Harwood, 1996, p. 229) or a three minute thesis (Geske, 1992, p. 152) requests students to briefly respond to prompts or questions such as "Describe the concept of in your own words," "What is the main idea of this portion of the class?" "What questions do you have about the day's topic, reading, or assignment?" The responses provide an opportunity for sharing with a partner or group, for collecting and using for attendance, or for anonymous, random sharing with the class. Harwood (1996, p. 230) states that students become confident enough to offer direct questions and comments during the lecture when the instructor praises and values the anonymous responses in class. These short papers also provide the instructor with a tool to evaluate the students' understanding of a topic (Aimer et al., 1998, pp. 485-486). Rapid feedback from short papers allows the instructor to keep the class on track and provides an opportunity to correct misconceptions before they become more firmly entrenched. "Breakfor Trivia" (Geske, 1992, p. 152) is modeled after the Trivial Pursuit game. Students volunteer to play as groups and the other students often help with applause, groans, or suggested answers. This activity, tailored to the course content, gives students an opportunity to get to know one another and provides a springboard for learning as it reinforces major points covered in the class. (3) Use small group discussions: Interaction in small groups provides energy for the class, and enables students to actively think and participate, rather than mindlessly take notes. Once again, this technique gives students an opportunity to get acquainted, and for the instructor to establish more personal contact

92

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

with students as he/she moves about the room and samples group discussions. Frederick (1987, p. 51) suggests that small group discussions are more effective when a time limit is set and when a visual aid provides clear, simple, taskoriented instructions. Additionally, students need to have some way to report back to the class during the processing of the discussion. Students can write down opinions, and submit them to the instructor, who randomly selects them for sharing with group or uses them for attendance. (4) Allow students to submit test questions: Geske (1992, p. 153) invites students to submit test questions. He suggests that students submit no more than five test questions for each test and if the test includes the student's questions, the student receives two extra points. Each test should include no more than a limited number of student questions. The main advantages of this technique are increased student involvement, and feedback about what students perceive to be the most important ideas in the course.

Instructor Commitment and Availability One of the most difficult perceptions to overcome is that the instructor of a large class is not available, or does not wish to be available, to students. Implementing techniques that prove the instructor is available and accessible will alleviate these perceptions. In addition, the instructor needs to be well prepared and organized. The course evaluations of the authors' students indicated appreciation for implementation of teacher availability. Next, we suggest ways to demonstrate the instructor's commitment and availability to the students: (1) Arrive early and stay late: More one-on-one contact appears to exist in the lecture hall than in the office. If the instructor arrives well before class begins and stays after class ends, he or she demonstrates a willingness to meet with students. Standing in the halls before the dismissal of the previous class and visiting with students in the area also encourages communication. If another class will use the room in the next class period, the instructor can continue answering questions in the hall. (2) Conduct electronic office hours: In addition to regular office hours, students can ask questions and receive responses conveniently through the use of email. When instructors welcome questions through e-mail at any time, they need to inform students of specific hours to submit e-mail and expect an immediate answer. The syllabus should provide the expected response time. The instructor can review and praise good questions posted via e-mail in class.

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

93

Courselnfo from Blackboard, Inc. allows students easy e-mail access with the instructor as well as with other students in the class. In addition, discussion boards and virtual chat rooms may facilitate effective communication. Obtain teaching assistants, tutors, mentors, or other helpers: For large lecture classes, graduate students or qualified undergraduate students can provide assistance by answering questions, addressing concerns, and providing the instructor with student feedback about what is working and what needs to be repeated or explained. These assistants act as the instructor's extended ears and eyes. Teaching assistants also can take attendance or pass around an attendance sheet for their sections, distribute and/or collect papers, assist with media aids, answer student questions, and when necessary, act as a liaison between the student and the instructor. If the basic course follows a lecture/discussion section format, the assistant of the section participates in the class organization. The instructor needs to provide assistants clear instructions for each class. These directions combined with the assistants' ability to trouble-shoot in the lecture hall can result in well-organized class and less stress for the instructor. Provide a suggestion box: A suggestion box will provide students with a voice and enhance their responsibility for the course and its administration, as well as provide them with opportunity to give anonymous feedback. The box may be in the lecture hall, outside the instructor's office, or on a discussion board within a web site. Pearson (1986, p. 12) asserts that this technique helps "the students feel that the instructor cares both about the content of the course and the relationship with the students." If the instructor implements a good suggestion, he/she should inform students that the change has occurred, thank students for their input, and consider providing extra credit. Instructors should explain why some suggestions are not feasible to implement. Conduct quality control circles: Students volunteer or the instructor appoints students to meet with the instructor to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the course through quality control circles (Pearson, 1986, p. 12). When the instructor uses discussion sections, the instructor appoints one representative from each discussion section to the quality control circle. These meetings increase the instructor's direct contact with liaisons and add a personal dimension to the class, informing students that the instructor cares about the learning environment. Be preparedfor delivery of the class content: Weaver (1993, p. 228) points out that even an outgoing person may not feel comfortable teaching in a lecture format for large classes. Preparation is crucial to a successful class. Instructors can improve delivery by: (1) watching other instructors who are well known for managing large classes; (2) attending their classes; (3) taking notes of what

94

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

seems to work well; and (4) emulating some of those techniques into one's own style in order to improve the delivery of material. Making videotape of one's class to watch alone, with a colleague, or a member of the campus teaching center will provide feedback. To ensure that the vocal delivery or movement is appropriate to the lecture hall setting, the instructor needs to practice. An enthusiastic delivery can help guarantee a successful lecture (Sherman et al., 1987, p. 68). Relaxed and natural movements and a passionate voice will help students feel as though the instructor is speaking directly to them. (7) Be organized: "Effective lectures are planned carefully and executed skillfully" (Weaver, 1993, p. 230). The instructor should create a detailed outline of topics to be covered, exercises to be reviewed or demonstrated, and questions to be asked during the class. Specific techniques include planning the class period with clarity in mind, preparing interactive lectures and visual aids (Powerpoint slides or overheads), and providing outlines to students to facilitate easy note taking. Media aids offer variety for students, address various learning styles and provide the instructor with a break from speaking. The class period should have a sense of coherence and flow. Whenever possible, referring back to the thesis of the lecture shows how points are connected, and provides signposts to alert students to where the instructor is regarding class objectives. Nelson and Pearson (1999, p. 353) suggest "using stimulus words or phrases such as think about, consider, remember, recall, picture in your mind, visualize, mentally list, what if, and summarize to yourself io encourage thinking." A plan of action not only will help students but also will reduce an instructor's anxiety and add enjoyment to the teaching experience.

ANALYSIS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF METHODS To address the effectiveness of these techniques, we analyzed the evaluations of seven large classes that implemented most of these techniques to ascertain whether the students perceived the course and the instructor as more effective. One of the authors had primarily used a lecture format for two classes during one semester and realized the class needed improvement. A review of literature regarding teaching large classes led to changes in the course format and the implementation of techniques and methods previously described. The course objectives, texts and assignments did not change between semesters. The student evaluations of one of the author's classes simply contained the questions:

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

95

Table 1. Descriptive Information of Courses. Number of Students

Quality of Course

Effectiveness of Instructor

Before implementation 198 194

4.17 4.09

4.69 4.50

After implementation 179 199 202 258 198

4.70 4.73 4.67 4.76 4.68

4.66 4.79 4.80 4.85 4.78

Scale: poor (1), weak (2), average (3), good (4), or excellent (5).

Table 2. Student Evaluations of Course.

Quality of course Effectiveness of instructor a b

Before Mean

After Mean

4.13 4.59

4.71 4.78

T -16.581 -2.623

p-Value O.OOO8 0.047b

A t 9 9 % significance. A t 9 5 % significance.

(1) The overall quality of this course was: poor (1), weak (2), average (3), good (4), or excellent (5); (2) The overall effectiveness of the instructor was: poor (1), weak (2), average (3), good (4), or excellent (5). Table 1 provides descriptive information for the courses and the students' response to the evaluation questions. Using a /-test of the mean difference, we find a significant difference in the means for the students' evaluation of both the course and the instructor. These results, shown in Table 2, indicate that implementing these techniques appears to be effective.

CONCLUSION This paper has focused on several areas such as classroom rules and regulations, classroom environment, variety in teaching techniques, and instructor's commitment and availability to students. The suggestions in this paper may help instructors

96

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

to improve the delivery of material and student learning in large classes. Personal anecdotes of the authors indicate that students perceived these techniques to improve the effectiveness of the instructor's teaching in the large class setting. Future research opportunities include investigating the effectiveness of these techniques for instructors in other universities. Since a specific evaluation instrument was not designed to obtain direct feedback from students as to the effectiveness of each of the various techniques, only anecdotal comments of some students are available. Although such comments indicate that students perceive improved instruction, further research in the use of specific techniques in large accounting classes could identify which techniques most improve the course or the instructor's effectiveness as perceived by the students. The suggestions made in this paper may help all educators in various areas of education, no matter the size of the class or course. Experimenting with some of the many suggested techniques described in this paper could help students learn better and better appreciate the learning process. When someone with contagious energy for the subject matter carefully prepares and executes a large lecture course, students experience a positive learning environment.

NOTES 1. Large classes are usually defined as those containing 100 or more students (Weimer, 1987, p. 2). 2. Some instructors define classes of more than 50 students as large whereas other instructors define classes of more than 300 students as large. The definition depends on course content such as a writing or learning foreign language (Chism, 1989, p. 3).

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: Position statement no. 1. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(2), 307-312. Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1992). Thefirstcourse in accounting: Position statement no. 2. Issues in Accounting Education, 7(2), 249-251. Aimer, E. D., Jones, K., & Moeckel, C. L. (1998). The impact of one-minute papers on learning in an introductory accounting course. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(3), 485-497. Baldwin, B. A. (1993). Teaching introductory financial accounting in mass-lecture sections: Longitudinal evidence. Issues in Accounting Education, 8(1), 97-111. Bonwell, C. C. (1996). Enhancing the lecture: Revitalizing a traditional format. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 67,31-44. Brophy, J. (1987). Synthesis of research on strategies for motivating students to learn. Educational Leadership (October), 40-48.

How to Stimulate Learning in Large Classes

97

Chism, N. V. (1989). Large enrollment classes: Necessary evil or not necessarily evil. Notes on Teaching, Center for Teaching Excellence, Ohio State University, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Document No. 334875. Christensen, L. J., & Menzel, K. E. (1998). The linear relationship between student reports of teacher immediacy behaviors and perceptions of state motivation, and of cognitive, affective and behavioral learning. Communication Education, 47, 82-90. Christophel, D. M., & Gorham, J. (1995). A test-retest of student motivation, teacher immediacy, and perceived sources of motivation and de motivation in college classes. Communication Education, 44, 292-306. CotelL P. G., Jr., & Mills, B. J. (1993). Cooperative learning structures in the instruction of accounting. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(1), 40-59. Frederick, P. J. (1987). Student involvement: Active learning in large classes. In: M. G. Weimer (Ed.), New Directions for Teaching and Learning (pp. 45-56). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Friedrich, G. W., & Cooper, P. (1999). Thefirstday. In: J. A. Daly, G. W. Friedrich & A. L. Vangelisti (Eds), Teaching Communication: Theory, Research and Methods (pp. 287-296). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Geske, J. (1992). Overcoming the drawbacks of the large lecture class. College Teaching, 40,151-154. Gilbert, S. (1995). Quality education: Does class size matter? Research File, Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada, 1,1-8. Hall, E. (1998). Proxemics. Current Anthropology, 9,83. Harwood, W. S. (1996). The one-minute paper: A communication tool for large lecture classes. Chemical Education, 73,229-230. Hill, M. C. (1998). Class size and student performance in introductory accounting courses: Further evidence. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(1), 47-64. Jensen, K. K. (1999). Training teachers to use verbal immediacy. Communication Research Reports, 16,223-232. Kearney, P., Plax, T. G., Smith, V. R„ & Sorenson, G. (1988). Effects of teacher immediacy and strategy type on college student resistance to on-task demands. Communication Education, 37, 54-67. Kempner, J. J. (1970). An argument for small class size. The Accounting Review, 45(2), 364-366. Lowman, J. (1987). Giving students feedback. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 52(48), 71-83. McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for college and university teachers (9th ed.). Lexington, MA: Heath. Nelson, P. E., & Pearson, J. C. (1999). Large lecture classes. In: J. A. Daly, G. W. Friedrich & A. L. Vangelisti (Eds), Teaching Communication: Theory, Research and Methods (pp. 347-358). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pearson, J. C. (1986). Teaching a large lecture interpersonal communication course. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the speech communication association, Chicago, IL. Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Document No. 278071. Rodriguez, J. I., Plax, T. G., & Kearney, P. (1996). Clarifying therelationshipbetween teacher nonverbal immediacy and student cognitive learning: Affective learning as the central causal mediator. Communication Education, 45,293-305. Schattke, R., & McAllister, L. (1962). Large versus small classes in elementary accounting. The Accounting Review, 3,557-561. Sherman, T. M., Armistead, L. P., Fowler, F, Barksdale, M. A., & Reif, G. (1987). The quest for excellence in university teaching. Journal of Higher Education, 48,66-84.

98

KARLA KAY JENSEN AND JOANN R. SEGOVIA

Weaver, R. L. (1993). Lecturing in the basic course. In: L. Hugenberg, P. L. Gray & D. Trank (Eds), Teaching and Directing the Basic Communications Course (pp. 227-239). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Weaver, R. L., & Cotrell, H. W. (1987). Lecturing: Essential Communication Strategies. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 32(48), 57-69. Wooten, T. C. (1998). Factors influencing student learning in introductory accounting classes: A comparison of traditional and nontraditional students. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(2), 357-373. Wulff, D. H., & Nyquist, J. D. (1999). Selected tools and methods to engage students in learning. In: J. A. Daly, G. W. Friedrich & A. L. Vangelisti (Eds), Teaching Communication: Theory, Research and Methods (pp. 299-318). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

DEVELOPING PERSONAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH SERVICE-LEARNING: A ROLE FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS Gail L. Cook, Curtis L. DeBerg, Alfred R. Michenzi, Bernard J. Milano and Dasaratha V. Rama ABSTRACT This paper examines service-learning (S-L) through student organizations as one way to overcome some of the challenges of course-based S-L and to create additional S-L opportunities for accounting students. Student organizations do not provide typical course-based mechanisms such as syllabi, assignments, and grading. Thus, we focus on alternative ways to establish, communicate, design and assess activities to enhance educational outcomes. We discuss examples of S-L in three organizations in which accounting students may participate: (1) Students in Free Enterprise; (2) Beta Alpha Psi; and (3) accounting clubs. Each of these student organizations must address similar issues in terms of developing S-L However, important differences exist among these organizations. Thus, our examples illustrate ways to adapt an S-L approach to different student organization settings.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,99-120 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05006-5

99

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

100

INTRODUCTION Service-learning (S-L) integrates community service activities with academic study. Rama (1998, pp. 1-2) describes several approaches for integrating community service activities into a variety of accounting courses. Rama et al. (2000, pp. 679-686) examine empirical research on S-L outcomes and discuss how faculty can structure course-based S-L projects to develop a range of complex competencies recommended by various professional groups (e.g. AECC, 1990; AICPA, 2001; Arthur Andersen et al., 1989; Bedford Committee, 1986). In course-based S-L, faculty can structure projects to enhance specific learning outcomes. First, they can select service activities that allow for the application of course material. Second, they can implement assignments that help students connect the service to their coursework. Finally, they can monitor student progress and provide feedback. A key challenge involves finding service projects that allow students to apply course content appropriately in the relatively limited time available during the semester. For example, the time required to help students acquire the necessary background knowledge for technical course-based S-L projects may limit the time available for project work. In this paper, we examine S-L through student organizations as one way to overcome some of the challenges of course-based S-L and to create additional S-L opportunities for accounting students. Several reasons motivate us to explore S-L through student organizations. First, student organizations afford greater flexibility in selecting projects since service activities do not have to be linked directly to a specific course. Second, combining community service activities in student organizations and in courses can increase the development of various competencies. For example, course-based S-L may be more suitable for reinforcing course content and for helping students apply course content to complex, unstructured problems. In contrast, student organizations can provide projects that help students develop personal competencies like professional demeanor, teamwork, leadership, communication, project management, and other skills found in the AICPA Core Competency Framework (CCF) (AICPA, 2001). Third, S-L in student organizations can enhance personal competencies by providing a structure for sustained student involvement over longer periods of time than a typical course. While many student organizations may already involve their members in community service, the emphasis of such activities may be primarily on achieving community outcomes. In contrast, S-L focuses on community service activities that contribute valuable services while simultaneously fostering students' educational growth. Thus, the key question we address in this paper is: How can the service activities of student organizations be deliberately structured to enhance educational outcomes for students!

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

101

We organize the rest of the paper as follows. First, we discuss key design issues in developing S-L in student organizations by highlighting differences between activities in student organizations and course-based projects. Next, we provide an example that illustrates S-L in Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). Subsequent sections examine S-L in Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and in accounting clubs. The last section summarizes and discusses S-L in different student organizations.

S-L IN STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS This section examines S-L in student organizations and offers general guidelines for designing projects. The first part of this section focuses on differences between a typical student organization environment and a classroom environment and explores the implications of these differences in designing S-L activities. The second part examines differences between the student organizations themselves. Faculty should consider the nature of the specific student organizational setting while helping students develop an S-L approach. S-L in Student Organizations versus Course-based S-L Table 1 summarizes the differences between S-L in a student organization and in a classroom. S-L Outcomes Student organizations must establish clear educational outcomes for S-L and then identify ways to accomplish these outcomes. Course-based S-L achieves some outcomes more thoroughly. For example, faculty cannot teach specialized accounting knowledge in a student organization. However, students can practice the accounting knowledge acquired in courses by participating in a student organization's S-L activity. Accounting programs can develop integrated approaches that link course-based S-L with service activities of student organizations. The SIFE example discussed in this paper illustrates an integrated approach that builds upon the relative strengths of both. Role of Students in Project Management Outcomes can differ because the roles of students and faculty differ in coursebased S-L and in student organizations. Organizations such as BAP and SIFE emphasize student ownership of service activities. Thus, outcomes like project management, communication, and leadership listed in the AICPA Framework are particularly well suited to BAP and SIFE projects. Further, such student

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

102

Table 1. S-L in a Student Organization versus Course-based S-L.

Outcomes Project management

Service activities

Reflection

Assessment

S-L in a Student Organization

Course-based S-L

Project management, leadership, communication Emphasis on student ownership of service activities and project management Focus on project goals and skills required to complete the project successfully Annual reports, assessment of project's effectiveness, presentations, mentoring, discussions with and among students, discussions with faculty and community members served, budget analysis for time expended and manpower utilized Annual reports, assessments of project's effectiveness, reports to community members served, presentations at regional/national competitions, budget analysis of time and manpower expended

Aligned with course outcomes Typically managed by faculty

Focus on course requirements and skills required to complete the course Journals, project papers, presentations

Assignments, examinations, project grades, quizzes, homework

organizations can probably address these outcomes more easily than course-based projects. In our SIFE and accounting club examples, students assume project management responsibilities after they have gained experience for one or two semesters. In contrast, students may not be able to assume significant project management responsibilities in a brief S-L experience integrated into a course with additional requirements. Finally, student organizations can establish procedures for identifying and assessing outcomes. In a course, instructors communicate outcomes through syllabi and assignments. Student organizations do not provide these mechanisms for communicating outcomes and requirements. We identify several alternative communication approaches that appear effective in this environment. Service Activities Student organizations must select service activities to support desired educational outcomes. They also must consider the mission of the organization, the interests and skills of students, and the resources available for S-L. Student organizations with members from several disciplines may emphasize service projects that involve

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

103

broad business knowledge but do not require specialized accounting knowledge (e.g. SIFE). If the members of a student organization must be accounting majors, it is possible to focus on accounting-related service projects (e.g. VITA). Structured Reflection Many educators have underscored the importance of reflection in experience-based pedagogies including S-L and have offered guidelines on designing reflection (Eyler et al., 1996, pp. 154-159; Rama, 2001). The term "structured reflection" here refers to a thoughtfully constructed process that is designed to: (1) challenge and guide students in examining critical issues related to their service-learning project; (2) connect the service experience to business/accounting knowledge; and (3) develop skills and values. Prior literature has identified several forms of structured reflection including journals, presentations, informal and formal discussions, and integrative papers (Eyler et al., 1996, pp. 105-119; Goldsmith, 1995, pp. 21-28). In a course setting, faculty can add reflection activities such as journals, end of project papers, and presentations to course requirements. In a student organization setting, we cannot assign papers or journals and grade them. Thus, we have to find other ways to incorporate structured reflection into S-L projects. National organizations such as SIFE and BAP provide several opportunities for reflection through the annual report preparation process, annual assessment of effectiveness of the organization, regional/national presentations, and mentoring activities. Faculty advisors also can suggest other opportunities for reflection including presentations by professionals/community leaders, informal discussions among students, and meetings between students and faculty. We discuss how to structure each of these activities to support desired learning outcomes. Assessment Assessment has multiple purposes. It gives students feedback, indicating what is expected of them, what they have done well, what they need to improve on, and how to do so (cf. Learn and Serve America National Service-Learning and Assessment Study Group, 1999, Chap. 1, p. 3). Assessment also provides evaluation. Since faculty cannot use such course-based mechanisms as assignments and grades in student organizations, we will explore alternative assessment opportunities available to student organizations. Structured reflections conducted on an ongoing basis is key to providing feedback and assessing student progress towards S-L goals. Regional/national competitions of organizations such as BAP and SIFE provide formal evaluation.

104

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

Whether we consider informal assessments that occur during reflection activities (e.g. student discussions with a faculty advisor) or formal external evaluations, most assessment data currently used to evaluate S-L projects lie in the area of authentic assessment. Authentic assessment involves students in meaningful activities that require high order thinking skills and the coordination of the knowledge gained in their curriculum (Hart, 1994, pp. 9-12). Examples of authentic assessment data include student organizations' annual reports, oral presentations, reports from members of the community, and the number of community members who continue to desire the presence of college students in their agencies and schools. In the SIFE and BAP examples, the final and most important step of authentic assessment occurs when students compare their work with that of their peers at regional and national competitions.

S-L in Different Student Organizations The previous section explained important differences between S-L in courses and S-L in student organizations. Because faculty and students should consider the nature of the specific student organization in designing S-L, the following sections describe S-L in three different environments - SIFE, BAP, and accounting clubs. Table 2 highlights key differences in S-L in the three environments. As seen from Table 2, SIFE provides the greatest structure for S-L. The national organization establishes goals, provides guidance on the nature of service activities, and creates structured reflection opportunities through regional/national meetings. BAP also has a national structure; however, individual chapters have more choice in terms of goals, service activities, reflection, and assessment. Accounting clubs do not provide a comparable national structure. As a result of the greater structure SIFE offers, the example discussed below provides the most reflection and assessment activities. In addition, the SIFE team described in this paper has sponsored such activities for eight years. However, we believe that a discussion of a pilot implementation (BAP) also adds value to this paper. The discussion of BAP identifies issues a student organization needs to consider while developing an S-L approach. As seen from this example, a chapter may require considerable time and effort to establish outcomes and develop a structure that fosters student ownership of service activities, reflection, and assessment. The accounting club example offers ideas to help organizations that lack national structure and support. We make two key points in this discussion. First, the faculty advisor needs to assume leadership in steering the club towards S-L. Second, accounting clubs can explore and develop partnerships with other

Assessment

Reflection

Service activities

Project management

Outcomes

Chapter establishes specific goals

Chapter aligns with service goals of national organization Chapter creates structure for students to manage projects Chapter develops service activities that are aligned to SIFE's mission and goals Chapter creates reflection opportunities through discussions, presentations, and annual reports Chapter reflection activities can take advantage of well-structured annual report/presentation requirements for regional/national meetings Chapter coaches/mentors other teams Mission and activities of national organization provide structure for assessing S-L Chapter creates reflection opportunities through discussions, presentations, and annual reports Chapter reflection activities can take advantage of annual report/presentation opportunities at regional/national meetings Chapter coaches/mentors other teams Mission and activities of national organization provide structure for assessing S-L

Chapter creates structure for students to manage projects Chapter designs appropriate service activities

BAP

SIFE

Table 2. S-L in SIFE, BAP, and Accounting Club.

Club designs assessment activities

Club creates reflection opportunities through discussions, presentations, and reports

Accounting club establishes outcomes Club creates structure for students to manage projects Accounting club designs service activities

Accounting Club

I

s-

SC

3

3

I

I

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

106

national organizations. The club described below established partnerships with Junior Achievement and the Scholastic Book Club.

S-L IN SIFE SIFE is a non-profit educational organization that partners with business and higher education. SIFE gives college students the opportunity to establish community outreach programs that teach others how market economies and businesses operate. Currently, SIFE has about 30,000 student members at over 1,300 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and, recently, in 32 other countries. It is open to all business majors as well as students in other disciplines. Furthermore, it has no minimum scholastic standards or academic level, although individual SIFE teams may require such standards. SIFE projects can help students learn basic business and accounting concepts as well as develop personal competencies, especially project management and communication skills. The discussion below first explains how to establish outcomes and design reflection activities. We then explain how the SIFE organization assesses the S-L activity. We show how one SIFE team from a large public university in California has structured its activities to enhance these outcomes. The term SIFE-C refers to the specific SIFE chapter described in this study in order to distinguish it from the national organization.

Regional/National Competitions Each spring, SIFE teams compete against one another in regional and national sites throughout the world, including 19 sites in other countries. In the U.S., the 20 regional winners participate in a national competition. Since July 2001, national winners have participated in SIFE's "World Cup." Such competitions provide a framework for establishing and communicating outcomes, as well as for assessing S-L in SIFE. S-L Outcomes Table 3 relates the judging criteria for SIFE competitions to elements of project management and communication competencies in the AICPA Framework. For example, one AICPA element of project management is the ability to determine project goals (AICPA, 2001). SIFE criteria provide specific guidelines for project goals. A second AICPA element involves measuring project success. SIFE's judging criterion 5 requires students to measure and document the results of their

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

107

Table 3. SIFE Judging Criteria versus AICPA Core Competencies. SIFE Criteria

AICPA Core Competency Framework

How creative, innovative and effective were the students in Project Management teaching: • Determines project goals 1. How free markets work in the global economy? 2. How businesses operate by identifying a market need and then profitably producing and marketing a product or service to fill that need? 3. The personal entrepreneurial, communications, technology andfinancialmanagement skills needed to successfully compete 4. Practicing business in an ethical and socially responsible manner that supports the principles of a market economy. In their educational programs, how effective were the students at: 5. Measuring the results of their projects.

Project Management • Measures project progress

6. Utilizing mass media and the Internet. 7. Involving non-business majors and utilizing a Business Advisory Board.

Project Management • Realistically estimates time and resource requirements • Allocates project resources to maximize results • Effectively manages human resources that are committed to the project

8. Communicating their program through their written report and verbal presentation.

Communication • Organizes and effectively displays information so that it is meaningful to the receiving party • Expresses information and concepts with conciseness and clarity when writing and speaking • Places information in appropriate context when listening, reading, writing and speaking • Selects appropriate media for dissemination or accumulation of information • Uses interpersonal skills to facilitate effective interaction

108

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

projects. Another AICPA competency involves obtaining and managing resources for a project. SIFE criteria 6 and 7 require students to discuss the use of specific resources - the Business Advisory Board (BAB), students from non-business disciplines, and mass media and the Internet. Judging criterion 8 assesses communication competencies similar to those in the AICPA CCF namely: (1) selects appropriate media for dissemination or accumulation of information; and (2) uses interpersonal skills to facilitate effective interaction (AICPA, 2001). Other communication skills in the AICPA CCF include selecting and organizing relevant information for a given context and presenting it in a concise and clear manner. Judging criteria 1-7 offer specific guidance on appropriate information for SIFE reports/presentations. For example, criterion 7 suggests that students must discuss ways they utilized the BAB in their projects. To design and execute projects according to criteria 1-4, students need broad business and basic accounting knowledge. In SIFE-C, students can apply knowledge learned in an introductory business or principles of accounting course to a SIFE project. We do not consider further in this paper the business/accounting knowledge competencies required for SIFE projects that students acquire through coursework. Rather, we focus on ways SIFE-C structured activities enhance project management and communication skills. To summarize, the judging criteria offer a mechanism for communicating educational outcomes of SIFE projects to students and thus represent the equivalent of a syllabus in a course. Judging criteria also help students understand how the judges assess student skills. Thus, the criteria play a role similar to grading policies/ exams in a course. Under an S-L approach, the faculty advisor could explain how these criteria relate to competencies desired by the accounting profession. Structured Reflection SIFE teams submit annual reports and make 30-minute multimedia presentations at competitions. These activities provide opportunities for extensive reflection on SIFE projects. In a course project, the instructor typically provides report requirements and presentation guidelines in order to guide student reflection. Similarly in SIFE, the judging criteria direct student reflection. A faculty advisor can enhance the educational value of SIFE projects by relating the annual report and presentation activities to AICPA CCF and other competency definitions. Assessment Regional/national competitions represent a significant opportunity for authentic assessment. Judges at such competitions include nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs, CEOs, and other business leaders. The SIFE home office makes the score sheets

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

109

and judges' comments available to the teams. The structuring of SIFE activities also supports other forms of external assessment. For example, judging criterion 6 measures students' effectiveness in utilizing the mass media and the Internet. In order to get media attention, SIFE students must practice their communication skills with different audiences, and their success in getting attention forms another external assessment of a communication outcome.

SIFE-C Activities Regional/national competitions provide the basic framework for establishing and communicating outcomes, structuring student reflection, and assessing S-L. As noted above, these mechanisms are analogous to syllabi, assignments, and exams in a course. A course-based project requires additional activities for effective S-L such as lectures and discussions of concepts needed for S-L, team discussions, and interim reviews of student progress. While traditional lecture/discussion methods may not be feasible in student organizations, a SIFE team can structure its routine activities to prepare students for service activities, to support the development of various competencies, and to provide feedback. The SIFE-C team has used several such activities designed to address the diverging needs of inexperienced and experienced students. SIFE-C incorporates reflection activities before, during, and after the service experience in order to enhance learning (Eyler et al., 1996, p. 17; Rama, 2001). Meeting with Faculty Advisor The faculty advisor and the SIFE-C team review comments from judges at the SIFE competitions. The team uses this feedback to develop goals and activities for the next year. For example, in the previous year judges may have identified project assessment as one area requiring additional attention. Such feedback can enhance students' project management competencies in several ways. First, it increases their awareness of the importance of assessment. Second, such feedback stimulates additional research and discussion of better ways to assess outcomes. Third, students have to focus on assessment issues throughout the year. Even as they are setting goals and deciding on projects, they have to devise assessment methods and collect data on an ongoing basis. The faculty advisor can help students connect the feedback to their planning process and project outcomes. Orientation At the beginning of every semester, veteran students organize an orientation session. SIFE-C officers/project leaders describe SIFE goals, judging

110

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

criteria, projects, and other activities involving travel and presentations to freshmen/sophomore students. Experienced students get a chance to practice their communication skills. Since students explain SIFE-C projects in terms of judging criteria and goals, the orientation session gives everyone an opportunity to reflect on project management issues as well as the associated communication issues early in the year. Other benefits include the following: (1) Inexperienced students can understand SIFE-C activities and educational outcomes. (2) Faculty advisors could encourage experienced students to relate SIFE activities and outcomes to educational goals. (3) Inexperienced students' motivation to join SIFE may increase if they see connections between SIFE activities and professional skills. SIFE-C Meetings The SIFE-C president organizes regular meetings with the entire SIFE team and with project leaders separately. These meetings provide extensive opportunities to reflect on project goals, resource generation/utilization, and project progress. Inexperienced students also benefit as such meetings increase awareness of project management and communication issues, and thus prepare them to assume project management roles in the future. Review Others' Work One way for students to learn to communicate effectively is to review annual reports and presentations other students have prepared. Experienced students can review prior year annual reports, scripts of presentations, and videos of earlier presentations while preparing their own annual report and presentation. For example, the 2001 annual report includes the following sections: History, Profile, Organization, Ethics, Projects, Project Highlights (number of students served, number of hours, project growth from previous years), and Linking Projects (to judging criteria). By reviewing this report, students in subsequent years can learn how to select appropriate information about their projects and how to organize and present this information. The SIFE-C team also provides opportunities for inexperienced students to enhance their communication skills. Such students could earn bonus points in an introductory business/accounting course by reviewing the current year's presentation script according to the judging criteria and providing feedback. Students also could consider competency definitions such as those in the AICPA CCF while reviewing others' work.

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

111

Feedback from Faculty/Business Advisory Board To prepare for the regional and national competitions, SIFE students make presentations to faculty and the BAB. The teams use faculty and BAB feedback to refine the team's presentation and enhance each student's oral communication skills. The BAB also helps the SIFE team in identifying the most effective speakers to represent the team in the competitions. Linking SIFE Projects to Courses In addition to the above activities for learning project management and communication skills, SIFE students also can formally acquire these skills through coursework. Students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and commitment to the SIFE-C team can earn three hours of credit for a course titled 'Technology, Teamwork and Leadership." Students learn such skills as computer animation, scripting, storyboarding, videotaping, and digital photography, and they develop a 30-minute multimedia presentation for the SIFE competitions using these skills. Mentoring and Coaching Others SIFE encourages experienced teams to adopt new teams and travel to other campuses to make presentations to students, faculty, administrators, and business advisers. The SIFE-C team has made several presentations on college campuses to describe how to start SIFE teams on their college campus and to help prepare for SIFE competitions. The SIFE team also mentors high schools in starting SIFE teams. Students in new SIFE teams acquire the relevant communication skills through such mentoring. At the same time, more students from experienced teams can practice their communication skills. Summary This section has focused on ways in which SIFE-C structured its activities to enhance educational outcomes. SIFE-C provides experienced students extensive opportunities to develop and manage projects, to present the chapter's activities at regional/national meetings, and to mentor others. These activities can help students develop a range of personal competencies. Assessment data support the effectiveness of this team's approach. The SIFE-C team has advanced to the nationals in each of the last eight years from 1994. Between 1999 and 2001, the SIFE-C team earned a national championship in one year and placed in the top 10 and 12 finalists in the other two years. The fact that the team continues and extends many of its projects is also an indicator of success since community partners are likely to encourage successful initiatives.

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

112 BAP

BAP and SIFE provide similar environments for S-L in many ways. Both are national organizations with members from multiple disciplines and various stages in academic programs. Further, BAP chapters can apply for best practices awards in three key areas including service (Beta Alpha Psi, 2001). Chapters applying for these awards must submit a report that specifies outcomes, number of members participating, number of hours spent on the project, non-members involved in the activity, and an assessment of outcomes. The initial presentation occurs at a regional meeting. The BAP Board and National Advisory Forum members evaluate these presentations. The reports and presentations can serve the same role as SIFE competitions in guiding S-L. BAP (2001) shows abstracts of the reports for chapters who won the best practice awards. Differences between BAP and SIFE have important implications for S-L. First, SIFE criteria guide the development of educational outcomes and service activities of individual SIFE chapters. BAP chapters have more flexibility in selecting educational outcomes and service activities and thus can tailor S-L to the needs and interests of a specific chapter. The best practice awards for 2001 (Beta Alpha Psi, 2001) illustrate the variations in service activities across chapters. If a chapter consists primarily of accounting majors, it can focus on accounting related service activities. For example, Beta Alpha Psi (2001) gave one best practice award to the Epsilon Omega chapter. This chapter developed a non-profit bureau that provides a variety of accounting services to non-profits including tax returns, implementation of accounting systems, activity-based costing of services, development of policies and procedures manuals, and evaluation of internal controls. Other award winners participated in varied activities including fundraising and outreach activities to area schools to address concerns over declining enrollment in accounting program. Because of their flexibility, BAP chapters may need to spend more time and effort prioritizing outcomes and activities. The following discussion explains how one chapter in a college in Maryland, developed a pilot S-L implementation. While a mature implementation (e.g. the SIFE-C implementation) or an implementation that emphasizes accounting services may be better suited for demonstrating the overall value of the S-L approach for an accounting program, a pilot implementation often provides useful insights that can help any chapter initiate this approach. The issues raised in this discussion are relevant regardless of the specific service, reflection, or assessment approaches used. As with the SIFE example, we distinguish between the overall BAP organization and the particular chapter (BAP-M). BAP-M has around twenty-five members and pledges annually. Almost all students live on or very near the campus. The college's mission supports service

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

113

to others and offers many such opportunities for students. Students are generally active in service and embrace these opportunities. S-L Outcomes The first step in developing the pilot project was to select appropriate outcomes. For reasons discussed before, BAP-M chose project management as one category of outcomes for S-L. Since BAP's mission includes developing a commitment to service, lifelong growth, and ethical conduct, BAP-M identified civic engagement as a second relevant outcome for the chapter's S-L implementation. Service Activities and Reflection The process used to enhance project management was very similar to our SIFE example and is explained briefly. The process consisted of: (1) an initial meeting between the faculty advisor and students; (2) planning meetings of students only; (3) a discussion of the project plan by the student vice president and faculty advisor; (4) informal reflection during project execution; and (5) a wrap-up reflection activity (a student self-report). At the initial meeting, the faculty advisor explained the rationale for including project management and civic engagement as outcomes of S-L. To support the civic engagement outcomes, the faculty advisor suggested that the chapter explore opportunities to work with accounting professionals in a service activity. Accounting professionals can serve as role models for students in developing a commitment to service and reinforcing the concept of the profession giving its time and talents back to the community. In addition to an appropriate service activity, the advisor explained the need for structured reflection to support this outcome. He suggested that the chapter ask professionals to describe their community involvement. The purpose of the presentation was to help students understand the civic responsibility of professionals, the role of community service activities in supporting lifelong learning, and the benefits of community involvement to themselves, their employers, the profession, and the community. The student vice president and chapter members then discussed possible projects. One member suggested the Christmas in Spring project, which is sponsored by more than 20 local organizations and corporations. The purpose of the project was for business professionals to go to a local low-income neighborhood and do house repairs, clean up, yard work, painting, and trash removal. BAP-M selected this activity since it required close cooperation between students and professionals in performing the service activity and the activity's short duration.

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

114

Assessment Because this was a pilot project, the focus of the assessment activity was on getting feedback about the S-L approach and how it could be enhanced in the future. Students reacted positively to the fact that business professionals spent their time on a weekend participating in these events. Student comments suggest that actual participation of professionals may have a greater impact in helping students think about community involvement than a presentation by a participating professional. In the future, the chapter will continue to explore possibilities for tying service activities to those of accounting professionals, which will better support reflection activities on community involvement/civic responsibility. Students identified several ways to improve S-L. They underscored the need for planning the project well in advance to ensure that more students can participate. They also suggested that the chapter should pay more attention to planning the details of the service and then communicating these details to all stakeholders. Finally, they suggested that in the future the chapter should identify service activities that match the skills and interests of the members. Students felt that their contribution to the project was limited because they did not have enough experience in home repairs. National reporting requirements represent an additional assessment measure. The chapter's report described the project and the participation level of the members to meet the standards set by the national organization.

Accounting Clubs Our final example illustrates how an accounting club can implement an S-L approach. Accounting clubs differ from the earlier examples in two major ways. First, accounting clubs lack the national structure and organization that can guide S-L. Second, accounting clubs may not have a service requirement. We discuss how these differences affect S-L in an accounting club environment. We consider two solutions in the discussion below. First, we suggest that an accounting club explore partnerships with national organizations. Second, a faculty champion needs to encourage students to adopt S-L. S-L Outcomes Accounting clubs have flexibility in establishing outcomes. Given that such a club usually includes only accounting majors, it can emphasize projects that require accounting knowledge (e.g. VITA). Since accounting clubs do not have mechanisms like the judging criteria for SIFE, faculty advisors must devise ways to communicate educational outcomes to students. Also, accounting clubs

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

115

starting an S-L program may not get the same type of support available to a new SIFE team from more experienced SIFE teams or from the national office. One possibility is for the accounting club to coordinate its activities with established programs such as VITA or Junior Achievement. Membership of the accounting club described in this paper varies between 8 and 20 participants per year. The students have strong ties to the local community and a corresponding desire to "give something back." The faculty advisor suggested S-L projects to the club officers at the yearly organizational meeting. The desired outcomes for these projects included application of business knowledge, civic engagement, small-scale project management, and oral communication. The two projects the group chose were volunteering with Junior Achievement (JA) and establishing a Scholastic Book Club (SBC) for the on-campus Child Care Center. The accounting club selected these projects because the faculty advisor had contacts with the two groups, and the club could implement the projects in a short time. Service Activities and Reflection The general process for these projects consisted of: (1) identifying an officer to take the lead in overseeing the project; (2) gathering information from JA and SBC; (3) recruiting student volunteers, which included informal reflection activities; and (4) informal reflection during a self-assessment as the students handed over the project to the next group. To gather information about JA (Junior Achievement, 2002), the accounting club asked the local JA representative to make a presentation at a meeting open to all business majors. The representative explained the purpose of JA: to bring business and economics programs into K-12 classes. Specifically, JA recruited university students to teach the grades 5 and 6 programs. A number of students at the meeting had previously participated in JA and spoke about the benefits of the programs. Students volunteered either individually or in teams to teach the JA program. JA provided training and all materials for the volunteers. The students were responsible for arranging times (approximately one hour a week for six weeks) with their assigned classroom teachers, preparing for the sessions, showing up on time, and teaching the JA lessons. The faculty advisor regularly observed students making plans, discussing their materials, and sharing classroom stories. Students shared positive experiences and benefits of participating in JA in each of the next two terms when recruiting new volunteers.

116

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

The accounting club officer in charge of the SBC project gathered information from the SBC website (Scholastic Book Club, 2002), called the customer service representative, and coordinated with the director of the Child Care Center. Each month students distributed fliers with short letters explaining the ordering process and due date. They also posted a notice at the Child Care Center; collected, recorded, and tallied orders and money; placed the orders with SBC; and made the payment. Finally, they distributed the books to the parents. The students reconciled any discrepancies between their record keeping system and the books received. The system tracked orders, numbers of each book ordered, bonus books ordered, payments received, and payments made to SBC. The second year's group continued this system. The first year's students explained the system to the incoming officers. Although the second group did not have to develop the system, they did have to manage it on a month-by-month basis. Also, students considered improvements to prior year's processes. Assessment Accounting club volunteers covered approximately twelve JA classes during the first year of participation and another seven classes during the second year (membership in the accounting club was very low in year two). The local JA office made a donation to the club for each class a student member taught. Students who taught two classes in a year were eligible to apply for JA scholarships. Many of the students did teach two classes in the year; however, most accounting club members were graduating seniors and, could not use the scholarship the following year. The local JA office also collected information from the classroom teachers and student volunteers about the JA experience. Classroom teachers provided positive feedback about the student volunteers. The SBC program generated between $7.00 and $30.00 per month in free books for the Child Care Center. Additionally, the Child Care Center staff accumulated points, which they used to purchase other classroom materials. The parents and staff looked forward to receiving their new flier each month. Although only two accounting club students participated each year in this activity, these students did comment positively about the opportunity to manage this small-scale project and apply their knowledge in a limited setting. This type of project could be expanded into other childcare centers or the local elementary schools to provide an opportunity for more students to participate. Additional assessment tools might consist of simple budgets for sales and expected profits and evaluation of services provided by the students. Reflection could consist of student discussions with the Child Care Center staff detailing the use of budgets and the value of the student participation.

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning

117

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION This paper explored the use of an S-L approach in three types of student organizations in which accounting students participate. Key issues to address in implementing S-L include: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

establishing outcomes; communicating outcomes; selecting service activities; designing reflection; and assessing S-L.

Because mechanisms like syllabi and grades are not applicable in this environment, we identified other means for addressing such issues. We discussed the key role played by regional/national competitions in each of these areas. Because accounting clubs do not have such competitions, faculty advisors play a critical role in developing the educational potential of service projects. Student organizations should structure routine activities to foster critical reflection on service activities in light of the project's educational objectives. Examples include the following: (1) (2) (3) (4)

meetings with the faculty advisor; informal discussions among team members; orientation/training sessions conducted by experienced students; presentations from current to incoming officers/members on prior year's goals and activities, progress made, and lessons learned; and (5) presentations by professionals/community leaders.

Finally, student organizations should explore appropriate assessment techniques. Assessment is crucial for providing feedback and enhancing learning. Regional/national competitions provide a more formal evaluative assessment similar to grades in a course-based project. We considered differences between different student organizations in each of the above areas. While significant differences exist, some core strategies can be used in any setting. These include: (1) establishing clear education outcomes for service activities; (2) identifying and prioritizing service activities that can contribute to these outcomes; (3) encouraging student ownership of service activities and the associated reflection/assessment activities; and (4) planning for continuity.

118

GAIL L. COOK ET AL.

If a student organization has only accounting students, the organization can focus on accounting related services to develop discipline-specific competencies in addition to personal competencies.

