Accountancy - Undergraduate Results of Assessment

Weber State University

Accountancy - Undergraduate and Graduate

Results of Assessment

2002-2003 (submitted 10/02/03)

Undergraduate Accountancy Program Report

The School of Accountancy seeks to continuously improve by assessing student, faculty, and program-related outcomes. The data derived from various assessment instruments help place meaning on the combined strengths and weaknesses of the program.

Mission & Outcomes

The undergraduate accounting program is driven by a mission that seeks to:

Provide students with an undergraduate education emphasizing the understanding and development of basic skills relating to accounting and business issues in preparation for careers in business generally and accounting specifically;
Advance knowledge in accounting and business-related disciplines through applied research, instructional improvement, and basic research;
Serve the school, college, and university, and the business and economic community.

To achieve the mission, the program engages in activities that support the following outcomes:

Knowledge Acquisition:	Students will acquire basic but comprehensive knowledge of accounting theory and practice in a curriculum consistent with AACSB standards and appropriate for entry level accounting positions at the bachelor degree level or preparation for graduate studies in accounting and related disciplines.
Critical Thinking Skills:	Students will be able to use analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills to solve accounting problems.
Communication Skills:	Students will be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing in professional accounting situations.
Information Skills:	Students will be able to use library and computer resources both to gather and present accounting information.
Interpersonal Skills:	Students will be able to interact appropriately and effectively with others in accounting settings.
Professional Values:	Students will understand standards of professional conduct and ethical issues related to accounting.
Contextual Awareness:	Students will understand political, social, and international issues related to accounting and career opportunities available in accounting.

To ensure that the program’s outcomes are appropriate and meaningful, an active advisory council of community professionals meets twice yearly to provide input to the program. The council has been particularly helpful in ensuring suitable curricular coverage.

To understand the current state of performance related to the above outcomes, the results of various assessment activities are provided below:

To gain insight into the experience of graduates at Weber State, exit surveys are conducted each year by both WSU and by the School of Accountancy. Each survey yields meaningful information pertaining to student satisfaction. This past year graduating students were asked “if you could begin again, would you attend WSU?” Over 90% of accounting students who responded indicated that they probably or definitely would attend Weber. By comparison, this measure surpasses the responses given for the overall College of Business and Economics and its other programs as depicted in the following table:

Program	Total
Accounting	90.2
College of Business	83.2
Business Administration	78.3
Information Systems	74.3
Economics	62.5

Similarly, the exit survey conducted by the School of Accountancy found that students agree that their experience in the program was pleasant and one that they would recommend. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being equivalent to “strongly agree” and 5 being “strongly disagree”, the following scores were achieved.

Exit Survey Question	2001	2003	Improvement
My overall experience in the undergraduate program in the	1.975	1.65	16.5%
School of Accountancy was very pleasant.
I would recommend the undergraduate accounting program	1.875	1.52	18.9%
to my friends.

Student Outcomes

To add detail to the overall satisfaction students experience in the program, the exit survey conducted by the School of Accountancy collects responses to 35 additional questions that can be grouped into the program’s student outcomes. The results of these questions are shown below (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being equivalent to “strongly agree” and 5 being “strongly disagree”):

Outcome/Year	Exit Survey Score
Outcome/Year	2001	2002	2003
Knowledge Acquisition:	1.900	1.885	1.710
Critical Thinking Skills:	1.625	1.485	1.835
Communication Skills:	1.913	1.970	2.130
Information Skills:	1.864	1.796	1.817
Interpersonal Skills:	1.925	1.730	2.080
Professional Values:	2.000	1.500	1.710
Contextual Awareness:	2.318	2.32	2.299

The table illustrates that the program is strong in helping students acquire knowledge, develop critical thinking and information skills as well as professional values. It is also evident from the scores and their year-to-year trends that greater emphasis needs to be placed on providing additional opportunities for students to gain contextual awareness and improve communication and interpersonal skills. In summary, students agree that the student outcomes are being met. The program will continue to assess these variables and adapt to counter unfavorable trends.

Faculty and Program Support Resources

For the purpose of improvement, the faculty and support resources of the program are assessed by students in the exit survey. Students are asked about the faculty’s availability, classroom environment, gender, religious, and ethnic biases, and respect for students. The program support staff and resources are rated in terms of availability, helpfulness, and the ability to answer questions. Faculty and program support resources were given the following favorable ratings over the past three years:

Outcome/Year	Exit Survey Score
Outcome/Year	2001	2002	2003
Faculty	2.024	1.858	1.867
Program Support Resources	2.085	1.752	2.034

Career Services

Much attention has been given to career services in the College of Business and Economics. Graduates in Accounting have reflected this emphasis in their exit survey scores. Over the past three years, scores given to questions related to career services have improved over 22% as shown below:

Outcome/Year	Exit Survey Score
Outcome/Year	2001	2002	2003
Career Services	2.798	2.583	2.17

Clearly, in 2001 career services was a concern to students. In 2003, students have improved their stance on how career services can help them. However, students leaving WSU with a baccalaureate degree in Accounting will find that salary reports show a starting salary that is over $3,700 below the regional average and over $8,500 below the nation average of $40,546. Many of the program’s baccalaureate graduates move into the Master’s of Professional Accounting program. Therefore, as they graduate and complete exit surveys they respond neutrally to questions about career services, thus yielding a lower score. They also respond to salary surveys with their current (lower) wages from internships and part-time jobs held during the bachelors program. The WSU exit survey demonstrated the intentions of accounting graduates with the following statistics:

Program	Students with a Master’s Degree as an educational goal
Accounting	72.10%
COBE	59.90%
Bus Admin	53.90%
IS&T	51.40%
Econ	37.50%

Graduate Accountancy Program Report

We had 49 students graduate in 2002-2003 (14 from the tax track; 4 from the cost/systems track; 18 from the audit/financial track, and 13 from the general track).

