The School of Accountancy seeks to continuously improve by assessing student, faculty, and program-related outcomes.  The following information is provided to describe the efforts over the past year by faculty and staff to assess the effectiveness of the program’s mission, goals, and learning outcomes.

Mission

After lengthy review of the mission statement for the School of Accountancy, the following was adopted by faculty in January, 2006:

The School of Accountancy creates a synergy between accounting, business, and economic theory and contemporary practice to prepare working professionals and full-time students for careers in a global, culturally diverse, information-driven economy.  Three principles are central to our mission:

• Education – The first, and foremost, is fostering learning through excellent teaching, individual attention, and scholarship, which develops, assesses, and disseminates good practice.

• Research – The second is the application of theory to practice through applied research and scholarship, and the utilization of applied research to further learning in the classroom and through co-curricular activities.

• Community – The third is advancing contemporary practice and creating learning opportunities by contributing to the accounting profession and to business and the community.

Likewise, the following program goals were adopted by faculty in January, 2006:

Goals

• Engage in a regular planning process, regularly review the mission of the School of Accountancy, establish goals, and allocate resources in accordance with the plan.
• Attract undergraduate students consistent with the University Mission and attract Master of Accounting students with outstanding academic and leadership potential.
• Continuously improve curricula and assess student learning.
• Foster professionalism, student placement, and cultivate employer relations.
• Advance the ability of faculty to publish and present intellectual contributions in accordance with Goddard School guidelines.
• Obtain external support and attain recognition for the School of Accountancy.

With a stable program mission statement and associated goals, the faculty could begin work, in an integrated effort, to achieve the goal to “continuously improve curricula and assess student learning.”

Historically, most of our reported assessment results have been based upon instruments (exit surveys) that measure how students feel about the program, rather than on what they actually have learned.  So, in the Spring of 2006, the faculty followed a rigorous schedule to clarify student learning outcomes, to conduct primary trait analysis on five of the outcomes, and to establish measures and rubrics for learning activities that support the outcomes.  The result would be the collection of data that reports on what students have learned in the program, rather than simply what they feel about the program.

The following student learning outcomes were adopted in January, 2006:

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates from the School of Accountancy will:

• Have mastered the key competencies1 of the accounting profession.
  • The professional role played by accountants in society providing and ensuring the relevance and integrity of financial and other information;
  • The ethical and regulatory environment for accountants;
  • Business processes, analysis, and decision making;
  • Internal controls and security;
  • Risk assessment and assurance for financial and non-financial reporting;
  • Recording, analysis, and interpretation of accounting data for decision making;
  • Project and engagement management;
  • Design and application of technology to financial and non-financial information management;
  • Tax policy, law, and compliance for individuals and enterprises.
• Be given opportunities to communicate orally and in writing in professional situations and to participate in group learning.
• Use library, Internet, and research databases as resources to gather information.
• Understand relevant political, economic, social, and international issues in the accounting profession.

1 AACSB Accounting Accreditation Standards

The following describes the current state of assessment in the School of Accountancy to establish and maintain an assessment environment, as of early Fall, 2006.

Guiding Principles and Assumptions

• Reporting on Assurance of Learning is not a repeatable process
• No baseline measure currently exists depicting what students know.  Therefore, evidence of improvement cannot exist.
• Need full faculty involvement (ongoing)

1. Curriculum grid mapped to learning outcomes (Completed, Fall, 2003)
2. The School’s mission and goals were refined (Completed Summer, 05)
3. Learning outcomes were refined (Completed Summer, 05)
4. Good data from exit surveys (Completed annually)
   1. Exit surveys report opinions on overall program performance.
   2. They don’t capture definitive data on what students know about accounting.
5. Gather information on current assessment activities linked to learning outcomes (Competed Spring, 2006)
6. Finalize Mission, Program Goals, and Learning Outcomes (Completed Spring, 06)
7. Revisit Curriculum Grid to map finalized outcomes to courses (Completed Spring, 06)
8. Map outcomes to courses based on three variables (Completed Spring, 06).
   1. Introduced
   2. Emphasized
   3. Reinforced
9. Make Mission/Goals/Outcomes and Grid available to students/public (Completed Fall, 06)
10. Conduct primary trait analysis for five learning outcomes (Completed Spring, 06)
11. Develop and/or refine rubrics to measure students’ performance on five outcomes (Completed Spring, 06)
    1. Coordinate learning activities across sections and across the curriculum
    2. Share rubrics with students and faculty
12. Implement assessment in the classroom to gather data and documentation to establish a baseline measure of student performance on the outcomes developed in Spring, 2006. (Fall, 06).
13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 for three additional outcomes (2007).

Assessment Results and Implications – Developing Direct Assessment

As a result of faculty involvement in assessment during the Spring semester of 2006, the learning outcomes in the below were refined and more fully developed through primary trait analysis (PTA).  From the PTA activities, it was determined when the skills would be introduced, emphasized, and reinforced across the curriculum.   Additionally, the learning activities were defined that would be used to deliver the desired outcomes to students.  For the learning activities, faculty developed rubrics for measuring student performance according to the learning outcomes.  During the Fall of 2006, data will be collected to determine a baseline measure describing what students know about each outcome.