Limitations A key challenge in implementing an S-L approach in student organizations involves resource constraints. Student organizations must consider available funds, student time, institutional support, and faculty time. Faculty guidance is critical in enhancing the educational value of service activities. Lack of formal rewards and recognition for faculty may present a major barrier to the adoption of this approach. However, the faculty time commitment is not as high as in course-based projects since students assume significant responsibility for organizing and managing projects. Further, we believe that this problem is not unique to S-L, and accounting programs must address this issue systematically as they move from an information dissemination model of teaching to competency driven learning environments. The educational and competency development value of S-L will vary depending on the type of service activities. Extended service activities (e.g. SIFE example) are more likely to provide greater benefit to students than short-term experiences (e.g. BAP example). Service activities such as VITA allow students to apply course based and/or disciplinary knowledge in addition to developing personal competencies. Further, students must have the opportunity to participate in several phases of the service activities (project management, communication, travel, mentoring, etc.) thus enhancing their learning and competencies. The service and associated activities represent a significant time commitment for students. Another challenge involves ensuring that student volunteers and faculty have adequate training in S-L. A major advantage of SIFE is the extensive support available to new teams developing and implementing S-L. One promising direction for the future development of S-L in student organizations involves coordination across various student organizations. In particular, BAP and accounting clubs can develop partnerships with SIFE teams since SIFE membership is open to students at all stages of their academic program. BAP and accounting clubs can extend the basic community service, project management, and communication experiences obtained from an affiliation with SIFE and develop more specialized skills through their service projects. Finally, S-L through student organizations complements but does not replace course-based competency development. While organizational budgets, formal reports, competition, etc. do provide structure; these are not formal mechanisms

Developing Personal Competencies Through Service-Learning like syllabi, lectures, assignments, exams, significant individual feedback, and grades. Hence student organizations cannot be the primary means for developing certain competencies. On the other hand, accounting graduates require numerous complex competencies to succeed in the profession. Accounting programs must address the challenge of developing these competencies in the limited time available. Leveraging the existing service activities of student organizations to enhance various competencies thus represents a promising approach for accounting programs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank Bill Schwartz, the editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments, suggestions and insights. Their efforts and assistance have greatly improved this paper.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: Position statement number one. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(2), 307-312. American Accounting Association (AAA), Committee on the Future Structure, Content, and Scope of Accounting Education (The Bedford Committee) (1986). Future accounting education: Preparing for the expanding profession. Issues in Accounting Education, 1(1), 168-195. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (2001). AICPA core competency framework for entry into the accounting profession. New York, NY: AICPA http://www. aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm Arthur Andersen & Co., Arthur Young, Coopers & Lybrand, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Ernst & Whinney, Peat, Marwick Main & Co., Price Waterhouse, and Touche Ross (1989). Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession. New York, NY. Beta Alpha Psi (2001). http://www.bap.org Eyler, J., Giles, D. E., Jr., & Schmiede, A. (1996). A practitioner's guide to reflection in service-learning: Student voices and reflections. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University. Goldsmith, S. (1995). Journal reflection: A resource guide for community service leaders and educators engaged in service-learning. Washington, DC: The American Alliance for Rights & Responsibilities. Hart, D. (1994). Authentic assessment: A handbook for educators. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Junior Achievement (2002). http://www.ja.org Learn and Serve America National Service-Learning and Assessment Study Group (1999). Servicelearning and assessment: Afield guidefor teachers. Available from http://www.servicelearning. org/library/online.documents/pdfs/assess.guide_pdf Rama, D. V. (Ed.) (1998). Learning by doing: Concepts and modelsfor service-learning in accounting. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

119

120

GAIL L. COOK ETAL.

Rama, D. V. (2001). Using structured reflection to enhance learning from service. Providence, RI: http://www.compact.org/disciplines/reflection Rama, D. V., Ravencroft, S., Wolcott, S. IC, & Zlotkowski, E. (2000). Service-learning outcomes: Guidelines for educators and researchers. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(4), 656-692. Scholastic Book Club (2002). http://www.scholastic.com

ASSESSMENT OF INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNTING COURSES: THE KEY TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Michael F. Cornick, Sak Bhamornsiri and Edward G. Malmgren ABSTRACT Assessment has become increasingly important for accreditation as well as a means for other constituents to identify high quality accounting programs. This paperfocuses on two Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) used in Principles I and II by the Department ofAccounting at a large. Southeastern, Urban University. These CATs provide faculty with assessment techniques necessary for continuous improvement in the delivery and content in the two Principles courses. The two CATs address assessment in two linked ways. First, the coordinator distributes to the Principles faculty a questionnaire that provides a basis for discussing broad general areas such as communication and teamwork The second CAT is a student questionnaire that asks students about their perceptions regarding content and delivery of material. The second questionnaire uses a Likert scale that allows the calculation of statistically significant changes. Thus, faculty can see changes in student perceptions, and if the changes are significant. The Department's goal is to have a high score on all points. The coordinator gives the results of the student surveys to the faculty teaching Principles. The student survey information is then combined with Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,121-128 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05007-7 121

122

M. F. CORNICK, S. BHAMORNSIRI AND E. G. MALMGREN

information/mm thefaculty survey. The assessment ofthese data may result in changes in the courses. In conclusion, the monitoring of both surveys allows the Department to implement a philosophy of continuous improvement.

INTRODUCTION Accounting departments, as well as other functional business areas, are increasingly under pressure to assess the outcomes of programs and courses. The Association for Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) requires outcomes assessment as part of its accreditation review process (AACSB, 1991, pp. 2-3). Other constituents such as legislators, parents, and students are also focusing on assessment as a way to identify quality programs. According to the American Accounting Association's (AAA) "Assessment for the New Curriculum: A Guide for Professional Accounting Programs," the definition of assessment is "the systematic collection, interpretation, and use of information on student characteristics, the educational environment, and learning outcomes to improve student learning and satisfaction" (AAA, 1995). As seen from the above definition, the scope of assessment goes beyond simply the recording of grades and school ratings based on the perceived quality of a program. Assessment focuses on what students actually learn. Assessment can be divided into two categories, Outcomes Assessment and Classroom Assessment. Outcomes Assessment typically consists of large-scale, administration-controlled studies at the program level. Thus administrators perform this assessment to determine what students have learned at various key points in their study of accounting. Harwood and Cohen (1999, p. 693) define "Classroom Assessment" as, "assessment designed to determine what students are learning and what skills students are developing in any single class." The focus of this paper is on Classroom Assessment for Principles of Accounting. The design and implementation of Classroom Assessment requires the building of a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) with a feedback loop. In general, for any course, the instructor must decide what question or questions to address and then collect from students information about the question or questions. After collecting the student information, the instructor must analyze the information in order to make appropriate changes in the course to improve learning. The process is continuous. In her article, Apostolou (1999, p. 194) stated, "the primary purpose of Outcomes Assessment is continuous improvement of a program." Since Outcomes Assessment and Classroom Assessment are linked, one can state that the primary purpose of Classroom Assessment is the continuous improvement in the class being measured.

Assessment of Introductory Accounting Courses

123

An accounting department should strive for continuous improvement in the delivery of material to students taking introductory accounting courses. This study focuses on the assessment of the two Principles of Accounting courses at a large (enrollment 18,300) Urban University in the Southeast. For any given semester, a total of approximately 1,000 students enroll in both Principles I and II. There are approximately 20 sections with 40-60 students in each section. The sections are taught by four, tenured/tenure-track faculty andfive,part-time (adjunct) instructors (who teach over half the sections). Since adjunct instructors teach over one half of the Principles sections, the Department feels that it is important for part-time faculty to participate in the assessment process. The Department has no formal mechanism requiring participation, but at the time of being hired and throughout their tenure, the Department Chair strongly encourages part-time instructors to participate in the assessment process. To date, the Department has enjoyed a 100% participation rate for the adjunct instructors. To accommodate working students, there are four night sections and one Saturday morning section. A coordinator, either an instructor or tenured/tenure-track faculty member, administers each Principles course. The coordinator is ultimately responsible for both the class syllabus and course exams, but seeks faculty input from all teachers regarding course and test content. It is the purpose of this paper to describe two Classroom Assessment techniques that allow the university's accounting department to evaluate the effectiveness of the Principles courses and to make improvements, when needed, on a timely basis.

FIRST ASSESSMENT MEASURE At the beginning of each semester, the coordinator distributes to the Principles faculty the first CAT, which is a questionnaire (Fig. 1) designed to measure understanding of the perspectives that form the context for business. The survey measures faculty perceptions of the frequency of coverage and methods of coverage for 13 key areas. Among the key areas are oral and written communication, teamwork, and computer proficiency. The faculty selected the above, and other items, because accounting and other businessfirmsrequire employees with greater breadth of knowledge and skills, in addition to technical competency. The faculty felt that technical competency could be measured by test scores. However, the faculty wanted coverage of areas other than those that are technical, so the questionnaire topics reflect the extent to which faculty cover important non-technical areas. Upon receipt of the questionnaire, the coordinator convenes a meeting of the Principles faculty to discuss the results of the survey. At this meeting, the faculty

•

Rarely

1

- 1

Moderately

Frequently

Fig. 1. Faculty Questionnaire.

No coverage

Course Title

During the semester 1-3 times, rarely; 4-6 times, moderate; over 6 times, frequently.

Oral communication Written communication Computer proficiency Research skills Teamwork Diversity issues Ethical issues Environmental issues Global/international Legal/regulatory Social issues Political issues Internet usage

Topic

Frequency of Coverage

Topical Coverage of Skills and Business Perspectives in ACCT-

Lecture

Reading

Methods of Coverage

-

Homework/case s

Other

o

k

b

C/3

o

a

n

O O

Assessment of Introductory Accounting Courses

125

can decide appropriate strategies for future semesters. Thus, information from the survey allows the faculty to respond quickly to course needs.

SECOND ASSESSMENT MEASURE Linked to the first measure is the second CAT, a questionnaire (Fig. 2) used to survey students. This survey provides student feedback regarding perceptions of the introductory accounting courses. At the end of each semester, principles instructors ask all Principles students to respond to 12 items to determine if the objectives of the Principles courses have been met. For example, at the end of the Fall Semester of 1999, the coordinator distributed 1,000 questionnaires to Principles students. Students returned 225 for a response rate of 22.5%. The faculty questioned whether a non-response bias existed and felt that the returned questionnaires were representative of the total principles population. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale that allowed the course coordinator to calculate a mean value for each of the 12 items. The coordinator chose the five-point scale so he could report a midlevel score. Additionally, the Likert scale provides data that allow the coordinator to compare the results of one semester with the results from previous semesters. This result allows the coordinator to determine if the Principles faculty progressed in achieving stated goals. One example of such a comparison appears in Fig. 3. In this example, one can compare the Fall 1999 student perceptions with those from Spring 2000. We used a f-test to determine if any differences were statistically significant. In reviewing the results from Fall 1999, we noted that the average score for the item "Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my Internet skills" was only 2.47. The faculty considered the score to be unacceptable. As a result, during the Spring 2000 semester, the faculty assigned more Internet projects, and the average score for this item increased to 2.80, which is a statistically significant improvement. The faculty's goal is to see each item rated above 4.00, and we are working to improve the areas that had a score below this threshold.

SUMMARY Finally, we agree with the Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education (1984, p. 35) that stated, "Assessment is a form of feedback used to improve teaching and learning." Additionally, scholars such as Cottell and Harwood (1998, pp. 551-552) advocate a feedback format where instructors present questions to students who return the responses to faculty members who then

M. F. CORNICK, S. BHAMORNSIRI AND E. G. MALMGREN

126 Dear Students:

The purpose of this survey is to collect information that would help us determine whether or not our objectives for the Principles of Accounting I and II courses are being achieved. In answering the following questions, please base your answers on your overall experiences with both Principles of Accounting I and II. Strongly Disagreed

Somewhat Disagreed

1

2

Somewhat Strongly Agreed Agreed Agreed

3

1. Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of business activities. 2.

I was able to obtain help with the course materials when I needed it.

3.

Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of the importance of financial information in a business decision-making process.

4.

Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of the financial statements.

5.

Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of manufacturing activities.

6. Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my computer skills. 7.

Principles of Accounting and II have enhanced my Internet skills.

8. Principles of Accounting and II have enhanced my teamwork skills. 9.

Principles of Accounting and II have enhanced my analytical skills.

10. Principles of Accounting and II have enhanced my understanding of the importance of accounting information in the American economy (i.e., impact of accounting information on stock markets, tax policy, etc.) 11. Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my awareness of the international dimension of accounting. 12. I believe what I've learned in Principles of Accounting I and II will be useful in my future business courses. Is there anything that you think we could do to improve the quality of instruction in these two Accounting courses? Please explain.

Fig. 2. Student Survey.

4

5

Assessment of Introductory Accounting

127

Courses

Average Scores Fall Spring T-test 1999 2000 probability . Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of business activities 2 I was able to obtain help with the course materials when I needed it. Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my 3 understanding of the importance of financial information in a business decision-making process. . Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of the financial statements - Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my understanding of manufacturing activities , Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my computer skills. - Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my Internet skills. 8 Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my teamwork skills. 0 Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my analytical skills. Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my - 0 understanding of the importance of accounting information in the American economy (i.e., impact of accounting information on stock markets, tax policy, etc.) . . Principles of Accounting I and II have enhanced my awareness of the international dimension of accounting. 1 - I believe what I've learned in Principles of Accounting I and II will be useful in my future business courses.

4.12

4.08

0.269

3.83

3.82

0.490

4.12

4.09

0.370

4.11

4.11

0.493

3.93

3.87

0.239

2.49

2.65

0.066

2.47

2.80

0.001

3.54

3.51

0.381

3.75

3.74

0.444

3.91

3.79

0.084

3.41

3.28

0.093

4.10

3.99

0.114

Scale: 5 = Strongly agreed; 4 = Somewhat Agreed; 3 = Agreed; 2 = Somewhat Disagreed; 1 = Strongly Disagreed

Fig. 3. Summary of Results of Principles of Accounting II Surveys - Fall 1999 and Spring 2000. discuss the responses with individual students. We adjusted this format by adopting the CAT used by Harwood and Cohen (1999, p. 696). We asked students to respond to a series of statements. The faculty members then reviewed the responses and, at the same time, discussed the items on thefirstCAT. While it is clear that items on thefirstCAT differed from those on the second, thefirstCAT addresses broad areas, while the second, overlapping the first in content, addresses more specific issues. Thus, by using both CATs, the faculty can complete the feedback loop and move to improve the Principles I and II courses. Additionally, by using the second CAT, the faculty can statistically measure improvement in the areas listed on the CAT.

128

M. F. CORNICK, S. BHAMORNSIRI AND E. G. MALMGREN

Of course, if no improvement is seen, the faculty can then move to make changes that will ensure that continuous improvement occurs. In summary, accounting educators must improve the content and delivery of material to students in Principles classes. Accounting faculty must have the goal of continuous improvement. The accounting faculty at the Southeastern University has implemented the continuous improvement philosophy by adopting two assessment measures designed to provide feedback from both faculty and students regarding perceptions of the content areas of Principles. The review of these measures allows the faculty to implement changes quickly, if changes are needed. Thus, with the feedback measures, the accounting faculty can be flexible and quickly respond to changes in the market. In closing, the accounting faculty members are working to not only survive, but to be successful in the future.

REFERENCES American Accounting Association (AAA) (1995). Assessment for the new curriculum: A guide for professional accounting programs. Sarasota, FL: http://www.rutgers.ed/accounting/raw/ aaa/facdev/ciae American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) (1991). Standards for business and accounting accreditation. St. Louis, MO: AACSB. Apostolou, B. A. (1999). Outcomes assessment. Issues in Accounting Education, 14(1), 177-197. Cottell, P. G., & Harwood, E. M. (1998). Using classroom assessment techniques to improve student learning in accounting classes. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(3), 551-564. Harwood, E. M., & Cohen, J. R. (1999). Classroom assessment: Educational and research opportunities. Issues in Accounting Education, 14(4), 691-724. Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education (1984). Text of new report on excellence in undergraduate education. Chronicle of Higher Education (October 24), 35-49.

CORE COMPETENCIES: MAPPING THE VISION-ALIGNED ACADEMIC FRAMEWORK INTO THE VISION PROJECT Noah P. Barsky, Dawn W. Massey and Jay C. Thibodeau ABSTRACT The AICPA issued its Vision-Aligned Academic Framework (2000) to assist faculty in modifying curricula to support students' development of the Core Competencies that the AICPA previously articulated in its Vision Project (1999). The Framework provides extensive detail about twenty different Competency Dimensions in an effort to aid educators in defining learning objectives that better incorporate the Vision Project's five Core Competencies. However, at present, there is a gap between the Framework and the Vision Project in that there is no explicit mapping of the Framework's Competency Dimensions to each of the Vision Project's Core Competencies. Given the importance of the Framework in developing learning objectives that reflect the Vision Project's Core Competencies, this paper extends the academic literature by mapping each Competency Dimension in the Framework to a specific Core Competency in the Vision Project In so doing, this manuscript supports the AICPA's conceptual modeling process

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,129-142 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction In any form reserved ISSN: 1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05008-9

129

130

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THIBODEAU

by providing an explicit mapping that will help accounting educators in their efforts to expeditiously integrate into their curriculum the Vision Project's Core Competencies.

INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, many prominent professional and academic bodies have called for change in accounting education curriculum to better meet the needs of the profession. Most recently, Albrecht and Sack (2000, p. 43) observed that accounting education "focus(es) too much on content at the expense of skill development - skills our students need to be successful professionals." To effectively change curriculum, Bonner (1999, p. 13) suggests that educators must consider market forces and define learning objectives more broadly than the topical content coverage set forth in popular textbooks. For instance, in 1999, the AICPA, through its Vision Project, articulated five broad "Core Competencies" necessary for accounting professionals in the 21st century. Walker and Ainsworth (2001, p. 43) observed that the AICPA's competencies are not structured around the traditional content areas in accounting curriculum. To assist faculty in modifying "curricula to support the development of [these] competencies," the AICPA followed with its Vision-Aligned Academic Framework (2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/overview.htm). The Framework provides considerable detail about twenty different "Competency Dimensions" (e.g. activities), which are consistent with, but not explicitly mapped to, each of the Vision Project'sfiveCore Competencies (AICPA, 1999). As Bonner (1999, p. 12) suggests, well-defined learning objectives should drive course content and activities. The AICPA's Vision provides educators with a prominent, market-based structure to consider and select course objectives. This paper extends the academic literature by supporting the AICPA's conceptual models by mapping each Competency Dimension of the Framework to a specific Core Competency. This mapping helps educators to select course content that enables expeditious implementation of course goals that reflect market expectations. We organize the remainder of this paper as follows. In the next section, we summarize the five Core Competencies outlined in the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) and the twenty Competency Dimensions outlined in the Vision-Aligned Academic Framework (AICPA, 2000). Then, we integrate the AICPA's two pronouncements by mapping each Competency Dimension to a specific Core Competency. The final section presents our conclusions and limitations.

131

Core Competencies

COMPETENCIES FOR FUTURE ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS For more than a decade, various sectors of the accounting profession have devoted their attention to identifying the characteristics that successful future accountants will need (e.g. Bedford Committee, 1986; Big 8, 1989; Institute of Management Accountants, 1994,1999). In 1999, in representation of the accounting profession as a whole, the AICPA issued its Vision Project report, Focus on the Horizon, the CPA Profession in 2011 (AICPA, 1999). In 2000, the AICPA issued the Vision-Aligned Academic Framework (AICPA, 2000) as a follow-up to the 1999 Vision Project. AICPA Vision Project The AICPA's (1999) Vision Project was an unprecedented, grassroots initiative whose purpose was to provide an assessment of what the future is likely to hold for the CPA profession. In its Vision Project report, the AICPA (1999, pp. 17-18) suggests that there are five Core Competencies that accountants will need to succeed in business. They are: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

communications and leadership skills; focus on the customer, client and market; technological adeptness; interpretation of converging information; and strategic and critical thinking skills.

Drawing from the Vision Project report (AICPA, 1999), we summarize each of the Core Competencies in Table 1 and describe each below. Communications and Leadership Skills Communications and leadership skills relate to an individual's ability to convey information to others in a way that is understandable, motivational and convincing. This skill depends on an understanding of a company's or a client's business strategy. This background knowledge provides an important foundation that helps accountants become active listeners, able to ask the right questions and deliver credible insight into different business issues. Focus on the Customer, Client and Market Underlying accountants' communication and leadership skills is their ability to focus on the needs of customers, clients and markets. This Core Competency

132

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THIBODEAU

Table 1. Core Competencies per the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999, p. 11). Core Competency

Descriptions of Core Competency

Communications and Leadership Skills

Able to give and exchange information within a meaningful context and with appropriate delivery and interpersonal skills Able to influence, inspire and motivate others to achieve results Able to anticipate and meet the changing needs of clients, employers, customers, and markets better than competitors Able to utilize and leverage technology in ways that add value to clients, customers and employers Able to interpret and provide a broader context using financial and non-financial information Able to link data, knowledge, and insight together to provide quality advice for strategic decision-making

Focus on Customer, Client and Market

Technological Adeptness Interpretation of Converging Information Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills

requires accountants to ask targeted questions that elicit information to assess current needs and anticipate future needs. To do so, accountants must keep abreast of market and industry-specific trends as they affect clients. Technological Adeptness Accountants who are technologically adept will "utilize and leverage technology in ways that add value to clients, customers, and employees" (AICPA, 1999, p. 18). This competency requires accountants not only to use extant technology to automate manual processes, but also to be aware of emerging technologies. Further, technologically adept accountants will utilize technology to facilitate their ability to communicate within and outside their firms and suggest ways to improve business performance. Interpretation of Converging Information Interpretation of converging information requires accountants to consider financial and non-financial factors in order to put information into a broader strategic context. Key to this competency is accountants' understanding of the client's business and an ability to integrate and share knowledge with others. Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills Strategic and critical thinking skills are the final Core Competency. According to the Vision Project, this competency has to do with accountants' ability to "link data, knowledge, and insight to provide quality advice for strategic decision-making"

Core Competencies

133

(AICPA, 1999, p. 17). Beyond interpreting converging information, successful accountants of the future will synthesize current and emerging financial and nonfinancial information in order to predict future opportunities (e.g. growth opportunities). This competency assumes a proactive, forward-looking mindset rather than a traditional, reactive, historical orientation.

AICPA Vision-Aligned Academic Framework In 2000, the AICPA posted its Vision-Aligned Academic Framework (AICPA, 2000) on the Internet to assist the academic community in developing or modifying curricula to implement the Core Competencies set forth in the previously issued Vision Project. The Framework utilizes three Categories for the Competency Dimensions it describes: (1) functional competencies, (2) personal competencies, and (3) broad business perspective competencies. The AICPA describes each Category as follows: • Functional competencies relate to the technical competencies that most closely align with the value accounting professionals contribute to the marketplace (http://www.aicpa.org/edu/func.htm). • Personal competencies relate to the attitudes and behaviors of individuals preparing to enter the accounting profession. Developing these personal competencies will enhance the way accountants handle professional relationships and facilitate individual learning and personal improvement (http://www.aicpa.org/ edu/pers.htm). • Broad business perspective competencies relate to the context in which accounting professionals perform their services. Individuals preparing to enter the accounting profession should consider both the internal and external business environments and how their interactions determine success or failure. Professionals must be conversant with the overall realities of the business environment (http://www.aicpa.org/edu/bbfin.htm). Within each of these Categories, the Framework presents Competency Dimensions that suggest more specific activities on which faculty can focus in modifying their courses to implement the Core Competencies. The Competency Dimensions together with their descriptions (per the Framework) are organized by Category and appear in Table 2. In the following subsections, which we also organize by Category, we discuss each of the Framework's twenty Competency Dimensions.

Interaction Leadership Communication Project Management Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies

Panel B: Personal Competencies'1 Professional Demeanor Problem Solving and Decision Making

Research Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies

Reporting

Panel A: Functional Competencies* Decision Modeling Risk Analysis Measurement

Competency Dimensions

Demonstrate objectivity and integrity; continuously improve skills and knowledge Use good insight and judgment and innovative and creative thinking to effectively solve problems and make decisions Able to work productively with a diversity of individuals Able to influence, inspire, and motivate individuals and groups to achieve results Able to listen, speak and write in order to meaningfully exchange information Able to manage assets and technical resources in order to complete projects Stay abreast of changes in technology to enhance the development and application of other personal competencies

Able to consider issues, identify alternatives, and choose/implement solutions Able to identify and manage audit risk and understand how business risk affects business strategy Able to use traditional and non-traditional (e.g. quantitative and qualitative) measures that are relevant and reliable Able to communicate clearly and objectively the work done and the resulting findings in accordance with professional standards Able to access relevant guidance/information, understand it, and apply it Able to use technology tools effectively and efficiently to develop and apply other functional competencies

Descriptions of Competency Dimension

Table 2. Competency Dimensions per Framework (AICPA, 2000).

'Functional competencies relate to the technical competencies that most closely align with the value accounting professionals contribute (see AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/func.htm). b Personal competencies relate to the attitudes and behaviors of individuals preparing to enter the accounting profession (see AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/pers.htm). c Broad Business Perspective Competencies relate to the context in which accounting professionals perform their services (see AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/fbbfin.htm).

Panel C: Broad Business Perspective Competencies0 Strategic/Critical Thinking Able to link data, knowledge, and insight together - from a "big picture" perspective - to provide information for decision-making Industry/Sector Perspective Able to identify risks/opportunities given a company's industry & economic sector International/Global Perspective Able to facilitate global commerce by identifying and communicating threats/opportunities of doing business in a borderless world Resource Management Able to recognize and allocate resources (human, financial, physical, environmental, etc.) necessary for participation in the global capital markets Legal/Regulatory Perspective Able to describe the legal and regulatory environment facing companies Able to analyze the impact of changes in legal/regulatory requirements Marketing/Client Focus Able to anticipate and meet the changing needs of clients, employers, customers, and markets by recognizing market needs and developing new markets Leverage Technology to Develop and Able to understand and appreciate the effects of technology on the broader business environment Enhance a Broad Business Perspective

1

136

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THTOODEAU

Functional Competencies Functional Competencies associate with technical aspects of the job that accountants perform. Competency Dimensions include: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Decision Modeling; Risk Analysis; Measurement; Reporting; Research; and Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies (AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/func.htm).

First, Decision Modeling has two important elements: synthesis and analysis. Decision Modeling requires accountants to consider issues and alternatives as well as select and implement solutions in performing their work. Second, Risk Analysis, suggests accountants should understand and integrate business risk analysis into their work. Third, Measurement associates accountants' selection of relevant and reliable measures for various reporting needs. Fourth, the Reporting dimension, indicates accountants need good communication skills, so that they can effectively communicate the results of their work. Fifth, Research describes accountants* ability to obtain the information they need to perform their work. Finally, the Framework recommends accountants Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies. This Functional Competency Dimension requires accountants to use technology to enable the other dimensions. Personal Competencies Personal Competencies describe accountants* skills, abilities, behaviors and attitudes. Competency Dimensions include: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Professional Demeanor; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Interaction; Leadership; Communication; Project Management; and Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies (AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/pers.htm).

First, Professional Demeanor relates to behavior and conduct (i.e. demonstration of objectivity, integrity, ethical behavior, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to continuous personal improvement). Next, Problem Solving and Decision Making concern accountants' ability to utilize insight, judgment, innovative and creative

Core Competencies

137

thinking in solving problems and making decisions. Third, Interaction characterizes accountants' ability to work effectively with others (e.g. to manage their interpersonal relationships). Fourth, Leadership associates with accountants' ability to motivate and direct others in order to achieve results. Fifth, Communication is the Personal Competency Dimension that relates to accountants' skill in effectively sharing information. Sixth, Project Management incorporates the ability to effectively manage limited resources (e.g. time, money, people, technology, etc.). Finally, the Framework recommends accountants "Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies" by effectively and efficiently using technology at work. Broad Business Perspective Competencies As business advisors, the AICPA expects accountants to have a broad-based knowledge of the business environment. Accordingly, Broad Business Perspective Competencies have to do with accountants' knowledge of the environment in which they work. Competency Dimensions include: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Strategic/Critical Thinking; Industry/Sector Perspective; International/Global Perspective; Resource Management; Legal/Regulatory Perspective; Marketing/Client Focus; and Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance a Broad Business Perspective (AICPA, 2000, http://www.aicpa.org/edu/bbfin.htm).

These dimensions relate to understanding the overall business environment of a client; developing industrial and institutional knowledge beyond technical financial reporting regulations; understanding global political and economic issues; a foundation in business processes and resource management activities; and comprehending the effects of legal and regulatory actions. As with the previously discussed dimensions, accountants are expected to be able to use technology to manage these broad business issues.

INTEGRATING THE AICPA'S WORKS Given the discussion above, there is clearly some overlap between the Core Competencies the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) lists and the Competency Dimensions that the Framework (AICPA, 2000) lists. Thus, educators considering curriculum change in implementing the Vision Project's Core Competencies may face some

138

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THffiODEAU

obstacles due to the lack of explicit linkage between the documents. Indeed, part of the difficulty in mapping the Framework's twenty Competency Dimensions into the Vision Project'sfiveCore Competencies stems from the categorization the Framework uses. The Framework suggests there are three categories of Competencies that the academic community needs to develop. In contrast, the Vision Project suggests there are five Core Competencies that successful future accountants need. Thus, to enhance the usefulness of the Vision Project and the Framework, in Table 3, we map the Framework's twenty Competency Dimensions into the Vision Project's five Core Competencies. In doing so, we include the Category that relates to each of the Framework's twenty Competency Dimensions. In mapping the AICPA's two works, we performed a content analysis (Kerlinger, 1986, pp. 479-481) for each Competency Dimension of the Framework (AICPA, 2000) to assess the degree to which its theme relates to one or more of the five Core Competencies of the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999). Two of the researchers and a graduate assistant independently coded the theme of each Competency Dimension as either associating or not associating with the theme of each of the Core Competencies. Inter-coder agreement was over 95% across all three coders. As shown in Table 3, four of the Framework's Competency Dimensions map to the Vision Project's Core Competency, Communication and Leadership Skills: Reporting; Interaction; Leadership; and Communication. Five of the Framework's Competency Dimensions link to the Vision Project's (AICPA, 1999) Core Competency, Focus on Customer, Client and Market: Industry/Sector Focus; International/Global Perspective; Resource Management; Legal/Regulatory Perspective; and Marketing/Client Focus. The Vision Project's Core Competency, Technological Adeptness, associates with three of the Framework's Competency Dimensions: Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies; Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies; and Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance a Broad Business Perspective. Seven of the Framework's Competency Dimensions map to the Vision Project's Core Competency, Interpretation of Converging Information: Decision Modeling; Risk Analysis; Research; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Industry/Sector Perspective; International/Global Perspective; and Legal/Regulatory Perspective. Finally, five of the Framework's Competency Dimensions map to the Vision Project's Core Competency, Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills: Decision Modeling; Risk Analysis; Research; Problem Solving and Decision Making; and Strategic/Critical Thinking Skills. Not surprisingly, across the Vis/on Project and the Framework, there is a great deal of consistency. In some cases, there is even overlap. That is, some of the

139

Core Competencies

Table 3. Mapping of Competency Dimensions per Framework (AICPA, 2000). To Core Competencies per Vision Project (AICPA, 1999). Core Competency per Vision Project (AICPA, 1999)

Category of Competency Dimension per Framework (AICPA, 2000)

Competency Dimensions per Framework (AICPA, 2000)

Communication and Leadership Skills

Functional Competencies

Reporting

Personal Competencies

Interaction Leadership Communication N/A

Broad Business Perspective Competencies Focus on Customer, Gient and Market

Functional Competencies

N/A

Personal Competencies Broad Business Perspective Competencies

N/A Industry/Sector Focus International/Global Perspective Resource Management Legal/Regulatory Perspective Marketing/Client Focus

Technological Adeptness

Functional Competencies Personal Competencies Broad Business Perspective Competencies

Interpretation of Converging Information

Functional Competencies

Personal Competencies Broad Business Perspective Competencies

Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance a Broad Business Perspective Decision Modeling

Risk Analysis Research Problem Solving & Decision Making Industry/Sector Perspective International/Global Perspective Legal/Regulatory Perspective

Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills

Functional Competencies

Personal Competencies Broad Business Perspective Competencies N/A

Functional Competencies Personal Competencies Broad Business Perspective Competencies

Decision Modeling Risk Analysis Research Problem Solving & Decision Making Strategic/Critical Thinking Skills Measurement Project Management N/A

140

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THIBODEAU

Framework's Competency Dimensions (e.g. Decision Modeling) link to more than one of the Vision Project's Core Competencies (e.g. Interpretation of Converging Information and Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills). Moreover, we can map all but two of the Framework's Competency Dimensions into the Vision Project's Core Competencies. The two unique Competency Dimensions in the Framework (AICPA, 2000) are: Measurement (c.f. technical accounting knowledge); and Project Management. The AICPA's lack of inclusion of Measurement and Project Management in its Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) but not in its Framework (AICPA, 2000) for educators' curriculum development/reform is likely the result of two factors. The first is the expectation that accounting professionals would possess these minimum skills, whereas the AICPA would expect students to develop these baseline skills during their educational experience. The second is that accounting curricula traditionally has done a good job teaching students how to measure business events (Stone, 2000, p. 1). Further, it is possible the AICPA considers the entire college experience a "training ground" for teaching students how to manage time and resources.

CONCLUSIONS For accounting educators, pronouncements such as the AICPA's Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) and Framework (AICPA, 2000) provide a general - but heretofore fragmented - outline for course reengineering and curriculum redesign. Our purpose in this paper is to enhance the usefulness of the AICPA's competency works by illuminating their connections. As discussed, faculty may encounter difficulty in mapping the Framework's Competency Dimensions into the Vision Project's Core Competencies because the AICPA uses different categorizations in the two documents. The Framework (AICPA, 2000) cites three broad competency categories: functional; personal; and broad business perspective. Alternatively, the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) suggests there are five Core Competencies: communications and leadership skills; focus on the customer, client and market; technological adeptness; interpretation of converging information; and strategic and critical thinking skills. Given the importance of the Framework in developing learning objectives that reflect the Core Competencies articulated in the Vision Project, this paper extends the academic literature by mapping each dimension of the Framework to a specific Core Competency. In so doing, this manuscript supports the AICPA's conceptual modeling process by providing an explicit mapping that will help accounting educators in their efforts to expeditiously implement the Core Competencies articulated in the Vision Project.

Core Competencies

141

For example, in formulating learning objectives, faculty may elect to emphasize or de-emphasize particular dimensions in a course. By using the mapping in Table 3, faculty can identify the Competency Dimensions in the Framework (AICPA, 2000) that associate with each of the Vision Projects' five Core Competencies (AICPA, 1999). This will help enable faculty to point to the market motivation when adopting some or all of the competencies as drivers of content and activities in a particular course. For instance, faculty desiring to hone students' communication and leadership skills can use the linkages set forth in Table 3 to identify four main areas in which they might focus their efforts: reporting, communication, interaction, and leadership. In this way, Table 3 can serve as a tool to help faculty desiring to innovate their courses. For example, as explained earlier, communication skills relate to individuals' ability to convey information or elaborate on what they know. Thus, to hone students' communication skills, faculty might incorporate into their classes opportunities for the students to report or communicate to their peers answers they have formulated (e.g. Choo & Tan, 1995; Hermanson, 1994; Schadewald & Limberg, 1990). Further, leadership abilities relate to one's ability to "influence, inspire and motivate others to achieve results" (AICPA, 1999, p. 17), which is a key facet of teaching (McKeachie, 1994). Accordingly, faculty can provide students with opportunities to interact with their peers in a group setting and take turns leading group discussions in order to practice teaching, and thereby improve their leadership abilities. As the leading professional body for practicing accountants, the AICPA has worked to create a strategic vision that will ensure the future success of the profession. It is important that accounting education adapt to reflect the changing nature of practice and foster the broad set of competencies set forth by the profession's leaders. The linkages set forth in this paper can help educators in directing their curriculum innovation and change to accomplish those goals. In conclusion, although this paper fills a gap in the literature and therefore helps accounting educators move the recommendations of the Vision Project (AICPA, 1999) toward implementation, further work remains. For instance, future research needs to test the application of the AICPA's principles through concrete examples of meaningful and substantive curriculum re-design. Evidence on meaningful and lasting curriculum change takes many years to assess. At this time, the AICPA's pronouncements have only been available for less than three years, leaving limited opportunities for piloting, implementation and assessment. Additionally, faculty research needs to address the issue of how to assess the success of revised curricula (Apostolou, 1999, p. 193) in enhancing students' grasp of the AICPArecommended Competencies. Nonetheless, the future of the accounting profession is taking shape under the guidance of the AICPA's initiatives and, through this paper we hope to assist accounting educators in expediting change.

142

NOAH P. BARSKY, DAWN W. MASSEY AND JAY C. THIBODEAU

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions made by the editor, Bill Schwartz, two anonymous reviewers, Lawrence Klein, Andrew Rosman, and David Wiest. We also appreciate input received from participants at the 1999 New England Business & Economics Association Conference, the 2000 American Accounting Association Northeast Regional Meeting, and the 2001 Connecticut Accounting Forum for Educators.

REFERENCES AICPA (1999). Focus on the horizon, the CPA profession in 2011. New York: AICPA. AICPA (2000). Vision-Aligned Academic Framework. Available at: http://www.aicpa.org/edu/ corecomp.htm Albrecht, W. S., & Sack, R. J. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future. Accounting Education Series, 16, a joint project of: AAA, AICPA, IMA, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Sarasota, FL: AAA. Apostolou, B. A. (1999). Outcomes assessment. Issues in Accounting Education, 14(\), 177-197. Bedford Committee (1986). Future accounting education: Preparing for the expanding profession. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association. Big 8. (1989). Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession. New York: Big 8. Bonner, S. (1999). Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Issues in Accounting Education (February), 11-39. Choo, F., & Tan, K. (1995). Effect of cognitive elaboration on accounting students' acquisition of auditing expertise. Issues in Accounting Education (Spring), 27-45. Hermanson, D. (1994). The effect of self-generated elaboration on students' recall of tax and accounting material: Further evidence. Issues in Accounting Education (Fall), 301-318. Institute of Management Accountants (1994). What America wants in entry-level accountants. Montvale, NJ: The Institute of Management Accountants. Institute of Management Accountants (1999). Counting more, counting less: Transformations in the management accounting profession. Montvale, NJ: The Institute of Management Accountants. Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research (3rd ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for college and university teachers (9th ed.). Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company. Schadewald, M., & Limberg, S. (1990). Instructor-provided versus student-generated explanations of tax rules: Effect on recall. Issues in Accounting Education (Spring), 30-40. Stone, M. (2000). What will we teach? Accounting Education News (Fall), 1-2,11. Walker, K. B., & Ainsworth, P. L. (2001). Developing a process approach in the business core curriculum. Issues in Accounting Education (November), 41-66.

EFFECTIVE ACCOUNTING INSTRUCTION: A COMPARISON OF INSTRUCTOR PRACTICES AND STUDENT PERSPECTIVES David S. Kerr and L. Murphy Smith ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of a study of the teaching methods and techniques employed by over 300 accounting educators who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers. Students' perspectives of the effectiveness of these methods and techniques are also presented. The study explores a wide range of issues related to teaching effectiveness, instructional techniques, and methods of facilitating student participation and class discussion. The findings serve to remind each of us, as educators, of the need to periodically assess the effectiveness of our teaching techniques and to consider additional methods and techniques that might prove useful in improving the quality of our performance both in and out of the classroom.

INTRODUCTION The primary role of university educators centers on the creation and dissemination of knowledge. While accounting faculty at national research universities Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,143-163 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05009-0 143

144

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

may have different priorities concerning research and teaching activities compared with their colleagues at regional and local universities and colleges, they all have one goal in common: to provide a high quality education for their students. However, there are varied opinions as to what constitutes a high quality education or even what constitutes effective teaching. Objective measures or experts' aggregated opinions are often used to assess the quality of research; however, the standards of quality for teaching and the attributes of effective teaching are less clear. The Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC), the American Accounting Association (AAA), the major accounting firms, many state legislatures, and the general public have called for increased focus on, and improvements in, the quality of teaching (AAA, 1996; AECC, 1993; Rebele et al., 1991; Stevens & Stevens, 1992; Thomas, 1993). Without clear standards of quality, rewarding teaching excellence is problematic. More important, when standards of quality and attributes of effective teaching are unclear, it is difficult to assess education quality or to improve teaching effectiveness. While accounting doctoral programs provide extensive training in the research skills necessary for creation of knowledge, most doctoral students and professors spend very little, if any, time studying the skills necessary to teach others effectively. What is "effective teaching?" A clear, generally accepted answer to this question is elusive, even after an extensive review of the literature. One approach to defining effective teaching is outcome based, as outcomes of effective teaching are clearly identified and agreed on in the literature. For instance, it is widely accepted that effective teaching encourages and helps develop students' analytical, logical, and creative thinking, stimulates their curiosity, and increases their desire and capacity for future learning (AAA, 1996; Harwood & Cohen, 1999; Herr, 2000; also see AECC, 1992; Baker, 1990; Kullberg et al., 1989). One reason effective teaching has been difficult to define directly is its multidimensional nature. For instance, a framework of effective teaching developed by the Accounting Education Change Commission and modified by the Committee on Promoting and Evaluating Effective Teaching consists of five distinct dimensions (AAA, 1996). Based on an extensive review of the education literature, this framework is similar to other multi-dimensional models of teaching effectiveness developed in prior studies by Feldman (1976), Frey (1978), Menges (1990), and Marsh (1991). The five dimensions of the model are: (1) curriculum design and course development; (2) use of well-conceived course materials; (3) presentation skills;

Effective Accounting

Instruction

145

(4) well-chosen pedagogical methods and assessment devices; and (5) guidance and advising. This model not only provides a useful foundation for research on effective teaching, but also provides a practical framework for identifying and assessing effective teaching. Effective teaching can be studied at either the program level or the instructor level. As described in A Framework for Encouraging Effective Teaching: At the program level, teaching is effective if the broad goals and specific objectives of the program are achieved. In a sense, much of the literature on outcome assessment deals with this aspect of effective teaching. Effective teaching at the instructor level, on the other hand, focuses on the unique efforts and contributions of individual instructors to the teaching and learning objectives of a program. Materials (inputs) and the processes used by individual instructors are important at this level (AAA, 1996, p. 30).

The primary purpose of this study is to gather and report information regarding the characteristics and teaching techniques of some of accounting's most effective educators. This study also reports accounting students' perspectives regarding the effectiveness of these teaching techniques. An important step in improving accounting education is to identify and understand the characteristics and techniques of effective teaching. Thus, this study focuses on effective teaching at the instructor level. At this level, four dimensions of the AAA's effective teaching framework are of interest: course materials, presentation skills, pedagogical methods, and guidance and advising. The fifth dimension, curriculum design and course development, is beyond the scope of this study as it applies primarily to the program, not instructor, level of the framework. Prior research on teaching effectiveness in accounting has generally focused on (1) student evaluations of accounting instructors (e.g. Bailey et al., 2000; Chen & Hoshower, 1998; DeBerg & Wilson, 1990; Stratton, 1990) or (2) teaching methods (e.g. Bashir, 2000; Bonner, 1999; Butler & Mautz, 1996; Davis et al., 2001; Etter et al., 2000; Jones & Fields, 2001; Lancaster & Strand, 2001; Ravenscroft et al, 1997; Sawyer et al., 2000). Rebele et al. (1991,1998a, b) and Apostolou et al. (2001) provide comprehensive reviews of this line of research. In the current study, we extend this line of research on teaching effectiveness by surveying exemplary accounting educators and asking them to share their methods and techniques for achieving teaching excellence. By investigating the characteristics and teaching techniques of accounting's superior educators, we hope to gain further insight into the attributes of effective accounting teachers as well as methods and techniques that others can use to improve their teaching performance and the overall quality of accounting education.

146

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

METHOD We employed the Accounting Faculty Directory by James Hasselback to identify 450 colleges and universities in the USA with six or more accounting faculty members. We then contacted accounting department chairpersons and asked them to participate in the study by distributing questionnaires to their two most effective accounting teachers as measured by course evaluations, personal observations, or feedback from students. Since we wanted survey participants to consist of the most effective accounting teachers at each institution, we placed no restrictions on chairpersons' selections. They were free to choose participants without consideration of courses taught (i.e. principles, tax, auditing, etc.) or level of students taught most often (i.e. undergraduate, masters, doctoral). Only institutions with six or more accounting faculty were included in the study to ensure that department chairpersons had several faculty members from which to choose when distributing the questionnaires. Each questionnaire began with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and indicating that the faculty member had been chosen by his or her department chairperson to participate in the study based on the faculty member's history of excellent teaching. We told participants that they did not need to identify themselves, and we gave them a response deadline. We attached a postage-paid return envelope to each questionnaire to facilitate its return. The researchers obtained student perspectives by surveying accounting students at two universities. While there is consensus in the literature that students are not able to evaluate all facets of effective teaching, students are able to evaluate many factors, including the instructors' organizational skills, enthusiasm and control in the classroom, the course workload and materials, the extent of group interaction in the classroom, the instructors' ability to communicate clearly at the students' level, rapport with students, ability to stimulate student interest in the subject, and availability outside of the classroom (AAA, 1996; AECC, 1993; Cashin, 1983; Farrell, 2000; Green et al., 1998; Herr, 2000; Marsh, 1982; McKeachie, 1979; Seldin, 1993; Wallace & Wallace, 1998). The authors developed the questionnaire following an extensive review of prior education research that identified factors believed to be associated with effective teaching in other disciplines. Four broad categories of factors emerged from the review, and we included them in the questionnaire as separate sections: general attributes of highly effective teachers, teaching techniques employed, techniques used to enhance student participation and discussion, and questioning techniques. The first section of the questionnaire consisted of a general question in which respondents were asked to indicate the degree to which each of several

147

Effective Accounting Instruction

attributes distinguishes highly effective accounting instructors from less effective instructors and to identify additional distinguishing attributes. In section two, we presented participants with a list of several teaching techniques and asked them to evaluate each technique's effectiveness in terms of enhancing student learning and overall course effectiveness in undergraduate accounting courses. In addition, we asked instructors to indicate which techniques they employ and asked students to indicate which techniques they believe should be used by instructors. We based the list of teaching techniques on prior research in other fields (Conant et al., 1988; Smart et al., 1988). We asked instructors to base their responses on the course they teach most frequently. Instructors had additional space to indicate other teaching techniques they use. In the remaining sections of the survey, we asked participants questions concerning techniques applied to enhance student participation and facilitate class discussion, and the manner in which questions are, or should be, used in class. Near the end of the questionnaire, the authors invited participants to provide additional comments concerning characteristics and methods of effective teaching. The final section of the questionnaire focused on demographic information about the respondent. We performed a pilot test of the survey instrument with 19 accounting instructors at a university in the United States. Based on the pilot test, the authors made several changes in the survey's wording to clarify instructions and to reduce ambiguity in the meaning of some of the terms utilized in the survey. In addition, we made minor changes in the survey's layout and dropped a question inquiring about the participant's age.

