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 and give direction to improvement efforts.

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:

Assessment Methods

The School of Accountancy assesses its performance relative to its mission and stated outcomes by interacting with its advisory council, conducting exit surveys, and this year by reviewing the relevance of the Masters of Accountancy program through the use of questionnaires, surveys, and at least 10 focus groups.

Assessment Results and Implications

Advisory Council: 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’s input has given direction on curriculum, fund raising and student/professional interaction.

Program Review:  In addition, a committee of five accounting faculty have conducted a review of the Masters of Professional Accountancy program by conducting surveys and focus groups of recent graduates, alumni, and accounting community constituents.  The masters program is seen as one of the customers of the undergraduate accounting program.  Therefore, the review of the masters program has provided insight into potential areas of improvement in the undergraduate program, specifically, technology skills, research skills, career services, ethics teaching, and advisement. 

Exit Surveys:  To understand the current state of performance related to the program’s outcomes and to gain insight into the experience of graduates at Weber State, exit surveys are completed each year by the School of Accountancy’s graduates.  Each year, the surveys yield meaningful information pertaining to student opinion.  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”).

 

 

2004 Results – Student Outcomes:  

To add detail to the overall satisfaction students experience in the program, the exit survey collects responses to 33 additional questions that can be grouped into the program’s student outcomes. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

The table illustrates that the program is strong in helping students acquire knowledge, develop critical thinking and information skills.  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 improve communication and interpersonal skills and gain contextual awareness and as well as improve professional values.  In summary, students agree that the student outcomes are being met, however, differences among the variables suggest that program improvement, as always, is needed.  The program will continue to assess these variables and adapt to counter unfavorable trends.

2004 Results – 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 four years:
 

 

 

 

2004 Results - Career Services: 

Graduates in Accounting have reflected some neutrality toward career services on their survey scores. 

 

 

Clearly, in 2001 career services was a concern to students, and thus to faculty and administration.  In 2003, students improved their stance on how career services helped them.  However, students leaving WSU in 2004 offered a survey score that suggests a need to look at the way these services are made available to students.  One possible explanation for the lower score is that with a baccalaureate degree in Accounting, students will find that salary reports show a starting salary that is nearly $3,700 below the regional average and over $6,800 below the national average of $41,306.  Many of the program’s baccalaureate graduates move into the Master’s of Professional Accounting program (In the Fall of 2004, 47 (73%) of the 64 masters students are from WSU’s undergraduate program).  Therefore, as they graduate with a baccalaureate degree and complete exit surveys they respond neutrally to questions about career services, thus yielding a lower score.

Mission Statement / Student Learning Outcomes / Curriculum Grid / Assessment Plan / Contact Person