Currently there are 68 students enrolled in the program (27 from the tax track; 7 from the cost/systems track, 21 from the audit/financial track, and 13 from the general track). Our graduate students carried an average of 13 credit hours per semester (18 for tax, 8.5 for cost, 10 for both audit and general tracks). Class size averaged 18.5 students. The average GPA of our graduate students was 3.56.

We admitted 36 new students last year (18 for the tax track, 3 for cost/systems, 11 for audit/financial, and 4 for general). The average index for our students was 1216.

Every student in our graduate program must submit a course planner listing the specific courses in his/her program. The director must approve each student’s planner, as well as all subsequent changes. I am in the process of examining the planners to make sure all students are in compliance with the requirements for the program. I am also going to convert this information to a database format. The database will give us some flexibility in accessing information; for example, projected enrollments by semester for every course in the program.

Placement

The 2002-2003 graduates gave us the following placement information:

16 in public accounting (4 with the Big Four and 12 with local firms)
9 in private accounting
4 in government auditing
2 in other graduate programs (1 in law school; 1 in a second masters’ program)
18 unaccounted for

According to career services, the average MPAcc graduate earned $37,489 (compared to a national average of $42,533). This compares to the average salary for Utah undergraduates in accounting of $32,017 ($40,546 national average).

Placement information comes from exit interviews, career services, and faculty. Beginning this current semester, I have asked our secretary to keep a list of all students graduating from the MPAcc program and to have current employment information on every graduate. We are also undertaking a project to update our alumni records so that we have current employment information and addresses for as many alumni as possible.

Program Assessment

Assessment of the graduate program continues to be a major focus. Before this current semester, we relied on the students to come to the department secretary or faculty for advisement and feedback. Beginning this academic year, we invited all our MPAcc students to a meeting where such topics as certification, career services and campus recruiting were discussed. Next spring, we will do the same for current as well as prospective students. We will expand topic coverage to such issues as individual tracks within the program. These sessions will better inform our students regarding career opportunities in public, private, governmental, and tax accounting. These meetings will improve our assessment of the program and better equip our students to make informed decisions.

We held two meetings last year with our advisory council, one in October and one in April. Topics discussed included the department golf tournament (where alumni and students are invited), the job market, exposure of WSU students to the professional community, scholarships, fund raising and endowments. We continue to use our contacts on the advisory council to review all aspects of our program including course offerings and placement opportunities.

Each year MPAcc graduates are asked to complete an exit survey that consists of 39 questions. Survey results from academic year 2002-2003 are attached. Responses, on a five-point scale, range from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5).

The strongest areas of the program related students’ positive experience with the School of Accountancy staff, and their comfort-level regarding email and computers/software. Students generally felt positively about the program and their courses and would recommend the program to their friends. Most negative results related to the career center help in preparing students for interviews, the availability of the former graduate coordinator and other faculty. Other areas for improvement are library research, coursework related to ethical values, and faculty and staff sensitivity to student needs, especially in resolving conflicts they encounter in the program. Exit interview results will be distributed to and discussed with the faculty.

MPAcc Graduates Exit Questionnaire

2002-2003

Highest (Strongly Agree=1) to Lowest (Strongly Disagree=5)

SCORE	FACTOR	QUESTION
1.2	School of Accountancy staff were helpful	35
1.2	Feel comfortable in Accountancy office	36
1.24	Comfortable using email	12
1.36	Comfortable using computers/software in accounting	9
1.36	Faculty avoid gender biases	17
1.44	Office had needed program materials for my questions	37
1.44	I would recommend program to my friends	39
1.52	Faculty avoid ethnic biases	19
1.52	Overall experience in program was pleasant	38
1.56	Faculty respect students	20
1.6	Comfortble using electronic databases	11
1.64	Faculty avoid religious biases	18
1.68	Accounting courses contained relevant content	1
1.68	MPAcc courses--improved skills in oral communication	8d
1.76	MPAcc courses--improved skills in critical thinking	8a
1.76	MPAcc courses--improved skills in problem solving	8b
1.8	MPAcc courses--improved skills in writing	8c
1.8	Enjoyed BAP socials	29
1.88	MPAcc courses--improved skills in interpersonal skills	8g
1.88	Faculty provide comfortable classroom climate	16
1.96	Activities listed on course outlines were completed in accounting courses	5
1.96	Activities listed on course outlines were completed in non-accounting courses	6
1.96	Comfortable using library	10
1.96	Enjoyed MPAcc socials	26
1.96	BAP meetings relevant	27
2	Non-accounting courses contained relevant content	2
2	Non-accounting course outlines were followed closely	4
2	MPAcc courses--improved skills in computer literacy	8e
2.04	MPAcc courses contained information on business organization	7b
2.04	Feel welcomed at MPAcc socials	25
2.08	Accounting course outlines were followed closely	3
2.08	MPAcc courses--improved skills in library/info technology	8f
2.08	Faculty members available for office hours	14
2.08	Faculty available at times other than office hours	15
2.12	MPAcc courses contained information on legal/environmental issues	7d
2.12	MPAcc courses--improved skills in ethical values/skills	8h
2.12	Conflicts encountered in program were easily resolved	31
2.2	Career Center personnel were courteous	34
2.24	MPAcc courses contained information on political/social issues	7c
2.24	Graduate coordinator was sensitive to my needs (no influence over track)	24
2.28	Conveniently scheduled faculty office hours	13
2.32	Graduate coordinator was available	23
2.4	Graduate coordinator provided necessary counseling before admittance	21
2.48	Graduate coordinator provided necessary counseling during program	22
2.64	Career Center successfully helped me prepare for interviews	33

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