RESULTS We received 352 completed questionnaires from accounting educators, resulting in an overall response rate of 39.1% (352 out of 900). We tested for the possible presence of nonresponse bias by comparing respondent and nonrespondent institutions on the basis of accounting faculty size. Results of a chi-square independence of classification test revealed no significant differences between respondent and nonrespondent institutions (x 2 = 3.19; df = 3;p = 0.36), assuming faculty size proxies for any differences. To obtain demographic information about the accounting teachers participating in this study, the survey included several questions relating to the course taught most frequently by each participant, the size of their class taught most often, years of college teaching experience, academic rank, and gender. Ninety-two

148

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

percent of the instructor respondents indicated they teach undergraduate courses most frequently, 8% graduate courses. Twenty-four percent reported they teach classes of 25 students or less most often, 70% reported classes between 26 and 50 students, 5% reported classes between 51 and 100 students, and 1% reported teaching classes over 100 students most frequently. Instructor respondents had an average of 15 years of college teaching experience. Twenty-four percent of the instructor respondents were full professors, 34% associate professors, 33% assistant professors, and 9% instructors or lecturers. Thirty-three percent of the instructor respondents were women. One hundred ninety-eight accounting students at two universities also participated in the study. Ninety-six percent of the student participants were seniors, 1% were juniors, and 2% were graduate students. Sixty-two percent were women.

Effective Accounting Instruction: General Attributes In the first section of the questionnaire, participants indicated the degree to which each of several attributes differentiates the most effective accounting instructors from "average" instructors and identified any additional distinguishing attributes not addressed in the questionnaire. Participants rated the degree of differentiation on a five-point Likert scale anchored with "none" and "high." This section of the questionnaire included ten attributes, each of which has been associated with effective teaching in other disciplines. Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for instructors' and students' responses. We utilized multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to identify any statistically significant differences in instructors* and students' degree of differentiation ratings for the attributes presented. MANOVA revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in participants' ratings for six attributes: communication style, scope and depth of knowledge of the material, ability to stimulate students to work beyond minimum requirements, ability to get students to participate in class discussions and activities, and use of applied projects. As shown in Table 1, students' ratings of all six attributes were higher than those of instructors.

Teaching Techniques In the second section of the survey, each instructor rated the effectiveness of several teaching techniques and indicated whether he or she uses each technique. Students rated the effectiveness of each technique and indicated whether they

(2)4.25 (3)4.05 (4) 3.95 (5) 3.83 (6) 3.61 (7) 3.54 (8) 3.42 (9)3.31 (10)2.92

Communication style (e.g. enthusiasm, dynamic presentation style)

Concern for student mastery of course materials

Preparation and organization (e.g. teacher is well prepared for class)

Challenging yet fair criteria for evaluating students

Real-world orientation

Scope and depth of knowledge of the material

Ability to stimulate students to work beyond minimum requirements

Ability to get students to participate in class discussions and activities

Use of applied projects

(10) 3.63

(8) 3.98

(7) 4.06

(4T)4.15

(3)4.36

(9) 3.70

(4T)4.15

(6)4.10

(1)4.77

(2)4.41 2.6% 1.5% 2.3 0.5 4.0 1.0 6.3 3.0 5.8 6.1 8.6 0.5 10.1 2.5 6.3 2.0 9.8 3.5 23.3 4.6

(None) 1 4.6% 2.5% 5.7 0.5 4.9 4.0 6.3 6.1 5.2 7.6 12.6 2.5 13.5 5.6 12.6 6.1 15.9 4.0 14.5 6.1

2 11.5% 9.1% 10.3 3.0 14.7 20.2 18.3 14.1 21.6 25.3 19.5 13.1 18.4 13.1 30.9 18.7 24.5 18.7 21.5 31.5

3 23.5% 26.8% 28.1 13.6 34.8 33.3 24.4 26.8 34.9 32.3 28.1 28.3 28.4 32.3 32.7 30.3 32.9 38.4 28.2 37.1

4

Degree olfDifferenti ationb

"Numbers in parentheses refer to the ranking by either the instructors or the students. b Under "Degree of Differentiation," the first and second rows of numbers reflect instructors' and students* ratings, respectively.

(1)4.30

Instructors' Students' Mean Mean Rating* Rating"

Show genuine interest in students as persons

Attribute

Table 1. Attributes of Highly Effective Accounting Teachers: Instructors' and Students* Ratings.

57.9% 60.1% 53.6 82.3 41.7 41.4 44.7 50.0 32.6 28.8 31.2 55.6 29.6 46.5 17.5 42.9 17.0 35.4 12.5 20.8

(High) 5

150

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

believe instructors should use the technique. Participants rated effectiveness in terms of student learning on afive-pointLikert scale anchored with "not effective" and "highly effective." Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for instructors' and students' responses. We used MANOVA to identify any statistically significant differences in instructors' and students' mean effectiveness ratings. Results revealed that students rated an enthusiastic and entertaining lecture style as significantly more effective than did instructors (students = 4.60; instructors = 4.34;/> = 0.001). Other techniques rated more effective by students than by instructors included adopting a teamwork philosophy with your students (students = 3.85; instructors = 3.48; p < 0.001); use of supplemental aids (students = 3.95; instructors = 3.40; p < 0.001); and bringing in guest speakers (students = 3.20; instructors = 2.77; p < 0.001). The only technique rated significantly less effective by students than by instructors was adoption of a professional tone while lecturing (students = 2.74; instructors = 3.12; p = 0.001). Student Participation In the next section of the questionnaire, instructors indicated the techniques they specifically use to enhance student participation and facilitate class discussion. In the student version of the questionnaire, participants indicated which techniques they believe best enhance student participation and facilitate class discussion. The questionnaire included five specific methods for enhancing participation with space provided for respondents to indicate other methods and to make other statements. Instructors' and students' response distributions for thefivetechniques are shown in Table 3. Use of Questions Next, instructors indicated how they use questions in class. Students indicated how they believe questions should be used by instructors to best enhance student learning. Instructors' and students* responses are presented in Table 4. Comparisons of Teaching Techniques by Course, Class Size, and Teaching Experience To investigate whether instructors' teaching techniques differ across course level taught most frequently, we grouped instructors' responses by undergraduate versus

(3)4.21

94% 60% 70% 67% 26%

Interactive style

Adopting a teamwork philosophy with students

Use of supplemental aids

Professional tone while lecturing

Use of guest speakers

(6) 3.20

(7)2.74

(4) 3.95

(5) 3.85

(3) 4.16

(1)4.60

(2)4.40 0.0% 0.0% 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.0 6.7 2.0 9.9 1.0 11.4 13.8 17.6 8.2

Not Effective 1 0.3% 0.0% 3.2 2.5 5.2 3.0 14.0 5.6 15.0 6.1 17.8 24.1 22.0 15.4

2 7.6% 11.7% 11.9 3.0 15.9 20.3 27.7 25.5 24.3 20.4 32.8 40.5 35.8 38.5

3

32.2% 36.5% 28.4 24.2 30.3 34.0 27.4 38.8 27.2 41.3 22.9 16.9 14.7 24.1

4

Effectiveness Ratingsb

•Numbers in parentheses refer to the ranking by either the instructors or the students. b Under "Effectiveness Ratings," the first and second rows of numbers reflect instructors' and students' ratings, respectively.

(7)2.77

(6) 3.12

(5) 3.40

(4) 3.48

(2)4.34

93%

Enthusiastic and entertaining lecture style

(1)4.52

100%

Instructors Instructors' Students' Using Mean Rating" Mean Rating*

Use of examples and discussion of implications

Technique

Table 2. Teaching Techniques: Instructors' and Students' Perceived Effectiveness Ratings.

59.9% 51.8% 55.4 69.7 48.3 42.6 24.1 28.1 23.7 31.1 15.1 4.6 9.9 13.8

Highly Effective 5

152

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

Table 3. Methods of Enhancing Participation: Comparisons of Instructors' Use and Students' Perceived Effectiveness. Method of Enhancing Participation Impersonal use of questions Personal use of questions Discussion of current events Student presentations Required participation

Percentage of Instructors Using

Percentage of Students who Believe Method is Effective

89% 71% 65% 40% 39%

52% 58% 86% 42% 29%

graduate courses and performed independent samples Mests to test for significant differences between groups. The only statistically significant differences were in the percentages of courses requiring student participation and presentations. Specifically, student participation is required in 56% of the graduate courses but only in 38% of the undergraduate courses (p — 0.07), while formal student presentations are required in 59% of the graduate courses and 39% of the undergraduate courses (p = 0.04). Next, we categorized the size of the class taught most frequently by each instructor respondent as follows: 0-25 students, 26-50,51-100, or over 100 students, and used Scheffe's post hoc multiple pair-wise comparisons test to examine whether teaching techniques differed with class size. No meaningful differences existed. Instructors' years of teaching experience ranged from 1 to 44 years with a mean of 14.7 years and median of 14 years. To investigate whether respondents*

Table 4. Use of Questions: Comparisons of Instructors' Use and Students' Perceived Effectiveness. Method of Using Questions in Class Use questions to encourage students to pay attention and participate Use questions to assess students' understanding of the material Often begin class by asking questions about the material to be discussed Often begin class by asking questions relevant to the prior lecture Rarely ask students questions in class

Percentage of Instructors Using

Percentage of Students who Believe Method Should be Used

76%

58%

70%

68%

44%

40%

39%

73%

3%

2%

Effective Accounting Instruction

153

teaching techniques varied with years of experience, we used the median years of experience to categorize respondents into two groups: those with 0-14 years of experience ("less experienced" group) and those with more than 14 years of experience ("more experienced" group). T-tests identified two notable differences between groups. First, instructors in the "more experienced" group indicated they believe their scope and depth of knowledge of the subject material differentiates them from average teachers to a higher degree than did instructors in the "less experienced" group (>14 years = 3.8, <14 years = 3.4; t = 2.76; p = 0.006). Second, although the vast majority of instructors in both groups reported they frequently ask student questions in class, there was a greater percentage of "more experienced" instructors who indicated they rarely ask students questions in class compared to "less experienced" instructors (>14 years = 6%, <14 years = 1%; t = 2.28; p = 0.023).

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS General Attributes Instructors' Responses Section one of the survey explored instructors* and students* opinions regarding attributes associated with effective accounting teachers and the relative importance of each attribute. As revealed in Table 1, the three distinguishing attributes rated highest by accounting instructors are: • Show genuine interest in students as persons; • Communication style (e.g. enthusiasm, dynamic presentation style); • Concern for student mastery of course materials, Weaver (1978, p. 145) discusses the beneficial effects of showing genuine interest in students: "Students respond positively to demonstrated sensitivity. Quality teaching should reflect an ability to understand the student, and closely related to that, to be able to draw out the student's best work. [Students] are more likely to want to understand, to desire to learn, to respond if they feel that the teacher cares about them." In addition to concern for students, teachers need to be aware of the importance of their communication style in facilitating student learning. As Cahn (1982, p. 39) points out, "Good teachers speak so virtually all their listeners can follow." To do this, effective accounting teachers must be aware of both the ability of their students and the complexity of their material. When one or two students show signs of being lost or confused, it is likely that several other students also are in need of help.

154

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

In section one of the survey, we invited participants to indicate additional attributes of highly effective teachers and make other comments. Instructors provided 126 additional comments. Analyses of these additional comments involved classifying each comment into one of the ten original response categories (see Table 1) provided in section one or into a new category. Eighty-eight comments related to one of the ten original categories and provided additional details concerning respondents' teaching techniques. Several of these comments emphasized the importance of having a positive attitude toward all students, particularly by showing interest in students as persons and never saying anything negative to or about a student. Several others suggested learning students' names as soon as possible. Regarding communication style, several respondents emphasized the importance of showing enthusiasm for the material and for teaching and suggested that students will work harder if the instructor is enthusiastic. Thirty-eight comments related to attributes not presented in the survey. These fell into the following seven discrete additional categories: • • • • • • •

Availability to students outside of the classroom (24%); Use of cooperative learning/group work (18%); Use of higher level learning skills/critical thinking requirements (16%); Ability to explain complex material so students understand (13%); Computer integration into courses (11%); Emphasis on writing skills (11%); Integration of course material with other subjects (8%).

Students' Responses Students' responses to section one of the survey were similar to those of the instructor respondents. The two attributes rated highest by students were communication style and show genuine interest in students as persons. These two attributes also received the highest ratings by instructors, albeit in reverse order. Interestingly, the attribute rated number 3 by students - real-world orientation - was only rated number 6 by instructors, and the attribute rated number 4 by students - scope and depth of knowledge of the material - was rated number 7 by instructors. Students generally felt more strongly about the importance of relating classroom material to issues and events in the business world than did instructors. Many of the student participants indicated that an instructor's use of real world examples and an ability to relate the material to the outside world are very important in helping them understand the concepts and theories being presented. Several students expressed their beliefs that the most effective accounting teachers are those with up-to-date knowledge of the changes occurring in the accounting and business worlds today, and who know the material backwards and forwards, coupled with the ability

Effective Accounting Instruction

155

to convey that knowledge to their students. In addition, students emphasized the importance of integrating classroom material with the real world and providing examples of how the text and lecture material apply in real business settings. As one student stated, "I want to hear or see the theories applied." In light of students' high regard for the use of real world examples and applications in enhancing their learning and understanding of theory and concepts, it is reasonable to assert that, as instructors, many of us could increase our students' interest level and enhance the learning process by frequently relating the material being presented in class to issues and situations our students might face in the real world, thereby bringing the material to life for them. For instructors with little or no recent relevant real world experience, articles from publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Accounting Today, and Journal of Accountancy could prove useful in this regard. Student respondents provided 35 additional comments related to attributes of effective accounting teachers. These comments emphasized the importance of instructors: • • • •

Being available to students outside of the classroom; Using a variety of teaching methods in addition to lecturing; Providing positive feedback to students; Fostering a pleasant, non-intimidating atmosphere in class.

The above findings reveal a wide range of attributes believed by both accounting instructors and students to be important to effective accounting education. Instructors should reflect on their own level of performance in each of these areas.

Teaching Techniques Instructors' Responses The second section of the survey was designed to identify the specific teaching techniques and communication styles used by highly effective accounting teachers and the relative effectiveness of those techniques. Results revealed that the instructor respondents believe the use of examples and discussion of their implications is the most effective method of enhancing student learning (see Table 2). The complexity of accounting can often cause confusion and frustration in students. Effective accounting teachers anticipate this problem and can, to a large extent, overcome it by using clear, relevant examples to explain and illustrate difficult concepts. The instructor respondents also believe that an enthusiastic and entertaining lecture style and an interactive style are quite effective. The importance of a teacher's

156

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

ability to convey a sense of excitement about the material should not be underestimated. Research in education provides evidence of a direct relationship between the teacher's enthusiasm level and student learning (Mohan & Hull, 1975). Mastin (1963) demonstrated that simply instructing a teacher to increase his or her enthusiasm can increase student achievement. Similarly, Coats and Smidchens (1966) found a positive relationship between the extent of teacher animation and student recall. Techniques receiving lower effectiveness ratings, but still used by the majority of instructor respondents, included adopting a teamwork philosophy with students, use of supplemental aids, and use of a professional tone while lecturing. Only about one in four respondents indicated they use guest speakers in their classrooms. In section two, we also invited instructors to indicate other teaching techniques they use and make other comments. Instructors provided 40 comments describing additional teaching techniques not addressed previously in the survey. These techniques included: • • • • • • •

Use of cases as basis of discussion (23%); Use of videotape presentations (23%); Use of computer/multimedia presentations (15%); Use of current articles as basis of discussion (15%); Frequent questioning of students (10%); Frequent review of previous and current material (8%); Role-playing exercises/games (8%).

Students' Responses Student respondents generally agreed with instructors regarding the relative effectiveness of the teaching techniques presented in the survey. The three techniques rated highest by students were an enthusiastic and entertaining lecture style, use of examples and discussion of implications, and an interactive style, each of which is employed by over 90% of the instructor respondents. Students ranked last professional tone while lecturing, receiving an effectiveness rating of only 2.7 (on a scale of 5). We invited students to provide comments regarding additional teaching techniques they believe should be applied by instructors. Student respondents provided 21 comments. Teaching techniques recommended by students include the following: • Provide structure - tell what you plan to do during class, do it, and sum up; • Try not to teach a subject extremely fast or slow; • Pause frequently to ask questions in class and discuss the answers.

Effective Accounting Instruction

157

Student Participation Instructors' Responses The next section of the survey identified techniques: (1) that instructors use to enhance student participation; and (2) that students believe are most effective in generating class participation and discussion. The most common method instructor respondents employ to enhance student participation is to ask impersonal questions that allows students to voluntarily answer questions (see Table 3). Nearly three of four respondents reported they use personalized questions in which they call on individual students to respond. The majority of instructor respondents also indicated that they incorporate discussions of current events into class discussion, while about 40% reported they require student presentations or formally require students to participate by basing a portion of their grades on participation in class discussions. We invited instructors to provide additional comments related to their methods of increasing student participation. Instructors provided 66 comments describing a wide variety of methods they use to increase participation, leading to the following recommendations: • • • • • •

Use group exercises; Use class members' names and experiences in examples; Reduce intimidation factor/create safe environment; Role play with students; Frequently ask for questions and comments from students; Give quizzes if participation is low.

The use of group learning activities in the accounting curriculum has been strongly encouraged by the AECC (1990,1992). Of the instructors who provided specific comments about their methods of enhancing participation, nearly half said they utilize group exercises in the classroom. Students' Responses Student respondents recommended discussion of current events as the most effective method of generating class discussion and participation. In addition, over half of the students also recommended that instructors ask both personalized questions and impersonal questions. Less than half of the student respondents recommended student presentations or required participation as methods of generating class discussion. We invited the student participants to provide additional recommendations regarding methods of improving class participation and discussion. Students provided 28 additional comments, including recommendations to:

158

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

• Use a series of debates over controversial issues, allowing students to write questions and then share them to get an overview of how the whole class feels; • Discuss current events in accounting and ask students their opinion regarding them; • Ask students what they learned from projects and homework; • Have students work in small groups and have groups make presentations to the class; • Learn students' names as soon as possible. Use of Questions Skillful questioning by instructors can stimulate and motivate students to learn and can help instructors assess their students' extent of learning. We asked instructors to indicate specifically how they utilize questions in class, and we asked students to indicate how they believe instructors should use questions to best enhance student learning. The majority of instructor respondents indicated they incorporate questions both to encourage students to pay attention and participate and to assess students' understanding of the material (see Table 4). Slightly less than half of the instructors indicated they often begin class by asking students questions about the material to be discussed in that day's lecture. Thirty-nine percent of the instructors indicated they often begin class by asking questions relevant to the material covered in the prior lecture. In contrast, nearly three out of four student respondents indicated they believe instructors should begin class by asking questions relevant to the prior lecture. While most students recommend that instructors begin class by asking questions relevant to the prior lecture as a means of enhancing student learning and overall course effectiveness, less than half of the instructors do so, thus indicating an area in which many instructors could potentially enhance their teaching effectiveness. Accounting instructors should evaluate the costs and benefits of spending a few minutes at the beginning of each class in a question/answer session reviewing material presented in the prior day's class, and then decide whether to implement this practice. These sessions not only could improve students' understanding and retention of the material, but also could help instructors assess their students' understanding of the material and identify topics that might need further discussion and explanation. Instructors provided 43 comments describing additional ways they apply questions in the classroom. Recommendations based on these comments include using questions: • To increase students' understanding/make students think; • To generate interest in the material;

Effective Accounting Instruction

• • • •

159

To guide the development and presentation of material; To encourage students to come prepared for class; As drill exercises in class; To develop students' oral skills.

Student respondents provided 13 additional comments related to instructors' use of questions in class. Recommendations based on students' comments include: • Use questions to assess whether students can apply the material; • Use questions to help enhance the students' learning - questions make them think instead of being dictated to; • Use questions that test the students' abilities to understand cumulative information given; • Begin class by asking questions about material to be discussed - maybe as a way of letting students know what they should get out of it.

Respondents' Additional Comments Concerning Effective Teaching The final section in the instructors' version of the survey invited participants to comment on anything else concerning their methods and approach for effective teaching that had not been covered in the survey. One hundred instructors provided a total of 137 additional comments in response to this question. Many of the comments were quite passionate and lengthy, yielding an exceedingly rich source of insight into master teachers' methods, feelings, and attitudes towards teaching. Instructors' comments related to the following areas: • • • • • • • • •

Instructor concern for students (30%); High expectations and standards (21%); Use of real-world examples/cases/problems (13%); Use of cooperative learning/group work (9%); Instructor availability outside of class (7%); Positive attitude/enthusiasm toward teaching and material (7%); Teaching method variety (6%); Student involvement/participation (4%); Instructor preparation for class (1%).

As indicated above, slightly over half of the comments related to one of two topics: the importance of instructor concern and empathy for students, and the need for high expectations and standards for students. Several respondents believe the single most important attribute of effective accounting teachers is a genuine concern for

160

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

students. An instructor's concern for his or her students can be conveyed by learning and using the students' names early in the semester, being encouraging and open with students, and treating them as adults, not inferiors, both in and out of the classroom. In the student version of the survey, we asked students to state what they believe is the single, most important teaching quality or characteristic that separates highly effective accounting teachers from less effective teachers. The quality most frequently mentioned by students was the instructor's concern for students. Recall that this was also the characteristic cited by instructors most frequently. The second most frequently mentioned quality was a positive attitude and enthusiasm toward teaching and toward the material being taught. This was followed by the instructor's ability to explain material clearly. We urge all accounting educators to reflect on each of the attributes and techniques associated with effective accounting instruction, particularly those most highly recommended by both instructors and students. Through such reflection, we remember the goal we all share as educators - to provide a high quality education for our students - and are motivated to improve the quality and effectiveness of our teaching.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The purposes of this research are twofold: (1) to gather and report information regarding the teaching techniques and methods employed by, and attributes of, some of accounting's most effective instructors; and (2) to compare instructors' and students' opinions regarding effective teaching techniques and methods. The study examined a wide variety of topics related to teaching effectiveness, including attributes of effective instructors, teaching techniques, use of questions in class, and methods of facilitating class discussion and student participation. While the importance of some of the attributes and techniques discussed in this study may seem intuitively obvious, such as the application of examples and the instructor's level of preparation and organization, the relative importance placed on the various attributes and techniques by the students and educators who participated in this study provides insight into their relative and absolute importance in the learning process. Several limitations of the study exist. First, the study lacked a control group of ineffective or less effective accounting instructors. A control group would allow interesting comparisons of attributes and teaching techniques across effective and ineffective instructors; however, obtaining the participation of a control group seems problematic. For example, it is unlikely that instructors would respond to

Effective Accounting

161

Instruction

survey items such as, "Please indicate the attributes that differentiate you from effective accounting teachers." Second, it is assumed that students and instructors are able to evaluate, with some degree of accuracy, the relative effectiveness of various teaching techniques for enhancing student learning. Third, the study did not control for possible differences in the missions (teaching versus research) of the respondents' institutions or for possible differences in the quality of students. Teaching practices that are effective with traditional or honors students might be less effective with remedial students and vice-versa. Future research should explore this issue. Finally, it is possible that some of the terms used in the survey, such as "communication style (e.g. enthusiasm, dynamic presentation style)" may have been interpreted differently by different respondents. Each of these limitations should be kept in mind when interpreting the study's findings. Results of this study provide insight into the teaching techniques and methods employed by accounting educators who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers. Perhaps the single most important attribute of these teachers is a love for teaching. As expressed by one instructor, "I love what I do and I think that's quite clear to my students." As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." While teaching effectiveness includes many characteristics, skills, and attributes beyond those addressed here, the quality of accounting education would be enhanced if every instructor were to review the attributes and methods examined in this study and make a commitment to improve. We encourage accounting educators to appraise the attributes, techniques, and methods discussed herein and, when appropriate, incorporate them in their interactions with their own students.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank David Stout (discussant) and other participants at the 2001 AAA annual meeting for their helpful comments and suggestions.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (1990). Objectives of education for accountants. Position Statement No. One (September). Accounting Education Change Commission (1992). The first course in accounting. Position Statement No. Two (June). Accounting Education Change Commission (1993). Evaluating and rewarding effective teaching: Issues statement No. 5. Issues in Accounting Education (Fall), 436-439.

162

DAVID S. KERR AND L. MURPHY SMITH

American Accounting Association (1996). Aframeworkfor encouraging effective teaching. Report of the Committee on Promoting and Evaluating Effective Teaching. Apostolou, B., Watson, S. E, Hassell, J. M., & Webber, S. A. (2001). Accounting education literature review (1997-1999). Journal ofAccounting Education, 19,1-61. Bailey, C. D., Gupta, S., & Schrader, R. W. (2000). Do students' judgment models of instructor effectiveness differ by course level, course content, or individual instructor? Journal ofAccounting Education, 18,15-34. Baker, R. E. (Chair) (1990). Report ofthe committee on recognizing, rewarding, and improving teaching effectiveness. Federation of Schools of Accountancy. Bashir, T. H. (2000). Accounting instruction using the open learning approach. Journal of Accounting Education, 18,229-240. Bonner, S. E. (1999). Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Issues in Accounting Education, 14,11-39. Butler, J. B., & Mautz, R. D., Jr. (1996). Multimedia presentations and learning: A laboratory experiment. Issues in Accounting Education, 11,259-280. Cahn, S. M. (1982). The art of teaching: The essentials for classroom success. American Educator (Fall), 36-39. Cashin, W. E. (1983). Concerns about using student ratings in community colleges. In: A. Smith (Ed.), Evaluating Faculty and Staff: New Directions for Community Colleges. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chen, Y., & Hoshower, L. B. (1998). Assessing student motivation to participate in teaching evaluations: An application of expectancy theory. Issues in Accounting Education, 3,531-549. Coats, W. D., & Smidchens, U. (1966). Audience recall as a function of speaker dynamism. Journal of Educational Psychology. Conant, J. S., Smart, D. T, & Kelley, C. A. (1988). Master teaching: Pursuing excellence in marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education (Fall), 3-13. Davis, H. Z., Hwang, L. S., & Shoaf, V. (2001). The use of individualized problems to improve students' learning. Journal of Accounting Education, 19,189-210. DeBerg, C. L., & Wilson, J. R. (1990). An empirical investigation of the potential confounding variables in student evaluation of teaching. Journal ofAccounting Education, 8,37-62. Etter, E. R., Burmeister, S. L., & Elder, R. J. (2000). Improving student performance and retention via supplemental instruction. Journal ofAccounting Education, 18,355-368. Farrell, B. (2000). Developing a successful online class: What works to keep the students motivated and interested. AIS Educators Conference (July 31-August 2). Feldman, K. A. (1976). Grades and college students' evaluations of their courses and teachers. Research in Higher Education, 4,69-111. Frey, P. W. (1978). A two dimensional analysis of student ratings of instruction. Research in Higher Education, 9,69-91. Green, B. P., Calderon, T. G., & Reider, B. P. (1998). A content analysis of teaching evaluation instruments used in accounting departments. Issues in Accounting Education (February), 15-30. Harwood, E. M., & Cohen, J. R. (1999). Classroom assessment: Education and research opportunities. Issues in Accounting Education, 14,691-724. Herr, P. (2000). The changing role of the teacher. T.H.E. Journal, 28,23-34. Jones, J. P., & Fields, K. T. (2001). The role of supplemental instruction in thefirstaccounting course. Issues in Accounting Education, 16,531-547. Kullberg, D. R., Gladstone, W. L„ Scanlon, P. R., Cook, J. M., Groves, R. J., Horner, L. D., O'Malley, S. F., & Kangas, E. A. (1989). Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession.

Effective Accounting

Instruction

163

Lancaster, K. A. S., & Strand, C. A. (2001). Using the team-learning model in a managerial accounting class: An experiment in cooperative learning. Issues in Accounting Education, 16,549-567. Marsh, H. W. (1982). SEEQ: A reliable, valid, and useful instrument for collecting student evaluations of university teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 52,77-95. Marsh, H. W. (1991). Multidimensional students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness: A test of alternative higher-order structures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83,285-296. Mastin, V. E. (1963). Teacher enthusiasm. Journal of Educational Research. McKeachie, W. J. (1979). Student ratings of faculty: A reprise. Academe, 65,384-397. Menges, R. J. (1990). Using evaluation information to improve teaching. In: P. Seldin & Associates (Eds), How Administrators Can Improve Teaching (pp. 104-121). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Mohan, M., & Hull, R. E. (1975). Teaching effectiveness: Its meaning, assessment, and improvement. Educational Technology Publications. Ravenscroft, S., Buckless, E, & Zuckerman, G. (1997). Student team learning - replication and extension. Accounting Education: A Journal of Theory, Practice, and Research, 2,151-172. Rebele, J. E., Apostolou, B. A., Buckless, F. A., Hassell, J. M., Paquette, L. R., & Stout, D. E. (1998a). Accounting education literature review (1991-1997), Part I: Curriculum and instructional approaches. Journal of Accounting Education, 16,1-51. Rebele, J. E., Apostolou, B. A., Buckless, F. A., Hassell, J. M., Paquette, L. R., & Stout, D. E. (1998b). Accounting education literature review (1991-1997), Part II: Students, educational technology, assessment, and faculty issues. Journal of Accounting Education, 16,179-245. Rebele, J. E., Stout, D. E., & Hassell, J. M. (1991). A review of empirical research in accounting education: 1985-1991. Journal of Accounting Education, 9,167-231. Sawyer, A. J., Tomlinson, S. R., & Maples, A. J. (2000). Developing essential skills through case study scenarios. Journal of Accounting Education, 18,257-282. Seldin, P. (1993). The use and abuse of student ratings of professors. The Chronicle ofHigher Education (July), A40. Smart, D. T., Conant, J. S.t & Kelley, C. A. (1988). Lecturing effectiveness: The skilled marketing educator's perspective. In: G. Frazier et al. (Eds), 1988 AMA Summer Educators' Proceedings (pp. 154-158). Chicago: American Marketing Association. Stevens, K. T, & Stevens, W. P. (1992). Evidence on the extent of training in teaching and education research among accounting faculty. Journal ofAccounting Education, 271-283. Stratton, W. O. (1990). A model for the assessment of student evaluations of teaching, and the professional development of faculty. The Accounting Educators' Journal (Summer), 77-101. Thomas, M. F. (1993). A new role for IMA? Management Accounting (April), 16-17. Wallace, J. J., & Wallace, W. A. (1998). Why the costs of student evaluations have long since exceeded their value. Issues in Accounting Education (May), 443-447. Weaver, R. (1978). The challenge of quality teaching. Improving College and University Teaching.

VALIDITY CHECK ON THE ACCOUNTING PREREQUISITES WITHIN THE BUSINESS CURRICULUM Howard Turetsky and Gerald Weinstein ABSTRACT This study investigates the contribution of accounting to performance in non-accounting business courses. Specifically, we examine the effect of student learning in two introductory accounting courses, Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting, on subsequent performance in a decision-oriented upper division Financial Management course. Generally, our results suggest that performance in the two prerequisite core accounting courses is highly correlated,, in a positive direction, with performance in the Financial Management course. When our analysis separately considers the higher and lower levels of achievement in the Financial Management course, Managerial Accounting is the salient predictor of higher performance levels. Overall, our findings indicate that the educational foundation provided by the introduction to accounting can play an important role in a student's subsequent business coursework. We feel that this study has the potential to influence curricular decisions regarding the relative need for the introductory accounting courses as prerequisite to various higher-level business courses.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,165-180 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05010-7 165

166

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

INTRODUCTION In Position Statement Number One, the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990, p. 308) put forth a challenge to make accounting courses more relevant in a business school's curriculum when it said that "[t]he overriding objective in developing course content should be to create a base upon which continued learning can be built." Introductory accounting should provide a foundation, not solely for those who will take subsequent accounting courses, but also for those "who are not going to enter the profession" (p. 309). The implication is that knowledge of basic accounting principles is important to future success in business school coursework. As the majority of business students do not major in accounting, the accounting prerequisite core courses need to be part of the essential underpinning for other business disciplines. Two semesters of an introduction to accounting (financial and managerial) are the prerequisite norm for all business students, regardless of major. For many students this sequence is theirfirstexposure to any type of practical business class. The course introduces key terminology used in all functional business areas, so that when students move into other business courses (e.g. finance, marketing, and management) they will be prepared to understand the financial impact of varied business decisions. The relevance of fundamental accounting knowledge to other business courses should be clear and overt. The introduction to accounting can help develop in students a broad range of skills, which are useful in subsequent business courses. The basic business and financial concepts integrated therein help to provide the foundation for upper division business courses. These upper-level courses often involve decision making within a more complex business environment where knowledge gained from introductory accounting is effectively utilized. Many variables can affect course performance including previous academic coursework, prior work experience, and the skill and methodology employed by the teacher. Recognizing the limitation that one can control for various effects only in a tightly controlled experimental environment, we attempt to show a relation between performance in introductory accounting and performance in a nonaccounting upper-level business course. Specifically, we examine the effect of student learning in two introductory accounting courses, Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting, on subsequent performance in a decision-oriented, upper division Financial Management course. This Financial Management course, while not an accounting course, requires problem-solving skills that rely heavily on many concepts we teach in the introduction to accounting. Success in developing the technical skills germane to introductory accounting, including an understanding of how financial information

Validity Check on the Accounting Prerequisites is prepared and consequently comprehending and interpreting this information, may be an indicator of success in the later non-accounting course. We posit that students who earn higher grades in the prerequisite financial and managerial accounting courses will earn higher grades in the upper-division financial management course, implying that knowledge from the core accounting courses is an important aspect of a student's success in subsequent decision-oriented business courses. Prior research has examined the relationship between student performance in the introductory accounting courses and upper division accounting courses, primarily Intermediate Accounting (e.g. Buehlmann, 1975; Danko et al., 1992; Delaney et al., 1979; Eckel & Johnson, 1983; Krausz et al., 1999; Schwartz & Burdick, 1982; Turner et al., 1997). The current study expands the scope of the literature by examining whether performance in accounting prerequisites (Financial and Managerial Accounting) is related to performance in a subsequent upper-division business course (Financial Management) that is not an accounting course. From a broader perspective, by examining performance in the decision-oriented Financial Management course, we are examining the relevance of the introduction to accounting courses, thus performing a validity check on the accounting prerequisites within the business curriculum. Empirical justification (or non-justification) of the introductory accounting courses as prerequisites has the potential to influence curricular decisions concerning whether the two accounting core courses are integral to various higher-level business courses. Finally, by amplifying the importance of accounting education within the general business curriculum, this study lends support to the AECC's charge that "the knowledge and skills provided by the first course in accounting should facilitate subsequent learning even if the student takes no additional academic work in accounting" (AECC, 1992, p. 249). The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. Background information from previous research is in the next section. Following that, we describe the research design, specifically reviewing the data collection and model we utilize to test our research question. We then present the results and discuss our conclusions.

BACKGROUND Geary and Rooney (1993, p. 60) point out that much of accounting education is focused on structured learning activities where deduction is an important tool in the solution kit. They refer to this as sensate and state that this realization is essential to an understanding of accounting education. Even so, Nelson (1995, pp. 72-73) criticizes accounting education as being narrowly focused, with accounting courses characterized by a rules-based, procedural approach. Nelson

167

168

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

(1995, p. 63) emphasizes that recent criticism of accounting education parallels the criticism of earlier decades in that accounting programs continue to emphasize technical training and CPA exam preparation rather than the liberal education that was originally intended by the founders of university schools of business. Empirical studies find that accounting education at the university level departs from the technical training of a high school bookkeeping course. Keef and Hooper (1991, p. 88) and Baldwin and Howe (1982, pp. 619-630) both demonstrate that the prior study of bookkeeping (e.g. high school) does not correlate with better performance in a university level accounting course. Given the prevalence of "math phobia" among accounting students (Clark & Schwartz, 1989, p. 153), one might expect that the increased confidence and lessened anxiety of students with prior bookkeeping would upwardly bias their performance. However, Baldwin and Howe (1982, p. 625) conclude the opposite, stating that the prior study of bookkeeping may prove dysfunctional toward the study of accounting at the university level. These results suggest that the thought processes developed in the introductory accounting courses at the university level are not a rehashing of high school bookkeeping, and likely provide a necessary foundation for achievement in subsequent accounting courses as well as other business courses. The charge of the AECC is that accounting should be an integral component of an overall business school education. Although cases (e.g. Ruhl & Kreuze, 1997, p. 445) have integrated financial and managerial accounting issues within the context of business decisions that draw from varied business disciplines, prior research has concentrated on linking core accounting principles and concepts with subsequent performance within its own discipline. Some (Buehlmann, 1975; Delaney et al., 1979; Eckel & Johnson, 1983; Schwartz & Burdick, 1982; Turner et al., 1997) found a significant relationship between the course grade in Introductory Managerial Accounting and the subsequent course grade in Intermediate Accounting. Buehlmann (1975, p. 94) further reported that performance in Introductory Financial Accounting was unrelated to the Intermediate Accounting grade, even though its material coverage is comparable to that of Intermediate Accounting. More recently, Danko et al. (1992, p. 271) developed a predictive model of student success in Intermediate Accounting. Contrary to Buehlmann's results, Danko et al. found the grade in Introductory Financial Accounting to be one of the significant predictors of success in Intermediate Accounting. Also, in contrast to prior research, Danko et al. did not find Introductory Managerial Accounting to be a predictor of subsequent performance in Intermediate Accounting. Krausz et al. (1999, p. 8) expanded the research by examining whether prior work experience as well as previous coursework was a barometer for success in an entry-level graduate accounting course. While they found that work experience linked with previous accounting coursework was a significant gauge

Validity Check on the Accounting Prerequisites

169

of subsequent achievement in the entry-level graduate accounting course, they discovered that one was not sufficient without the other. Most accounting education research has been intra-disciplinary, examining the relationship between student performance in the core accounting prerequisites and subsequent achievement in upper division accounting courses, primarily Intermediate Accounting. However, Rosacker et al. (1995, p. 102) extend the research to consider overall achievement within the business school. They compare the performance of accounting majors with that of business administration majors in the business core courses. Their findings, based on performance in 14 required core business courses, provide evidence that accounting majors are superior academic achievers when compared to their counterparts majoring in business administration. We extend this research, examining whether a direct correlation exists between achievement in the accounting core prerequisites and a decision-oriented, upper division finance course (Financial Management). Our study focuses on the importance of the two requisite core accounting courses (uniformly required of business administration majors as well as accounting majors) on performance in a financial management course. We posit that the core accounting courses, in addition to presenting students with the basic accounting principles and concepts, introduce the fundamentals of business. It is our assertion that the requisite accounting courses not only provide the understanding of financial statements necessary for success as a financial manager, but also disseminate the critical thinking processes that are fundamental to financial management decisions. The current study expands the extant accounting education research. Our research underscores the relevance and reliability of the accounting prerequisites as predictors of subsequent academic performance within a school of business.

RESEARCH DESIGN Research Question This paper explores the role that the knowledge gained in introductory accounting courses has on financial management decisions. The research question is whether the introductory accounting courses are a significant component of financial management decision processes. Specifically, we examine the relationship between performance in the two core accounting courses, Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting, and subsequent performance in a decision-oriented upper-division Financial Management course. In the introductory accounting courses, concepts that are relevant to the upper-division Financial Management

170

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

course are taught. These concepts include what kind of accounting information is needed, where this information can be obtained, and how managers use this information to carry out their planning, controlling, and decision-making responsibilities. The Financial Management course is an upper-division finance course, taken predominantly by Business Administration majors with at least junior class standing. The course includes such topics asfinancialanalysis, value and value theory, risk analysis, investment decisions, corporatefinanceand theory, working capital management and related topics. The foundation for much of this subject matter is laid in the introductory accounting courses. A sample Financial Management course syllabus appears in Appendix.

Data Collection To examine our hypothesis, we gathered the data at a private university located in the western United States, which is known for its excellence as a liberal arts college and was ranked ninth in its region in a recent ranking of America's Best Colleges (U.S. News and World Report, 2001, p. 113). We collected data for graduating classes within the business school from 1992 through 1998 for all students who took the upper division Financial Management course. Utilizing student social security numbers (the student ID), we matched student grades in Financial Management with" their grades in Introductory Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting. During the study's time-period, the Financial Management course was not on the required or suggested list of courses for accounting majors; therefore, students enrolled in this course were almost exclusively non-accounting majors and for analysis it is not necessary to separate accounting majors from other business administration majors. It is also noteworthy that the Introductory Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting courses (uniformly required of business administration majors as well as accounting majors) were taught from a user perspective, not emphasizing bookkeeping "tools." The data collection also included the student's grade in a mathematics prerequisite course and their SAT scores. The University uses minuses and pluses, which they denote respectively by a 0.7 (i.e. 0.3 below) and 0.3 above the "whole" numbered grade. We recorded SAT scores separately for the verbal and mathematics sections, with a score of 800 representing the maximum possible score for each section. The descriptive statistics, for our student sample, appears in Table 1 (Panel A). As Table 1 (Panel A) depicts, the total sample included 485 observed grades in the Financial Management course. There are a total of 20 "missing" values for students' grades in mathematics and the two accounting prerequisites. However, as indicated, our final sample size is 246, effectively limited by the number of

171

Validity Check on the Accounting Prerequisites Table 1.

Summary Statistics.

Panel A - Descriptive Statistics Covariate Financial Management Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting Mathematics SAT

{Math}

SAT{Verbal} SAT{ com bjned}

Min

Max

0.8111 0.7223 0.695

0 0 0

4 4 4

2.595 514 447 961

0.928 75 67 122

0 280 220 520

4 730 660 1350

Percent

Cumulative (%)

Observations

Mean

Std. Deviation

485 465 472

2.391 2.651 2.531

465 246 246 246

Panel B - Frequency Distribution Financial Management Grade F DD

D+ CC

c+ BB

B+ AA Total

Frequency

2 1 14 1 23 69 26 22 48 14 9 17

0.81 0.41 5.69 0.41 9.35 28.05 10.57 8.94 19.51 5.69 3.66 6.91

246

100.00

0.81 1.22 6.91 7.32 16.67 44.72 55.28 64.23 83.74 89.43 93.09 100.00

Panel C - Pearson Correlation Coefficients

(1) Entrance (2) Gender (3) SAT{verbaI} (4) SAT{malh} (5) Math (6) Financial Accounting (7) Managerial Accounting

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

1.0000 0.0261 0.0479 0.0719 -0.0670 -0.0108

1.0000 0.1239 -0.0396 0.0782 0.0734

1.0000 0.4655 0.0121 0.1883

1.0000 0.1180 0.2528

1.0000 0.2612

1.0000

-0.0191

0.0364

0.0941

0.2108

0.2903

0.4492

172

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

observations (246) of student SAT scores. The number of "missing" SAT s c ° " * is predominantly due to the existence of 196 transfer students, from whom SAT scores are not required for admission. For this final sample, we present the frequency distribution of grades in the Financial Management course (see Table 1, Panel B). As depicted, there is an even distribution (110 grades) below and above C+. Model The structure of our complete model is: Financial Management = b\Entrance + ^Gender + foSATjverbai} + b4SAT{math} +fcsMath+ ^Financial Accounting + ^Managerial Accounting + e Performance (grade) in the Financial Management course is the dependent variable of interest. Grades in Introductory Financial and Managerial Accounting are the independent variables that are the focus of the current study's research question. The mathematics grade and SAT scores are covariates that control for a student s quantitative aptitude as well as overall academic potential. Additionally, we include indicator variables to test the significance of entrance (enrollment as a freshman versus transferring in) and gender effects. Table 1 (Panel C) provides the Pearson Correlations of these variables.

RESULTS We estimate our model utilizing linear regression. We present the results in Table 2. The model is significant as an estimator of performance in Financial Management. More specifically, performance in Introductory Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting are each positively correlated with performance in the Financial Management course, at respective significance levels of 0.000 and 0.002, based on /-tests. Neither of the academic aptitude "control" covariates (SAT scores and mathematics course grade) is individually significant. Likewise, entrance and gender are not significant estimators of performance in Financial Management. Essentially, the results in Table 2 imply that a student's grade in Financial or Managerial Accounting, or both, is significant as a predictor of performance in the decision-oriented Financial Management course. The general

Validity Check on the Accounting Prerequisites

173

Table 2. Predictors of Performance in Financial Management. Covariate Entrance" Gender SAT{verba|} SAT{math} Math Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting Constant

Beta Coefficient

Std. Error

f-Statistic

/>>|r|

0.1017 0.0461 0.0011 0.0010 0.0287 0.2684 0.2399 -0.0394

0.1584 0.0989 0.0008 0.0007 0.0544 0.0736 0.0782 0.4132

0.642 0.466 1.403 1.365 0.527 3.648 3.067 -0.095

0.522 0.641 0.162 0.174 0.598 0.000 0.002 0.924

Model: Financial Management = £ i Entrance + ^Gender + &3SAT(verbai) +fc4SAT(math)+ fcjMath + ^Financial Accounting + ^Managerial Accounting + e; ADJ /{-squared = 0.2002; F-Statistic = 9.44; Prob. > F = 0.000. Note: We also test our model utilizing maximum likelihood ordered logit estimation and the results are robust, with the additional marginal significance of SAT{veibai}* 'Entrance, though not significant in our model, is significant on a univariate basis as a predictor of performance in the financial management course. An analysis of variance between students who enrolled as freshmen and those that transferred in indicates that the mean grade difference of 0.156 (2.453 compared with 2.297) is significant (p = 0.037).

inference is that introductory financial and managerial accounting provides an influential educational basis in financial management decision processes. We performed a factor analysis to separate the constructs that are delineated by our variables. As depicted in Table 3 (Panel B), the two SAT components load together, and the academic course performance variables load as another factor. The indication is that SAT scores comprise an "academic aptitude" construct, whereas the three courses (financial accounting, managerial accounting, and mathematics) embody an academic performance factor. When we regress Financial Management on these two factors, the estimated linear regression model (see Table 3 - Panel A) is significant. Both factor 1 (aptitude) and factor 2 (performance) are highly significant as determinants of performance in the Financial Management course. Consistent with the results shown in Table 2, academic performance in Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting, represented by factor 2, is highly correlated (significant at the 0.000 level) in a positive direction with subsequent performance in the Financial Management course. Likewise, the academic aptitude construct, composed of SAT scores, is positively correlated with the Financial Management course grade. The implication is that, although the individual SAT components are not separately significant as predictors of performance in Financial Management, the combined SAT aptitude is significant as a subsequent performance indicator.

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

174

Table 3. Predictors of Performance in Financial Management. Panel A - Regression Results on Factor Scores Covariate

Beta Coefficient

Std. Error

(-Statistic

P>W

Factor 1 Factor 2 Constant

-0.2063 0.2938 2.4562

0.0455 0.0458 0.0455

-4.533 6.408 53.947

0.000 0.000 0.000

Panel B - Factor Loadings Rotated Factor Loadings Covariate SA

T{math}

Math SAT{verbai} Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting

Factor 1

Factor 2

-0.82120 0.05676 -0.86549 -0.26510 -0.18481

0.13210 0.70416 -0.05225 0.75651 0.73942

Model: Financial Management = b\factor 1 + ^factor 2 + e; Adj. R-squared = 0.2029; F-Statistic = 31.04; Prob. > F = 0.000. Note: We also test our model utilizing maximum likelihood ordered logit estimation and the results are robust.

To see whether the significant underlying constructs vary according to different levels of achievement, we extend our analysis by estimating model(s) that are delimited by high or low performance levels in Financial Management. Based on the frequency distribution, we utilize the median grade of C+ as a buffer and estimate regression models for the even distributions of high achievers (B— and above) and low achievers (C and below). We present the results Table 4. As shown in Panel A, when the model is estimated on the high achievement (B— or above) sub-sample, only Managerial Accounting is a significant predictor of performance in the Financial Management course. Within the low achievement student group (C or below) sub-sample (see Panel B), the SAT{math} score is associated with higher levels of performance and the SAT{verbai} s c o r e *s associated with lower performance levels. These findings suggest that quantitative aptitude is an underlying construct toward the attainment of minimum achievement levels. Generally, our results indicate that introductory financial and managerial accounting are important within the business school curriculum. Managerial Accounting, in particular, is associated with superior performance in a decisionoriented, upper division Financial Management course. Our findings suggest

Validity Check on the Accounting

175

Prerequisites

Table 4. Predictors of Performance in Financial Management. Panel A - High Achievers (B-- and above)8 Covariate Entrance Gender SAT{vert,ai} SAT{malh} Math Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting Constant

Beta Coefficient

Std. Error

/-Statistic

0.2238 0.1308 -0.0003 0.0007 -0.0283 0.0871 0.1747

0.1331 0.0822 0.0006 0.0006 0.0475 0.0655 0.0667

1.682 1.593 -0.408 1.086 -0.597 1.329 2.618

0.096 0.114 0.684 0.280 0.552 0.187 0.010

2.0457

0.3865

5.294

0.000

P>\t\

Panel B - Low Achievers (C and below)b Covariate

Beta Coefficient

Std. Error

f-Statistic

Entrance Gender

0.0100 0.1418 -0.0016 0.0013 0.0627 0.0844 0.1012 1.1993

0.1494 0.0904 0.0008 0.0007 0.0469 0.0642 0.0772 0.3685

0.067 1.568 -1.975 1.857 1.338 1.315 1.311 3.254

SAT{verba!}

SAT{ma(h} Math Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting Constant

P>\t\ 0.947 0.120 0.051 0.066 0.184 0.192 0.193 0.002

Model: Financial Management = b\Entrance + ^Gender +fc3SAT(vert>al)+ &4SAT{malh) + fcsMath + ^Financial Accounting + ^Managerial Accounting + e. •Adj. /{-squared = 0.1565, F-Statistic = 3.81, Prob. > F = 0.0011. b Adj. /{-squared = 0.0904, F-Statistic = 2.48, Prob. > F = 0.0221.

that the accounting educational foundation plays a critical role in the student's subsequent performance within the school of business.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS This study has investigated the effects of students' learning in Introductory Financial and Managerial Accounting courses on their subsequent performance in a decision-oriented, upper division business course (Financial Management). The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between performance in Introductory Financial and Managerial Accounting courses and performance

176

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

in a subsequent finance course, Financial Management. The results suggest that introductory accounting courses are relevant in an undergraduate business program and that they contribute to enhanced student learning in subsequent business courses. One limitation of this study is that the results reflect the sample obtained at a single university. Without replication, one can question the study's generalizability. Also, student performance can be affected by several factors not explicitly controlled for in this study, such as student demographics, life experiences, pedagogy adopted, teacher effectiveness, and grading criteria. For example, if there is a systematic bias in the grades assigned by a particular faculty member, the results obtained from this study will be accordingly skewed. Despite limitations that can only be minimized in a tightly controlled experimental environment, our results suggest that introductory accounting courses help students develop the critical thinking skills they will need in later business courses. We also acknowledge that, similar to other research of this nature, undeniable theoretical support is limited. Notwithstanding, we feel that this study has the potential to influence curricular decisions regarding the relative need for the introductory accounting courses as prerequisite to various higher-level business courses. A possible extension to this study is the question of whether performance in requisite accounting courses is related to performance in subsequent non businessor accounting-related courses. Such research would ascertain whether lower division accounting courses help students develop the broad range of skills such as appreciation of ethical standards and effective oral and written communication that are useful in a range of courses beyond business and accounting. In the long run, we believe that the challenge for accounting educators is to ensure that accounting is relevant and vital within the broader context of a liberal education.

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Committee (AECC) (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: Position statement number one. Issues in Accounting Education (Fall), 307-312. Accounting Education Change Committee (AECC) (1992). The First Course in Accounting: Position statement number two. Issues in Accounting Education (Fall), 249-251. Baldwin, B., & Howe, R. (1982). Secondary-level study of accounting and subsequent performance in the first college course. The Accounting Review (July), 619-630. Buehlmann, D. (1975). ISU's use of the AICPA's college testing program. Journal of Accountancy (May), 93-96. Clark, C, & Schwartz, B. (1989). Accounting anxiety: An experiment to determine the effects of an intervention on anxiety levels and achievement of introductory accounting students. Journal of Accounting Education (Fall), 149-169.

Validity Check on the Accounting

Prerequisites

177

Danko, K., Duke, J. C , & Franz, D. P. (1992). Predicting student performance in accounting classes. Journal of Education for Business (May/June), 270-274. Delaney, P., Keys, D., Norton, C , & Simon, J. (1979). An admission test for intermediate accounting. The Accounting Review (January), 155-162. Eckel, N., & Johnson, W. (1983). A model for screening and classifying potential accounting majors. Journal of Accounting Education (Fall), 57-65. Geary, W. T.t & Rooney, C. J. (1993). Designing accounting education to achieve balanced intellectual development. Issues in Accounting Education (Spring), 60-70. Keef, S., & Hooper, K. (1991). Prior accounting education and performance in a first-level university course in New Zealand. Accounting and Finance, 85-91. Krausz, J., Schiff, A., Schiff, J., & VanHise, J. (1999). The effects of prior accounting work experience and education on performance in the initial graduate-level accounting course. Issues in Accounting Education (February), 1-9. Nelson, I. (1995). What's new about accounting education change? An historical perspective on the change movement. Accounting Horizons (December), 62-73. Rosacker, R. E., Rosacker, K. M , & Lau, R. S. M. (1995). Achievement in business core courses: The academic quality of accounting majors. Journal of Education for Business (November/December), 102-106. Ruhl, J., & Kreuze, J. (1997). Startup, inc.: Linking financial accounting, managerial accounting, and strategic management. Issues in Accounting Education (Fall), 435-456. Schwartz, B. N., & Burdick, R. (1982). Predicting grade performance for intermediate accounting. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal (July), 117-127. Turner, J. L., Holmes, S., & Wiggins, C. (1997). Factors associated with grades in intermediate accounting. Journal of Accounting Education (Spring), 269-288. U.S. News and World Report (2001). September 17,113.

APPENDIX Syllabus (Financial Management)

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 123 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MWF FALL 2000 Professor Donald Snyder Hours: MWF 3:00-4:30 Galileo 329 and by appointment Extension 4580

Objectives of the Course This course is about how business firms obtain and make use of funds. Decisions like this require specialized knowledge, involve significant financial

178

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

commitments, and subject the firm to risk (the handmaiden of attractive potential returns). Financial managers must walk a tightrope: stockholders need to be satisfied that the company is being run both sensibly and profitably, yet at the same time the financial manager must often bear the scrutiny of customers, employees, the courts, and society at large. This course is designed to provide a working knowledge of the principles of domestic and international financial management. For those interested in a career in finance the course provides a foundation for advanced study. Other business career paths also require an understanding of financial management because business decisions today are often team based. If you can't understand the financial manager's concepts and thought processes, you won't be able to contribute effectively in such team situations and that will not enhance your chances for promotion. Class Structure Class time will be divided between discussion of the assigned readings, review of important and difficult material, and other class activities. Be sure you have completed all readings and homework before you come to class and that you bring your textbook, financial calculator, and other necessary materials. For examinations you are responsible for all material assigned, including what is said in class discussions and reading material that does not get covered in class. When you encounter concepts you do not understand be sure to ask me to explain them. If your question will require lots of time to answer it is best to see me after class, or at my office hours. If my scheduled office hours are not convenient for you we can arrange to meet at another time. Required Materials (1) Dickerson, Campsey and Brigham, Introduction to Financial Management (Fourth Edition: Dryden, 1995). (2) A basic business/financial calculator such as, for example, the Radio Shack EC-5010. More expensive ones like the Texas Instruments B All Plus are harder to learn how to use. Prerequisites To be admitted to this class you must have junior standing and have taken Accounting 1 and 2, Econ 1 and 2, and BA 40.

179

Validity Check on the Accounting Prerequisites

Homework Homework will be assigned and collected on a regular basis. When turning in homework assignments write out all calculations and circle your final answers. Research Project The required research project for this course must be turned in one week before the end of classes. For details and instructions see the handout BA 123 Term Project. Some Class Rules Exams must be taken on the date scheduled. Assignments turned in one day late receive half credit. No credit will be given for assignments turned in more than one day late unless there are compelling personal circumstances and permission is requested in advance. Adds, drops, incompletes, absences, cheating, etc. will be dealt with in accordance with College rules: see the section, "Academic Regulations," in the College Catalog. Plagiarism will result in an automatic *'F': no exceptions, no excuses. Grading Your final grade will be a weighted average calculated as follows: First exam Second exam Final exam Term project Homework Participation and attitude

10% 15% 30% 20% 15% 10%

What is Expected with Regard to Participation and Attitude? • Attend all class sessions. • Be alert; participate; volunteer answers. When you don't understand, ask. • Don't chatter or distract others. It creates the wrong impression in the instructor's mind about your motivation and maturity. • Seek extra credit: attend Business Club functions.

HOWARD TURETSKY AND GERALD WEINSTEIN

180 Reading Assignments Topic

Text Readings

1 2 3

Intro/taxes/financial statements Financial ratio analysis Financial Forecasting

Ch.l,pp.37-51,Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7

5 6 7 8

Exam 1 The U.S.financialsystem The international financial system Working Capital Time value of money

pp. 51-64,75-76, Ch. 4 pp. 891-903 Ch. 8, pp. 909-912 Ch. 13

9 10 11 12 13 14

Exam 2 The capital budgeting process Risk and return Capital budgeting decisions Risk management Bonds and stocks Cost of capital

Ch. 14 Ch. 12 Ch. 15,903-7 pp. 694-8,914-24 Chs 16,17 Ch. 19

Week

Final Exam

STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNING IN A WEB-ASSISTED FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS COURSE Mohammad Abdolmohammadi, Martha Howe and Kenneth Ryack ABSTRACT Use of the Internet in the classroom is gaining in popularity, and students' apparent interest in this tool suggests that web-based pedagogy can have a positive effect on their learning. In this paper we describe a major revision to a Financial Statement Analysis course wherein we infused web-based content into all aspects of the course. The paper also presents an empirical analysis of two different survey instruments that solicited students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the web-assisted pedagogy. The results indicate that students in the revised course perceived that specific aspects of the web-assisted pedagogy enhanced their learning, although overall perceived understanding of the subject matter was not different for students in the old version versus the new version of the course. Thus, while certain aspects ofour pedagogy appear to have enhanced students' perceptions of their learning, further research is needed to assess whether more direct indicators of learning would also find enhanced learning in a web-based pedagogy.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,181-197 O 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016VS1085-4622(03)05011-9 181

182

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

INTRODUCTION Motivations to incorporate more computer assisted learning into the curriculum include employers' need for a computer-literate workforce, demand from students who have increasingly stronger skills and interest in the computer, and potential enhancements to student learning. A particularly interesting aspect of computerassisted learning is the use of the World Wide Web in the classroom as well as in outside assignments. The literature on the use of web sites in accounting courses indicates that many courses are taught via traditional methods, but are augmented with a web site that contains copies of course information such as the syllabus (Boyce, 1999, p. 199; Sangster & Lymer, 1998, p. 1101). In these courses, the web serves as an efficient means of disseminating course material. Students also become more adept at using the web, which is important from the perspective of employability. A broader issue from an educational perspective is the use of a web-based pedagogy to enhance the learning process, which was an issue of concern in our research. Specifically, this paper describes substantial revisions to a financial statement analysis course that included a course web site for administrative efficiency, but more importantly, the revised course comprised an extensive use of the web for pedagogy. The web-based pedagogy was developed with the primary goals of enhancing student learning, assisting with the development of analytical skills, increasing interest in the course, and providing more timely and relevant information. Perceptual data from students provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of the web-based pedagogy. In the remainder of the paper, we present a description of the objectives and design of the web-assisted pedagogy, followed by a review of the relevant literature and the development of the research propositions. The empirical methods used in the assessment of the new pedagogy are discussed next, along with the results. The final section summarizes the pedagogy and its contributions, and suggests areas for further research.

OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE REVISION Finance majors in our business school have long been required to take a financial statement analysis course as part of their major. While enrollment in the course has been restricted primarily to finance students, it is taught by the accounting faculty and labeled as an accounting course. Dissatisfaction with the course expressed

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

by course instructors, students, and finance faculty prompted major revisions to the course in 1998. Course instructors were unanimously disappointed with the apparent lack of student interest in the course, as evidenced by weak participation in class discussions. Instructors also stated their dissatisfaction with the quality of the course resources (e.g. textbook, teaching tools and student learning aids). Students expressed their own concerns about the course, both in conversations with finance and accounting faculty, and in written evaluations of the course. In general, students found the course and the textbook to be boring, they were unhappy taking an additional "accounting" course instead of a finance course, and they failed to see how the course was relevant to their major or how it could be applied to a modern real-world setting. At the same time, finance faculty expressed discontent with students' preparation for upper level finance courses that depended on strong financial statement analysis skills. In revising the course, we set the following goals: (1) raise student interest in the subject; (2) increase the relevance and timeliness of course content; (3) enhance student learning and the development of theirfinancialanalysis skills; and (4) create efficiency in the dissemination of course material. This study focuses on the third and fourth goals - that is, to enhance student learning, and to improve the dissemination of course materials. We did not directly assess our success with the first and second goals. Prior to its revision, faculty taught the course in the traditional lecture manner, with classroom presentations via chalkboard, overheads, and PowerPoint slides. An out-of-class group project that examined and analyzed thefinancialstatements of a selected company was a required component. Homework assignments generally consisted of problems and exercises taken directly from the textbook, and they were rarely collected. Supplemental materials consisted of current news articles to generate student interest and add some elements of timeliness and relevance. Faculty only loosely coordinated the course, in that all instructors met before each semester and agreed on the textbook and the approximate course coverage. Technology encompassed only PowerPoint presentations by instructors in the classroom and word processing and spreadsheet packages by the students for their term project. In revising the course, we relied heavily on technology and a web-based pedagogy to meet our objectives. The college as a whole is (and was in 1998) very heavily invested in the use of information technology, and it was natural to seek solutions that were consistent with the college's strengths. We considered the web as a viable technology, particularly because the college required all

183

184

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

students to own a laptop computer, and it supplied all dorm rooms with a "port per pillow." There were also numerous "technology classrooms" and technology labs across campus, which were equipped with web access and state of the art technology. The college's Trading Room, which functions as a replica of a brokerage trading room and contains virtually all of the same on-line real-time technologies that are available to actual brokerage firms, was another tremendous resource. It provided technologies such as a real-time data feed from Reuters, Bloomberg's online global financial services with industry tracking and relative company analysis, Market Guide with company ratios and industry aggregates, and First Call's global research and analysis coverage. These services also provide some free data on the web, but the direct feeds into the Trading Room provide far more extensive information. For example, the version of Bloomberg available in the Trading Room is an extensive online real-time service that provides comprehensive global financial information, supplemented by analysis tools to facilitate the interpretation of such data. Available information includes company and industry news, current and historical financial data, expert evaluation and analysis, and various types of other financial data and statistics that have options for analyzing and graphing. Market Guide is a database that contains financial and business information on thousands of active companies. In addition to current and historical financial statements, it includes pre-calculated ratios and statistics for each company, industry aggregates and comparative companies. Market Guide continuously updates its database as firms issue new SEC filings and company news releases. We concluded that incorporating the web, supplemented by resources in the Trading Room, was a viable way to meet the major concerns we sought to address via the revision of the course. As noted earlier, our first objective was to increase student interest. At the time we began the course revision, there was little research on how a web-based pedagogy might affect student interest in a course. However, a study by Sangster and Mulligan (1997, p. 53) had found that students were interested in the classroom use of the Internet. In addition, informal conversations with our students and feedback they provided in written course evaluations indicated that they enjoyed surfing the web and that they were interested in learning more about high technology companies. Thus, in revising the course we sought to achieve ourfirstobjective of increasing student interest by integrating use of the Internet and evaluation of high technology companies into the curriculum. Specifically, we chose several high tech companies (IBM, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Dell, and Gateway) to use for illustration purposes and regularly went on line in class to access company web sites, news services, the SEC EDGAR

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement database, and other free financial databases. For example, in the classroom, the instructor could go to a company's web site and display a financial statementrelated press release that was issued just hours or even minutes before class, then display thefinancialstatements and discuss the effects of the newly released information, and finally move to display and discuss analysts' comments and stock market reaction. Outside of class, faculty gave students regular homework assignments in which they were required to access these web sites and use the information in financial analysis. For example, one assignment required the students to access one of thefinancialstatement databases available on the Internet to retrieve current financial statements for Dell, Gateway, and IBM. Students had to identify the accounting methods used by each company to account for inventories, investments, plant assets, and intangible assets and to discuss the differences and similarities and the expected effects on the financial statements. We also chose a new textbook, which provided end-of-chapter Internet cases and exercises that we employed for the assignments. The term project discussed earlier remained as one of the course requirements, with some adjustments. Faculty expected students to use the Internet and Trading Room resources (e.g. Market Guide and Bloomberg databases) in completing the assignment and to provide appropriate references within the body of the paper and the bibliography. In addition, they had to compare and contrast the usefulness and legitimacy of financial data obtained from different data sources to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of each source. We achieved our second objective of increasing timeliness and relevance in part through the use of the web as discussed above. The companies we focused on were constantly in the news. Both in the classroom and in out-of-class assignments, we accessed company web sites,financialanalysis sites, and news sites that provided the most current data and information available to the public. We set aside a class to teach the students how to use relevant web sites and databases and then they were expected to utilize them in completing their term project. In addition to providing students with timely and relevant data, incorporating these programs also gave students a chance to work with software they might use in the workplace. The new textbook we selected, Financial Statement Analysis by Bernstein and Wild (1998), provided very current real-world examples. This textbook was also relevant to finance students in that it was on the recommended reading list for candidates preparing to take one of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualifying exams. Our third objective, and our primary concern for this paper, was to enhance student learning and the development of theirfinancialanalysis skills. In achieving this objective, we hoped to go beyond just teaching students to read financial statements and calculate ratios. We wanted them to develop the ability to:

185

186

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

(1) efficiently sort through tremendous amounts of data and information, (2) determine what is relevant and reliable and (3) interpret the information. King, Premkumar and Ramamurthy (1990, pp. 642-643) found that students' financial case analyses improved significantly with the use of web, while Leidner and Jarvenpaa (1995, p. 277) noted that searching through the web helps students construct organization and analysis skills. The various Internet sites and available data feeds and software (i.e. Market Guide and Bloomberg) provide students with significant amounts of information to sort through, and it is not unusual for the information to be inconsistent. Sometimes the information is biased by the objectives of the presenter (e.g. the company marketing material, sell-side analysts, etc.) or it may vary due to different release dates or methods of presentation. Thus, as a part of our in-class discussions, homework assignments, and the term project, instructors repeatedly required students to use and evaluate data and information from multiple sources. In one assignment, for example, we asked them to identify and explain differences in the presentation of financial statements and ratios on a company's web site as compared to the presentation in the Market Guide database. Finally, we wished to create a more efficient means to disseminate course material so that we could utilize time normally spent distributing handouts and taking care of administrative tasks more effectively. Although not a primary concern, this study also measures our success in meeting this objective. Our main vehicle for achieving this objective was the development of a course web site. In its initial stages, we created a common web site for all sections of the course. The web site provided the syllabus and other basic course information. In time, each instructor created his or her own web site, most of which provided students with links to various financial web sites and the ability to download class handouts, PowerPoint files, etc. The web sites were also used in conjunction with e-mail to answer student questions and to communicate announcements and reminders to students.

PRIOR RESEARCH AND RESEARCH PROPOSITIONS Research in the use of computer-based or web-based pedagogy focuses on factors such as the ability of these tools to either present the course materials more efficiently, or to improve student attitudes (e.g. interest and satisfaction) toward the course, or to improve learning. Although very limited, a general finding is that improvements in learning (our main objective) can occur, and that web sites provide an efficient means of disseminating information (our secondary objective). In this section we present a summary of the findings in the literature.

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

187

Learning with the Web-based Pedagogy Several empirical studies report that students tend to enjoy courses that incorporate use of the web. For example, Sangster and Mulligan (1997, p.53)findthat students are particularly interested in classroom use of computer applications involving the Internet. Sangster and Lymer (1998, p. 1097), who investigate accounting and finance classroom applications, also find that students like web-based pedagogy, perhaps because of its novelty. Improved satisfaction with the course and increased interest in the course are inherently important and presumably linked to improvements in learning (Hidi, 1990, p. 554). However, there is little evidence suggesting that increased student interest stemming from the use of a technology-based pedagogy actually results in increased learning. In fact, one study reports that business students in an automated classroom had high satisfaction with the course and perceived it to be better organized than traditional courses, but did not feel that their learning had improved (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995, p. 272). Other studies focus on the direct impact of a computer-based pedagogy on learning and have find mixed results. For example, Boyce (1999, p. 200) performs a meta-analysis on previous research from the computer-assisted learning area, particularly in accounting, and finds that evidence of improved student performance is mixed. In some of the studies that Boyce reviews, the researchers find no improvement in comparison to traditional methods of instruction, while other studies report a significant improvement in learning. Sangster and Lymer (1998, p. 1097) argue that, in contrast to other types of computer-assisted learning, the Internet creates an exploratory type of learning experience that stimulates thinking. Students searching through web materials must construct their own organization and analysis rather than being provided with instructor-delivered frameworks (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995, p. 277). And student research conducted on the web may promote more effective learning because it tends to engage students in the task both cognitively and physically (Bryant & Hunton, 2000, p. 148). Empirical studies have not always supported these expectations for web-based pedagogy. For example, Garson (1998, pp. 585-586)findsthat a strictly web-based political science course with no required classroom attendance did not improve student performance. Similarly, Karuppan and Karuppan (1999, pp. 43-45) find that deployment of a course web site containing review materials did not lead to long-run better performance for management students. However, the expected performance improvement from web usage has been supported for courses in which databases are applied as an integral part of the course. For example, improvements in students'financialcase analyses were significant when these students employed the web and its wealth of public databases in their analyses (King et al., 1990,

188

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

pp. 642-643). This latter evidence is most clearly applicable to our context and seems to support our utilization of the web to increase student learning. Thus, our first proposition is as follows: Proposition 1. Students will find in-class and out-of-class use of the web to be an effective means of enhancing their learning.

Usefulness of the Course Web Site We used the course web site to also increase student interest and involvement and to improve our efficiency in providing course materials. Although course web sites are commonly thought to be a fruitful means of disseminating course information efficiently to students, there is little research that verifies that students in fact find these web sites constructive. One such study, conducted in a small corporate communications course (n = 14), finds that students judged the web site just slightly better than traditional methods for providing materials like the syllabus, the homework assignments, the course schedule and the project descriptions, but students were more positive about the utility of the site in providing information about grades, readings and the class list (Weil, 1996). Thus, we expected the students in our financial statement analysis course to be similarly positive about our course web site. This expectation suggests the following proposition. Proposition 2. Students will find the course web site to be useful.

EMPIRICAL MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS One of the weaknesses encountered in studies that attempt to directly measure improvements in students' performance is the failure to provide an adequate control sample. Because of ethical and logistical concerns, random assignment of students to a particular type of pedagogy is seldom possible. Consequently, students generally self-select into technology-based versus more traditional course sections. Other confounding factors include differences in teaching styles, teaching hours, and even the course content in the course sections being compared (Boyce, 1999, p. 201). In our study, all students had to take the revised course, thus, there was no control group to compare; however, we were able to make comparisons between the traditional and revised course over a two-semester period, holding the instructors constant. We also collected perception data from the students in the revised course. The purpose of these data was to assess students* perceptions about the usefulness,

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

189

difficulty and learning effectiveness, or self-efficacy, of the pedagogy in the new course. Leidner and Jarvenpaa (1995, p. 285) define "self-efficacy" as "the degree to which a student feels capable of learning from a given method," and it is a variable that is well established in the educational literature. Research indicates that college students are generally competent to assess their own level of learning, and they are well aware of the different capacities of various pedagogies to affect their learning (Cenammo, Savenye & Smith, 1991, p. 13). Self-efficacy beliefs may themselves be an influence on a student's future behavior, thus reinforcing the effect on learning performance (Martocchio & Webster, 1992, p. 553). The first instrument we applied for the assessment was a pre and post betweensubjects analysis of the college's standard Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET), which is required for every section of every course each semester. We analyzed responses from students of the same two instructors who taught the course pre (96 students) and post (36 students) course revision. In the next section, we present our analysis of the relevant questions on the SETs for tests of the propositions. The second instrument was a survey that was completed by 158 of the 267 students in the web-assisted course sections during the 1998-1999 academic year. Because of a timing issue, the survey was not administered in one section of 35 students, thus reducing the population surveyed to 232 students. The response rate for these 232 students was 68%. On average, students in the surveyed sections were 21.90 years of age with a 3.7 standard deviation. They entered the course with a 2.95 grade point average (standard deviation = 0.47) and on average they received a grade of 2.69 (standard deviation = 0.84) in the course. The details are provided below in relation to the study's propositions.

Tests of Proposition 1 Several questions on the Survey allowed an examination of the issues addressed in Proposition 1, which speculates that the in- and out-of-class use of the web will be an effective means of enhancing learning. As reported in Table 1, we asked students about in-class application of the web-assisted pedagogy (Questions 3, 4, and 5) and about its use in the outside assignments (Question 6). Focusing first on the out-of-class assignments, instructors required students to complete an extensive course project that performed a comprehensive analysis of the financial statements of a company of their choice. Students relied on web-based databases for this extensive assignment, as well as for several shorter homework assignments. Question 6 on the Survey asks students about their impression of this web-based

190

M.ABDOLMOHAMMADI.M. HOWE AND K.RYACK Table 1. Survey Results.

_____

Question

Af=158 Mean

1.1 used the course web page during the semester 2. The course web page was useful in delivering current information about the course 3. The use of web-based teaching in class in early part of the semester helped me identify current information about the company used in teaching various concepts 4. The use of web-based teaching in class in early part of the semester helped me learn the concepts under study better than the traditional approaches (i.e. blackboard, handouts, etc.) 5. The discussion of illustrative web-based homework in class in early part of the semester was an effective method of learning to analyze real company data 6. The individual web-based homework that was collected and graded in the latter part of the semester was an effective method of learning to analyze real company data 7. The Market Guide database in the Trading Room proved to be a rich source of information on the company that my group analyzed in comparison with its industry and sector for the course project 8. The Trading Room personnel were helpful in the use of Market Guide throughout the project duration 9. Overall, the use of the Web and the Trading Room was helpful in learning financial statement analysis

Median

Std. Dev.

3.46 3.27

1.23 1.10

2.44

1.05

2.52

1.01

2.43

1.03

2.61

1.03

1.86

1.03

2.18

2

1.17

2.10

2

0.95

Scale: 1-5 (strongly agree to strongly disagree).

coursework. Because students supplemented their web sources by turning to the Market Guide database in the Trading Room for the course project, Question 7 on the Survey asks about Market Guide as a resource. The Likert scale in Table 1 is 1-5, where 1 is "strongly agree," 2 is "agree," 3 is "neutral," 4 is "disagree," and 5 is "strongly disagree." As Question 6 in Table 1 shows, students tended to agree that the web-based materials they used for outside assignments were effective in helping them learn (mean = 2.61, median = 2). They were significantly more positive about the effectiveness of the Market Guide database (Question 7) in their learning process. While the median for this resource was the same (i.e. 2), the mean was only 1.86. A non-parametric two-sample Mann-Whitney test indicates a significant difference between Question 7 and Question 6 at the 0.00001 level (W-statistic = 21930.5). To check that students' responses were generally

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

191

consistent, Survey Question 9 asked whether the Web and the Market Guide database were helpful in learning financial statement analysis, and students again expressed agreement that it was (mean = 2.10, median = 2). Four different instructors taught the course during the survey period. These instructors had worked together during the previous summer to initially create the course, and they continued to meet frequently throughout the year to discuss problems and ensure close coordination. Although we did not expect differences between the instructors on the survey questions because of this tight coordination, we tested whether the instructor became a confounding factor in the students' responses. No systematic difference exists between instructors in the evening classes, between instructors in the day classes, or between female and male instructors. Thus, the coordination among instructors seems to have been largely successful in presenting the web materials in about the same manner across all eight sections. Proposition 1 also concerns the use of web materials as part of the classroom pedagogy, focusing on the efficacy of web materials that contributed to class discussion and the presentation of concepts. The students surveyed were quite positive, agreeing (median for each is "2") that web-based teaching in class helped them to identify information (Question 3) and helped them to learn the concepts better than traditional methods (Question 4). Students also agreed that classroom discussion of web-based homework assignments was effective in helping them learn how to analyze real company data (Question 5). To further test for Proposition 1, we examine relevant questions from the SETs. As stated earlier, two of the instructors who taught the web-assisted course in 1998 had also taught the course prior to the revision, so we analyzed the SETs for those instructors' class sections in fall 1997 (two sections taught by one instructor and one section taught by the other) versus fall 1998 (one section taught by each of the two instructors). Using the SETs for these two instructors, it was possible to analyze students' responses pre and post, in a between-subjects design, holding the instructor constant. Because there was minimal coordination among instructors before the course revision and because the nature of the relevant question on the SET is very broad, we held the instructors constant as a way to reduce confounding effects. Question 1 on the SET asks students whether the course enhanced their understanding of the subject matter. Table 2 presents the results. As Table 2 shows, there was no significant difference in student responses pre and post for either instructor for the "understanding" question. The median for the SET question was "4," corresponding to "agree" in a 5-1 (strongly agree to strongly disagree) rating scale, and the non-parametric two-sample Mann-Whitney test did not indicate any significant statistical difference. Thus, evidence from the SETs

192

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

Table 2. Comparative Understanding and Difficulty of the Course Matched Instructor and Time. Question

The course improved my understanding of the subject matter The course was difficult for me

Fall 1997

Fall 1998

Mann-Whitney

AT

Median

N

Median

W-stat

Significance

96

4

36

4

6474.5

0.6456

96

3

35

4

5610.0

0.0001

Scale: 5-1 (strongly agree to strongly disagree).

implies that the overall level of perceived understanding of the subject matter did not significantly differ between the semesters that the course was taught using the traditional method and the semester in which we incorporated the web-assisted teaching. Table 2 also presents the perceived difficulty of the course pre and post revision. As expected, the students perceived the revised course to be significantly more difficult than the traditional course (Mann-Whitney W-statistic = 5610.0, significant at the 0.0001 level). We expected this result because the revised course was intentionally more difficult in terms of the web-assisted material, class assignments and the book. In summary, the results from the survey indicate support for Proposition 1, but the SETs "understanding" question indicates no difference between the traditional and the revised course. However, the SETs also indicate that the revised course was significantly more difficult than the traditional course. Thus, there may be an interaction between "difficulty" and "understanding" that we could not directly test from our investigation. This is because the college only provides summary statistics about SETs, not the detailed data needed to test whether interactions are present.

Tests of Proposition 2 We tested the second research proposition, that students would find the course website useful, via Questions 1 and 2 on the Survey. The results reported in Table 1 show that, contrary to Proposition 2, students did notfindthe course web site to be particularly helpful, and student use of the web site was not extensive. The mean and median responses for Questions 1 and 2 (i.e. "I used the web site" and "it was useful in delivering course information") were between 3 and 4 on a scale of 1-5, corresponding to "neutral" and "disagree."

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

SUMMARY AND CONTRIBUTIONS This paper reports on a course overhaul undertaken primarily to enhance students' learning and analysis skills. The newly revised course employed a web-assisted pedagogy, using the web in and out of class to highlight current data, to emphasize the realities of complex financial data, to familiarize students with various electronic data bases and their application, and to develop a course web site. The textbook and assignments were also chosen to augment the web-assisted pedagogy and ensure that we integrated the web throughout the course. The deployment of the web as an information source and pedagogy has seen an explosive expansion in recent years. To assess students* reactions to the new pedagogy, we employed two different instruments, both of which collected students' perceptions of their ability to learn and understand course concepts. One instrument was a survey given to students in our web-based course over two semesters. The survey solicited the students' views of their ability to learn from specific aspects of the web-based materials developed in class and in assignments; we also examined their perceptions of the utility of the course web site as a means of disseminating course materials. The other method was the use of pre and post comparisons of a standardized Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) for class sections taught by the two instructors who taught both before and after the revision. Two relevant questions on the SET solicited student evaluations of whether the course enhanced their understanding of the subject matter and whether the course was difficult for them. This study presented some interesting and occasionally unexpected results that lead to ideas for additional research. We discuss these results below, focusing on implications for teaching, implications for course web-page design, and implications for future research.

Implications for Teaching In the revision of our course, we created a web-based pedagogy that incorporated extensive use of the Internet, supplemented primarily by the Market Guide database. The students surveyed about the new pedagogy perceived that it improved their learning beyond what they would have expected with traditional methods. Specifically, students indicated that their learning experience was enhanced through in-class use of the web as well as through out-of-class assignments requiring the exploitation of the web and the Market Guide database. These results held true for students in evening classes and day classes, regardless of instructor, and applied both to in-class pedagogy as well as out-of-class

193

194

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

assignments and homework. While the students' reactions to incorporation of the Internet and the Market Guide database were both very favorable, students were significantly more positive about the effectiveness of the Market Guide database adopted for their term project as compared to the individual web-based homework assignments. This result suggests that the term project and student use of the Market Guide database was a very important part of their learning process. Informal conversations with students indicated they enjoyed taking advantage of the college Trading Room to access the database, but it is not clear whether the highly positive reaction would have held if the financial data contained in the Market Guide database were presented through a different medium or in a different setting. While students were generally positive about the new web-based pedagogy, in the between-subjects pre and post evaluations (SETs), the students' self-reported general level of understanding of the subject matter did not differ between the pre and post sections. This result appears inconsistent with the survey result and our expectation of increased levels of understanding. It is possible that the survey, by asking very specific questions about the utility of various aspects of the web-based pedagogy, was able to solicit responses that were more focused on how the new pedagogy affected the students' perceptions of learning. The SET question, in contrast, is very general in nature, asking only whether the course contributed to the student's understanding of the subject matter. A second SET question asked about the course's level of difficulty. When examined together, the analysis of the two SET questions provided a particularly interesting, yet unexpected result. While the first question indicated no difference in understanding between the pre and post versions of the course, the second question indicated that students in the web-assisted (revised) course perceived it to have a level of difficulty that was significantly higher than that reported by the students in the original course. One interpretation of these results is that the web-assisted course, by its emphasis on complex and ambiguous data, was more challenging to the students, forcing them to work harder, but not to the point that it made the course too difficult to understand. It should be noted that we intended the course revision to integrate the use of the web extensively, and consequently many facets of the course were subject to change - from the in-class lectures, to the out-of-class assignments, the textbook, and the course project. It is not possible to separate these factors in the pre and post assessments of course difficulty and level of understanding; rather, this instrument gives us an idea of the overall effect of the new integrated web-assisted pedagogy. Since this was our first attempt to build web-based materials into the course, these results were encouraging and they suggest that continued integration of certain web-based materials could be positive for students, at least infinancialanalysis related courses. Although we did no formal analysis of changes in students' level of

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

195

interest in the course after the revision, anecdotal evidence from student comments made it clear that students enjoyed the web and the emphasis on currently interesting companies and their financial statement issues. Instructors who had taught both before and after the revision were also pleased with the changes and found their classroom experiences to be far more positive. Further research is needed to determine whether web-based pedagogy will provide added value to students in different types of courses, from various types of business courses, to liberal arts courses and to graduate level courses.

Implications for Course Web-Page Design The course instructors generally felt the course web site provided an efficient means of disseminating information; however, contrary to our prediction, results of the survey indicated that students did notfindit to be particularly beneficial and did not employ it much. Since our course web site was in its initial stages of development during the period covered by the survey, the results may have been related to the rudimentary nature of the web site. The web site provided basic information about the course such as the course syllabus, some homework assignments, information about the term project, and a few links to some relevant web sites such as the SEC EDGAR database. The site did not include interactive assignments or student selfstudy resources, nor did it contain grade or attendance information for individual students, a feature that students found particularly useful in Weil's (1996) study of web site usage.

Implications for Future Research The results of our research raise several points that require further study. First, while our results indicate that a web-based pedagogy improves student perceptions of their learning in a financial statement analysis course, further research is needed to determine whether the integration of web and computer based materials would perform similarly in other types of courses. Second, our results are based on student perceptions as measured by their responses to survey questions and student evaluation of teaching (SET) questions. While prior research indicates that college students are able to assess their own level of learning, future research might incorporate more direct measures of learning. Third, future research might examine the relationship between learning and increased student interest resulting from the use of technology. Informal conversations with our students indicated that they enjoyed surfing the web and they

196

M. ABDOLMOHAMMADI, M. HOWE AND K. RYACK

appeared to be very excited about using the school's trading room. Empirically, we found students were significantly more positive about the effectiveness of the Market Guide database, which they utilized for their term project and accessed through the Trading Room, as compared to the individual web-based homework assignments. It is possible that the results would have been less significant if students had accessed the same information through a different and perhaps less interesting medium such as the web, an excel spreadsheet, or a paper file. Finally, more research is needed on how the design of a course web site affects its significance to students. Our web site was rudimentary (i.e. it only provided basic course information) and students did notfindit advantageous. Presumably a more advanced web site with interactive student learning tools would increase student use of the site, and possibly even enhance their learning of course material. Further research can help to clarify the relationships between course web site design and content, and student usage of the site.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We gratefully acknowledge Arthur Reed's assistance in the design and implementation of the web-assisted pedagogy and in the collection of survey data for this paper. We are also indebted to the participants at a workshop at Bentley College for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of the paper.

REFERENCES Bernstein, L., & Wild, J. (1998). Financial statement analysis (6th ed.). New York, NY: Irwin/McGrawHill. Boyce, G. (1999). Computer-assisted teaching and learning in accounting: Pedagogy or product? Journal ofAccounting Education, 1 7(2/3), 191-220. Bryant, S., & Hunton, J. (2000). The use of technology in the delivery of instruction: Implications for accounting educators and education researchers. Issues in Accounting Education, 15(1), 129-162. Cenammo, K., Savenye, W, & Smith, P. (1991). Mental effort and video-based learning: The relationship of preconceptions and the effects of interactive and covert practice. Educational Technology Research & Development, 59(1), 5-16. Garson, G. (1998). Evaluating implementation of web-based teaching in political science. PS: Political Science & Politics, 31(3), 585-591. Hidi, S. (1990). Interest and its contribution as a mental resource for learning. Review of Educational Research, 60(4), 549-571. Karuppan, C, & Karuppan, M. (1999). Empirically based guidelines for developing teaching materials on the Web. Business Communication Quarterly, 62(3), 37-45.

Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Assisted Financial Statement

197

King, W., Premkumar, G., & Ramamurthy, K. (1990). An evaluation of die role and performance of a decision support system in business education. Decision Sciences, 2/(3), 642-659. Leidner, D., & Jarvenpaa, S. (1995). The use of information technology to enhance management school education: A theoretical view. MIS Quarterly (September), 265-291. Martocchio, J., & Webster, J. (1992). Effects of feedback and cognitive playfulness on performance in microcomputer software training. Personnel Psychology, 45,553-578. Sangster, A., & Lymer, A. (1998). How to survive a new educational era. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(4), 1095-1109. Sangster, A., & Mulligan, C. (1997). Integrating the world wide web into an accounting systems course. Accounting Education, An International Journal, 6(1), 53-62. Weil, D. (1996). Using the web in the classroom: Survey results, http://www.ithaca.edu/computing/ cet/pilot/Surveyresults.html

WHAT SHOULD ACCOUNTING DOCTORAL PROGRAMS FOCUS ON? AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE Rajib Doogar ABSTRACT / examine calls to add teaching training to accounting doctoral program content using the lens of economic analysis. My analysis of key determinants ofdemand and supply in the marketfor accounting Ph.D.s offers little support for calls for additional emphasis on developing teaching skills. I suggest a two-part approach to the perceived lack of teaching skills among newfaculty. First, in keeping with standard economic theory, employers should re-examine the incentives they offer for good teaching before demanding changes in accounting doctoral program curriculum. Second, that the optimal locus of development of teaching skills be left to private contract between employers and faculty (as opposed to being bundled with the technical education currently imparted in doctoral programs). One way to do this might be additional, post-doctoral, teaching certification and continuing professional education.

INTRODUCTION Doctoral education is crucial to the health of the professorate. Investing in graduate education refreshes and deepens the knowledge and skills of the teacher and develops a future generation of educators. Periodically, studies call for a greater Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,199-209 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. AH rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05012-0 199

200

RAJIB DOOGAR

emphasis on development of teaching skills in doctoral programs and the weight given to teaching effectiveness in faculty recruitment and promotion decisions. In one such recent study for instance, the authors conclude: "the indication in this study is that a significant gap remains between the level of teacher training offered by doctoral programs and the teaching skills perceived as necessary by departmental administrators. Future research might explore different methods of closing this gap. The costs and benefits of program realignment, as well as the alternative of program expansion, might serve as a valid topics" (Gribbin et al., 2002). Unfortunately, knowledge expands, time available remains constant and limited resources invariably have to be stretched further with every passing year. Since doctoral programs are quite expensive to sustain, calls for reallocating resources (program realignment) or increasing the overall allocation (program expansion) should be subject to cost-benefit analysis. Yet in the call for greater emphasis on teacher training, the economic tradeoffs facing students and educators are rarely if ever made explicit. Perhaps these tradeoffs are so obvious they seem to require no formal articulation. Nevertheless, given the potential costs of misplaced program emphasis, it is important that these tradeoffs be explicitly considered in designing doctoral programs. The goal of this study is to highlight aspects of the market for academic labor that suggest a number of higher priority claims on doctoral program resources and doctoral student time other than teacher training. In other words, given academic labor market conditions, it may in fact be counter-productive to devote more (scarce) resources to teacher training before these other priorities have been serviced. Good teaching is certainly important. Teaching, more specifically the need for high quality material and insights to deliver to students, drives much of our production and consumption of research. Conversely, research experience contributes to better teaching because examining each day's teaching plan and its content requires the same kind of critical lens as scholarly research. What is the problem to be discussed today? Why is it important to solve this problem? What solutions are feasible? How good is the proposed solution? It is however an open question whether, given the environment in which accounting doctoral programs operate today, an increase in teaching training is the missing ingredient that would best raise teaching competence and effectiveness. Consider, for instance, the Enron debacle, one of the most spectacular business failures in recent times. To meaningfully lead a class discussion on the derivatives, hedging and arbitrage contracts which lie at the core of Enron's business model and their fair, reliable and responsible financial reporting or effective auditing would require at least one decent graduate level course in risk management and financial economics beyond a knowledge of the accounting and auditing standards on the topic. While many doctoral programs may require some exposure to these topics,

An Economic Perspective

201

it is by no means clear that the vast majority of accounting doctoral candidates are well versed in this complex area. In such a setting, making a case for greater emphasis on teaching training in doctoral programs is equivalent to arguing to a doctoral program director that the marginal hour of a doctoral student's time would be better spent on a teacher training course than in a graduate course on risk management.2 Two sets of arguments may be brought to bear on this debate. The first set of concerns is simply that survey methods and the design of survey questions are notoriously ill-suited to the production of reliable evidence on certain classes of questions. Since a survey response costs the respondent nothing, surveys tend to elicit answers quite different from the ones the same respondent would come up with when faced with a costly choice. Consequently survey research runs the risk of eliciting Utopian answers. Absent checks or manipulations to ensure that respondents report their choices under relevant cost-benefit constraints, the survey may produce data with low external validity (and hence of dubious value in policy choice decisions). The language of some survey questions may further exacerbate this bias.3 Unless cost-benefit tradeoffs are explicitly presented to respondents, we do not have a good sense of how the market for academic labor might discipline respondents' (program administrators) responses on the design of doctoral programs. Finally, there are also reasons to question the links between teaching training and teaching effectiveness that are sometimes taken to be implicit in the call for more teaching training. Methodological quibbles apart, even if a survey were to be designed to overcome these problems, there remains a broader question to be answered. What empirical evidence (if any) from the market for academic labor suggests the need for greater teaching training in accounting doctoral programs? The rest of this study addresses this broader question.

THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR'S PROBLEM The optimality of any program of doctoral education must be assessed by reference to the objective function of the program. Two alternative objectives for doctoral programs come readily to mind: One is to perpetuate a suitably qualified labor force for Universities by using the Ph.D. as a licensing criterion (as trade associations like the AACSB do), the other is to train individuals to conduct original scholarly research in their respective disciplines. Doctoral program administrators considering investing in teaching training face two key questions: Why should we teach teaching? and Why should we teach teaching! The first

202

RAJIB DOOGAR

question asks whether Ph.D. programs should train students to do research or to teach it? If both, then what is the optimal mix? The second question presupposes that training improves teaching effectiveness (and that teaching effectiveness is important) and asks who would be the best provider of teaching training? A number of options exist: the doctoral degree-granting institution (i.e. the upstream producer), the employer institution (the final buyer) or some other vendor contracting independently with the doctoral student (i.e. the downstream producer) can be assigned this responsibility. Depending on the goals of the Ph.D. program, one may get different answers to these two key questions.

Why Should We (i.e. Doctoral Programs in Accounting) Teach "Teaching?" Start by granting that in the Land of Cockaigne,4 all educators would argue for stateof-the-art training in teaching effectiveness in addition to the technical and research training already built into most successful doctoral programs. However, extending a doctoral program of study by one year is quite costly: doctoral stipends, the cost of the additional educational resources (faculty time and facilities) consumed in training a doctoral student and the cost to society of delaying the availability of the services of a new faculty member is not likely to be less than six figures. For this additional investment in teaching training to be socially optimal, employers should, at a minimum, be willing to pay a premium for more effective teaching sufficient to justify the said six-figure investment. In other words, allocating scare program resources and costly student time to teaching training requires evidence that there is effective demand for these skills.

Why Should We (i.e. Doctoral Programs in Accounting) Teach "Teaching?" Developing the teaching effectiveness of a trained research scholar is analogous to a process of customization. The optimal locus of such customization activity may range all the way from the doctoral degree-granting institution bundling teaching training with the other components of a Ph.D. program to the final customer, i.e. the hiring institution, providing on-the-job training or some intermediate solution chosen by private contract between the doctoral student and the hiring institution. The appropriate location will depend, among other things, on the specificity of the asset created by customization as well as the expected duration of the gestation or maturation period required for the faculty member to become an effective teacher. Accounting firms' efforts to hire the most broadly educated individuals (with relatively higher abstract intellectual skills) offer one example of such

203

An Economic Perspective

post-procurement customization of human capital by the ultimate buyer. In that case, technological advances have made it much less expensive for accounting firms to provide broadly educated individuals more detailed accounting information and to train them on the job. Correspondingly the professorate's competitive advantage has shifted to more abstract training. In a similar vein could it be that the doctoral institution's job is to train researchers and that making good teachers out of them is the responsibility of the students themselves as well as their ultimate employer who bears the direct consequences of poor teaching?

DOCTORAL EDUCATION AS AN ECONOMIC GOOD To evaluate potential answers to these questions and in considering future research on these issues it is useful to adopt a framework with sufficient internal structure and coherence to enable a disciplined assessment of the alternatives. In what follows, I analyze accounting doctoral education as an economic good. While recognizing that a fully satisfactory discussion of the "proper" objectives of a doctoral program requires a larger project than this study, the analysis of the supply and demand for accounting faculty sketched below is helpful in evaluating answers to the two questions posed in the previous section.

Supply Hasselback (2000) tabulates Ph.D.s granted in accounting over a number of years. There are a total of 91 schools with active or inactive doctoral programs in accounting. Of these, 82 active programs granted a total of 777 doctoral degrees during 1994-1998. Production is quite concentrated: over 80% of degrees were granted by the 49 largest programs (about 55% by 27 programs and over 25% by just 10 programs). Of these 10 largest programs, none was a private school which, during this period, was the most likely to require little or no doctoral student teaching. (Of the four private schools in the list of large producers of Ph.D.s, Northwestern, Columbia and Stanford have no undergraduate accounting programs, while Carnegie Mellon does.) With very few exceptions (e.g. Michigan and Berkeley which may require no teaching) the large producers of doctoral degree holders as well as most of the smaller ones quite likely do require students to teach at some point in their program. This supply configuration coupled with the normal hiring (market-clearing) process has at least four implications. First, even without a formal teaching

RAJIB DOOGAR

204

requirement, the vast majority of doctoral students probably do get some experience at independently teaching a course. In all likelihood, this process ensures that the really bad teachers are weeded out while others are encouraged to remedy their deficiencies. Were this not to happen, department heads would find lots of irate students camped at their doorsteps protesting incompetent teaching. I am not aware of deficiencies of graduate student teachers so large as to raise systematic objections to their use in the classroom. Second, doctoral students' teaching or research assistantships often involve considerable faculty mentoring which allows students opportunities to learn by observing successful faculty. Third, reputation capital plays an important role in the recruitment process: advisors and dissertation committee chairs who write systematically misleading references are likely to be punished in future periods. Consequently a subtle but highly informative truthin-advertising equilibrium most likely prevails in the small-number multi-period setting of the market for accounting faculty. Finally, the interviews and job talks that candidates give during the recruitment process are quite powerful signals of their class-room performance so that truly bad candidates can be readily screened out. Some schools require a candidate to present a lecture to undergraduates and then obtain feedback from the students. If teaching is truly a matter of grave concern, then one would expect more schools to apply this simple technique to assess teaching ability!

Demand Of the 795 programs listed in Hasselback that might hire accounting doctorates, the vast majority are not research schools. Surely this argues for more emphasis on teaching since that what is most doctoral students will be expected to do. In fact, between 1987-1994, publication requirements at non-doctoral institutions, which is where the bulk of the doctorates will work, have increased (Read, Rama & Raghunandan, 1988) while those at research institutions have increased even more dramatically. It is common belief among faculty and students that teaching is at best a hygiene factor. (Being bad at teaching will get youfired,but being great at it will not get you tenure). This belief has been formed in light of a time-series of tenure decisions made by many employers: most faculty fail to make tenure because they do not meet the research threshold of their respective schools. Since the past success of a program's graduates is a key determinant of its attractiveness to future students, to remain viable, doctoral programs must of necessity then focus on training current students to succeed at research.

An Economic Perspective

205

Incentives for Investing in Teaching "Teaching" The literature on incentives and performance suggests that performance is a function of ability, knowledge, training and environmental factors as well as incentives. The evidence to date on the teaching versus research focus of doctoral programs does not adequately identify which of the multiple factors affecting performance might be the principal culprit. On the other hand, criteria used in faculty compensation contracts, promotion and tenure decisions and in conferring professional recognition suggest that new faculty may lack incentives rather than ability, knowledge or skills to be effective teachers. Consider the radical notion that teaching effectiveness may be more a matter of motivation and therefore of incentives than of a lack of teaching skills. Apart from the intrinsic rewards of teaching, which are no doubt personally valuable, it would be helpful to obtain some data on how faculty compensation (broadly defined) varies as a result of teaching effectiveness. If compensation contracts do not reward teaching effectiveness, surely a minimally invasive policy response might be to require that employers fix the compensation scheme and stand ready to pay more for greater teaching effectiveness. While it is entirely understandable that program administrators will and do perceive teaching effectiveness as an important criterion for faculty performance, a key determinant of the optimal response by doctoral programs and students to this perception depends on the employers' willingness to pay for it. Indeed, if administrators can get doctoral programs to upgrade the skills of the doctoral students for the same price, why would they not want the better product?5 In fact, casual empiricism suggests that by and large universities do not usually compensate differentially for good teaching. This leads to the conclusion that either: (a) good teaching is not valued; or (b) that even if it is, it is common enough (relative to research skills) that it does not differentiate faculty members; or (c) teaching evaluation instruments are so unreliable as to be useless for faculty compensation contracts. Given these realities of employment contracts, if faculty compensation (again, broadly based to include offices, carpeting, support staff, access to key resources, decision rights and not least access to graduate students as junior research partners) is based on relative performance evaluation, then the importance of good research training for doctoral program administrators who care about doctoral student placement and for students themselves increases even more compared to increased teaching training. In summary, absent a good understanding of the links between training, incentives and effectiveness, one simply cannot make judicious choices about the design of doctoral programs of study. One might argue that in an evolving, dynamic labor

RAJIB DOOGAR

206

market for educators, the meta-skill of relevance becomes training doctoral students (future faculty members) to identify when they have a teaching effectiveness problem requiring attention (e.g. a significant gap between their students' needs and their own endowments of skills, knowledge or solutions), to structure solutions that have a high likelihood of success and to select the best solution based on all available evidence. This sounds a lot like the process of designing and conducting an independent research project.6

The Optimal Locus of Production Even if we have a good operational model of the entire process outlined above, the optimal configuration of a doctoral program also must take into account where the least-cost locus of production lies. If training in teaching effectiveness has a short, steep, learning curve beyond which further gains require considerable investment, one can make a stronger case for bundling. However, if there is a strong component of "maturation effects" in developing teaching effectiveness, then perhaps these skills can only be truly internalized by considerable on the job experience. As the doctoral program experience lengthens for other reasons unrelated to teaching effectiveness, adding on additional burdens when the returns will be long delayed seems to be less desirable than training the student in more portable, abstract reasoning that will serve them well and provide much more immediate payback to them personally. In effect, when there are significant maturation effects, we have a classic investment problem under moral hazard problem: the agent (the current student/future faculty member) would like to obtain cash flows from readily marketable skills. The employee, however, would prefer the employee to invest in skills that benefit the employer but for which the agent may not foresee earning sufficient return. Moreover, if there are "soft" components to learning to be an effective teacher then formal courses or training may not be as useful as on-the-job mentoring by senior faculty who share syllabi, assignments, warn of pitfalls and generally help rookies survive the first few years of academe. The objective of accounting education (trade-school drilling in professional standards versus broad intellectual curriculum), one's own goals as an educator, and the goals and target market of one's employer institution all play significant roles in determining the incentives to be an effective teacher. In other words, given the considerable ex ante uncertainty about the market value of formal training in teaching skills, the customization activity may be best carried out not in the doctoral program but later, perhaps on the job, once the employer's needs as well as one's own job-market incentives are known with greater certainty. A third

An Economic Perspective

207

possibility is for faculty at select schools to choose voluntarily or as a condition of employment to participate in an independent, post-doctoral, teaching certification program. It is not at all clear, therefore, that once doctoral students have taught a couple of semesters and shown that they can survive in the classroom, it is worthwhile to insist they spend scarce time and energy on formal training in teaching skills. This is particularly the case when tenure decisions hinge on their research output and rewards to teaching excellence are less salient and often significantly more transient than rewards to research excellence. Put another way, a call for more teaching training in doctoral programs is a call for "product bundling." For the call to be heeded, proponents of bundling need to establish that there is in fact effective demand for the proposed bundle.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Teaching effectiveness is a complex phenomenon. Calls for reallocating resources here or there absent a better description of the perceived links between effective performance and ability, knowledge, incentives and environmental factors such as the employer institution's objectives and target market are unlikely to be fruitful investment of scarce university resources. We need to understand the relative importance of various impediments to teaching effectiveness before making these changes. Fierce competition for the best and brightest students and for ensuring their eventual placement and long-term academic survival and success has led doctoral programs over the last thirty years to invest in precisely the elements that the market rewards. Second, if resources were unconstrained, it would be nice if every doctoral student were trained to be an effective teacher. However, the current structure of doctoral programs at least at the large producers coupled with the informal advising and screening that goes on in the market for new faculty most likely detects, identifies to potential employers, and therefore most likely weeds out, the most ineffective teachers. Absent any serious evidence on the willingness of the market to pay more for more effective teaching either in cash wages or in terms of evaluating faculty for tenure, calls to re-allocate Ph.D. program resources to teaching training seem counter-productive. Surveys can document desires or preferences, but they are notoriously poor assessments of effective demand and far too inconclusive a basis for making general inferences about the future allocation of doctoral program resources. Barring convincing evidence to the contrary, a labor market analysis suggests an equally viable alternative hypothesis: the optimal level of teaching

RAJIB DOOGAR

208

effectiveness the market is willing to pay for is what doctoral programs are set up to provide. The perspective that doctoral education is an economic good is useful in identifying a number of questions for future analysis: Are employers truly willing to pay for better teaching effectiveness? Are incentives for good teaching effective in motivating skill development and teaching effectiveness? Or are incentives alone insufficient to motivate faculty to voluntarily acquire the skills improve effectiveness? What is the relationship if any between teaching training and teaching effectiveness? Finally and perhaps most difficult, where does the efficient production locus lie? To make a case for the arguments favoring greater teaching training in doctoral programs one needs far more reliable answers to such questions.

NOTES 1. See for instance Gribbin, Sobery and Braswell (2002), Edwards, Ingram and Sanders (1981). 2. Risk management happens to be a particularly salient example given recent events. It is easy think of other areas of discipline-specific knowledge with similarly high priority claims on doctoral student time and attention. 3. For instance, the respondents in the surveys could be asked "What areas of doctoral training would you suggest could be reduced in order to make room in the doctoral curriculum for increased training in teaching effectiveness?" This formulation would make explicit the costly trade-offs involved in the design of a successful doctoral program. Rather, the surveys seem to have asked respondents whether there was adequate emphasis on teaching training in doctoral education. It is easy to see why answers to the two questions might be qualitatively different. 4. Cockaigne, also spelled COCKAYNE, imaginary land of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand. References to Cockaigne are especially prominent in medieval European lore. These accounts describe rivers of wine, houses built of cake and barley sugar, streets paved with pastry, and shops that gratuitously give goods to everyone. Roast geese wander about inviting people to eat them, and buttered larks fall from the skies like manna (httpV/www.britannica.com). 5. Wishing for greater teaching skill development in the doctoral program is like motherhood: as long as its costless, who can be against it? However, when faced with the decision to have a child, many potential mothers choose not to. 6. While part of this story again boils down to incentives, there may be more going on here. There is some evidence of positive correlation between research productivity and accounting teaching effectiveness (Bell, Frecka & Solomon, 1993). Researching a topic requires one to frame complex issues in a framework that renders the problem tractable. The basic mind-set used in most research is easily communicated (although perhaps less easily inculcated): identify the problem, structure alternative solutions, select the best one given your objectives. Given the complexities of modern business and the difficulty of determining the **proper" accounting for new and complex transactions, inculcating this problem-solving mind-set in students is perhaps the most important (albeit difficult to measure) aspect of

209

An Economic Perspective

faculty teaching performance. If so, the acquisition of discipline-specific knowledge and of appropriate research frameworks together with the development of intellectual puzzlesolving skills may be more crucial in determining ultimate teaching effectiveness than the development of delivery skills or training in teaching effectiveness.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Brian Cloyd, Jackie Hammersley, Ed Ketz and Ira Solomon for helpful comments. I would also like to thank the many wonderful instructors, professors, colleagues and students who have helped me become a better teacher.

REFERENCES Bell, T. B., Frecka, T. J., & Solomon, I. (1993). The relation between research productivity and teaching effectiveness: Empirical evidence for accounting educators. Accounting Horizons, 7(4), 33-49. Edwards, J. B., Ingram, R. W., & Sanders, H. P. (1981). Developing teaching skills in doctoral programs: The current status and perceived needs. The Accounting Review, 56(1), 144—157. Gribbin, D. W., Sobery, J., & Braswell, D. E. (2002). Development of teaching skills in doctoral programs vs faculty performance evaluation: A survey study. Advances in Accounting Education, 4, 87-104. Hasselback, J. R. (2000). Accounting faculty directory. NJ: Prentice Hall. Read, W. J., Rama, D. V., & Raghunandan, K. (1988). Are publication requirements for accounting faculty promotions still increasing? Issues in Accounting Education, 13(2), 327-340.

RETHINKING AIS: AN INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS CURRICULUM Joseph H. Callaghan, Arline Savage and Eileen Peacock ABSTRACT This paper describes a new Financial Information Systems curriculum that integrates information technology and financial information in the development of business information systems and discusses the problems we experienced in establishing the new program. Our intention is to provide accounting graduates with the knowledge they need to leverage the latest information technologies to support the use of financial information in management decision-making and to integrate financial information and internal controls into business information systems. Our cross-disciplinary approach expands our students' horizons of, from one of viewing accounting as a stand-alone, untimely, inflexible information system, capturing only "accounting transactions" and their limited characteristics, to one of a more realistic real-time, enterprise-wide, activity-driven information system, used by a variety of users with a variety of needs. We also shift the focus from implementing costly controls to that of embedding controls within information systems during systems development, and of continuous systems monitoring.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,211-228 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05013-2 211

212

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

INTRODUCTION In this new marketplace, traditional accountants are a dying breed..,. Yet, many accounting educators have failed to restructure accounting curriculum to equip graduates with the tools and expertise they need in today's business world (Gabbin, 2002, p. 82).

Given the dramatic information technology (IT) changes in the profession, with IT permeating just about every facet of it, there is a strong and growing demand for IT-savvy graduates. Recently, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) produced a video called "AICPA TopTech 2001 - Critical Elements of Business." Some quotes from this presentation are: • 'The traditional accounting firm has changed and is now competing with non-accounting firms - and if they don't make use of information technology, they die." • 'The entire accounting profession is in a situation where they have got to become more IT-literate to compete." • "Everything is in electronic form today - your information, my information, your company's information, your client's information - and if we don't learn how to protect that, we are all in trouble." The foregoing observations demonstrate a need for additional IT teaching in accounting degrees. The curriculum must produce graduates whose understanding goes beyond that of merely using an accounting package to manage data. Rather, graduates must understand the system around which the information is built. Recently, Albrecht and Sack (2000, p. 43) found that accounting educators are not adequately exposing students to the impact of technology on business. Nor are we teaching them ways in which technology can be leveraged to make business decisions. The new curriculum presented here addresses many of the concerns highlighted by the Albrecht and Sack study. In addition, the objective of this curriculum is to produce graduates who fulfill the market demand suggested by the AICPA (2001) and reiterated by businesses who recruit at our university. This curriculum also recognizes and incorporates feedback received from working professionals, including CPAs, in accordance with Gabbin's (2002, pp. 81-86) recommendations. This paper presents a new framework, six years in the making (1996-2002), for an information systems curriculum within the accounting discipline. We created this new major, called "Financial Information Systems" (FIS), in addition to the traditional major. The FIS program is unique in its emphasis on computerized information systems and the fact that it is delivered entirely by retrained accounting faculty.

Rethinking AIS

213

Our new program moves away from the title of "Accounting Information Systems," or AIS, currently used to describe an assortment of approaches used in attempts to enhance the IT-literacy of accounting students. The new title implies a broader, enterprise-wide systems orientation, in contrast to viewing the accounting system as one of many enterprise "stovepipe" systems. In addition, we want to avoid some of the preconceptions and unnecessary baggage associated by some with AIS. We take a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching information systems, although we do emphasize systems for performance reporting whose measures are typically expressed in monetary units. We place special emphasis on control systems that are proactive, embedded and in real-time. The accounting profession also seems to be adopting the "financial information systems" terminology, as described in the most recent CPA Letter in the context of providing "financial information systems design and implementation services" (AICPA, 2002, pp. 1,3). Our purpose is to lay out the architecture and the problems we experienced in establishing the new program. The broad focus of the paper makes a contribution because it provides accounting educators with a relatively detailed description of an innovative curriculum. However, in-depth descriptions of course materials, class projects, and intricate details of particular technologies are beyond the scope of the current paper. Upon request, we will make available course syllabi of required FIS courses, sample projects, other course materials, and references to related publications that provide the underlying detail. The next section highlights the limitations of traditional accounting and information systems programs. The third section explains our new curriculum, designed to address these limitations. The fourth section describes the environment that is necessary to develop, provide and maintain the program. The fifth section deals with obstacles we encountered and explains how we overcame them. The last section concludes the paper.

LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS Over the past 20 years, accounting programs have failed to provide graduates with the skills needed to be an integral part of an enterprise-wide information system. The lack of sufficient information technology content in traditional accounting courses is well known (see, for example, Albrecht & Sack, 2000). Technology, to the extent that it was integrated into the traditional curriculum, was typically via a single, perhaps elective, AIS course. Our challenge was to develop an AIS curriculum that adds value over both traditional accounting and MIS programs.

214

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

A number of researchers (e.g. Borthick, 1996, pp. 75-86; Groomer & Murthy, 1996, pp. 103-127; Walton, 1997, pp. 69-88) have addressed the issue of how to teach information systems in an accounting context, but no generally accepted framework has evolved. The authors describe existing curricula, document that institutions teach AIS very differently, and express the need for curricular reform, while Stewart (1993/1994, pp. 3-12) and Callaghan, Peacock and Savage (2001, pp. 51-60) solicit educator and/or practitioner recommendations for appropriate information technology content in accounting courses. Recent literature (e.g. Coe, 2001, pp. 13-24; Fisher, 2001, pp. 25-29; Lunsford, 2001, pp. 43-50) continues to espouse a diversity of ideas about what should be included in AIS, demonstrating a continuing lack of consensus. At our institution, we have a strong and growing MIS program. The increase in MIS enrollment roughly equals the decline in accounting enrollment. However, our MIS program tends to emphasize the managerial aspects over technical proficiency. For instance, a student can complete the program without exposure to hands-on design methods. Our FIS program has as an integral part these very design and construction components, leading to executable accounting-related applications. Consequently, the FIS curriculum adds value in that it provides rigorous and structured content in transaction-based, accounting-related information systems. The following section describes the evolution of our curriculum development from a single AIS course to a complete FIS curriculum.

NEW FRAMEWORK In collaboration with MIS faculty, accounting faculty began to incorporate information systems development into the required AIS course. A successful grant application to the National Center for Automated Information Research and the devotion of a sabbatical leave by an accounting faculty member greatly facilitated this innovation. Our initial objectives were to expand students' knowledge of relational databases and to introduce REA modeling (McCarthy, 1979, pp. 667-686; 1982, pp. 554-578; 1999). However, problems surfaced because a single course was insufficient to allow for the desired level of understanding of information systems. The problems were exacerbated because students did not bring sufficient database knowledge into the AIS course to perform at an acceptable level. As a solution, we decided to add two more AIS courses that would permit the completion of the information systems development lifecycle, which included systems planning, analysis, design and construction. We designed these two courses as accounting electives for an undergraduate or graduate degree track in

Rethinking AIS

215

AIS. To facilitate the expansion of the AIS curriculum from a single course to a sequence of courses, the university approved a new tenure track faculty line. Since we could not find a candidate with the necessary information systems skills, we employed a traditional faculty member who was enthusiastic about being trained in the methods of the new framework. Our dean committed substantial resources to faculty development, and the new hire's professional development included extensive faculty mentoring and external training in systems development methods and associated software, over a two-year period. With these resources in place, the final stage of our curricular development resulted in the recent approval of our proposal for the FIS major. The goal of the new curriculum is to produce information and systems specialists who can integrate financial information and information technology in a business environment. Our intention is to provide graduates with the knowledge they need to: • Leverage the latest information technologies to support the use of financial information in management, reporting, and decision-making. • Integrate financial information and internal controls into business information systems, and to monitor these systems. • Develop cross-functional, enterprise-wide business systems (in planning and analysis), and create transaction-based accounting subsystems (in design and construction). An example of the latter is a fixed asset subsystem, which requires a high degree of accounting technical competence, including depreciation methods, overhead analysis, deferred income taxes, capitalization versus expensing, and an understanding of the arbitrary nature of cost allocation. Department of Accounting faculty members who have developed financial information systems teaching skills and research interests deliver the new curriculum. In contrast, other institutions have developed information systems curricula with a mix of accounting courses taught by accounting faculty and MIS and/or Computer Science courses taught by MIS/Computer Science faculty. Bowling Green State University and Illinois State University are examples of schools using this approach, among others. We believe that our internally developed approach permits better integration of traditional accounting content within business information systems. The focus of the curriculum is to link accounting theory and practice through the application of information technology. We use a novel approach developed by our faculty to teach FIS concepts by integrating topical areas using a "Model-Oriented Tool-Enhanced" framework (Callaghan, Lauer & Peacock, 1998, pp. 57-65). The model-oriented aspect uses systems development methods that permit high-level abstractions of real-world information systems. Included are business process (activity), data, and interaction models. The tool-enhanced aspect uses advanced

216

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

systems development software to convert these models into code executable in many different technical environments. This approach makes it possible to provide an even balance of the conceptual and the practical by leveraging the student's abstraction skills, while concurrently allowing for the construction and implementation of actual information systems (Callaghan, Lauer & Peacock, 1998, p. 61). This combined use of models and software permits the leveraging of modeling skills independently from targeted technical environments. Thus, we teach students practical system methods without selecting (and biasing them toward) any particular vendor's operating system, database, or programming language. This curricular approach is in dramatic contrast to traditional methods that either Table 1. FIS 301: Introduction to Financial Information Systems and Databases. Course description: This course focuses on information systems project management, data modeling, database design, database queries, and using commercial financial databases. Prerequisites: Introductory Managerial, Business pre-core and core MIS courses. Course objectives: 1. Identify weaknesses and limitations inherent in traditional accounting systems architectures. 2. Describe an event-driven framework for a technology-enabled financial information system. 3. Define the stages of the systems development life cycle. 4. Describe and discuss pros and cons of contemporary approaches to systems development. 5. List the steps necessary for effective and efficient project planning and management. 6. Generate basic data models using computer software. 7. Query a database to generate financial reports. 8. Extract data from a commercial financial database. Major topics: Limitations of traditional accounting information system architectures; the event-driven relational database model as an information technology solution; the Input-Process-Storage-Output framework for process modeling; managing business and information processes in an IT environment; the Systems Development Life Cycle framework; Information Engineering and UML approaches to systems development; project planning and management; basic data modeling and database design; querying a database; using commercial financial databases. Information technology: Students use an interactive Internet learning tool to identify relationships between entity types in data modeling, they query a relational database using SQL, and they use commercial financial databases (e.g. Edgar, Compustat) for project completion. Oral communication: Students must participate in class discussions. For each class session, students complete a participation sheet on which (s)he records the "best" verbal comment or contribution. They hand this sheet to the instructor each week for grading. Students present their project findings in class. Writing skills: Weekly assignments contain written components. Critical thinking: Students to extract data from databases when answering assignment and project questions. Problem solving: Students use information they believe is relevant to make decisions about projects and other assignments. They must justify their solutions. Team building: Students work in groups on a semester-long case project.

Rethinking AIS

217

ignored technical environments (and were too abstract) or taught only specific technology skills (and were too ephemeral and trade-school-like). In our business school, the first 60 credits (general education and business pre-core) and the business core are the same for all degrees. The business pre-core includes the traditional accounting principles classes in financial and managerial accounting, and one MIS or Computer Science course. The business core has a second MIS course. In addition to the general education, core and pre-core requirements, the FIS major has four required courses covering an Introduction to Financial Information Systems and Databases (FIS 301), Financial Information Systems Analysis (FIS Table 2. FIS 401: Analysis of Financial Information Systems. Course description: The knowledge acquired in this course will help students to analyze modern, technologically-relevant financial information systems. We use the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as a logical framework, and systems development software such as Oracle Designer™, COOL:Gen™, or Rational Rose™ to analyze real-world business systems. Prerequisites: FIS 301 - Introduction to Financial Information Systems & Databases. Course objectives: 1. Define activity and process modeling and list advantages of these models. 2. Describe a relational database management system and perform normalization of data. 3. Develop REA models. 4. Prepare activity (process) models. 5. Construct data models and describe data structures and attributes of the database repository. 6. Use a systems development toolset for systems planning and analysis. 7. Apply the SDLC to simulate real-life planning and analysis situations. Major topics: Information Engineering and UML approaches to systems development; activity (process), data and interaction modeling; using systems development software to perform financial information systems analysis. Information technology: We use a computer laboratory and each student has a computer. Students use contemporary systems development software to analyze and model financial information systems. Oral communication: Students must participate in class discussions and presentations. For each class session, a student records the "best" verbal comment or contribution made during class on a class participation sheet, which is graded. Writing skills: Students complete assignments with written components. Critical thinking: A case-based approach is used to build critical thinking skills. Each week, students sift through large amounts of case information. They are required the extract the information that is important for solving case questions. Problem solving: Students use the information they believe is relevant to make decisions about cases and other assignments, and justify their solutions. They analyze a real business situation, developing process and data models. Team building: After individual case preparation at home, students are assigned to small groups to discuss and reach small group solutions for class discussion.

218

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

401), Financial Information Systems Design (FIS 402), and Information Systems Audit and Control (FIS 403). Students then choose an additional six credits (two courses) from Financial Information Systems Applications (FIS 404), any accounting course at the 300 or 400 level, any MIS course at the 400 level, any Finance course at the 400 level, and Manufacturing Planning & Control at the 400 level. We added the last elective for those students who intend to work and develop systems in manufacturing environments. Finally, there is room for two free electives (from any discipline), to complete a 128-credit degree. A discussion of each of the FIS courses follows: • Introduction to Financial Information Systems and Databases (required), focuses on information systems project management, data modeling, database design, querying a database, and using commercial financial databases. The software used in this course could include MS Project, the Oracle 9i™ database management system, Edgar, and Compustat. The purpose of this class is to build on the knowledge imparted to students in the core MIS class, and to develop project management and database skills (Table 1). • Analysis of Financial Information Systems (required), allows students to analyze modern, technologically relevant business information systems. We use the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as the logical framework, and Table 3. FIS 402: Design of Financial Information Systems. Course description: This course involves the design and construction offinancialinformation systems, using a Model-Oriented-Tool-Enhanced approach to systems development. Designs are implemented using Advantage Gen™, Oracle Designer/Developer™, or Rational Rose™. A large portion of this course is case-based. The purpose of the project is to allow students to actively participate in the full systems development life cycle. Prerequisites: FIS 401 - Analysis of Financial Information Systems. Course objective: Design and construct a functionalfinancialinformation system, and populate it with data. Major topics: Analysis review; advanced modeling; design overview; dialog design; graphic user interface design; generating and testing applications. Information technology: The students use information technology throughout this course, which is conducted in a computer laboratory. Each student has a computer. Students use contemporary systems development software to design and construct business systems. Oral communication: All students are required to participate in class discussions in each class. This is an essential component of learning with cases. Students also present their casefindingsto the class. Writing skills: Students complete written assignments and reports. Critical thinking: The case-based approach builds critical thinking skills. Students sift through large amounts of information. They extract the information that is important for solving the case questions. Problem solving: Students use the information they believe is relevant to make decisions about cases and other assignments. Students justify their solutions. Team building: Students work in groups on a semester-long case project.

Rethinking AIS

219

Table 4. FIS 403: Information Systems Audit and Control. Course description: This course covers advanced topics that are important to professional accountants, and deals with audit and control aspects of information systems. Students study risks, controls, and audit objectives related to key information systems areas, as well as computer fraud detection techniques. They use generalized audit software for audit tests and fraud detection. Prerequisites: FIS 301 - Introduction to Financial Information Systems & Databases. Course objectives: 1. Identify the risks and control issues associated with modern information systems, and to develop strategies to control for these risks. 2. Define the audit role of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques. 3. Use ACL software as a data extraction and analysis tool to perform audit and fraud detection tests. Major topics: Information technology and internal control; computer Fraud and Security; regulatory environment for E-commerce; risk of insecure E-commerce systems; E-commerce risk management; cryptography and authentication; firewalls; Internet payment systems; auditing computer-based information systems; Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques; using software for data extraction and analysis (including fraud detection). Information technology: Students use ACL™, an audit software package, to query, analyze and report on data stored by a computer system. Oral communication: All students are required to participate in class discussions. Students record their "best" contributions on a participation sheet that is graded. Students present projects to the class throughout the semester. Topics include: Network Security; Firewall Audit; Application of Biometrics; Digital Analysis as an Auditing Tool; Extensible Business Report Language (XBRL); Auditing in a Paperless Environment. Writing skills: Written assignments and audit reports. Critical thinking: Students are required to access data from a computer files and to comment on anomalies or unusual trends. Problem solving: Students test, analyze and report on the data that they extract from a computer system, and make audit and control decisions. Students are required to justify each decision. Team building: After doing individual assignment preparation at home, students are assigned to small groups to discuss individual solutions and to reach a small group solution, which is then presented to the class. Also, students work on projects in groups.

systems development software such as Oracle Designer M, Advantage Gen , or Rational Rose™ to analyze real-world business systems. The students build on database concepts introduced in the first course by developing data, process and interaction models. The existing case materials and assigned projects include a fixed asset subsystem, and a raw materials purchasing subsystem (Table 2). • Design of Financial Information Systems (required) completes the SDLC and continues a project started in the preceding course (Analysis of Financial Information Systems). It involves the design and construction of a business information system. Students implement their designs by using Advantage Gen , Oracle Designer/Developer™, or Rational Rose™. Most of this course is project-based. The purpose of the project is to allow students to actively participate in the full systems development life cycle (Table 3).

220

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK Table 5. FIS 404: Financial Information Systems Applications.

Course description: The content of this course varies to keep pace with changing business needs and information technologies. Topics include XML-XBRL, electronic commerce, executive decision support systems, and new technologies as they emerge. This course will be entirely project-based. Prerequisites: FIS 402 - Design of Financial Information Systems. Course objective: To use the latest information technologies to build complexfinancialinformation systems. Information technology: The students make use of the latest relevant information technology throughout this course, which is conducted in a computer laboratory. Each student has a computer in class. Oral communication: All students participate in regular class discussions, and present their case projects at various stages. Writing skills: The case projects contain written components. Critical thinking: The complex case-based projects build critical thinking skills. Problem solving: Students use the information they believe is relevant to make decisions about case projects and other assignments. Students are required to justify their solutions. Team building: Students work in groups on a semester-long case project.

• Information Systems Audit and Control (required) deals with audit and control aspects of information systems. Students study the risks, controls, and audit techniques related to key information systems areas. In addition, they learn computer fraud detection techniques. Students use ACL Software (with IDEA as an alternative) to perform audit tests and fraud prevention and detection procedures (Table 4). • The content of the Financial Information Systems Applications course (elective) varies to keep pace with changing business needs and information technologies. Topics include XML-XBRL, electronic commerce, executive decision support systems, and emerging technologies. This course is project-based, and permits the student to apply knowledge acquired in prerequisite courses to relevant innovations (Table 5). The curriculum permits innovation by its design. We designed it to be flexible and attractive to students who would otherwise choose major in either MIS or traditional accounting. It is flexible because it can support a traditional undergraduate accounting major, or it can fit within the 150-credit hour requirement for aspiring CPA's. Despite much criticism of the 150-hour requirements (e.g. Albrecht & Sack, 2000, pp. 30, 33-34; Clikeman, Schwartz & Lathan, 2001, pp. 627-645), these are now a fact of accounting education life in many states. It is important that any degree with some accounting content be considered in the context of the 150-credit hour rule because compliance with this requirement is necessary for a section of the profession. Table 6 illustrates how a student can accomplish this at a school in Michigan.

Rethinking AIS

221 Table 6.

150-Hour R e q u i r e m e n t .

The AICPA rule for eligibility to sit for the CPA examination requires 150 semester hours of education at an accredited institution, including a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Individual states add their regulations to the requirements, both to the types of credits required to be eligible for the exam, and for a license to practice. In general terms, the proposed curriculum is 128 credits, therefore 22 will be required beyond the degree. States are usually quite specific about the particular type of credits required for eligibility for the exam and for a licensee to practice. The following will show how this program, developed for a school in Michigan, can be used as a basis for a program of 150 credit hours. In Michigan, there are two sets of rules: requirements to write the CPA exam and requirements to be licensed to practice. To write the exam: "Applicants for the Uniform CPA Examination are required to have a baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accounting from an accredited college or university, consisting of 24 semester hours of accounting principles, including auditing, and 24 semester hours of general business subjects. The accounting principles include study in financial accounting, managerial accounting including cost accounting, accounting systems and controls, United States federal taxation, and governmental/fund accounting" How can the FIS proposal deal with these requirements? The FIS degree requires the accounting systems credits. The financial accounting classes can come from the designated electives, and free electives e.g. the managerial accounting, including cost and taxation can cover two of the remaining four requirements. This sequence leaves governmental/fund accounting and auditing as two classes that a student would need to write the exam. To practice: (1) "A masters degree in accounting or a master of business administration (MBA) that includes not less than 12 semester hours of graduate level accounting, or (2) 30 semester hours of accounting subjects, including no more than 6 semester hours of taxation, and 39 semester hours, including a minimum of 3 semester hours each in business communications and computer technology and a minimum of 3 semester hours, but not more than 12 semester hours, in at least 5 of the following areas: business law, economics, ethics, finance, management, marketing, taxation, statistics, and business policy? The FIS degree requires 128 credits, therefore an additional 22 credits are required. However, looking at the state requirements, only one more credit in accounting is needed beyond the requirements to write the exam.

This program should be attractive to traditional accounting majors who, with the judicious use of accounting electives, can dual major with only two additional courses. Therefore, we do not expect any cannibalization of our traditional major. Instead, we hope to attract students who would otherwise choose MIS or accounting/information systems programs at other institutions. We believe that potential MIS majors will be attracted to this new major because of the enhanced career opportunities made possible by combining MIS-type technologies with the rigor associated with developing accounting-related subsystems. Our main motivation is not enrollment, but effective accounting education. Increased enrollment should come naturally if we are successful at enhancing the IT skills of our graduates.

222

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

Appendix shows an example of how a student might complete the degree over a four-year period.

ENVIRONMENT NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE CURRICULUM Resources required to develop, provide and maintain this degree program include hardware, software, faculty with appropriate skills, and support to maintain access to information technology. Our business school subscribes to corporate university programs. In exchange for a small fee, the university receives basic software and access to training for faculty. We also hired an IT analyst to administer the underlying technical infrastructure. His duties include installing and managing the Oracle database, integrating software, including the systems development toolset using the Oracle back-end, and managing other ad hoc software used in the curriculum. This human resource commitment is essential to the delivery of this program. The technical issues involved in installation and maintenance of applications such as Oracle require full-time attention and skills beyond those usually held by computer laboratory staff. COOL:Gen™ (now named Advantage Gen™, and owned by Computer Associates) was the first systems development toolset the business school used for the systems analysis and design classes. We chose this toolset because of: (1) its excellent downstream effects in systems development that resulted in the generation of application code and the data definition language; (2) the fact that it follows the various stages of the systems development lifecycle lockstep, which provides for a strong theoretical foundation for students; and (3) the excellent free training provided to faculty. In light of the popularity of Oracle products in the business world, plus the opportunity to have Oracle Designer™ as an alternative systems development tool, we decided to subscribe to Oracle's university program as well. There was much discussion about the pros and cons of each systems development software package. The versatility of the Oracle package, plus the familiarity of the general public with Oracle, helped move the decision somewhat towards the use of Oracle. Currently, our business school supports both packages. In addition, both faculty members involved in this curriculum are currently becoming proficient in the use of Unified Modeling Language (UML)-based toolsets for systems development, and we intend applying these to class projects in the near future. We wish to emphasize that one of the advantages of our approach is

223

Rethinking AIS

that we are vendor-independent, because we do not wish to be wedded to any particular technical environment. The technologies we consider for adoption are intentionally selected for their ability to work with many operating systems, databases and programming languages, thereby better preparing our graduates for the ever-changing IT business world.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS We experienced many frustrating and time-consuming difficulties with developing and launching the new major. We solved these problems over a six-year period. The biggest hurdle was the bureaucratic inertia at the department, business school and university levels in approving the curriculum. Part of the departmental inertia stemmed from Accounting faculty concerns about the potential erosion in the already decreasing number of traditional accounting majors. We eventually persuaded our colleagues that the source of students to the new major would likely come from potential MIS majors, whose department had experienced enrollment increases almost matching the decline in traditional accounting majors. In addition, students can, with judicious selection of electives, dual major in financial information systems and accounting with only two additional courses. Moreover, feedback from our stakeholders, particularly our Accounting and Finance Advisory Board that represents major employers of our graduates, consistently voiced support for this curricular innovation. Without this support, it would have been extremely difficult to convince some very skeptical colleagues. Another major challenge related to securing faculty members who were both qualified and committed to develop and deliver the new curricular content. We originally had no faculty members with an in-depth knowledge of information systems. Faculty members needed to develop expertise in systems development methodologies and also needed training in the software that supports those methodologies. Initially, one tenured traditional faculty member retooled in the area of information systems. With external grant support and sabbatical leave, he agreed to spearhead the development of a framework and acquire the technical skills through self-study and professional development. For instance, he trained in computer-aided systems engineering methods, data and process modeling, relational database technology, and software engineering concepts. In addition, the new tenure-track faculty member expressed a willingness to retrain in these areas. The incremental cost in terms of new faculty salary and benefits required an initial annual commitment of approximately $100,000. The university and

224

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

business school also committed extensive resources to faculty development, including internal grants, mentoring and training for the new faculty member. We estimate that these costs amounted to approximately $20,000. Another difficulty was the lack of textbook and related student and instructor materials. We had to develop our own teaching materials, including extensive use of case materials that provided a projects-based approach to learning. In addition, we developed numerous learning aids. This effort required a substantial time commitment from faculty, with only nominal out-of-pocket costs to the business school. Finally, during the first few years, we experienced technical difficulties with the installation and maintenance of commercial software. We obtained funding to hire a database administrator (shared with MIS) to administer the underlying technical infrastructure, at an annual cost of approximately $60,000.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS There are several reasons to believe that this new curriculum serves the needs of students, employers, and the profession. First, we evaluated our course materials against the standards espoused by the International Federation of Accountants' International Education Guideline No. 11, "Information Technology In The Accounting Curriculum," which is endorsed by the AICPA (Callaghan, Peacock & Savage, 2000, pp. 1-12). This guideline discusses curriculum relative to a framework of four professional roles for accountants: user, manager, designer and evaluator of information systems. Our Model-Oriented Tool-Enhanced approach "elects a curriculum in support of the designer role... it permits maximum flexibility to students in terms of providing building blocks for the remaining two roles identified by IFAC... and it permits a disciplined, normative approach to systems development" (Callaghan, Peacock & Savage, 2001, p. 52). Second, we assessed course content by eliciting the perceptions of accounting and IT business professionals about the curriculum (Callaghan, Peacock & Savage, 2001, pp. 51-60). We sent a survey to business professionals who were associated with our business school, either in an advisory, recruiting, alumnus, or sponsorship capacity. The questions included whether or not an item should be included the curriculum, and if yes, the extent of inclusion. In general, the conclusion was that the respondents were less in favor of technical hardware, software, and application skill categories, and more in favor of a higher level of abstraction, traditional accounting, and control and business application of IT skills.

Rethinking AIS

225

Third, before we presented the degree for approval, we asked stakeholders to express their opinions regarding this course. Table 7 contains selected comments from some of the stakeholders about the curriculum. The feedback showed wide support for the program. In addition, the departmental Advisory Board of about 20 finance and accounting professionals expressed enthusiastic support for the new curriculum. The most telling comment from one of these professionals at a recent meeting was: "We will employ as many of these graduates as you can produce." Based on this feedback, we believe that the proposed curriculum will serve the needs of students, regional employers, and the profession. We expect this new curriculum to attract students who would otherwise migrate to the MIS discipline because of the perceived "softness" of the IT component in traditional accounting curricula. We believe that by failing to add sufficient value to the IT skill-set of our graduates, we have failed to keep up with market demands, and have experienced declining student enrollments. In support of this, Albrecht and Sack (2000, pp. 9-10) found that graduates who work with technology are paid the highest premiums, with salaries in public and private accounting being the lowest. The time has come to reengineer accounting curricula so that students have choices with regard to specializations within the profession. Seizing the moment to make needed changes could increase our relevance and open new opportunities for accounting education. Our technology-rich approach retains the rigor of traditional programs, but we have expanded the horizons of the prospective financial professional from one of viewing accounting as a stand-alone, untimely, inflexible information system, capturing only "accounting transactions" and their limited characteristics, to one of a real-time, enterprise-wide, activity-driven information system, used by a variety of users with a variety of views (requirements). Furthermore, it represents a shift of focus from implementing costly controls to that of embedding controls within information systems during the development phase, and of continuous systems monitoring. We believe that it is important for traditional accounting educators to take this more expanded view of the discipline, not only in accepting a curriculum like the one we propose, but as importantly, to bring this more expansive view to the traditional accounting curriculum itself. For example, in principles of accounting, one could introduce the notion of how accounting data sits within the overall enterprise database. Intermediate financial and cost accounting could incorporate analyses of data from non-accounting sources. In this way, all accounting curricula can move toward a more realistic enterprise-wide approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

226

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK Table 7. Selected Stakeholder Comments.

Student: "Their curriculum is integrated and advanced and truly teaches today's accounting students useful skills for reaching success in their chosen profession. The acquired tools such as information engineering principles, data-modeling techniques, and systems life cycle development work greatly increased my knowledge and interest in modern information systems. I believe these courses supply accounting students with additional knowledge which distinguishes them from other graduates." Student: "I have a fairly extensive background in accounting systems and systems development, but I have yet to see another learning approach that has been as effective at merging conceptualization and actualization. Although technology is constantly changing, it is still extremely beneficial to gain experience using a tool of some sort in addition to teaching the concepts. This two-pronged method of instruction lays out a good foundation while reinforcing the theories with hands-on use. I have since been able to use the skills gained in this class to assist in current work related projects." Student: "In my current position, I am creating a fixed asset relational database and have to gather information from people in accounting, finance and management. To help the accounting and financial people understand what is needed from them, I'm using the approach that I learned in my [FIS] course. I've just started my career in MIS and have already used material from [my FIS class] and I'm sure that I will continue to in the future. The process modeling and data modeling concepts taught in the curriculum transcend the accounting profession, and teach students how to be value-added business people in any disciplines. Students completing this curriculum benefit from a challenging and practical IS experience, and they also take with them a sound methodology for analyzing business processes and data stores. In simple terms, the MOTE framework provides accounting students with exceptional cross-functional systems analysis and design skills. The combination of financial and systems analysis skills is a highly sought after skill set in the current job market. As a consulting manager, I had the opportunity to utilize the skills I gained from the program on almost a daily basis. The program definitely provided me with a skills-set that was superior to my peers in the accounting profession." Industry: "As a previous Senior Vice President of Finance of a large multinational corporation, I see a real need for people with the skills learned in this curriculum. The fact that these skill sets are based on a framework, and not tied to any particular technology, makes for a more flexible employee. In a corporate environment where flexibility with respect to business change, technological change, and exposure to different cultures can make the competitive difference, such flexibility is extremely important. As an employer of several graduates and interns of this curriculum, I see a positive difference in their performances, particularly in their ability to consider a variety of approaches to problems. A professional with the ability to better abstract and model underlying business reality, is in a better position to offer workable solutions than those professionals with only narrowly-defined skills, wedded to particular technologies. I believe the curriculum advanced here serves students and the profession well in this regard." Academic: "In my view, Professors Callaghan et al.'s framework is significantly different from traditional approaches. In the information technology age, accounting students are required to understand more than just how G/L files are processed within the computer, and how spreadsheet and database software can be used to replace manual, labor-intensive, and tedious work. They must be able to integrate their knowledge and skills to develop IT-enabled and reengineered business processes, and learn to make strategic use of accounting information embedded in these processes. In my view, the curriculum developed by Professors Callaghan et al. is important for business education in the sense that it provides business students with critical knowledge and skills in the new millennium, including the integration of AIS and business process modeling, and IT-enabled business process reengineering." (Professor of Information Systems at a university in Massachusetts.)

227

Rethinking AIS

REFERENCES Albrecht, W. J., & Sack, R. J. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future. Accounting Education Series No. 16. Sarasota: American Accounting Association. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2001). AICPA TopTech 2001 - Critical Elements of Business (Video tape). Jersey City: AICPA Multimedia Group. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2002). House passes bill to change regulation of accounting profession. The CPA Letter (June), 1,3. New York: AICPA. Borthick, A. F. (1996). Helping accountants learn to get the information managers want: The role of the accounting information systems course. Journal of Information Systems, 10, 75-86. Callaghan, J. H., Lauer, T. W., & Peacock, E. (1998). Developing a comprehensive curriculum for accounting information systems: A model-oriented, tool-enhanced approach. The Review of Accounting Information Systems, 2(4), 57-65. Callaghan, J. H., Peacock, E., & Savage, A. (2000). Assessment of an accounting systems curriculum: An analysis of the international federation of accountants' education guideline No. 11. The Review of Accounting Information Systems, 4(1), 1-12. Callaghan, J., Peacock, E., & Savage, A. (2001). Feedback on developing an AIS curriculum. The Review of Business Information Systems, 5(4), 51-60. Clikeman, P. M., Schwartz, B. N., & Lathan, M. H. (2001). The effect of the 150-hour requirement on new accountants' professional commitment, ethical orientation, and professionalism. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 12, 627-645. Coe, M. J. (2001). Using enterprise resource planning systems as the core of an integrated accounting information systems course. The Review of Business Information Systems, 5, 13-24. Fisher, I. E. (2001). The application of concept maps to the instruction of accounting information systems. The Review of Business Information Systems, 5,25-29. Gabbin, A. L. (2002). The crisis in accounting education. Journal of Accountancy (April), 8186. Groomer, S. M, & Murthy, U. S. (1996). An empirical analysis of the accounting information systems course. Journal of Information Systems, 10,103-127. Lunsford, D. (2001). A senior level AIS course based on the AICPA's top-ten technology issues. The Review of Business Information Systems, 5,43-50. McCarthy, W. E. (1979). An entity-relationship view of accounting models. The Accounting Review (October), 667-686. McCarthy, W. E. (1982). The REA accounting model: A generalized framework for accounting systems in a shared data environment. The Accounting Review (July), 554-578. McCarthy, W. E. (1999). Semantic modeling in accounting education, practice, and research: Some progress and impediments. In: P. Chen, K. Akoka, H. Kangassalo & B. Thalheim (Eds), Conceptual Modeling: Current Issues and Future Directions. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. Stewart, J. R. (1993/1994). Educator/practitioner recommendations for computer usage in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 34, 3-12. Walton, K. S. (1997). Current approaches to structuring the information systems curriculum for accounting majors. Accounting Educators' Journal, 9,69-88.

228

JOSEPH H. CALLAGHAN, ARLINE SAVAGE AND EILEEN PEACOCK

APPENDIX Sample Curriculum First semester (16 crs) Composition 1 (4) Linear Programming (4) Information Technology (4) General Education Course (4)

Second semester (16 crs) Composition II (4) Calculus for Social Sciences (4) Public Speaking (4) General Education Course (4)

Third semester (16 crs) Financial Accounting (4) Macroeconomics (4) General Education Course (4) General Education Course (4)

Fourth semester (18 crs) Managerial & Cost Accounting (4) Microeconomics (4) Statistical Methods (6) General Education Course (4)

Fifth semester (14 crs) Marketing (4) Organizational Behavior (3) Managerial Finance I (4) Management Information Systems (3)

Sixth semester (17 crs) Operations Management (4) Human Resource Management (3) Introduction to FIS and Databases (3) Intermediate Financial Accounting I (3) General Education Course (4)

Seventh semester (16 crs) Managerial Economics (3) Business Writing (4) Legal Environment of Business (3) FIS Analysis (3) Intermediate Financial Accounting II (3)

Eighth semester (16 crs) Management Strategy & Policies (4) FIS Design (3) Information Systems Audit & Control (3) Managerial & Cost II (Free Elective) (3) Federal Income Tax (Free Elective) (3)

Total: 129 credits Note: Our institution imposes the four-credit hour courses included in this sample curriculum upon us.

USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ACCOUNTING CLASSROOM Cindy D. Edmonds, Thomas P. Edmonds and Elizabeth V. Mulig ABSTRACT There is widespread agreement that individuals entering the accounting profession in today's new business environment should possess effective problem-solving and decision-making skills, good insight and judgment, as well as innovative and creative thinking (AICPA, Core Competency Framework, 1999). There is also widespread agreement that the traditional teaching model fails to provide accounting students with these skills and qualities (Albrecht & Sack, 2000). Indeed, the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) recommended a change in educational focus from "knowledge acquisition" to "learning to learn" (AECC, 1990, Issues, p. 6). The Commission notes that "learning to learn" involves developing skills and strategies that help one learn more effectively and to use these effective learning strategies to continue to learn throughout his or her lifetime (AECC, 1990, Objectives, p. 4). One specific "learning to learn" strategy is known as problem-based learning (AECC, 1990, Issues, p. 6). This paper provides an overview of the PBL literature, two example cases along with teaching notes, and a description of the experiences offiveaccounting professors who employ the collaborative PBL pedagogy in their classrooms.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,229-242 © 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.10167S1085-4622(03)05014-4 229

230

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

INTRODUCTION In the past decade many organizations have advocated change in accounting education. See, for example: IMA (1994, 1996, 1999), AICPA (1998), AAA (1986), and Perspectives on Education (1989). The most recent call for change entitled Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 43) identifies several problem areas in traditional accounting education including the following: • Our curricula are too narrow and often outdated or irrelevant. • We are not exposing students in the right ways to highly relevant concepts... • Our rule based, memorization, test-for-content, and prepare-for-certifying-exam educational model... does not prepare students for the ambiguous business world they will encounter upon graduation. • Our pedagogy often lacks creativity, involves too much lecture and dependence on textbooks and does not develop the students' ability-to-learn skills. • Our educational models focus too much on content at the expense of skill development. The Accounting Education Change Commission advocates "learning to learn" as a new educational focus that is designed to combat these shortcomings (AECC, 1990, Issues, p. 6). Francis, Mulder and Stark (1995, Executive Summary) define the "learning to learn" approach as "a process of acquiring, understanding, and using a variety of strategies to improve one's ability to attain and apply knowledge, a process which results from, leads to, and enhances a questioning spirit and lifelong desire to learn." The AECC advocates problem-based learning (PBL) as one means for implementing the "learning to learn" focus (AECC, 1990, Issues, p. 6). Francis, Mulder and Stark (1995) note that PBL has been successfully implemented in other professions such as medicine, law, and engineering and suggests that accounting educators are likely to experience similar results. The following section of this paper describes problem-based learning and discusses the research related to PBL's effectiveness at addressing skill development in other disciplines.

AN EXPLANATION OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL) Problem-based learning (PBL) acquires its name from the fact that it begins the educational experience with a problem rather than an answer. In a traditional

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development

231

lecture-based learning environment, the professor presents a problem and its solution almost simultaneously. Unfortunately, learning the solution before analyzing the problem stifles the learning experience. Students do not internalize the problem or become active participants in finding a solution (Torp, 1997). In contrast, a PBL experience begins with the presentation of a problem that arouses the students' natural curiosity. The professor delays an authoritative discussion of the subject matter associated with the problem until the students have had time to evaluate the problem and to develop personal responses. Skill development results from the students' efforts to solve the problem (Torp, 1997). PBL strategies are closely akin to several learning approaches known by a variety of names including student-centered learning and discovery learning (Felder, 1996). In PBL, students become stakeholders in the problem. The problem becomes their problem. They confront the problem directly rather than as outsiders observing from a safe distance. Advocates of PBL claim that the investigation and resolution of real-world problems creates a pressing need to know that motivates student involvement. They argue that students involved in PBL build critical and creative thinking skills, and learn self-directed leadership skills (Torp, 1997). Instructors using PBL assume the role of a coach or a guide who facilitates the learning experience. The teacher's job is to set goals, monitor progress, motivate, encourage, provide feedback, etc. The instructor as the single source of knowledge is diminished. Instead, the instructor encourages students to gather information and apply knowledge from a variety of disciplines and resources. Teaching focuses on helping students "learn to learn" rather than disseminating knowledge (AECC, 1990, Issues, p. 6). The trick of the trade is deciding when to let the players play and when to intervene (Gallagher, Stepien & Rosenthal, 1992, p. 197). PBL has widespread applicability. A variety of educational settings, ranging from grammar school to post graduate programs in medical and legal education, have implemented PBL (Stites, 1996). Small groups and large classes have used PBL (Dion, 1996; Thompson, 1996; Woods, 1996). Private and public institutions and programs for gifted and ordinary students have employed the PBL technique (Gallagher & Gallagher, 1994; Gallagher & Workman, 1993). PBL is an active learning approach. Instructors frequently ask students to identify and describe the problem, to find resources necessary to resolve the problem, to generate and analyze possible solutions, to select the best possible solution, and to present their solutions either orally or in writing (Felder et al., 2000; Finkle & Torp, 1995). Active learning strategies may or may not be coupled with collaborative learning. Individual projects that do not require working with others can employ PBL techniques (Woods, 1996). While it is not an essential component of PBL, collaborative learning facilitates the development of a broader range of skills.

232

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

More specifically, working in groups to solve problems acts to stimulate the formation of communication and leadership skills (Felder et al., 2000).

BENEFITS OF PBL A review of research findings provides evidence that PBL has been effective in stimulating skill development in a variety of disciplines. Medical students with exposure to PBL scored higher on clinically-oriented standardized exams than students in traditional courses (Mennin et al., 1993; Vernon & Blake, 1993). Further, Albanese and Mitchell (1993) found that PBL medical students scored better than traditional students with respect to learning skills, problem-solving, self-evaluation techniques, data gathering, behavioral science, and their relation to the social-emotional problems of patients. Albanese and Mitchell (1993) also found that PBL leads to higher levels of skill development than does traditional instruction among medical students. Similar benefits have been found among engineering (Felder, 1995; Felder et al., 2000) and law students (Moust, 1997). Gallagher, Stepien and Rosenthal (1992) contend that PBL not only allows learning to become more profound and durable, but that it increases the transferability of skills and knowledge from the classroom to the work environment. Bridges (1992) reaches a similar conclusion regarding transferability of skills and knowledge. He argues that PBL increases transferability because students are able to practice the knowledge and skills in a functional context that allows students to better imagine what it will be like using the knowledge and skills on the job.

DISADVANTAGES OF PBL The benefits of PBL are not without cost. Felder (1995, pp. 32-33) notes that doing anything new and nontrivial involves a learning curve. Felder observes that students, whose teachers have been telling them everything they need to know from the first grade on, do not appreciate having this support suddenly withdrawn. The PBL method is new to the students and the learning curve may be particularly steep. Complaints such as the "instructor never teaches us anything - we have to do it all ourselves" are commonplace. Other educators echo these reactions (Francis, Mulder & Stark, 1995, p. 11). Woods (1994) contends that students who are forced to take major responsibility for their own learning go through some or all of the steps psychologists associate with trauma and grief. Woods' (1994, p. 54) complete

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development

233

list of steps along with typical student comments follows: (1) Shock: "I don't believe it. We have to do homework in groups and she isn't going to lecture on the chapter before the problems are due?" (2) Denial: "She can't be serious about this. If I ignore it, it will go away." (3) Strong emotion: "I can't do it. I'd better drop the course and take it next semester." (4) Resistance and withdrawal: "I'm not going to play her dumb games. I don't care if she fails me." (5) Surrender and acceptance: "OK, I think it's stupid but I'm stuck with it and I might as well give it a shot." (6) Struggle and exploration: "These other guys seem to be getting this stuff Maybe I need to try harder or do something differently to get it to work for me. (7) Return of confidence: "Hey, I may be able to pull this off after all. I think it's starting to work." (8) Integration and success. "Yes! This stuff is all right. I don't understand why I had so much trouble with it before." Clearly, the initial exposure to PBL can be challenging. Indeed, the resistance may be long-term. Felder (1995, p. 33) notes that "despite my best efforts, some students fail and some who pass continue to resent my putting so much of the burden of their learning on their shoulders." Even so, the results appear to justify the effort. Felder (1995, p. 33) concludes: "For all their complaints... my students on the average earn higher grades than they ever did when I just lectured, and many more of them now tell me that after getting through one of my courses they feel confident that they can do anything. So I lose some, but I win a lot more. I can cheerfully live with the tradeoff."

PBL AS A MAINSTREAM PEDAGOGY The preponderance of evidence suggests that PBL is a legitimate teaching strategy that holds promise for accounting educators. Indeed, over the past 50 years, PBL has moved from an experimental approach to a mainstream teaching strategy. While Socrates (Plato, 1995; Xenophon, 1990) advocated the basics of inquiry training, the recent pedagogy was pioneered at Case Western Reserve University in the early 1950s (Jones, 1996). PBL gained a strong hold in medical education shortly after the Faculty of Medicine implemented it at McMaster University in Canada in the mid-1960s (Camp, 1996).

234

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

Today, most medical schools implement PBL in their curricula (Bridges & Hallinger, 1991; Vernon & Blake, 1993). Further, related schools such as health sciences, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and public health also use PBL. Beyond the medical arena, schools of architecture, law, engineering, forestry, police science, social work, education, and other professional fields also use the strategy (Camp, 1996). Clearly, PBL is a well-established teaching strategy that is worthy of consideration by accounting educators. The next section of this paper describes an implementation strategy for using PBL in introductory accounting courses.

THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY Four medium size state universities have used, in their introductory accounting courses, the collaborative PBL strategy we describe below. Class sizes range from the teens to mass sections in excess of 150 students. While the individual instructors employ independent styles and place varying degrees of emphasis on PBL applications, they all follow a common approach that includes the following features: (1) PBL is an added feature in a traditional learning environment. (2) All of the instructors implement PBL through the use of short class opening exercises and cases. In this article, we provide two example cases along with teaching notes in Appendix. On average, PBL experiences comprise the first 20 minutes of class time. (3) All PBL experiences take place in the classroom. (4) All instructors use some form of collaborative learning. (5) Instructors grade PBL exercises and cases as a participation component of the students' overall grade.

EXPERIENCES FROM THE FIELD Are the experiences of instructors in other disciplines applicable to accounting education? To answer this question, we report experiences from our classrooms and those of two other instructors who regularly use PBL pedagogy. Individual instructor experiences with PBL ranged between one and four years. The combined total of experience for all five instructors was approximately 11 years. Our conclusions are consistent with the findings of research in other

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development disciplines. More specifically, we identify several common problems and provide information regarding the remedies that we use to mitigate the negative effects. This information may be particularly useful in reducing the learning curve that those instructors who have not used PBL otherwise face. The following list is a summary of the problems we faced and the remedies we prescribe. (1) A major drawback in the implementation of PBL is that students, as a norm, resist doing anything "new" or "different." The normal classroom situation for students incorporates the traditional teaching model where the instructor delivers material through a lecture while the students sit passively and take notes. Accordingly, students develop the view that their role is to absorb and regurgitate. They may resent being asked to develop a logical solution to a problem rather than being told what to do. This finding is apparent in the following comments: Every quarter I hear the same complaints. My students say: "You are not teaching us. How can you expect us to teach ourselves? I had a student last semester who asked: "How am I supposed to answer this question when you haven't explained the material to us? You are expecting us to do all the work, this is not fair." Of course, his comments were welcomed by his fellow students. Some students are resentful when I expect them to attempt to develop an answer before I provide instruction. This is to be expected when you consider the typical educational model that they have experienced.

We offer the following first person suggestions for handling such student complaints: I usually just ignore it It doesn't last long. Indeed, once they get accustomed to the approach, they seem to look forward to the days that we do PBL. While most people feel uncomfortable with the unexpected, they adjust rapidly to this technique. I find it helpful to put them into groups. Many people have trouble getting started when they are sitting alone. They are unsure of their ability to develop answers. However, when you put them with other students, theyfindthat their answers are as good as anybody else's. This way they gain the confidence necessary to try things they otherwise would not. It helps if you warn your students that you frequently use a nontraditionaf learning format. I discuss the pros and cons of PBL with them. If you can get them to buy into the approach before you start using it, the transition from traditional to PBL goes a lot smoother. Cases should be kept short, structured, and to the point so that students are not too frustrated as to where to begin, and the instructor should ask for notification when a certain point is reached. This keeps dialogue going between me and my students and dissipates the perception that I'm not doing my job.

235

236

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

(2) Another problem with using PBL cases in class is that some students will not even try approaching the problem on their own, waiting instead for the instructor to give them the answer. Consider the following comments. I frequently find students just sitting there, waiting for me to give them the answer. Some of my students think that PBL is a time to discover what their friends did over the weekend. Ifindthem talking alright, but not about accounting.

We provide the following tips for engaging students in PBL cases: Some students need a gentle probe. If I see a student just sitting there, I go over and ask if I can help get him started. Many students really need a helping hand. If they are just lazy, having the instructor check on them is usually motive enough to get them started. Requiring action at certain points and setting time limits serves to keep the students on track and involved. I put them in groups and tell them to identify a spokesperson who will represent them when I call on them for an answer. Knowing that they will be called on motivates them to work. Having them select their own spokesperson reduces stress. There is always someone in a group of 4 or 5 who likes to talk.

(3) When the instructor implements PBL in a group environment, students may mislead one another. Students can definitely get off on the wrong track. Frequently, it's like the blind leading the blind. I feel bad when I hear one student telling another something that is definitely wrong. I want to jump in and straighten the situation out, but that would thwart the students' motivation to think for themselves.

Some helpful suggestions to reduce or eliminate this negative side effect include: Continuous active involvement by the instructor (circulating among groups, checking work, and providing feedback) serves as a control against the students getting too far "off track." Incorrect answers may also be used as a springboard for discussion. Getting off track in group work occurs less frequently as group members get to know each other better. The more knowledgeable members usually gain therespectof other group members and these brighter students are then able to keep the discussion focused in a productive fashion. I keep my PBL cases short and simple. As a result, students do not have time to get too far off course. If I use a longer case, I break it up so that I can provide frequent feedback that keeps the work on the exercise focused and productive.

(4) PBL cases can be a time consuming. Most accounting educators already feel that it is difficult to provide complete coverage of the crucial material

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development in the available time. We offer the following observations concerning time constraints. You have to make choices and establish priorities. Is it more important that students learn to think or that they memorize a bunch of details? Certainly, it requires time, but I believe it is time well spent The cases I use are so short and to the point that they require no more time than the boring introductions that I used to do.

Strategies for time management include the following: I use structured cases and set rigid time limits. The cases act to stimulate curiosity. As soon as I have the students' interest I move on. I had to deal not only with constraints regarding class time, but also grading time. Ultimately, I decided to recognize the cases as a participation grade. I usually take up some small aspect of the case. Often I take a common answer from the group as a whole and have all group members who are present list their names on a single sheet of paper. I grade the responses on a pass/fail basis. The student is either present and passes, or is absent and fails. I do not return the papers for feedback. Feedback is accomplished in the classroom.

Our experiences suggest that the positive aspects of using collaborative PBL cases in the classroom far outweigh the problems. As students attempt to solve the cases, they are thinking rather than just restating what they have been told. They are participating in the learning process and exchanging ideas with other students, rather than just listening to the instructor. Active involvement generates a curiosity about the problem given and elicits an enthusiasm for learning. Working in groups also opens the door for more learning and discussion. The students are not just taking notes and reproducing them on tests. With practice, they learn how to approach problems and to think on their own. These abilities are what employers value, which is perhaps the most compelling argument for the use of PBL in the classroom.

CONCLUSION Research findings in other disciplines, along with the anecdotal evidence reported herein, suggest that collaborative PBL experiences hold promise as a successful pedagogy for accounting educators. More specifically, our research suggests that collaborative PBL is an effective strategy for the development of critical and creative thinking, decision-making, communication, and leadership skills. We encourage accounting educators to experiment with this and other forms of PBL.

237

238

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

REFERENCES Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Issues statement No. 1: AECC Urges priority for teaching in higher education (August). Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Position statement No. 1: Objectives of education for accountants (September). Albanese, M., & Mitchell, S. (1993). Problem-based learning: A review of the literature on its outcomes and implementation issues. Academic Medicine, 65(1), 52-81. Albrecht, W. S., & Sack. R. J. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future. Accounting Education Series (August), 16. American Accounting Association. American Accounting Association (AAA) (1986). Committee on the future structure, content, and scope of accounting education (Bedford Committee Report). Future Accounting Education: Preparing for the expanding profession. Issues in Accounting Education (Spring), 168-195. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1998). CPA vision project: Focus on the horizon. Executive summary and CPA vision project focus groups: Public practice industry, and government CPAs; also an addendum: Student focus groups. New York, NY: AICPA. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1999). Core competency framework, personal competencies (July). Retrieved October 11, 2002, from: AICPA web site: http://www.aicpa.org/edu/pers.htm Bridges, E. M. (1992). Problem based learning for administrators. Eugene, OR: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management Bridges, E. M., & Hallinger, P. (1991). Problem-based learning in medical and managerial education. Paper presented for the Cognition and School Leadership Conference of the National Center for Educational Leadership and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Nashville, TN. Camp, G. (19%). Problem-based learning: A paradigm shift or a passing fad? MEO. 1:2. Retrieved October 11,2002, from: http://www.med-ed-online.org/f0000003.htm Dion, L. (1996). But I teach a large class... Newsletter of the center for teaching Effectiveness (Spring). Retrieved October 11,2002, from: http7/www.udel.edu/pbl/cte/spr96-bisc2.html Felder, R. M. (1995). We never said it would be easy. Chemical Engineering Education, 29(1), 32-33. Retrieved October 11, 2002, from: http://www2.ncsu.edU/unity/lockers/users/f/ felder/public/Columns/Noteasy.html Felder, R. M. (1996). Navigating the bumpy road to student-centered instruction. College Teaching, 44, 43-47. Retrieved October 11, 2002, from: http://www2.ncsu.edU/unityAockers/users/f/felder/ public/Papers/Resisthtml Felder, R. M., Woods, D. R., Stice, J. E., & Rugarcia, A. (2000). The future of engineering education II. Teaching methods at work. Chemical Engineering Education, 34(\), 26-39. Finkle, S. L., & Torp, L. L. (1995). Introductory documents. Available from the Center for ProblemBased Learning, Illinois Math and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506-1000. Francis, M. C , Mulder, T. C, & Stark, J. S. (1995). Intentional learning: A process for learning to learn in the accounting curriculum. Accounting Education Series, 12. American Accounting Association. Gallagher, J. J., & Gallagher, S. A. (1994). Teaching the gifted child (4th ed., Ch. 9). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development

239

Gallagher, S. A., Stepien, W. J., & Rosenthal, H. (1992). The effects of problem-based learning on problem solving. Gifted Child Quarterly, 56(4), 195-200. Gallagher, S. A., & Workman, D. (1993). Problem-based learning for traditional and interdisciplinary classrooms. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 16(4), 338-357. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (1994). What corporate America wants in entrylevel accountants. Executive summary (with the Financial Executives Institute). Montvale, NJ:IMA. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (1996). The practice analysis ofmanagement accounting: Results of research. Montvale, NJ: IMA. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (1999). Counting more, counting less: Transformations in the management accounting profession. Montvale, NJ: IMA. Jones, D. (1996). What is PBL? San Diego State University, DCDPBL Faculty Development Institute Forum. Retrieved October 11, 2002, from: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/learningtree/ PBL/WhatisPBL.html Mennin, S. P., Friedman, M., Skipper, B., Kalishman, S., & Snyder, J. (1993). Performances on the NBME I, U, and IJJ by medical students in the problem-based learning and conventional tracks at the University of New Mexico. Academic Medicine, 68(8), 616-624. Moust, J. H. C. (1997). Problem-based education. A new instructional approach for law schools: The case of the Maastricht faculty of law. Problem-Based Learning: Theory, Practice and Research, 1,1. Perspectives on Education: Capabilities for Success in the Accounting Profession (The White Paper) (1989). Arthur Andersen & Co., Arthur Young, Coopers & Lybrand, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Ernst & Whinney, Peat Marwick Main & Co., Price Waterhouse, and Touche Ross, New York, NY. Plato (1995). The last says of Socrates. H. Tredennick (Ed.). Penguin. Stites, R. (1996). Evaluation of project based learning. SRI International. Retrieved October 11,2002, from: http://pblmm.kl 2.ca.us/PBLGuide/pblresch.htm Thompson, A. M. (1996). Problem-based learning in a large introductory geology class. Newsletter of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness (Spring). Retrieved October 11, 2002, from: http://www.udel.edu/pbl/cte/spr96-geol.html Torp, L. T. (1997). What is problem-based learning? Learning Productivity Wingspread Journal (Summer). Retrieved October 11, 2002, from Virtual Library at: http://www.johnsonfdn.org/ library/journal/v 19n3/pbl.html Vernon, D. T., & Blake, R. L. (1993). Does problem-based learning work? A meta-analysis of evaluative research. Academic Medicine, 68(7), 550-563. Woods, D. R. (1994). Problem-based learning: How to gain the mostfrom PBL Waterdown, McMaster University, Hamilton ON: Woods Publishing. Woods, D. R. (1996). Problem-based Learning, especially in the context of large classes. Retrieved October 11,2002, from: http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/pbl/pbl.htm Xenophon (1990). Conversations of Socrates. H. Tredennick (Ed.). Penguin.

240

C. D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

APPENDIX Case 1 - Fitzgerald Rentals: An Introduction to Depreciation (This Case was Used in Introductory Financial Accounting Courses.) On January 1,2001, Fitzgerald Rentals, Inc. (FRI) was established when it acquired $24,000 cash from the issue of common stock. FRI immediately paid $24,000 to purchase a car. FRI expects to lease the car to customers over a four year time period. At the end of the four years, FRI expects to sell the car for $4,000. Revenues for 2001 amounted to $7,000 cash. What is the amount of net income or loss that should be recognized on the 2001 income statement? General Comments: Take note of the fact that a conscious effort has been made to avoid the use of technical terminology. For example, useful life and salvage value are described with lay terminology. The objective is to make the problem clear. In this case, students are being asked to think logically about an allocation problem. The solution to the problem should be challenging, and the problem itself should be made easy to grasp.

Teaching Notes: (1) This case is designed to introduce the concept of depreciation. Students are expected to have a general understanding of financial statements and the concept of revenue and expense. They are basically confronted with the problem of determining how much of the $24,000 cost of the car should be expensed in 2001. The instructor should circulate among the students and should make sure that the students understand the problem, then leave them free to develop whatever solution seems most appropriate to them. (2) The case should be copied and distributed to students before any form of instruction is provided. A lecture regarding depreciation should follow rather than precede the students' efforts to answer the question posed in the case. (3) Give students between 5 and 10 minutes to work on the case independently. Then pair them with another student and allow them time to compare their answers. The pairs can then be matched to form groups of four. Whether to use pairs or groups is left to the discretion of the instructor. Students should be asked to select a spokesperson to explain their solution to the class. Knowing that they will be called on for a response will motive them to work. (4) After giving students ample time to consider the problem and to discuss their conclusions with their peers, the instructor then discloses the most common solution, which is straight-line depreciation. It is at this point that technical terminology is introduced. Other depreciation methods such as double-declining balance and units of production can be used to expand the subject matter.

Using Problem-based Learning to Promote Skill Development

241

Case 2 - Crystal Manufacturing Company: An Introduction to Product Costing (This Case was Used in Introductory Managerial Accounting Courses.) Crystal Manufacturing Company makes glass figurines that are sold to souvenir shops. The company was started on January 1,2001 when it acquired $50,000 in cash from the owners. During 2001 the company purchased and used raw materials that cost $14,000 cash. Wages paid to workers who made the figurines amounted to $22,000 cash. Finally, manufacturing overhead costs including rental fees paid for facilities and equipment amounted to $12,000 cash. The company started and completed the production of 1,000 figurines during 2001. Based on this information, determine the amount of expense incurred by Crystal assuming none of the figurines has been sold. General Comments: Students who have just takenfinancialaccounting will likely classify the wages and overhead as expenses. Some will also classify the cost of raw materials as an expense. After discovering their misconceptions, students will be motivated to participate in a discussion regarding product costing. Accordingly, the PBL case acts to facilitate an active learning environment.

Teaching Notes: (1) This case is designed for use on the first day of introductory managerial accounting. The case should be copied and distributed to students before any form of instruction is provided. A lecture regarding product costing in manufacturing entities should follow rather than precede the students' efforts to answer the question posed in the case. (2) Give students between 5 and 10 minutes to work on the case independently. Then pair them with another student and allow them time to compare their answers. The collaborative aspect of the case can be expanded by placing students in groups of four or five. Whether to use pairs or groups is left to the discretion of the instructor. (3) After giving students ample time to consider the problem and to discuss their conclusions with their peers, the instructor then discloses the fact that the amount of expense to be recognized is zero. (4) Discovering their misconceptions acts to stimulate student interest in the subject matter. They are now ready to consider new ideas. This is the time to introduce the concept of product costing in a manufacturing environment. Keep the lecture brief. Introduce the three components of product cost (materials, labor, and overhead) and demonstrate how these costs are accumulated in a finished goods inventory account before being expensed as cost of goods sold. (5) Expand the case by assuming that a portion of the inventory is sold.

242

C D. EDMONDS, T. P. EDMONDS AND E. V. MULIG

(6) Keep yourself involved. You can provide support and encouragement without giving away answers. It is important to circulate around the room and pose questions, recognize the logic in solutions that students propose, rather than their correctness or lack thereof, and reward the thinking process rather than the final answer.

CREATING A CUSTOM-PUBLISHED TEXTBOOK TO FACILITATE CURRICULUM CHANGE: AN EXAMPLE FROM ADVANCED ACCOUNTING Dawn W. Massey and Joan Van Hise ABSTRACT According to Smith and DeRidder (1997), faculty select texts mainly for their comprehensibility to students and the timeliness of text material they contain. Further, Foran and Olds (2002) suggest students use textbooks as their primary means of acquiring background knowledge. However, many accounting texts have failed to keep abreast with changes in accounting practice and education (Rebele et al, 1998), creating an important barrier for accounting educators who desire to effect curriculum change. We illustrate how faculty can overcome this barrier and potentially make their courses more interesting and/or informative for students (Apostolou et al, 2001). By capitalizing on recent advances in technology, faculty can create custom-published textbooks that support their curriculum revision efforts. Based on our successful experiences in creating a custom-published textbook to support a revised Advanced Accounting course, we describe not only the logistics involved in, but also the benefits and challenges associated with, creating a custom-published text. The insights we gained can provide

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,243-261 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. AH rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.10167S1085-4622(03)05015-6

243

244

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

guidance for faculty members who want to revise their courses but have been constrained because they could not find an available textbook to support their curriculum revision activities.

INTRODUCTION Leaders in both the academic and professional sectors of the accounting profession have been calling for changes in accounting education for more than a decade (e.g. AECC, 1990; AICPA, 1999; Albrecht & Sack, 2000; Bedford Committee, 1986; Big 8, 1989; IMA, 1994, 1999; Stone, 2001). However, an important challenge facing educators interested in effecting curriculum change has been the failure of many textbooks to keep abreast of changes in accounting practice and education (Rebele et al., 1998, p. 42). This challenge is particularly salient not only because textbooks tend to drive course content and delivery (e.g. Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 53; Farr, 1987, p. 86), but also because students rely on texts as their primary source for background knowledge (Foran & Olds, 2002, p. 37). Due to recent advances in technology, educators are now able to create custom-published textbooks to overcome this challenge and potentially make their courses more interesting and/or informative (Apostolou et al., 2001). Custom-published textbooks include information that educators select especially for inclusion in their course text. The information can cover a broad spectrum of topics - accounting,finance,general business, etc. - and faculty can draw textbook materials from a wide array of sources - professional, practitioner, academic, etc. Accordingly, custom-published textbooks afford faculty the opportunity to tailor text materials to fit the course, rather than tailoring the course to fit available textbooks (c.f. Farr, 1987, p. 88). In this paper, we chronicle our experiences in creating a custom-published textbook to support our Advanced Accounting course. We offer our experiences in Advanced Accounting as an example to guide any accounting faculty member in creating a custom-published textbook to support their teaching in any course. We begin in the next section, by reviewing the literature related to textbook selection and use in accounting. In section three, we discuss the logistics involved in creating a custom-published textbook. In section four, we discuss the benefits and challenges associated with creating a custom-published textbook, drawing on feedback we have gathered from students and faculty. Finally, in section five, we present our overall conclusions.

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

LITERATURE REVIEW Very little research has addressed the issue of textbook selection in accounting. However, Razek et al. (1982) suggest that comprehensibility is the most important quality an accounting textbook can possess. Further, using a sample of four intermediate accounting textbooks, Adelberg and Razek (1984) judge that the effectiveness of communication technique is a useful way of evaluating the understandability of accounting textbooks. Smith and DeRidder (1997) surveyed 237 faculty randomly selected from Hasselback's 1995 Accounting Faculty Directory to investigate the protocol used for textbook selection (i.e. individual versus group decision by course) and the criteria used for textbook selection, among other issues. Results indicate that textbook selection tends to be a group decision for introductory and intermediate accounting courses. For upper-level accounting courses (e.g. advanced accounting, tax, and accounting information systems) the decision tends to be an individual decision. According to respondents in Smith and DeRidder's (1997, p. 367) survey, the top four textbook selection criteria are: comprehensibility to students, timeliness of text material, compatibility between text and homework problems, and exposition quality of the text. Taken together, findings in all three studies suggest that faculty should choose textbooks that maximize, "the efficiency and effectiveness of subject matter assimilation by students" (Smith & DeRidder, 1997, p. 368). Unfortunately, additional research suggests accounting textbooks have failed to keep up with curriculum changes in general (Rebele et al., 1998, p. 42) as well as in certain courses (Advanced Accounting (Massey & Van Hise, 2001, p. 12), Auditing (Knechel, 2000, p. 709), Intermediate Accounting (Catanach et al, 2000, p. 587; Ketz & Miller, 1996, pp. 14-15), and Management Accounting (Boer, 2000, p. 332)). Given that faculty's reliance on textbooks drives the content and delivery of accounting courses (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 53), professors have been somewhat constrained in covering in their courses only what the textbooks support. To overcome the inability of texts to keep abreast of curriculum changes and meet the diverse needs of faculty seeking to innovate their courses, this paper suggests creating custom-published textbooks to support curriculum revisions in accounting education. We describe our experiences in developing a custom-published textbook to support our curriculum innovation in Advanced Accounting. Our experiences suggest that development of the custom-published text has the added benefit of allowing course content and delivery to drive accounting textbooks, rather than vice versa (c.f. Farr, 1987, p. 88).

245

246

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

LOGISTICS OF CREATING A CUSTOM-PUBLISHED TEXTBOOK Preliminary Considerations General Before creating a custom-published textbook, it is important to note that the publisher's costs for putting together a custom-published textbook are likely to make the book's cost prohibitive to the students unless faculty expect to use at least the number of copies of the text required for break-even. Accordingly, in situations where course enrollments number less than the break-even quantity for the custom-published book, an important tradeoff for faculty to consider is whether they can/will use the book in a sufficient number of semesters to enable students to afford the custom-published textbook (i.e. timeliness versus affordability). An Example from Advanced Accounting For instance, given the size and quantity of materials included in the most recent version of the custom-published textbook we created for Advanced Accounting (A critical analysis of advanced accounting issues, 2001),1 the cost of the text would increase substantially if our annual enrollment were to fall below 100. Because change in accounting occurs rapidly, one advantage we have found with using a custom-published textbook is our ability to revise the text annually, so that we minimize errors and omissions (Smith & DeRidder, 1997, p. 382) as related to changes in course topical areas. However, because standard textbook revisions typically occur only once every three years, we decided that even if our annual enrollments dropped to one-half of the number required for break-even (i.e. 50), compiling and using a custom-published textbook every other year would still be worthwhile. That is, we concluded that the information in a biennially revised custom-published text would be timelier than the information contained in a traditional text with a triennial revision cycle. Step 1: Settle on Course Content and Delivery Settling on course content and delivery is not a trivial process. Indeed, an entire academic paper could be devoted to a prescriptive discussion about the appropriate content and delivery for accounting courses (see, e.g. AICPA, 1999, 2000; Albrecht & Sack, 2000; IMA, 1994, 1999; Robert Half International Inc., 2001). Accordingly, we will keep our remarks brief by relying on recently published related works by the leaders in our profession.

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

In settling on course content and delivery, some preliminary points need to be made. First, there is not a single "best" content and/or delivery approach that applies to every school and course (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 60). Faculty need to tailor courses around the mission statement of the accounting unit to capitalize on the strengths of the school and department. Second, in order to make course-level decisions, there is a presumption that faculty members have already engaged in preliminary assessment activities (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, pp. 60-64; Catanach et al., 2000, pp. 584-587). That is, accounting faculty wishing to revamp their courses have already performed such work as evaluating the environment the department is facing and all degrees the department offers. In deciding upon course content and delivery, we suggest faculty consult Albrecht and Sack (2000, p. 63), who recommend that in making course-level changes, faculty answer the following questions: (1) Is what we are teaching and the level at which we are covering topics really important in the business world today...? (2) Are we teaching important concepts in the most efficient and effective way that is, are we using the most effective pedagogy in our teaching? Faculty also can find suggestions for course content and delivery in the recent work of several professional organizations (e.g. AICPA, 1999,2000; IMA, 1999; Robert Half International Inc., 2001). For instance, in the report for its Vision Project (AICPA, 1999), the AICPA identifies five competencies that successful future accountants will need in order to sustain a "competitive and differential advantage in the marketplace" (AICPA, 1999, p. 12). They are: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

communications and leadership skills; focus on the customer, client and market; technological adeptness; interpretation of converging information; and strategic and critical thinking skills.

Some of these are best developed through course content while others are best developed through course delivery. Finally, we suggest faculty considering curriculum change consult with their peers. Anyone considering curriculum revision should review recent literature for published works. Additionally, online resources, such as the American Accounting Association's (AAA's) website, include a wide variety of pedagogical resources (e.g., see http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aaa/teach.htm). By consulting such resources, educators considering revising the content and delivery of their courses may benefit from the experiences of their colleagues.

247

248

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

An Example from Advanced Accounting Before we set out to revise our Advanced Accounting course, our department had made several important program-wide decisions. First, because the 150-hour requirement is not effective in two neighboring states for several years, our department decided to continue to offer a four-year accounting degree that prepares students for entry to both the profession as well as a 150-hour BS/MBA program. Second, non-accounting majors, notably finance majors, at our university can pursue a minor in accounting by taking five accounting courses (two introductory level courses, two intermediate level courses and one upper-level course). Our department decided that Advanced Accounting was the course that we could best tailor to meet the informational needs of the accounting minors and, therefore, draw students to study accounting. Bearing these important programmatic considerations in mind, we set out to decide upon what we would teach in our revised Advanced Accounting course and how we would teach it. To address Albrecht and Sack's first question on topical coverage, we began by reviewing the accounting educational literature. Only Smith and Smith (1991) propose an overall curriculum revision in the Advanced Accounting course. They recommend (Smith & Smith, 1991, p. 31) that Advanced Accounting courses cover "Interpretive Accounting Standards," which would include: Interpretive analysis of FASB accounting standards. This goes beyond the straightforward analysis of FASB standards. It involves the critical analysis of these standards to determine how it is possible to work around them and present better accounting results.

Although more than ten years have elapsed since Smith and Smith made their recommendations, not one study describing an innovation in the Advanced Accounting course appears in the accounting education literature since that date. A few studies have addressed specific aspects of the Advanced Accounting course, including: Kimmel, 1995 and Stout and Schweikart, 1989. Notably, these studies suggest that Advanced Accounting is particularly well suited for development of critical thinking skills (Kimmel, 1995) and that it is an appropriate outlet for international coverage (Stout & Schweikart, 1989). As a result, our revised course content emphasizes not only "interpretive analysis of FASB accounting standards" (Smith & Smith, 1991, p. 31), but also international accounting issues in Advanced Accounting. Since accounting courses in general (Albrecht & Sack, 2000) and ours in particular service an increasing number of non-accounting majors, we also wanted to include in Advanced Accounting topics that would be "important in the business world today" (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 63). Specifically, because an explosion of market investors and their resultant power together with globalization are two key drivers of change in today's business environment (Albrecht & Sack, 2000,

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change pp. 5-6), we focus on all aspects of investing in an international marketplace rather than a narrow focus on business combinations. To address Albrecht and Sack's second question, "Are we using the most effective pedagogy?," we changed the format of the course in three ways. Our revised course format also allowed us to shift the focus in our revised Advanced Accounting course from the mechanical recording of a transaction to an analysis of the adequacy of the accounting treatment for the transaction. We conduct class largely as a seminar. We allow students to "learn concepts and principles by discovering them" (Cunningham, 1996, p. 57). We expect students to arrive for class having read and analyzed relevant course materials. We form student teams and move much of the procedural work outside of the classroom. We still require students to master basic procedures, (such as those required to consolidate or translate financial statements,) but they develop those skills using out-of-class group assignments. By conducting class as a seminar and using outof-class group assignments, we have been able to free up class time to discuss and justify the use of various accounting alternatives (e.g. a comparison of investments carried under the equity method as opposed to fair value). Finally, we include in the course two active learning activities aimed at developing students' oral communication and critical thinking skills: oral debates and an international accounting presentation.

Step 2: Select Materials for Inclusion in Text that Support Course Content and Delivery After settling upon course content and delivery, the second step involved in developing a custom-published textbook is to select materials to include in the text that will support the content and delivery of the course. To that end, we found four particularly useful sources of information: (1) (2) (3) (4)

textbooks; professional and business publications; articles describing the results of academic research; and resources posted on reliable Internet web sites.

Traditionally, course materials in accounting have tended to ignore other subject areas, resulting in "silo" coverage of accounting topics (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 51). In reviewing textbooks to support desired course content and delivery, educators need not limit themselves to accounting textbooks. In particular, materials drawn from information systems and finance texts would seem especially useful (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 62).

249

250

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

Educators can include practitioner input in curriculum development (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 50; Novin et al., 1997, p. 348), by using professional publications, especially when presenting new and/or difficult topics. These resources are particularly useful ones to include in custom-published textbooks because many of them are available for educational use, free of charge.2 Another way to include in accounting courses input from the business community is to rely on articles drawn from business periodicals (e.g. Wall Street Journal, Business Week, etc.) (c.f. Foran & Olds, 2002, p. 28). Articles describing results of academic research is a third resource for materials educators can include in their custom-published textbooks. Indeed, researchers suggest educators attempt to integrate academic accounting research and accounting education (e.g. Birnberg, 2000; Cohen, Pant & Sharp, 2000, p. 94; Knechel, 2000, p. 709). Educators can identify articles that describe relevant results of academic research by searching academic databases (e.g., ABI/Inform, Infotrac, Proquest, etc.). Faculty can include in the custom-published textbook a subsample of the most readable of these articles (whether in accounting or some other related field) to integrate academic research and accounting education. Finally, educators need not limit themselves to information found in traditional printed matter (Foran & Olds, 2002, p. 28). Rather, faculty can draw materials from postings to Internet web sites (e.g., the AICPA's web site, the FASB's web site, Business Week's web site, etc.). Like professional publications, information posted on the Internet is particularly useful to include in custom-published textbooks because much of it is in the public domain, and accordingly, available for inclusion in the text, free of royalties. Students accrue significant benefits from using a multitude of resources in a custom-published textbook. First, students learn that there are various resources they can consult when facing a professional problem (Foran & Olds, 2002, p. 29). Second, because different authors often present varying viewpoints on the same controversial issue, students come to understand that some issues must be resolved by using judgment (c.f. Foran & Olds, 2002, p. 29). In this way, the materials included in a custom-published textbook can help foster students' critical thinking skills and prepare them for their role in the uncertain business world. An Example from Advanced Accounting In developing a custom-published textbook to support the content and delivery of our revised Advanced Accounting course, we considered materials from the above-described sources for inclusion in our text. The table of contents for the most recent edition of our custom published textbook appears in Table 1. The 2001-2002 edition of our custom-published textbook contained 566 pages in nine chapters. We drew materials from five textbooks (across two different

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

251

Table 1. Contents of Custom-Published Advanced Accounting Textbook (2001-2002).a Chapter No.

Topic

Source

Panel A: Part I of the Course - The Adequacy of Current Accounting Treatment for Various Levels of Investment Financial Instruments: Assessment of the appropriateness of using fair value accounting Fair Value/Equity: Evaluation of the adequacy of the equity method

Consolidation Theory: Discussion of the evolution of accounting for business combinations and consolidations

Consolidation Entries: Coverage of the basics of accounting for business combinations and consolidations Consolidation Controversy: Evaluation of the alternative methods of accounting for business combinations and consolidations

Chapter 12: "Investments" from Intermediate Accounting, Volume I (2nd ed.) by Spiceland et al. (2001) Chapter 1: "The Equity Method of Accounting for Investments" from Advanced Accounting (6th ed.) by Hoyle etal.(2001) Chapter 2: "Consolidation of Financial Information" from Advanced Accounting (6th ed.) by Hoyle et al. (2001) Chapter 1: "Corporate Expansion & Acctg for Business Combinations" from Advanced Financial Accounting (5th ed.) by Baker etal. (2002) Chapter 3: "The Reporting Entity & Consolidated Financial Statements" from Advanced Financial Accounting (5th ed.) by Baker etal. (2002) Chapter 4: "Consolidation as of the Date of Consolidation" from Advanced Financial Accounting (5th ed.) by Baker etal. (2002) "The Earnings Illusion" from Fortune by Shawn Tully (1999) "Accounting Issues: The End is Here" from Goodbye, Goodwill (ed. by Bear Stearns & Co.) by McConnell et al. (2001)

Panel B: Part II of the Course - Accounting Implications Associated with Investing in a Global Marketplace Translation: Analysis of the financial statement impact of alternative translation methods

Derivatives: Identification of the major types of derivatives and an assessment of the adequacy of the current accounting treatment for them

Chapter 13: "Translation of Foreign Currency Financial Statements" from International Accounting & Multinatonal Enterprises (4th ed.) by Radebaugh and Gray (1997) Chapter 14: "Investments" from Intermediate Accounting, Volume I (2nd ed.) by Spiceland et al. (2001)

252

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

Table 1. {Continued) Chapter No.

Topic

Hedging: Identification of hedging transactions by type and analysis of their financial statement impact

Source "The Question of Derivatives'* from Journal ofAccountancy by Molvar and Green (1995) "The Decision Derivatives" from Journal ofAccountancy by Wilson et al. (1998) "Derivatives Revisited" from Journal of Accountancy by McCarthy (2000) "Executive Summary" from Derivatives and Hedging Handbook by KPMG, LLP (1998) Chapter 1: "General Overview" from Derivatives and Hedging Handbook by KPMG, LLP (1998) Chapter II: "Multinational Accounting: Foreign Currency Transactions and Financial Instruments" from Advanced Financial Accounting (5th ed.) by Baker et al. (2002)

International Accounting: Discussion and evaluation of various global accounting systems

"Practical Issues in Implementing FASB 133" from Journal ofAccountancy by Hwang and Patouhas (2001) Introduction from International Accounting: A Case Approach by Schweikart et al. (1995) IASC from International Accounting: A Case Approach by Schweikart et al. (1995) Chapter 11: "Worldwide Acctg Diversity & International Standards" from Advanced Accounting (6th ed.) by Hoyle et al. (2001)

•Note that supplemental readings are posted to our library's electronic reserves system. The most recent listing of supplemental readings is available from the authors.

publishers) and seven professional/business sources. Owing to the emerging nature of accounting for derivatives and business combinations, we use several professional and business publications to cover these topics. In order to keep the text to a manageable number of pages and therefore minimize duplicating costs for the custom-published textbook, we did not include articles describing the results of academic research in the custom-published textbook. Instead we posted them to our library's electronic reserves system for students to access and review in preparing for their debates. Finally, our custom-published textbook includes one article drawn from a reliable Internet web site (i.e. an article from Fortune magazine on-line).

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

Step 3: Agree on a Publisher to Assemble and Deliver the Custom-Published Textbook The last step in adopting the custom-published text is to select a publisher to compile the text. We believe, it is best to choose the publisher from whom the instructor draws the majority of the materials in order to decrease the cost of the completed text. It is important to work with a publisher who is willing to devote the resources necessary to obtain permissions from others for inclusion of their work in the custom-published text. As a rule, the more sources selected, the greater the cost of publication. In addition, inclusion of materials from different publishers increases the cost. While increasing the number of pages included from a given source also increases cost, the increase is usually less than including the same additional number of pages from a different source. A final consideration is lead-time. It can vary considerably depending on the publisher the faculty choose and the time of year. We typically need a minimum of four to five months to screen and select materials, negotiate with the publisher, obtain all necessary permissions, and publish the text. Additional time would be necessary if the department has not already engaged in preliminary assessment activities. An Example from Advanced Accounting The first time we compiled our custom-published text for Advanced Accounting, all the textual material we included was from one publisher and we chose that publisher to produce the text. In subsequent revisions, we expanded our search for the best materials and now include textual material from other publishers as well as more extensive non-textual material. One of the reasons we were able to expand our course materials was that we had a very supportive editor who was willing to spend the time necessary to contact the copyright holders on the new materials and obtain permission to include them in the text. While we have been able to maintain a relatively constant cost by judiciously choosing materials from the public domain, the inclusion of material from outside the publishers' offerings has lengthened the lead-time necessary to prepare the text. We normally submit the list of materials we intend to include to our publisher by July 1st if the materials come from outside sources, and by July 15th for materials in the publishers' offerings. The books typically arrive at the bookstore by the first of September. Again, without tremendous cooperation from our editor, we could not get the books out on such a tight timetable.

253

254

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN fflSE

ANALYSIS OF PROS/CONS BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES As with any pedagogical innovation, our experiences together with those of our students provide a wealth of knowledge about the benefits and challenges associated with compiling and utilizing a custom-published textbook.

The Use of Custom-Published Textbooks as a Mechanism to Support Curriculum Change A clear advantage of using custom-published texts to facilitate curriculum revision is that faculty can design texts to support custom-created curriculum. In the past year, we have received inquiries from colleagues at several universities about our course revision. Many indicated that they had used different books over the years in order to support their curriculum but were not satisfied with the results. As one colleague wrote, "I have been teaching Advanced for many years, and I have never been satisfied with the textbooks or coverage." Consistent with Albrecht and Sack's (2000, p. 53) finding that textbooks drive the content and delivery of accounting courses, a key question from each faculty member interested in our course revision was whether our text was available for use by other faculty. Thus far, the faculty members who have reviewed our text have provided us with positive feedback. For instance, one faculty member noted, "I used [one of the traditional Advanced Accounting textbooks included in the custom-published text] the first year I taught Advanced and [another of the traditional Advanced Accounting textbooks included in the custom-published text] the second year and there are things that I liked about each. Thus, I really liked your text because it incorporates the best of both." From the student perspective, we also judge our custom-published textbook as successful in its ability to support the changes to the content and delivery of our Advanced Accounting course. One former student recently sent us an unsolicited letter stating, "I am working in treasury finance at Merrill Lynch's banks at this time and I utilize all of the derivatives related accounting concepts that we covered in your class. I keep the textbook for that class on my desk and it has been a useful resource for me as well as many of my co-workers and superiors." Additionally, in the most recent year for which we have data, 2001-2002,80% of the students responding to the standardized university evaluation form indicated that they agreed/strongly agreed with the following statement: "The textbooks and/or other materials I bought for the class aided my learning." This result is

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

noteworthy because our custom-published textbook is the only source that we require our students to purchase. Since we tied our revision of the Advanced Accounting curriculum to the introduction of a custom-published text in the course, it is difficult to separate the effects of the revision from the effects of the custom-published text. It is clear that the revision would not have been possible without the introduction of the custom-published text. Consequently, we also evaluate the success of the text in terms of the success of the revision of the course. Since we introduced the custom-published text as part of the revised course, students have consistently rated the course as excellent or above average in attaining the stated objective of critically assessing: (1) the adequacy of current accounting treatment for various levels of investment; and (2) the accounting implications associated with investing in a global marketplace. In the 2001-2002 year, over 93% of students gave the course an excellent or above average rating. On the downside, the various faculty members who teach each course may not all agree on course curriculum. Because Smith and DeRidder (1997, p. 372) suggest that unlike the text selection process for upper-level courses, the selection of texts for introductory and intermediate courses is usually a group decision, it is likely to be harder to utilize a custom-published textbook that pleases every instructor in those courses. One approach that we have used in developing a custom-published text for a course with a group textbook decision is to include a "core body" of material to which everyone has agreed and then include various "supplementary chapters" that could be covered as independent modules if the instructors so desire. In this way, it is still possible to utilize a custom-published textbook to facilitate curriculum change when text selection is a group process.

The Use of Custom-Published Textbooks as a Mechanism to Keep Course Content Current A second key benefit of compiling and using a custom-published textbook is that the annual or biennial revision of the text keeps the course content more current than if we based the course on a traditional accounting text with a triennial revision schedule. Indeed, more than 80% of the material appearing in the 2001-2002 edition of our custom-published text is dated 2000 or later and all of the material is dated 1995 or later. As a tradeoff, it may be difficult to find homework problems for cutting-edge topics, particularly if faculty members include non-traditional resources (e.g., professional publications) in the custom-published textbook. Indeed, this difficulty has resulted in our text including fewer problems than students normally find in

255

256

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

other courses and resulted in one student commenting, "The text book was done nicely, but I wished that we spent much more time in class going over examples and problems." To overcome this problem, faculty can create custom homework sets, but this is an involved process.

The Use of a Variety of Sources for Information Contained in Custom-Published Textbooks The inclusion of a wide array of materials drawn from a broad spectrum of sources helps to broaden the course and increase its appeal to a wider spectrum of students. For instance, within our own university, our finance colleagues are encouraging their students to minor in accounting and take our Advanced Accounting course, which has resulted in an increase in the number of accounting minors from thefinancedepartment. In the fall of 1999, when we first offered the revised course, 23% of the seniorfinancemajors chose to minor in accounting. By the 2001-2002 academic year, 44% of the senior finance majors chose to minor in accounting. However, some students find it difficult to assimilate information drawn from a multitude of sources. As one student noted, "The book and lectures contributed to my learning, however at times it was hard to follow the book because it was drawn from several different authors." While we have not found any way to overcome this pitfall, judging from comments on students' evaluation forms, the number of students for whom assimilation is a problem is fairly small, probably less than 10%. Again, with 80% of responding students in the 2001-2002 academic year indicating that they agreed/strongly agreed that the textbook they bought for the class aided their learning, we do not believe this problem to be widespread.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Custom-Published Textbooks Finally, the use of a single custom-published text is generally more cost efficient for the students because students pay only for materials they use. Clearly, requiring students to purchase multiple texts of which only portions are relevant is not cost-effective for the students. Five different textbooks drawn from two different publishers and seven professional/business sources provide the textual material for the course. The 2001-2002 edition of our custom-published textbook contained 566 pages in nine chapters. Our university's bookstore charged the students $99.50 for the custom-published

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change text. In comparison, three popular Advanced Accounting textbooks (i.e. Advanced Accounting texts by Baker et al. (2002), Beams et al. (2000) and Hoyle et al. (2001)) contain an average of 1014 pages in 20 chapters and would have had an average cost to the students of about $120.00 through Amazon.com. Obviously, part of the cost differential between our custom-published textbook and the traditional texts results from the traditional text's inclusion of more pages covering more topical areas. Few professors cover all of the material in a traditional textbook in a semester, so traditional texts include several chapters-worth of information that the students purchase, but do not use. Thus, given the cost differential between our custom-published textbook and the traditional textbooks, it would appear (in Advanced Accounting, at least) that full use of a custom-published textbook is more cost effective for the students than is partial use of a single traditional textbook. Nonetheless, after considering the market for students to resell their used texts, the difference in cost between a traditional textbook and a custom-published textbook may decrease or even disappear. That is, unless they are at the end of their publication cycle, traditional texts often have a ready resale market. In contrast, the resale market for custom-published textbooks may be limited or nonexistent. On the downside, and perhaps most significantly, creating a custom-published text is very time-consuming. In thefirstyear we used a custom-published text, each of us spent in excess of 100 hours on the creation of the book. Subsequent revisions have required an investment of 50 or more hours by each. Thus, committing to revise a custom-published text on an annual basis is a very serious time commitment. However, updating an upper-level course each year is frequently necessary, and some of the time we devote to updating the text is time we still would spend to update the course.

Summary There are many benefits associated with compiling a custom-published textbook. First, faculty can design the texts to support custom-created curriculum. Second, faculty can revise the text annually or biennially in order to keep course content current. Third, by using sources from other disciplines, faculty can broaden their courses and thereby increase the courses' appeal to a wider spectrum of students. Finally, by including only materials the students will use, faculty can create texts that are generally more cost effective for the students. However, there are several challenges associated with compiling a custompublished textbook. First, it is difficult to adopt a custom-published textbook

257

258

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

in courses taught by multiple professors. Second, readings that are drawn from non-traditional sources often lack practical (i.e. homework) problems. Third, some students have difficulty assimilating information drawn from multiple authors. Finally, compiling a custom-published textbook requires faculty to invest a great deal of time. Based on our experiences, the benefits outweigh the costs. At a time when fewer students are studying accounting (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, pp. 19-21; Taylor Report, 2000), our revised course, as supported by our custom-published text, has enjoyed tremendous growth. That is, enrollment in our Advanced Accounting course has risen steadily at our university despite a striking similarity in the size of the population of students eligible to take the course. In the fall 1999 semester, the first time we offered the revised course, but before students knew that we had revised the course, we offered two sections with 45 students. (Enrollments did not support offering the course during the spring 2000 semester.) By comparison, during the 2001-2002 academic year, our enrollment, as compared to the first year, more than doubled to 99 students who filled four sections.

CONCLUSION In this paper, we have described the steps necessary to create a custom-published textbook. Using an example drawn from a successful revision of Advanced Accounting, we have shown how introducing a custom-published text can support meaningful curriculum revision. The introduction of a custom-published text is one technique that can be used to answer the calls from the leaders of the profession for changes in accounting education. Use of a custom-published textbook allows faculty to choose the course content and delivery so as to optimize the educational experience for the students at a given university in a given course.

NOTES 1. The 2001 edition of our text contained 566 pages and was comprised of materials drawn fromfivetextbooks (across two different publishers) and seven professional/business sources. Our university's bookstore charged the students $99.50 for our custom-published text. 2. Note that while many professional publications (e.g., the Journal of Accountancy, Big 5 training materials, etc.) are available to educators free of royalties for classroom use, students still incur a minimal charge related to duplicating any such publications included in the custom-published textbook.

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

259

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the Co-Editor, Bill Schwartz, and two anonymous referees for their suggestions. We also appreciate helpful comments from Dennis Bline and participants at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business Research Workshop at Fairfield University.

REFERENCES A critical analysis of advanced accounting issues (2001). Selected material for Massey and Van Hise's advanced accounting. (Authors' compilation of materials drawn from current professional publications and accounting textbooks) (Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies, Primis Custom Publishing). Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1990). Objectives of education for accountants: Position statement number one. Issues in Accounting Education, J(Fall), 307-312. Adelberg, A. H., & Razek, J. R. (1984). The cloze procedure: A methodology for determining the understandibility of accounting textbooks. The Accounting Review, 59(January), 109-122. Albrecht, W. S., & Sack, R. J. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future. A joint project of: AAA, AICPA, IMA, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (????). In: Accounting Education Series (Vol. 16). Sarasota, FL: AAA. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1999). Focus on the horizon, the CPA profession in 2011. New York: AICPA. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). (2000). Vision-aligned academic framework. Available at: http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm Apostolou, B., Watson, S. E, Hassell, J. M., & Webber, S. A. (2001). Accounting education literature review (1997-1999). Journal ofAccounting Education, 79(1), 1-61. Baker, R. E.f Lembke, V. C, & King, T. E. (2002). Advancedfinancialaccounting (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Beams, E A., Brozovsky, J. A., & Shoulders, C. D. (2000). Advanced accounting (7th ed.). New York: Prentice-Hall. Bedford Committee (1986). Future accounting education: Preparing for the expanding profession. Sarasota, FL: AAA. Big 8. (1989). Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession. New York: Big 8. Birnberg, J. G. (2000). The role of behavioral research in management accounting education in the 21st century. Issues in Accounting Education, 74(November), 713-728. B6er, G. (2000). Management accounting education: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(May), 313-334. Catanach, A. H., Jr., Croll, D. B., & Grinaker, R. L. (2000). Teaching intermediate financial accounting using a business activity model. Issues in Accounting Education, 74(November), 583-603. Cohen, J. R., Pant, L. W.t & Sharp, D. J. (2000). Project earnings manipulation: An ethics case based on agency theory. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(February), 89-104. Cunningham, B. M. (19%). How to restructure an accounting course to enhance creative and critical thinking. Accounting Education, 7(1), 49-66.

260

DAWN W. MASSEY AND JOAN VAN HISE

Farr, R. (1987). Textbook selection and curriculum change. The Journal of State Government, 60(March/April), 86-91. Foran, M. F., & Olds, P. R. (2002). Using the Wall Street Journal and the Internet to implement the AECC's introductory accounting recommendations. Advances in Accounting Education, 4, 21-39. Hoyle, J. B., Schaefer, T. F., & Doupnik, T. S. (2001). Advanced accounting (6th ed.). New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Hwang, A. L. J., & Patouhas, J. S. (2001). Practical Issues in Implementing FASB 133. Journal of Accountancy (March), 26-34. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (1994). What America wants in entry-level accountants. Montvale, NJ: IMA. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (1999). Counting more, counting less: Transformations in the management accounting profession. Montvale, NJ: IMA. Ketz, J. E., & Miller, P. B. W. (1996). College texts so full of rules they can't teach real life. Accounting Today, 70(August 26), 14-15. Kimmel, P. (1995). A framework for incorporating critical thinking into accounting education. Journal ofAccounting Education, 73(3), 299-318. Knechel, W. R. (2000). Behavioral research in auditing and its impact on audit education. Issues in Accounting Education, 75(November), 695-712. KPMG, LLP (1998). Derivatives and hedging handbook. Montvale, NJ: KPMG, LLP. Massey, D., & Van Hise, J. (2001). Revising the advanced accounting curriculum. Canadian Accounting Education and Research News (Autumn), 12-13,23. McCarthy, E. (2000). Derivatives revisited. Journal ofAccountancy (May), 35-43. McConnell, P., Pegg, J., & Zion, D. (2001). Accounting issues: The end is here. In: Bear, Stearns & Co. (Eds), Goodbye, Goodwill (June, pp. 7-9). NY: Bear, Stearns & Co. Molvar, R. H. D., & Green, J. F. (1995). The question of derivatives. Journal ofAccountancy (March), 55-61. Novin, A. M., Fetyko, D. E, & Tucker, J. M. (1997). Perceptions of accounting educators and public accounting practitioners on the composition of 150-hour accounting programs: A comparison. Issues in Accounting Education, 72(Fall), 331-352. Radebaugh, S., & Gray, L. (1997). International accounting and multinational enterprises (4th ed.). NY: John Wiley & Sons. Razek, J. R., Hosch, G. A., & Pearl, D. (1982). Readability of accounting textbooks. Journal of Business Education (October), 23-26. Rebele, J. E., Apostolou, B. A., Buckless, F. A., Hassell, J. M., Paquette, L. R., & Stout, D. E. (1998). Accounting education literature review (1991-1997), Part I: Curriculum and instructional approaches. Journal of Accounting Education, 76(1), 1-51. Robert Half International Inc. (2001). Next generation accountant: New competencies, converging disciplines, expanding roles. Menlo Park, CA: Robert Half International. Schweikart, J. A., Gray, S. J., & Roberts, C. B. (1995). International accounting: A case approach. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Smith, K. J., & DeRidder, J. J. (1997). The selection process for accounting textbooks: General criteria and publisher incentives -& survey. Issues in Accounting Education, 72(Fall), 367-384. Smith, G. S., & Smith, C. W. (1991). A working paper of a model of undergraduate accounting education for life-long learning. In: G. L. Sundem & C. T. Norgaard (Eds), Models of Accounting Education: Proceedings of a Symposium Sponsored by the Accounting Education Change Commission and the Accounting Education Advisory Committee of the American Accounting Association (pp. 14-32). Torrance, CA: Accounting Education Change Commission.

Creating a Custom-Published Textbook to Facilitate Curriculum Change

261

Spiceland, J. D., Sepe, J. E, & Tomassini, L. A. (2001). Intermediate accounting: Volume I (2nd ed.). NY: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Stone, M. (2001). Building human and social capital. Accounting Education News (Spring), 1-2,11. Stout, D., & Schweikart, J. (1989). The relevance of international accounting to the accounting curriculum: A comparison of practioner and educator opinion. Issues in Accounting Education (Spring), 126-141. Taylor Research and Consulting Group, Inc. (Taylor Report) (2000). Student and academic research study: Final report. New York: AICPA. Tully, S. (1999). The earnings illusion: Ever wonder why so many mergers make the CEO look like superman? Odds are, it's not the strategic fit. It's the accounting. Fortune (April 26), 206-210. Wilson, A., Waters, G., & Bryan, B. J. (1998). The decision on derivatives. Journal of Accountancy (November), 24-29.

COOKING THE BOOKS OR MANAGING EARNINGS: STUDENTS DRAW THE LINE Lourdes F. White ABSTRACT This paper describes a classroom exercise designed to determine the criteria students use to judge potentially unethical earnings management practices and to encourage self-reflection on those criteria. In phase one of the exercise, the instructor asks students to complete a survey containing scenarios of questionable earnings management practices. Based on the student responses, the instructor determines whether the students use criteria such as materiality, timing, type and purpose of earnings management practices, consistency with GAAP, and direction of earnings manipulations when judging the extent to which the earnings management practices are ethical. In phase two, the instructor reports the survey results to the students and leads them in a "value self-confrontation" class discussion so that students weigh the criteria they actually used against the criteria they think should be usedfor ethical judgments. This paper also reports the students' reactions to this exercise and concludes with a discussion of the role accounting faculty and managers can play in developing capacity for moral reasoning both in the classroom and in the workplace.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,263-287 © 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(03)05016-8

263

LOURDES F. WHITE

264

INTRODUCTION Most students will face ethical dilemmas at work. As managers, for example, they may receive pressure from a boss or a peer to compromise their personal integrity or good professional judgment by reporting misleading results. In some situations, their technical training in accounting will help them identify when an operating procedure or a reporting method clearly violates generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In other situations, they will feel uneasy about taking certain actions even in conformity with GAAP. The pressure to "cook the books" is intense at times, and the many gray areas of accounting leave much room for managers and accountants to exercise judgment about what to report, how to present the information, when, and to whom. How will they decide what is emical or not? That is, what criteria will they follow (either consciously or unconsciously) to figure out where to draw the line between ethical and unethical choices? Past research comparing ethical reasoning of business students and experienced managers has shown that students often rely only on personal reflection and individual values when trying to solve ethical conflicts (Badaracco & Webb, 1995). These studies have characterized students as "self-reliant seekers" (Lewis, 1989), who believe that they can solve their own ethical dilemmas with no help from corporate credos, company norms, or advice from senior executives. How much help, then, can faculty offer these students? This paper reports on a classroom exercise I developed to help students grow in their capacity for ethical reasoning. I review the relevant literature in the second section. The third section of this paper describes the learning objectives and the general design of the exercise. The fourth andfifthsections discuss the two phases of the exercise: survey and value self-confrontation. The sixth section shows an example of implementation of this exercise and reports on student responses to both phases of the exercise. The last section summarizes thefindingsand examines how accounting professors and managers can use this exercise to improve ethical reasoning in the classroom as well as in the workplace.

LITERATURE REVIEW Accounting Ethics Education In the 1980s and 1990s many accounting and business programs across the U.S. increased coverage of ethical issues in their curricula, in response to calls from influential groups such as the Bedford Committee of the American Accounting Association (1986), the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

265

(Treadway Commission, 1987) and the then Big Eight accounting firms (Arthur Andersen et al., 1989). The recent accounting scandals involving prominent firms such as Arthur Andersen have added more pressure for accounting faculty to incorporate ethics into the accounting curriculum (Johnson, 2002). Current standards for accreditation of business school programs also call for coverage of ethical issues (AACSB - The International Association for Management Education, 2000). While some accounting educators have increased ethics instruction in their courses, others have identified several obstacles to ethics education in business schools (detailed discussions of those obstacles appear in Cohen & Pant, 1989; Huss & Patterson, 1993). Even those who acknowledge the importance of ethics training recognize that the accounting curriculum is already so packed that coverage of ethics means sacrificing coverage of technical content essential to practice (McNair & Milam, 1993). As the debate has evolved from whether to teach ethics to how to incorporate ethics into accounting education, empirical evidence from longitudinal tests of the effectiveness of ethics coverage in accounting is still mixed (e.g. Douglas & Schwartz, 1998), suggesting that the specific design of how instructors cover ethics significantly influences the outcomes. Different studies have argued for the use of cases (e.g. May, 1992), cooperative learning (Peek, Peek & Horras, 1994), examples of accounting heroes (Knapp, Louwers & Weber, 1998), guest speakers (Loeb, 1990), internships (Sisaye, 1997), role playing (Beets, 1993), stakeholder analysis (Langenderfer & Rockness, 1989), value self-confrontation (Grube, Mayton & Ball-Rokeach, 1994) and videos (American Accounting Association and Arthur Andersen, 1989). While the debate continues about the extent to which ethics can be taught and how to best teach it, one thing seems clear: students need to learn, preferably before they face a major ethical conflict at work, how to use their technical skills in combination with their capacity for moral reasoning to make effective business decisions. If students can benefit from reflecting on how they decide what is ethical, then faculty can help them develop their skills for evaluating ethical situations without indoctrination (Huss & Patterson, 1993). The use of ethics surveys describing managers engaging in potentially unacceptable earnings management practices offers students concrete situations in which they can apply, test, and evaluate their own criteria forjudging such practices.

Surveys of Earnings Management Practices The survey instrument used in the exercise reported in this paper has been employed in several studies of earnings management practices. Bruns and Merchant (1990)

LOURDES F. WHITE

266

used it with a reader sample of 649 managers who responded when this survey questionnaire was first published in the Harvard Business Review (March-April 1989, pp. 220-221). Their results revealed that the managers judged earnings management practices based solely on accounting manipulations more harshly than practices based on operating decisions aimed at achieving particular targets. Their sampled managers also rated practices that increase earnings as worse than those that decrease earnings, large manipulations as less acceptable than small ones, and year-end deceptions as more unethical than quarter-end ones. Merchant and Rockness (1994) later used the same survey instrument with a sample of 200 general and financial managers from two corporations and 108 members from one chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Their results were generally similar to the ones in Bruns and Merchant (1990). An exception was the finding that the direction of the earnings manipulation (i.e. whether it is intended to increase or decrease earnings) did not seem to influence the managers' judgments. In addition, their sample managers concluded that manipulations for "selfish" purposes are more unethical than ones for "legitimate" purposes. Also, conformity with GAAP was not a criterion the managers used when making ethical judgments. Fischer and Rosenzweig (1995) adapted Bruns and Merchants's questionnaire and modified the response scales to focus on the relative ethics acceptability of operating decisions compared to accounting-based manipulations. Their sample included three groups of respondents: 122 undergraduate students, 113 MBA students and 265 members of the Institute of Management Accountants. Similar to Bruns and Merchant (1990) and Merchant and Rockness (1994), all three groups of respondents in Fischer and Rosenzweig's sample rated accounting smoothing more harshly than operating games. All three groups found operating games, especially those related to changes in timing of revenue recognition, ethical or, at most, questionable. The two groups of students in Fischer and Rosenzweig's sample were more lenient towards accepting accounting-based manipulations than the IMA members in that same study. The MBA students were generally more tolerant of accounting method manipulations than their undergraduate accounting counterparts, but less tolerant than the accounting undergraduate students when accounting smoothing was accomplished by changes in inventory valuations.

THE DESIGN OF THE EXERCISE Learning Objectives I developed the classroom exercise described in this paper to help students achieve two main learning objectives:

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

267

(1) To discover what criteria they use to evaluate potentially unethical earnings management practices; and (2) To evaluate the criteria they are using to solve ethical dilemmas in practical situations, to decide which criteria they would like to emphasize or change. The first learning objective mentioned above relates to three goals identified by Loeb (1988) for accounting ethics education: "relate accounting education to moral issues; recognize issues in accounting that have ethical implications; [and] learn to deal with the uncertainties of the accounting profession." (p. 322) The second learning objective mentioned above relates to four other goals identified by Loeb (1988) for accounting ethics education: "develop 'a sense of moral obligation' or responsibility; develop the abilities needed to deal with ethical conflicts or dilemmas; 'set the stage for' a change in ethical behavior; appreciate and understand the history and composition of all aspects of accounting ethics and their relationship to the general field of ethics." (p. 322). The objectives of this exercise are set in motion using a combination of teaching approaches, integrated in two phases. In phase one the studentsfillout a survey instrument containing "mini cases," or scenarios, used to elicit the criteria by which they actually judge earnings management practices to achieve the first learning objective. In phase two the students participate in a "value self-confrontation" classroom discussion about which criteria they thought should be used to distinguish acceptable earnings management practices from unethical ones to achieve the second learning objective.

Fit with Accounting Courses I have used this exercise in required graduate and undergraduate managerial accounting courses at a mid-sized state university. To integrate the ethics exercise with the rest of the course, I introduce the students to ethical issues related to managerial accounting topics such as discretionary costs, target setting in the budgeting process, performance measurement and incentive compensation, so that they become prepared to appreciate the decision-making context of ethical dilemmas in accounting. Other instructors may also use this exercise in accounting courses such as auditing, financial management, or accounting ethics courses. An important requirement is that they give systematic attention to ethical issues throughout the course to communicate to students that ethics is not a separate topic that they discuss only in the last few weeks of the term.

LOURDES F. WHITE

268

Two weeks before the end of the term, I distribute the survey instrument in class and ask the students to fill out the questionnaires at home and bring them to class the following week. Participation can be anonymous and voluntary; it particularly should have no bearing on course grades. The following week, I collect the questionnaires, tabulate the answers and analyze them in comparison to answers from other groups who have also responded to this survey. In the last week of the course, I report the survey results and lead the students in the value selfconfrontation phase of the exercise.

PHASE ONE: THE SURVEY Survey Instrument The survey consists of a questionnaire originally developed by Merchant (1989) and later modified and used by Bruns and Merchant (1990). The questionnaire contains 13 brief cases or scenarios in which managers decided to take legal but questionable actions to improve short-term results. The scenarios are directly relevant to managerial accounting courses but may also apply to other accounting courses, as mentioned above. Another advantage is that the earnings management practices described in the scenarios are fairly realistic, with no clear-cut answers. The complete questionnaire appears in the Appendix. The students are asked to rank each scenario according to the following scale: (1) Ethical practice. (2) Questionable practice. I would not say anything to the manager, but it makes me uncomfortable. (3) Minor infraction. The manager should be warned not to do it again. (4) Serious infraction. The manager should be severely reprimanded. (5) Totally unethical. The manager should be fired. The survey instrument includes no controls for the effects of gender, age or academic major, despite evidence that those factors influence ethical judgments (Borkowski & Ugras, 1992; Cohen, Pant & Sharp, 1998). The absence of those questions helps to maintain anonymity. In smaller class sections of 10 or 15 students it would be fairly easy to identify the respondents based only on their responses to these demographic questions. However, if an instructor wishes to investigate which factors explain individual attitudes about earnings management, the instructor should include questions on demographic variables such as gender, age, major, or type of work experience, which can be tested as

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

269

potential explanatory factors. These questions, if added, will, of course, reduce anonymity.

Survey Administration I have chosen to keep student participation in the survey anonymous and voluntary. Therefore students complete the surveys outside of class and return them the following week. Anonymous and voluntary participation may reduce socialdesirability bias, but non-response bias may affect the results and significantly diminish the benefit of phase two of the exercise because of those students who do not participate in phase one. Alternatively, the instructor may require that all students fill in the surveys in class and collect them right away. To allow comparison of individual answers with class responses, the instructor may distribute two copies of the questionnaire to the students and ask them to keep one copy with their own answers that they can refer to during the class discussion the following week. This will likely increase the personal benefit to the students who participate in the value self-confrontation discussions. The timing of the survey and of the class discussion is a major consideration. When the survey and class discussions occur in the last two weeks of the course, students may perceive potential benefit from pleasing the instructor with their ethical judgments so as to obtain higher grades in the course, even though performance in this exercise is not graded. To avoid this potential social desirability bias, an instructor may choose to administer the survey during the first half of the course. Scheduling the survey earlier in the course also reduces the chances that the students will respond according to the instructor's own ethical judgments about accounting practices discussed during the course. Administering the survey too early in the course, however, may not allow sufficient time for coverage of the accounting issues included in the survey scenarios. Alternatively, the instructor may collect survey responses at both the beginning and end of the course to assess whether the students' criteria for ethical judgments changed during the course. Furthermore, the survey instrument may be used at the beginning of the first accounting course, at the end of a course where these issues are specifically discussed, and some period after graduation, to measure any changes in values or attitudes of participating students and alumni. Instructors may compare these changes with evidence from prior research on the ethical development of students and alumni (e.g. Douglas & Schwartz, 1998; Ponemon & Glazer, 1990). This approach to teaching ethics in accounting courses may lead to fruitful research on the longitudinal effects of ethics instruction for business students.

270

LOURDES F. WHITE Criteria for Evaluating Earnings Management Practices

After collecting the completed questionnaires, I compile the ratings for the scenarios into six pairs of contrasting types of earnings management practices to evaluate which criteria influence the students' ethical judgments. I compute average responses for all scenarios of a certain type, then for all scenarios of the contrasting type. A /-test for differences in means reveals if the average rating for one type of earnings management practice is statistically different from the average rating for the contrasting type. A significant difference in ethical ratings suggests that students are using that criterion to decide about potentially unethical situations. Six criteria that students may use to rate earnings management scenarios in the survey are presented in Table 1 and explained below. Criterion No. 1: Accounting Smoothing versus Operating Games Atkinson, Banker, Kaplan and Young's Management Accounting (1997) distinguishes "smoothing" from "gaming." The authors define smoothing as a practice of using accounting methods to manipulate reported results without changing actual operating actions. In contrast, they define gaming as a practice of changing operating actions to affect a performance indicator. While both types of practices may be legal (as opposed to data falsification, which is clearly illegal), they may not be ethical in certain situations. Accounting smoothing may violate the long-term goal of preserving the reliability and integrity of accounting information for the sake of short-term targets. Gaming does not require a change in accounting methods but implies that managers will actually make operating decisions that alter the timing and amount of transactions to influence reported results. The scenarios in the survey contain seven examples of accounting smoothing and six of operating games. Table 1. Criteria for Evaluating Earnings Management Practices. Types of Practices

Scenarios'

Accounting smoothing vs. Operating games GAAP practices vs. Non-GAAP practices Practices that increase earnings vs. Practices that decrease earnings Immaterial (small) manipulations vs. Material (large) manipulations Quarter-end timing vs. Year-end timing Legitimate purpose vs. Selfish purpose

3a, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b vs. 1,2a, 2b, 4a, 4b, 4c 5b, 6a, 6b vs. 3,5a, 7a, 7b 2a, 2b, 3,4a, 4b, 4c, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b vs. 1,5a, 5b 7a vs. 7b 2a vs. 2b 6a vs. 6b

"All scenarios appear in the survey questionnaire included in the Appendix.

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

271

Criterion No. 2: GAAP versus Non-GAAP Practices Much of the training accountants receive in college and early in their careers is intended to increase their knowledge and understanding of GAAP. Other business majors are also required to take accounting classes that expose them to the importance of following GAAP in financial reporting. However, it is not clear whether consistency with GAAP is a relevant criterion to evaluate whether a certain practice is ethical. Gray areas within GAAP may allow a manager enough discretion to manipulate earnings in unethical ways. Practicing accountants and managers may act unethically and still be in accordance with GAAP, or they may act ethically while departing from GAAP. Consistency with GAAP, therefore, does not substitute for ethical judgment. As Ketz and Miller argued, "Accounting is not a game and generally accepted accounting principles and ethical rules should not be construed as rules to a game." (Ketz & Miller, 1997, p. 49). The seven scenarios in the survey related to accounting smoothing include three scenarios that are consistent with GAAP and four that are not. Criterion No. 3: Practices that Increase versus Decrease Earnings Conservatism in financial reporting is an accounting principle that is often a topic in the very first accounting course business students take. Students learn to evaluate inventories, for example, at cost or at market, whichever is lower. But is conservatism a criterion for ethical judgments? Some may argue that earnings management practices intended to decrease short-term earnings constitute an ethical example of conservatism. Others may argue that conservatism, while an important principle for financial reporting, is not relevant for deciding what is ethical or not. Practices that are intended to decrease earnings in one year may turn quickly into practices that increase earnings in another year, and they both serve to reinforce a culture of earnings manipulation. The survey includes ten scenarios where managers take actions to increase short-term earnings and three scenarios where the managers decide to manipulate earnings downwards. Criterion No. 4: Immaterial (Small) versus Material (Large) Manipulations Materiality is another concept that is covered in most accounting courses, and is a major concern of public accountants. Auditors learn early on that certain issues are only worth investigating further if they are material, that is, if the potential benefits from fixing the problem outweigh the costs of the investigation itself. Cost accountants learn similar lessons about the materiality of variances. Materiality is also a concern in cost-benefit analysis that business students are frequently asked to perform in accounting and other business courses. Is materiality a criterion for ethical judgments?

272

LOURDES F. WHITE

The survey includes two scenarios that are essentially identical except for the materiality issue. In addition, the questionnaire instructions indicate that students should answer the questions as they apply to a $100-million division of a company. Criterion No. 5: Quarter-end Timing versus Year-end Timing Year-end financial results attract much attention from investors, directors on the board, analysts, regulators, and managers whose bonuses depend upon them. Quarter-end results, however, do not usually receive the same level of attention, except that they offer additional information for potential revisions of annual forecasts. A general perception is that the quality of reported earnings is higher for year-end than for quarter-end results. In the context of an ethical dilemma, does the timing of the manipulation matter? Is a practice of manipulating quarterly earnings less unethical than a practice that occurs at year's end? Two scenarios in the survey are identical except for the timing issue. Criterion No. 6: Legitimate Purpose versus Selfish Purpose Business students often learn that maximizing shareholder value is the goal of the corporation. But is any practice directed at that goal legitimate or ethical? Some students who receive ethical training during their business education learn about stakeholder analysis. They learn that shareholder interests are not the only ones they need to consider, because corporate practices also affect other stakeholders (e.g. employees, customers, creditors, regulators, etc.). When the interests of different stakeholders are in conflict with each other, it may be very difficult to decide on a course of action. Are actions intended to serve shareholder interests more ethical than actions intended to serve the manager's own interests? And how does the purpose of serving shareholders compare with the purpose of helping other stakeholders? Two scenarios in the survey are identical except for this issue of intent or purpose: the manager's action is exactly the same in both scenarios and only the manager's motivation differs from one scenario to the other.

PHASE TWO: VALUE SELF-CONFRONTATION Prior research on belief system theory has found support for the enduring effect of value self-confrontation on changes in values, attitudes and behaviors. For example, Grube, Mayton and Ball-Rokeach (1994) developed a method of value self-confrontation to promote an increased concern for environmental values by

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

273

psychology students. As described below, I adapted their method to encourage business students to self-evaluate their criteria for ethical decisions. Student Debriefing After I complete the statistical analysis of the survey responses and identify the criteria the students use for evaluating earnings management practices, I provide a summary in class of the survey results. I explain the way the scenarios translate into different types of earnings management practices. Then I report the numerical results (average ratings and response ranges) for the scenarios as well as the results of the tests of difference in means that reveal the criteria the students used. Examples of all these appear in the following section entitled "Example of Implementation of the Exercise." Students usually need about 15 minutes of silent reading to understand and interpret the results. I encourage students to volunteer "personal narratives" that would explain their criteria for ethical reasoning. If students have copies of their individual responses, this is the ideal time to invite them to compare their individual answers with the aggregate results for the class. I then ask the students to comment on any results that seem surprising to them. Once the students have had a chance to comment on their answers, I show results from managers who have responded to the same survey to stimulate further reflection on the students' criteria. Typically students tend to be more lenient towards accounting smoothing than managers are. I use this comparison with the manager responses to discuss the critical role accounting information plays in running a business. Some students (usually the accounting majors) may argue that the integrity of that information has to be preserved, even when under pressure from different stakeholders, and that smoothing should be regarded as a more serious infraction than gaming. If that is the case, criteria such as the timing or direction of the manipulation and consistency with GAAP should not matter when evaluating earnings management practices, as long as the accounting numbers are telling the "truth." Other students may argue that when managers engage in operating games thefinancialreports will reflect whatever actions the managers actually took. Normative Discussion At this point, when the students start to disagree, I move from a descriptive (e.g. based on personal narratives) to a normative discussion, about which criteria the students think should be used to make ethical judgments regarding business practices. Two criteria often emerge as the most controversial: purpose and materiality.

274

LOURDES F. WHITE

Some students argue very strongly that purpose should be the most important criterion, while others argue that the magnitude of the action itself, not the intent, is what matters. Other students maintain that materiality should not be a criterion at all, while some of their peers insist that materiality is inherent in any business decision. This type of lively interaction among students, with little need for instructor intervention, is consistent with arguments of previous research that active learning is an appropriate approach for ethics education. During this debate about purpose and materiality of business practices, it is helpful if the instructor introduces philosophical principles that not only enrich the students' vocabulary as they articulate ethical dilemmas, but also elevate the debate to a more fruitful level. This is particularly helpful with undergraduate students who may lack the experience or maturity to appreciate the real-life implications of earnings management. To emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of professional ethics, I have once scheduled the class section on value self-confrontation (the class discussion following the survey) to meet in an auditorium, where a philosophy professor, a finance professor and I took turns leading our combined classes on different threads of discussion on topics such as principles of moral philosophy, the rights of shareholders, and the incentives for managers to "cook the books." This teamtaught section was challenging to schedule, but it certainly engaged the students in a high-level debate, while making the best use of the complementary skills of the three instructors. Two examples of philosophical principles I have used with my students during the class on value self-confrontation appear below. They are straightforward enough to allow accounting professors with no or little exposure to philosophy to conduct the discussion effectively without resorting to "team teaching." Purpose: Rights and Duties The instructor may invite the students to further debate the importance of purpose of the business practice or intent of the manager by introducing Kant's "rights and duties" principle. In ethical debates, students need to be reminded of Kant's assertion that people should never be treated as means to an end (see summary in Beck, 1985, p. 45). If pushed to an extreme, a legitimate purpose may be used to justify unethical means. For example, the instructor may play "devil's advocate" and ask questions such as, "If a manager manipulates earnings to help many employees keep their jobs, does the good purpose justify the manipulative action?" While most students tend to agree that purpose should be a main criterion when evaluating a potentially unethical situation, they also recognize that it is a hard criterion to apply in practice. Purpose is especially relevant in the context

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

275

of this survey, where the rating scale implies different levels of punishment for the manager involved, and purpose as a criterion points directly to the issue of the manager's motivation to carry out certain actions. When the intent is to deceive, most students agree that the practice is not ethical. But I have found that at the end of this type of debate my students still disagreed on whether or not purpose or intent should be the only or even the most important criterion. Some are quick to dispute that too much reliance on purpose of the action leads to potentially harmful practices. Other students are uneasy about how to evaluate which purposes are good or better than other purposes. The instructor can mention ethical egoism as an example of a source of objectionable purposes. Materiality: Utilitarianism and Relativism When debating materiality, the instructor may introduce utilitarianism and relativism (Velasquez, 1988) as philosophical principles that help students appreciate the limitations of materiality. Utilitarianism reasons that we should evaluate actions on the basis of how much benefit or harm they cause; ethical relativism asserts that there is no absolute "ethics," just different viewpoints about how to define ethical behaviors. To trigger the debate about materiality, the instructor can use probing questions such as "What is material to you? How can you tell when a business practice will have material effects?" In my experience, by the end of class, most students seem to agree that materiality should not be a criterion, for several reasons. First, earnings management practices that start small can rapidly snowball into uncontrollable manipulations. Second, materiality is a concept developed to determine when it makes economic sense to investigate a problem, but it is not relevant to the question of whether a practice is ethical or not. A similar criticism of utilitarianism emerges from this discussion. Third, materiality is a relative and somewhat subjective concept, which is applied differently depending on particular circumstances, and therefore cannot be relied upon when one is trying to solve an intense ethical conflict. This debate alerts students to the limitations of ethical relativism, as it makes ethical principles contingent on particular situations. Accounting instructors themselves may ponder whether their own interactions with students have influenced the students' ethical judgments. For example, the emphasis on materiality in accounting courses has the unintended consequence of students becoming more cynical about small, but potentially unethical, business practices. Habitual references to the economic consequences of business actions lead students to forget that ethical behavior often requires personal sacrifice. (For a discussion on the role of virtue ethics in accounting, see Mintz, 1995.)

LOURDES F. WHITE

276

Individual Differences and Group Dynamics in the Value Self-Confrontation Discussion The main role of the instructor during the value self-confrontation discussion is not to lead the students to a consensus or to change their views. Rather, the instructor plays a facilitator role to encourage students to articulate their own values, in a class atmosphere that is respectful and rich in analysis and content. Lack of consensus is not necessarily a negative outcome, as Huss and Patterson (1993) argued. Neither faculty nor students need to convince anybody else of their views. The emphasis is on .^//-confrontation, that is, each student who participates in this exercise is invited to reflect on his or her own values, and to subject them to rational analysis and criticism, to evaluate which ones the student thinks should be maintained, enhanced or changed. Given the wide range of ratings the students tend to give to each of the scenarios, the value self-confrontation discussion can also simply focus on reporting individual results on criteria used by each student. If individual criteria are available, each student can directly examine his or her own set of criteria, instead of the average criteria used by all sample students. However, this approach may compromise anonymity, and possibly introduce social desirability bias. Any instructor who wishes to emphasize individual reflection on the student's own criteria for ethical reasoning can assign an individual paper on this topic. The student should write this after receiving his or her report on the criteria the student used when responding to the survey. The instructor may easily track individual responses without necessarily sacrificing anonymity by simply numbering the questionnaires and the corresponding reports on individual criteria. Working on such a written analysis would give the student more time to actually reflect on his or her criteria for ethical judgments (see discussion about personal narratives in Reiter & Flynn, 1999). Such an assignment should be structured so that it achieves the desired reflection. Some instructors may decide to eliminate the classroom debate altogether to downplay consensus on ethical issues and to emphasize personal reflection.

AN EXAMPLE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EXERCISE Sample Surveyed I have implemented this exercise overfivesemesters in graduate and undergraduate required managerial accounting courses at a mid-size state university. Out of a total

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

277

Table 2. Student Demographic Characteristics. Total No. Respondents = 141 Work-Related Questions

Years

Currently working?

No Yes

Is your company public or private?

Public Private

Does your company employ more than 300 people?

No

How many years of work experience do you have?

Yes Low High Mean Standard deviation

Number of Students

Percent

40 101 141 45 56 37

28 72 100 32 40 26

64

46

0

30 9.3 6.7

of 212 students enrolled in those courses, 141 students completed and returned their questionnaires, yielding a 67% response rate. As indicated in Table 2, the respondents do not follow the profile of "traditional" students. The majority (72%) of the sampled students work. The respondents have nine years of work experience on average, but the actual range is from zero to 30 years of experience. About 32% of the respondents work for public companies, and 46% work for organizations with more than 300 employees. To promote anonymity, no detailed information about academic major or type of work experience is available from the respondents.

Survey Results This section summarizes the responses from the sampled students to illustrate the type of analysis an instructor can perform using the scenarios discussed earlier. Since the survey questionnaire did not include questions about student gender, age, etc., one cannot extrapolate the influence that student demographic factors and course-related factors may have. Overall, the responses from this sample of students indicate a wide range of ethical judgments. Table 3 shows that the students evaluate 11 of the 13 scenarios with ratings ranging from 1 (ethical) to 5 (totally unethical); the evaluations for each of the other two scenarios range from 1 to 4.

278

LOURDES F. WHITE

Table 3. Average Student Ratings, Standard Deviations and Response Ranges for Each Scenario (Number of Respondents = 141). Scenario

1: Accelerate scheduled maintenance 2a: Defer discretionary expenditures to meet quarterly target 2b: Defer discretionary expenditures to meet annual target 3: Record invoice for office supplies two months after delivery 4a: Offer liberal payment terms to boost current year sales 4b: Order overtime to expedite shipments at year end 4c: Sell excess assets at a profit 5a: Prepay future period expenses to record them in current year 5b: Increase reserve for inventory obsolescence conservatively 6a: Reduce inventory reserve and use it for product development 6b: Reduce inventory reserve and use it to achieve budget targets 7a: Delay $30,000 invoice of services already rendered 7b: Delay $500,000 invoice of services already rendered

Average Ratings*

Standard Deviation

Range

1.49 2.61 3.07 3.04 2.1 1.76 1.99 2.88 3.52 3.04 3.29 2.75 3.31

0.8 1.03 1.07 1 1.1 0.98 1.20 1.09 0.95 1.19 1.05 1.15 1.20

1-4 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-4 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5

•Ratings range from 1 = Ethical to 5 = Totally unethical.

The results in Table 4 show the scenario groupings and the average student ratings for the various types of earnings management practices. The students judge accounting smoothing more harshly than operating games. While they evaluate accounting smoothing as a minor infraction (corresponding to an average of about 3 in the five-point scale), they rate operating games simply as questionable practices (average rating of about 2). These averages are statistically different based on /-tests for differences in means at the 5% level. Given the potential effect of work experience on their ethical judgments, I compared the average ratings for all scenarios between students with little or no experience against students with more than five years of experience. The results show no impact of experience on their ethical judgments. Based on r-tests for differences in means, the averages in Table 4 show no statistically significant difference between the ratings the students give to GAAP vs. non-GAAP practices, or between the ratings for practices that increase versus practices that decrease earnings. These insignificant differences suggest that consistency with GAAP and the direction of the earnings manipulation are not among the criteria the students use in their ethical judgments. These results remained the same even when I compared all ratings from students who work in private companies with those who work in public companies. Materiality, timing of the manipulation, and purpose are all significant criteria for this sample of students, based on Mests for differences in means. The students

Average Ratings8

Standard Deviation

Averages Significantly Differentb

'Ratings range from 1 = Ethical to 5 = Totally unethical. b Based on a f-test for the difference in means, at the 5% significance level.

Accounting smoothing vs. Operating games GAAP practices vs. Non-GAAP practices Practices that increase earnings vs. Practices that decrease earnings Immaterial (small) manipulations vs. Material (large) manipulations Quarter-end timing vs. Year-end timing Legitimate purpose vs. Selfish purpose

2.74 vs. 2.17 3.28 vs. 2.99 2.30 vs. 2.63 2.75 vs. 3.31 2.61 vs. 3.07 3.04 vs. 3.29

1.47 vs. 1.17 1.10 vs. 1.13 1.47 vs. 1.27 1.15 vs. 1.20 1.03 vs. 1.10 1.19 vs. 1.08

Yes No No Yes Yes Yes

~~^—-—————^——^——^—_^_^___^____^__^_____——______________,.

Types of Practices

Table 4. Average Student Ratings and Standard Deviations for Different Types of Earnings Management Practices.

S' fq §

<*»

CO

j|

i1

LOURDES F. WHITE

280

judge the high-invoice scenario more harshly than the low-invoice one, year-end manipulations more harshly than quarter-end manipulations, and the selfish purpose more harshly than the legitimate purpose of investing in new products. To assess the influence of size on their ethical judgments, I contrasted the ratings from students who work for large companies (defined as those with more than 300 employees) to the ratings from students who work for smaller companies. The results show no impact of company size on their ethical judgments.

The Class on Value Self-Confrontation In the class following the analysis of the survey results, I have started by presenting slides similar to Tables 3-5 to the students. The MBA students seem to focus on the comparison with the manager sample (see Table 5) more than the undergraduate or accounting majors do. In our class discussions I have noticed that I need to correct their tendency to refer to the managers* responses as "right answers." Table 5 contrasts the average student ratings with the average ratings from managers sampled by Merchant and Rockness (1994) for each type of earnings management practice. The results in Table 5 show that the students are Table 5. Comparison between Ratings8 from the Student Sample and the Manager Sample.b Types of Practices

Accounting smoothing Operating games GAAP practices Non-GAAP practices Practices that increase <earnings Practices that decrease earnings Immaterial (small) manipulations Material (large) manipulations Quarter-end timing Year-end timing Legitimate purpose Selfish purpose

Average Student Ratings (N = 141)

Average Manager Ratings (W = 308)

Significant Difference between the Two Samples0

2.74 2.17 3.28 2.99 2.30 2.63 2.75 3.31 2.61 3.07 3.04 3.29

3.61 1.61 3.60 3.63 2.69 2.68 3.76 4.05 1.81 2.09 3.59 3.69

Ves Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

•Ratings range from 1 = Ethical to 5 = Totally unethical. b Results from Merchant and Rockness (1994). c Based on a f-test for the difference in means, at the 5% significance level.

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

281

significantly more lenient than the managers towards accounting smoothing, GAAP and non-GAAP practices, manipulations to increase earnings, both small and large manipulations, and practices for legitimate as well as selfish purposes. The only exceptions are manipulations to decrease earnings (no significant difference between the two samples) and operating games (including both quarter-end and year-end manipulations). During the self-confrontation part of this exercise, students are often puzzled by the reasons why they consider gaming worse than questionable, whereas the managers are more tolerant of gaming practices. One explanation that has emerged from such discussions is that as managers advance in their careers, they witness more instances of gaming and are more likely to change their attitude towards such practices (see similar evidence in Armstrong, 1987). In contrast with students, managers have been previously characterized as "organizational realists" (Lewis, 1989). On the other hand, the students are less aware than the managers of the potentially serious effects of inaccurate financial reporting (this result is consistent with findings by Cole & Smith, 1996, using different ethical situations). The managers sampled by Merchant and Rockness, most of whom had an extensive financial background, judged smoothing and other practices to be more serious infractions than did the students. The normative discussion of which criteria the students think should be used for ethical judgments has led to very lively debates. Undergraduate students tend to need more "lectures" to introduce philosophical principles such as rights and duties or utilitarianism. Both graduate and undergraduate students, however, seem to appreciate the importance of learning to express their positions, while respecting individual differences. I have never ended this class with a real consensus! Student participation is noticeably less effective when a large group in the value self-confrontation class has not responded to the survey. This finding suggests that the instructor should require that the students fill out the survey questionnaires so that they can all benefit from the follow-up class discussion.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This paper reports on an exercise developed to help increase students' awareness of the criteria they use when evaluating the degree to which certain business practices are ethical or not. The paper also reports on the survey responses from a sample of students who participated in this exercise to illustrate how instructors may use the survey to assess if their students use criteria such as type of manipulation (i.e. smoothing or gaming), materiality, timing of the manipulation, consistency with

LOURDES F. WHITE

282

GAAP, direction of the manipulation and purpose of the action when evaluating earnings management practices. The design of the exercise is flexible enough to meet the needs of different groups: undergraduate and graduate students, accounting and business majors, employees and managers. The question of which criteria should be used in ethical dilemmas is an obviously complex one, transcending technical accounting issues and involving one's moral values, religious beliefs, and even philosophical orientations. This question has, in fact, interested philosophers for many centuries. The finding that this question also attracts students suggests that instructors can use it to encourage students to develop their capacity for moral reasoning. The role of self-reflection in ethical awareness has been well documented (Esmond-Kiger & Stein, 1998; Reiter & Flynn, 1998). This increased awareness leads to an increased ability to recognize ethical issues, which precedes moral judgment (Wright, Cullinan & Bline, 1998). This type of exercise can thus benefit both students and employees at different stages of moral development (Kohlberg, 1984). In corporate training settings, for example, managers may use the survey and follow-up discussion to assess the ethical climate in their organizations, and to communicate corporate policies regarding earnings management practices. Academicians can extend the use of the ethics survey to differing types of students and managers, to report on their criteria for ethical judgments and to investigate which factors explain their responses. Cross-sectional comparisons exploring the relationships between students* criteria for decision-making in ethical dilemmas and their stage of moral development would provide further insight into how accounting faculty can help students increase their level of moral reasoning. While more research is needed to assess how accounting faculty can actually influence ethical behavior of students and alumni, the exercise discussed in this paper serves as an example of student-directed learning about ethical issues, through personal reflection and discussions with classmates. If students have many opportunities to develop a habit of conscious ethical reasoning in the classroom, where they are away from pressure by their bosses or peers at work, then they will be better prepared to make informed decisions when they encounter an ethical dilemma at work. If they do not develop this habit, the chances are that they will not be able to think clearly when in the throes of a real ethical conflict.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge a research grant from the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore. Earlier versions of this paper have

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

283

benefited from comments by reviewers of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting and the National Meeting of the American Accounting Association, and the Annual Meeting of the Institute of Management Accountants. Ed Ketz, co-editor, and three anonymous referees ofAdvances in Accounting Education, as well as my colleague Carolyn Tyson contributed valuable insights for this paper.

REFERENCES AACSB - The International Association for Management Education (2000). Business Accreditation Standards: Curriculum Content and Evaluation (visited September 19, 2001), http://aacsb.edu/stand5.html American Accounting Association, Committee of the Future Structure, Content and Scope of Accounting Education (The Bedford Committee) (1986). Future accounting education: Preparing for the expanding profession. Issues in Accounting Education, 1,168-195. American Accounting Association & Arthur Andersen & Co. (1989). Ethics in Accounting. Tape No. 1296. Armstrong, M. (1987). Moral development and accounting education. Journal of Accounting Education, 5, 27-43. Arthur Andersen & Co., Arthur Young, Coopers & Lybrand, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Ernst & Whinney, Peat Marwick Main & Co., Price Waterhouse & Touche Ross (1989). Perspectives on accounting education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession. New York: The Authors. Atkinson, A., Banker, R., Kaplan, R., & Young, S. (1997). Management accounting (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Badaracco, J., & Webb, A. (1995). Business ethics: A view from the trenches. California Management Review, 37(2), &-2S. Beck, L. (1985). Kant: Foundations of the metaphysics of morals (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing. Beets, S. (1993). Using the role-playing technique in accounting ethics education. Accounting Educator's Journal, 5(Fall), 46-65. Borkowski, S., & Ugras, Y. (1992). The ethical attitudes of students as a function of age, sex and experience. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(12), 961-973. Bruns, W., & Merchant, K. (1990). The dangerous morality of managing earnings. Management Accounting, 72(2), 22-25.. Cohen, J., & Pant, L. (1989). Accounting educators' perceptions of ethics in the curriculum. Issues in Accounting Education, ^(Spring), 70-81. Cohen, J., Pant, L., & Sharp, D. (1998). The effect of gender and academic discipline diversity on the ethical evaluations, ethical intentions and ethical orientation of potential public accounting recruits. Accounting Horizons, 72(3), 250-270. Cole, B., & Smith, D. (1996). Perceptions of business ethics: Students vs. business people. Journal of Business Ethics, 75(8), 889-896. Douglas, P., & Schwartz, B. (1998). A longitudinal study of the effect of teaching ethics throughout the accounting curriculum. Research on Accounting Ethics, 4, 89-112. Esmond-Kiger, C , & Stein, D. (1998). A self-reflective approach to teaching ethics in the accounting curriculum. Advances in Accounting Education, 1,217-234.

284

LOURDES F. WHITE

Fischer, M., & Rosenzweig, K. (1995). Attitudes of students and accounting practitioners concerning the ethical acceptability of earnings management. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(Jane), 433-444. Grube, J., Mayton, D., II, & Ball-Rokeach, S. (1994). Inducing change in values, attitudes and behaviors: Belief system theory and the method of value self-confrontation. Journal ofSocial Issues, 50(4), 153-173. Huss, F., & Patterson, D. (1993). Ethics in accounting: Values education without indoctrination. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(3), 235-247. Johnson, C. (2002). Andersen tape shows order to clean files. Washington Post, May 21, 2002, Ketz, E., & Miller, P. (1997). Some ethical issues aboutfinancialreporting and public accounting and some proposals. Research on Accounting Ethics, 3,49-77. Knapp, M., Louwers, T., & Weber, C. (1998). Celebrating accounting heroes: An alternative approach to teaching ethics. Advances in Accounting Education, I,267-277. Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Rowe. Langenderfer, H., & Rockness, J. (1989). Integrating ethics into the accounting curriculum: Issues, problems, and solutions. Issues in Accounting Education, ^(Spring), 58-69. Lewis, P. (1989). Ethical principles for decision makers: A longitudinal survey. Journal of Business Ethics, 271-278. Loeb, S. (1988). Teaching students accounting ethics: Some crucial issues. Issues in Accounting Education, J(Fall), 316-329. Loeb, S. (1990). Whistleblowing and accounting education. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(Fall), 281-294. May, W. (Ed.) (1992). Ethics in accounting curriculum: Cases and readings. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association. McNair, E, & Milam, E. (1993). Ethics in accounting education: What is really being done. Journal of Business Ethics, 12(10), 797-807. Merchant, K. (1989). Rewarding results: Motivating profit center managers. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Merchant, K., & Rockness, J. (1994). The ethics of managing earnings: An empirical investigation. Journal ofAccounting and Public Policy, 13,79-94. Mintz, S. (1995). Virtue ethics and accounting education. Issues in Accounting Education, 10(2), 247-267. National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting (Treadway Commission) (1987). Report ofthe national commission on fraudulentfinancialreporting. Washington, DC: National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting. Peek, L., Peek, G., & Horras, M. (1994). Enhancing Arthur Andersen business ethics vignettes: Group discussions using cooperative/collaborative learning techniques. Journal of Business Ethics, 130), 189-196. Ponemon, L., & Glazer, A. (1990). Accounting education and ethical development: The influence of liberal learning on students and alumni in accounting practice. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(2), 195-208. Reiter, S., & Flynn, L. (1998). Developing ethical conduct and ethical leadership in accounting ethics education. Advances in Accounting Education, 1,251-266. Reiter, S., & Flynn, L. (1999). Moral imagination and accounting ethics. Research on Accounting Education, 5, 217-240.

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

285

Sisaye, S. (1997). An overview of the institutional approach to accounting ethics education. Research on Accounting Ethics, 3,233-244. Velasquez, M. (1988). Business ethics: Concepts and cases (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Wright, G., Cullinan, C, & Bline, D. (1998). Recognizing ethical issues: The joint influence of ethical sensitivity and moral intensity. Research on Accounting Ethics, 4,29—52.

APPENDIX Survey Questionnaire The following questions reflect everyday ethical choices. We'd like you to evaluate the practices as they apply to a major division (annual revenues of, say, $100 million) of a billion-dollar public company. Use the following scale to indicate how vow judge their acceptability. (1) Ethical practice. (2) Questionable practice. I would not say anything to the manager, but it makes me uncomfortable. (3) Minor infraction. The manager should be warned not to do it again. (4) Serious infraction. The manager should be severely reprimanded. (5) Totally unethical. The manager should be fired. (1) The division's headquarter building was scheduled to be painted in 1989. But since profit performance was way ahead of budget in 1988, the division general manager (GM) decided to have the work done in 1998. Amount: $150,000. (2) The GM ordered his employees to defer all discretionary expenditures (e.g. travel, advertising, hiring, maintenance) into the next accounting period, so his division could make its budgeted profit targets. Expected amount of deferral: $150,000. (a) The expenses were postponed from February and March until April in order to make the first quarter target. (b) The expenses were postponed from November and December to January in order to make the annual target. (3) On December 15, a clerk ordered $3,000 of office supplies, and the supplies were delivered on December 29. This order was a mistake because the GM had ordered that no discretionary expenses be incurred for the remainder of the fiscal year, and the supplies were not urgently needed. The company's accounting policy manual states that office supplies are to be recorded as an

286

LOURDES F. WHITE

expense when delivered. The GM learned what had happened, and to correct the mistake, he asked the accounting department not to record the invoice until February. (4) In September, the GM realized the division would need strong performance in the fourth quarter to reach its budget targets. (a) He decided to implement a sales program offering liberal payment terms to pull some sales that would normally occur next year into the current year; customers accepting delivery in the fourth quarter would not have to pay the invoice for 120 days. (b) He ordered manufacturing to work overtime in December so that everything possible could be shipped by the end of the year. (c) He sold some excess assets and realized profit of $40,000. (5) At the beginning of December 1987 the GM realized the division would exceed its budgeted profit target for the year. (a) He ordered his controller to prepay some expenses (e.g. hotel rooms, exhibit expense) for a major trade show to be held in March 1988 and to book them as 1987 expenses. Amount: $60,000. (b) He ordered his controller to develop the rationale for increasing the reserve for inventory obsolescence. By taking a pessimistic view of future market prospects, the controller was able to identify $700,000 worth of finished goods that conservative accounting would say should be fully reserved (i.e. written off), even though the GM was fairly confident the inventory would still be sold at a later date at close to full price. (6) The next year, the division sold 70% of the written-off inventory, and a customer had indicated some interest in buying the rest of that inventory the following year. The GM ordered his controller to prepare the rationale for reducing the reserve for obsolescence by $210,000 (i.e. writing up the previously written-off goods to full cost). The GM's motivation for recapturing the profit was: (a) To be able to continue working on some important product development projects that might have been delayed due to budget constraints. (b) To make budgeted profit targets. (7) In November 1988 the division was straining to meet budget. The GM called the engagement partner of a consulting firm that was doing some work for the division and asked that the firm not send an invoice until next year. The partner agreed. Estimated work done but not invoiced: (a) $30,000 (b) $500,000

Cooking the Books or Managing Earnings

Some information about you: a. What is your job title?

b. Is your company public or private?

c. Does your company employ more than 300 people?

d. How many years of work experience do you have?

287

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO INTERNET-ENHANCED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING COURSES Roann R. Kopel and Lola W. Dudley ABSTRACT The AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession (AICPA, 1999, pp. 1-11) identifies 18 competencies needed by entry-level accountants. These competencies include leveraging technology, international/global perspective, problem solving and decision-making, industry/sector perspective, and research. The Internet provides many resources for students to use when developing these competencies while learning to prepare and use financial accounting information. For example, Internet resources provide students with numerous opportunities to obtain and utilize annual reports (of both U.S. and international firms), collect additional information needed to more fully analyze firms' performances, and develop students' higher-level learning skills while increasing their awareness of current business events and issues. This paper provides descriptions of some available Internet resources and detailed instructions, at a beginner's level, of how to use them. For each resource, we provide examples of exercises we have used in our courses. The paper concludes with explanations of how use of these resources can aid students in developing pre-professional competencies.

Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 5,289-303 Copyright © 2003 by Elsevier Science Ltd. AH rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN:1085-4622/doi:10.10167S1085-4622(03)05017-X 289

290

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

INTRODUCTION The business community increasingly insists that accounting graduates must have a broad range of competencies beyond the "textbook" knowledge normally covered in accounting courses. The AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession (AICPA, 1999, pp. 1-11) identifies 18 competencies entry-level accountants need and categorizes them as functional, personal, and broad business perspectives. We believe that active learning offers many opportunities to help students develop pre-professional competencies. Active learning enhances students' understanding of accounting concepts and their ability to apply the concepts to practical situations. This is a critical part of learning to learn. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how Internet resources can enhance financial accounting courses and help students develop some pre-professional competencies. The focus is on integrating the Internet, at a beginner's level, into financial accounting courses; that is, the suggested exercises require only basic Internet skills such as the ability to use a web browser. Many instructors already have incorporated Internet-related exercises into their courses. However, there are still many instructors who have not or who have done very little with Internet use in accounting classes. Baker and White (1999, p. 262) found that only 24% of undergraduate accounting courses include "some use of the Internet." Of those, the most common use was "surfing" to "familiarize" students with the Internet. This situation raises the question: Why is there so little Internet use in accounting classes? The answer is not the lack of Internet access. According to Debreceny et al. (1996, pp. 107-124), over 70% of faculty members use the Internet, primarily for email. Baker and White (1999, p. 262) report that 76% of their respondents had access to Web servers. We believe a major reason for the failure to incorporate the Internet into accounting courses is that faculty members do not know how to start. This paper is intended to help them begin. Wefirstdiscuss available Internet resources and provide class-tested examples of exercises for using these resources at various levels of financial accounting instruction. For example, we identify Internet resources for ordering annual reports and then, in Exercise 1 (see Appendix A), we provide an exercise in which students use annual reports to learn about different reporting practices. The Internet resources we discuss are appropriate for: (1) obtaining annual reports, (2) learning about international accounting standards,

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses (3) learning to read annual reports, (4) obtaining SEC filings, and (5) performing company and industry analysis. The paper gives detailed information on how to use the various Internet sites. The reader should be aware that Internet sites are constantly changing; therefore the availability of materials varies. If the instructions for use of a website appear to be inaccurate, there may have been changes in the particular website since the paper was written. Most likely, the changes are minor, and the reader will be able to find the desired information with little trouble.

HOW WE INTEGRATE INTERNET RESOURCES One of the two authors is new to using the Internet in accounting classes, and the other is more experienced. This combination of authors enables us to provide information at a beginner's level and to draw on the knowledge of the more experienced author to develop appropriate exercises for the Internet resources. The "beginner" author uses three or four Internet-based exercises in each class. The "expert" author includes an exercise in the homework for every chapter covered. We both grade them on a "reasonable-effort" basis. That is, students' earn full credit by demonstrating that they have made a reasonable effort to complete the assignment. For some assignments, we have students work in pairs and have them check each other's work for completeness. We then call on a few student pairs to explain their findings. We respond to any questions the students have. The homework check and oral reports normally take about ten minutes. Time allotted for student questions depends on the quantity and quality of the questions. When we first use a resource, we provide students with written instructions and/or demonstrate its use in class. Class time for this varies from aboutfiveminutes (ordering annual reports on line) to fifteen minutes (accessing SEC filings).

OBTAINING ANNUAL REPORTS Accounting textbooks usually include a company's annual report to relate course topics to the business world. However, because of writing and publication delays, the most likely situation is that a new textbook will have an annual report that is at least one year old. For example, Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield's Intermediate Accounting, 10th edition, copyright 2001, includes the 1998 annual report of Intel

291

292

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

Corporation. However, there are convenient resources online for obtaining more current annual reports, either printed or electronic. The Public Register's Annual Report Service [PRARS] (http://www.prars.com/) is a national annual report distribution service that includes over 3,600 companies and provides annual reports free of charge to those requesting them. This service is an excellent resource if instructors require students to order a hard copy of an annual report, rather than using an online version. To order an annual report, search for the company in this database either by alphabet, industry, state, or ticker symbol. For example, if an instructor requires students to order an annual report from a company in the computer industry, click on the S e a r c h by I n d u s t r y button, scroll down to select the desired industry, "Computer and office equipment" and click on the SEARCH button. (Throughout this paper, l i n k s appear in t h i s font.) Then scroll down to find a company of choice. Click on the ADD TO CART button for the desired company name; then click on CHECK OUT in the upper-right-hand corner of the page. Fill out the order form and click on the Submit y o u r o r d e r button at the bottom of the page. The requested report should arrive in about a week. Another source of printed annual reports is the Wall Street Journal Annual Report Service. On the Wall Street Journal website (http://wsj.com/), scroll down, observing the left-side frame. There is a list of "Other Journal Sites." Further down, there is a section called "Free Content" that includes "Annual Reports." Click on Annual R e p o r t s . The companies appear alphabetically or by industry. Also, students can search for a specific company by name at the bottom of that page. Users can download the annual report of some of the companies included in the service or can order a hard copy of an annual report for any of the companies. First, click on the desired industry and check the download box and/or the mailbox for the desired company. Next, click on the Complete T h i s O r d e r button at the bottom of the page, fill out the order form and submit it. Instructors can require students to order annual reports and use them for analysis throughout the semester in introductory, intermediate, or advanced accounting courses. The points at which students analyze the reports coincide with major topics covered in the course. For example, in Intermediate Accounting, students can study the reporting of inventory, property, plant, and equipment, and pensions at the appropriate time during the course. Students will benefit from the use of the annual reports of several companies in the same industry. Students can see the variety of ways firms actually report (or do not report) the issues they read about in their textbooks. Students can see that one firm may appear to be better than another because of different reporting practices. As a result, students can appreciate the importance of "checking it out," and not takefinancialinformation at face value, but to investigate the situation and

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses

293

determine underlying causes and hidden information. (For a class-tested example, see Exercise 1 in Appendix A.) We find it is best to keep exercises simple; for example, during the first week with their annual reports, students answer questions such as: What are your firm's major products? What was its net income for its most recent year? How did that compare with a year ago? What did it report as total liabilities? (Since many firms do not provide a total liabilities figure, this is a good way for students to use the accounting equation. It also can be a good starting point for discussing unreported liabilities.) Similarly, when we begin to study ratio analysis, we have the students compute and interpret only a few ratios at a time (for example, we start with profit margin ratio, debt-to-equity, and cash return on sales). We add others as we cover new material - including current ratio, quick ratio, return on assets, accounts receivable turnover, and inventory turnover. By keeping it simple, we avoid overwhelming our students and reduce the amount of grading required. One approach we have used to save grading time is to have students bring typed assignments to class, exchange annual reports (but not completed assignments) with another student and redo the exercise in class (students have only a few minutes to do the work). Once each pair of students has completed the exercise, they compare notes and resolve any disagreements. Therefore, when we get the final assignments, they already have been checked once. For more information on peer grading (as well as a much more elaborate "annual report project") see Dudley et al. (2001, pp. 125-131).

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS Instructors may introduce international issues in class by having students review annual reports of international companies. The New York Stock Exchange web site (http://www.nyse.com/) is a convenient resource for locating these annual reports. On the left side of the NYSE home page, click on I n t e r n a t i o n a l , then on Non-US l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s . The website currently shows that there are about 470 non-U.S. companies from over 50 countries listed on the Exchange. Click on the Complete l i s t of Non-US companies 2002 to get a roster of companies by country. There is also a Complete l i s t of Non-US c o m p a n i e s , by I n d u s t r y - 2002. Return to the Non-US l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s page and click on A l p h a b e t at the top left Click on the letter that begins the name of the target company. For example, click on D, scroll down to D a i m l e r C h r y s l e r and click. The student will find information about the company, including basics such as

294

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

industry, company description, and company events, along with a link to the company website. To use an international company's website, it may be necessary to locate the English version. For DaimlerChrysler, the German version is on the left of the home page and the English version is on the right. For this company, click on C o r p o r a t e I n f o r m a t i o n ; then in the left frame of the page, click on I n v e s t o r R e l a t i o n s . Under I n v e s t o r R e l a t i o n s , click on R e p o r t s / P r e s e n t a t i o n s . Next, click on Annual Report 2002 (or the latest annual report) and find a list of individual chapters of the annual report that can be viewed as "pdf" files. For example, click on C o n s o l i d a t e d B a l a n c e S h e e t to view the Balance Sheet. Students will find that for this company, the Balance Sheet is presented in dollars and in euros. Many students are only vaguely aware that most industrialized countries have their own reporting standards and that these standards often differ substantially from those of the U.S. We introduce students to some of these differences by having them review the financial statements of international firms. Exercise 2, in Appendix A, describes one approach we have used in Introductory and Intermediate classes. We go beyond merely introducing students to international reporting differences by requiring them to delve more deeply into these differences. See Exercise 3, in Appendix A, for one approach we have used. The report can be oral or written. Our beginner author uses this exercise in a beginning financial accounting course and requires an oral presentation. Each team has 15 minutes for its presentation. Again, grading is on a reasonable effort basis. Another useful site for information about differences in accounting standards among countries is the International Forum on Accountancy Development's site (http://www.ifad.net). This site shows differences between international accounting standards (IAS) and standards for 53 countries, including the U.S. Locate the site, then click on GAAP S u r v e y s , then click on C o u n t r y Benchmarks. Scroll down and click on the flag for a country and a listing of differences between that country's accounting standards and IAS appears. The differences may surprise students who have not considered the possibility that U.S. standards may not always be the only standards in the world.

LEARNING TO READ ANNUAL REPORTS The IBM web site (http://www.ibm.com/) is an excellent resource to help students learn to read financial statements. At the IBM home page, click on About IBM in the lower left-hand corner; then click on I n v e s t o r s under Financial

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses

295

Information on the right side of the page. Next scroll down and click on Guide t o f i n a n c i a l s at the bottom of the page under General Information. Finally, click on G e t t i n g S t a r t e d , and then T i p s on U s i n g t h e Guide (in the left-side panel of the page). On this page, students can click on G l o s s a r y , which gives a list of terms used in financial statements along with their definitions. To find an excellent but brief description of the purpose of an annual report, the user can click on What' s an a n n u a l r e p o r t ? A click on Anatomy of Annual R e p o r t shows a list of various sections of the annual report under two headings: "optional elements" and "SEC required elements." This assignment is a good way for students to learn SEC requirements versus sections a company has the option to report. F i n a n c i a l h i g h l i g h t s , L e t t e r t o s t o c k h o l d e r s , and S t o c k h o l d e r i n f o r m a t i o n are "optional elements," and "SEC required elements," includes A u d i t o r s ' R e p o r t and Management D i s c u s s i o n . Click on any of these sections to find a short description of the section. See Exercise 4, in Appendix A, for a description of the IBM-site assignment we use. This exercise is more time consuming than the others we discuss. The students complete their individual assignments outside of class, but it requires about 15 minutes of class time to set it up and 20-25 minutes to complete the jigsaw. The S t a t e m e n t B a s i c s section (in the left-side panel of the page) provides students with a quick overview of the financial statements. For example, clicking on any of the three basic financial statements results in a short description of the purpose of that statement. Click on key terms related to each statement, such as Revenues and E x p e n s e s for the Statement of Earnings, to get the glossary definition of the term. There are also short descriptions of Key Numbers and a brief section on U s i n g t h e i n f o r m a t i o n for each financial statement. S t a t e m e n t B a s i c s is a good resource for a "scavenger hunt." See Exercise 5, in Appendix A, for a description.

OBTAINING SEC FILINGS PRARS and the Wall Street Journal Annual Report Service enable students to obtain printed annual reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) EDGAR Database provides a useful resource for obtaining information from firms' SEC fillings. The EDGAR Database (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml) is not very user friendly, but EdgarScan (http://edgarscan.pwcglobal.com/servlets/edgarscan) provides much better access to SEC filings. EdgarScan is very easy to use and is an excellent classroom resource. (Reach EdgarScan from the PricewaterhouseCoopers website at http://www.pwcglobal.com/)

296

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

To use EdgarScan, students fill in the company name or ticker symbol of the target company and click on S e a r c h . For example if a student's target company is Intel Corp., enter the company name, click on S e a r c h , and find EdgarScan's main page for Intel. Scroll down to Extracted Financial Data and select E x c e l S p r e a d s h e e t . The student will find annual and quarterly financial data for about 10 years in the Excel spreadsheet for Intel Corp. The spreadsheet includes summary data from balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and other miscellaneous information. Since the data are in spreadsheet format, students can easily use the information to calculate ratios. SEC annual and quarterly filings, as well as otherfilings,are accessible through EdgarScan. Back on the main page for Intel Corp., scroll past the Extracted Financial Data section to locate the list of filings and links to them. Click on a specific filing to view it. For example, to see Intel's 2002 10-K filing click on 10-K 2 0 0 1 - 1 2 - 2 9 , then on E x t r a c t e d F i n a n c i a l Data, to find items in the financial statements. Click on one of the items, such as n e t income, to see how Intel reports that item in its financial statements. To view various ratios and summary information, go back one page to the E x t r a c t e d F i n a n c i a l D a t a page and click on each ratio to see the formula for calculating it. Then click on each variable in the formula to find how the firm reports that specific item in its financial statements. For example, click on g r o s s m a r g i n to find the formula for calculating the ratio. Click on c o s t of goods s o l d in the formula to see the income statement with the "cost of sales" highlighted. This assignment is a good place to emphasize the students' need to "check it out." Require students to confirm EdgarScan ratio calculations by calculating each ratio themselves. Return to the main page of the selected 10-Kfiling;following the E x t r a c t e d F i n a n c i a l Data heading is the Table of Contents for the 10-K. There are direct links to each section. Scroll down to click on Income S t a t e m e n t , and view the Income Statement. To view the Balance Sheet, click on n e x t p a g e . The F o o t n o t e s link is the best way we have found to obtain footnote disclosures. Near the bottom of the Table of Contents, click on F o o t n o t e s to see a list of all the footnotes; then click on the desired footnote, for example Commitments, to see the actual footnote. This easy-to-use source of footnotes enhances students' ability to see how useful footnotes are for "checking it out." See Exercise 6, in Appendix A, for suggestions for using this resource. Finally, EdgarScan is useful for comparing a particular company with others in the same industry. Again using Intel's main page, click on S e m i c o n d u c t o r s and R e l a t e d D e v i c e s , and find a list of all companies in that industry. EdgarScan ranks the firms in the industry by Total Operating Revenue; Intel is first in the industry. Use the drop down menu at the top to find the ranking of the

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses

297

firms in the industry based on other financial data items and ratios. For example, EdgarScan ranks firms by Net Income or by the Debt to Equity ratio.

COMPANY AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Quicken Investment Service (http://www.quicken.com/) is a source that students can use to find financial information about companies listed by ticker symbol. (If the students do not know a company's ticker symbol, they can click on Don' t know t h e symbol? to find its symbol for any company.) This website contains current and past stock prices for a company, its dividend yields, PIE ratios, and other information that may be of interest to investors. There is also a section, "Recent Headlines," that lists recent articles and news of interest about a company. Click on an article to read it. On this website, there is also useful information for analyzing a company's financial data or for comparing a company to other's in the industry. Click on F u n d a m e n t a l s to find comparisons between the company of interest and its relevant industry statistics. There are current prices, 52-week ranges, growth trends, and ratios measuring financial strength. Click on A n a l y s t R a t i n g s to find analysts' estimates of EPS trends and growth estimates. With the Compare t o I n d u s t r y page, students can find comparisons between the selected company and other individual companies in its relevant industry. S t o c k E v a l u a t o r is a particularly interesting (and, as far as we know, unique to this site) tool that takes the user through a six-stepfirm-evaluationprocess including growth trends, financial health, and the sixth step is a summary that includes industry comparisons. Exercise 7, in Appendix A, describes an assignment that uses the Evaluator. Yahoo Market Guide (http://yahoo.marketguide.com/) provides another service, Multex Investor. Students can find financial ratios for a company, ratios for the company's industry, and ratios for the economic sector in which the company operates. Students obtain company information by entering the name or the ticker symbol of the company and clicking on the Go button. Then students compare the company with other companies in the same industry. In the left frame of the main page for the company, using Intel Corp. again as an example, scroll down to find R a t i o s among the topics listed under "Company Information." (Before accessing this information, students must register with the service. Registration is free and only requires a user name, password, email address, and name.) A click on this link, after registering, brings up ratios for the company, its industry and sector, and for the S&P 500. Below the ratio comparisons, a student can click on Income S t a t e m e n t , B a l a n c e S h e e t , or Cash Flow to locate annual or quarterly financial

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

298

statements. This service also has a S i g n i f i c a n t D e v e l o p m e n t s link in the left frame, which provides a brief synopsis of events affecting the particular company. Exercise 8, in the Appendix, is an assignment based on this site.

HOW INTERNET RESOURCES HELP DEVELOP PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES Table 1 presents five of the 18 competencies from the AICPA Framework and their elements that we believe would be enhanced by students learning to use the Internet resources described in this paper (Appendix B lists all 18 competencies). The competencies are enhanced to varying extents, depending on many factors; but if students learn to use these resources, they will have developed each of these competencies to some extent. Table 1. AICPA Core Competencies Developed by Using Internet Resources. Competencies Developed

Competency Elements Identified by AICPA

#1 Leverage technology

• Accesses electronic databases to obtain decision-supporting information • Mines electronic data sources for business and industry information • Considers global consequences of human and financial resource management • Analyzes the cultural and financial impacts of moving into new markets, and expanding existing markets • Makes valid and reliable evaluations of information • Uses experience and comparison in forming opinions • Evaluates the significance of evidence or facts • Verifies information for problem definition and solution • Identifies the economic, broad business, and financial risks of the industry/sector • Communicates the financial performance of an organization's operational processes » Employs relevant research skills • Evaluates different sources of information and reconciles conflicting or ambiguous data • Identifies relevant information such as industry trends, internal performance history, benchmarks, and best practices

#2 International/global perspective

#3 Problem solving and decision making

#4 Industry/sector perspective

#5 Research

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses

299

Competency #1 is the ability to leverage technology, which requires one "to use technology tools effectively and efficiently" (AICPA Framework). The two elements listed for technology leveraging relate to the ability of professionals to obtain information from electronic databases. Clearly, students who have learned to use Internet resources to obtain annual reports and SEC filings - as required by Exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4 - are able to access "electronic databases to obtain decision-supporting information." Being able to use the Quicken and Yahoo Marketguide sites can also enhance students' ability to identify and gather data. Success in accounting today requires an international/global perspective, competency #2. An awareness that international accounting standards and accounting standards of other countries may vary widely from U.S. standards enhances accounting students' international/global perspective. The International Forum on Accountancy Development's site, which shows many of these differences, can improve students' global perspective. Being able to obtain annual reports of non-U.S. firms and comparing financial information of companies in different countries can also develop this perspective. When accessing the websites of international companies, students can find relevant information about the selected country, as well as the company. The international websites will help students to learn about other cultures and the economies of other countries, thereby enhancing their international/global perspective. Competency #3, problem solving and decision making, requires the student to evaluate and verify information and make comparisons before making a decision. A logical start to the evaluation, verification, and comparison of financial information is understanding the content of financial reports. The IBM website's "Guide to Financials" and "Anatomy of an Annual Report" are excellent resources to help students develop such an understanding. Learning to use the Internet resources that allow a decision-maker to "check it out" can also augment a student's ability to evaluate and verify information, another element of competency #3. The Quicken, Yahoo Marketguide, and the SEC filings sites provide resources for evaluating and verifying the information that firms provide to investors (for example, in earnings releases). The Quicken, Yahoo Marketguide, and the EdgarScan sites also provide tools for comparing firms to other firms and to industry standards. Knowing how to use these sites, therefore, can enhance a student's problem-solving and decision-making ability. Using Quicken and Yahoo Marketguide provides students with information about the industries and sectors in which companies operate, an element of competency #4. Therefore, students enhance their industry/sector perspective as they become able to gather and evaluate firm/industry information.

300

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

All of the resources discussed in this paper can help to develop students' research skills, competency #5. In particular, comparing the information provided by the Quicken, Yahoo Marketguide, and EdgarScan sites can enhance students' ability to evaluate different sources of information and give them experience in reconciling conflicting or ambiguous data. In addition to the competencies discussed above, using exercises similar to those provided in this paper can also give students opportunities to develop other competencies. For example, exercises involving teamwork can enhance students' interaction and communication skills. Exercises requiring students to report findings in written reports and orally can also enhance their communication skills.

SUMMARY The business community increasingly insists that graduates of accounting programs must have a broad range of competencies beyond the "textbook" knowledge that forms the basis of most accounting courses. These competencies include leveraging technology, international/global perspective, problem solving and decision-making, industry/sector perspective, and research. The Internet provides many resources for students to develop these competencies while learning to usefinancialaccounting information. These resources allow students to obtain and learn to use annual reports (of both U.S. and international firms), collect additional information needed to analyze firms' performance, and develop their higher-level learning skills while increasing their awareness of current business events and issues. We have described available Internet resources and have given detailed explanations of how to use them at a beginner's level. We also have included examples of exercises for each resource, as well as explanations of how their use will aid students in developing pre-professional competencies. We have provided some insights into the positive impacts of Internet-based active learning exercises. Future empirical research on the impact of these exercises on students' pre-professional competencies will be valuable.

REFERENCES American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1999). AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry Into the Accounting Profession. New York: AICPA. Baker. R. E., & White, C. E. (1999). Internet uses in accounting education. Journal of Accounting Education, 17,255-268.

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses

301

Cottell, P. G., & Millis, B. J. (1993). Cooperative learning structures in the instruction of accounting. Issues in Accounting Education, 8,40-59. Debreceny, R., Smith, G. S., & White, C E. (1996). Internet methodologies and the accounting curriculum: A first look. Accounting Perspectives (Spring), 107-124. Dudley, L. W., Davis, H. H., & McGrady, D. M. (2001). Using a common stock investment project to develop professional competencies in introduction to accounting. Journal of Education for Business, 76,125-131.

APPENDIX A Example Exercises Using Internet Resources (1) Have students obtain annual reports from different firms in an instructoridentified industry. At various points throughout the course, have the students compare the reporting practices of "their" companies to the textbook examples. At the end of the semester, have students submit a brief report describing what they learned from this exercise and how they would go about identifying important reporting differences between two firms they were analyzing. (2) Assign a non-U.S. listed company to each student (or student pair or team). Have students compare the content and layout of its financial statements to a comparable U.S. company's financial statements. (3) Assign each team a company from a different country. Each team must prepare a report about the company and the country. Each team member works on a different topic, i.e. the income statement (how it differs from a U.S. income statement), the balance sheet, news items related to the company, the country's economic environment, etc. The report must include a visual presentation of the financial statements. (4) The G e t t i n g S t a r t e d section of the IBM source is a wonderful resource for teamwork, lending itself particularly well to a jigsaw.1 Assign each team member a section of the annual report (such as Management Discussion or the Auditors' Report) to study with an expert learning team and then to teach it to the rest of the original team. (5) Students must find items - such as operating income or retained earnings in their financial statements and define them (using the glossary). Another variation is to give the students the definition and have them supply the term and report the amount from their own annual report. (6) Have students explain the effect of items that are disclosed in the footnotes but not reported within the financial statements. For example, how would the debt-to-equity ratio change if the present value of long-term operating lease

ROANN R. KOPEL AND LOLA W. DUDLEY

302

obligations were reported as a liability or how would earnings ratios change if the firm expensed employee stock options? (7) Have students in teams use "Stock Evaluator" to compare their companies to each other's and to the industry. For example, under "Growth Trends, students can compare growth in Revenues, Income, and Cash Hows. Under "Financial Health," students can compare Debt/Equity ratios. Based on this information, have teams decide which companies (if any) they would invest in and explain their decisions. (8) Have the students go through the "Significant Developments" for a company, select items that will be reported in thefinancialstatements, and explain their impact on financial statements.

APPENDIX B The AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES • • • • • •

Decision Modeling; Risk Analysis; Measurement; Reporting; Research; Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Functional Competencies.

PERSONAL COMPETENCIES • • • • • • •

Professional Demeanor; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Interaction; Leadership; Communication; Project Management; Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance Personal Competencies.

BROAD BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE COMPETENCIES • Strategic/Critical Thinking; • Industry/Sector Perspective; • International/Global Perspective;

A Beginner's Guide to Internet-Enhanced Financial Accounting Courses • • • •

Resource Management; Legal/Regulatory Perspective; Marketing/Client Focus; Leverage Technology to Develop and Enhance a Broad Business Perspective.

Source: AICPA website - www.aicpa.org

APPENDIX NOTE 1. In a jigsaw (Cottell & Millis, 1993, pp. 50-53) each team member is responsible for one piece of the jigsaw puzzle, i.e. part of a multi-part assignment or problem. Team members temporarily leave their permanent teams to form expert learning teams based on the piece of the jigsaw for which they are responsible. Each expert learning team makes sure that all members understand and can explain their piece of the jigsaw. At the end of the designated time, the students return to their permanent teams to teach their part of the jigsaw to their teammates.

303