Learning Outcome: 

“Internal Controls and security”

Primary Traits:

Document accounting processes,

Document accounting controls,

Evaluate control risk assessment, and

Understand information security concepts.

Course Assessment Points:  Accounting 2010, 3750, MAcc 6570, & IS&T 3110

Assessment Path	Introduce	Emphasize	Reinforce
Document accounting processes	Acctg 3750:		MAcc 6570:
	In-Focus Project: Prepare a flowchart of Revenue-A/R Cycle		Reviewed expenditure and revenue cycle IT controls; identified and documented related IT controls
Document accounting controls	Acctg 2010:	Acctg 3750:	MAcc 6570:
	Bank Reconciliation Exam Questions on controls and segregation of duties	1.      Use flowchart to identify & document actual control points. 2.      Document controls that should be in place.	Used revenue and expenditure cycle flowcharts to reinforce concepts for general and application controls.  Applied knowledge of basic access controls during student project/audit.
Evaluate control risk assessment	Acctg 3750:	Acctg 3750:	MAcc 6570:
	Management Assertions Activity	Apply concepts to complete a controls risk assessment.	Completed a risk assessment of IT controls as part of a student project/audit of real-world entity.
Understand information security concepts	IS&T 3110	MAcc 6570 Learned basic information security concepts, access controls, password controls and basic encryption/Public Key Infrastructure concepts.  Reviewed security for Windows and UNIX operating systems. Applied concepts during student project/audit of real-world entity
	Information Security Exam Questions

Learning Outcome: 

“Recording, analysis, and interpretation of accounting data for decision making.”

Primary Trait #1: Recording: Preparation of original, adjusting, and closing journal entries, posting to the general ledger, utilizing the worksheet, and preparing financial statements.

Primary Trait #2: Analysis: Understanding ratios and trends based on accounting data.

Primary Trait #3: Interpretation: Evaluation of the analysis of accounting data.

Course Assessment Points: Accounting 2010, 2020, 3110, 3500, MAcc 6120 & 6160, Fin 3200

Assessment Path	Introduce	Emphasize	Reinforce
Recording	Acctg 2010:	Acctg 3110:	MAcc 6120
	Accounting Cycle problem in Excel and/or common final exam problem	Pre-Test & Rockford Practice Set	Case-Based Projects
Analysis	Acctg 2020:	Acctg 3500:	MAcc 6160:
	Ratio analysis exam	F/S Analysis Project	F/S Analysis Project
Interpretation	Fin 3200:	Acctg 3500:	MAcc 6160:
	Skills Tests	F/S Analysis Project	F/S Analysis Project

Learning Outcome: 

“Risk Assessment and assurance for financial and non-financial reporting”

Primary Traits: Students will understand

1. Audit risk model and components

2. Control risk, and

3. Detection risk.

Course Assessment Points:  Accounting 4510, MAcc 6560 

Assessment Path	Introduce	Emphasize	Reinforce
Audit risk model and components	Acctg 4510:	Acctg 4510:	MAcc 6560:
	Examination	Test of Transactions & Balances program	TBD
Control risk	Acctg 4510:	Acctg 4510:	MAcc 6560:
	Examination	Test of Transactions Programs (1 & 2)	TBD
Detection risk.	Acctg 4510:	Acctg 4510:	MAcc 6560:
	Examination	Test of Balances Program	TBD

Learning Outcome: 

“Tax policy, law, and compliance for individuals and enterprises.”

Primary Traits: Students will understand

1. Public policy underlying federal tax laws
2. Federal laws applicable to individuals, C-Corps, S-Corps, & Partnerships/LLCs.
3. Key forms necessary for completing federal tax returns

Course Assessment Points:  Accounting 3400, 5440, MAcc 6460

Assessment Path	Introduce	Emphasize	Reinforce
Public policy underlying federal tax laws	Acctg 3400:	Acctg 5440:	MAcc 6460:
	Examination	Examination	Examination
Federal laws applicable to individuals, C-corps, S-corps, & Partnerships/LLCs.	Acctg 3400: Examination	Acctg 5440:	MAcc 6460 (Corporations): Exam/Paper
	Acctg 5440: Examination	Examination	MAcc 6470 (Partnerships): Exam/Paper  MAcc 6430 (Individuals): Exam/Paper
Key forms necessary for completing federal tax returns	Acctg 3400:	Acctg 5440:	MAcc 6460:
	Individual Tax compliance exam	S-Corp, C-Corp, & Partnership Returns	S-Corp & C-Corp Returns

Learning Outcome:

“Use library, Internet, and research databases as resources to gather information.”

Primary Trait #1:  Students will be able to find, access, and use sources of information stored in both physical and electronic forms.

Primary Trait #2:  Students will be able to evaluate, use, and cite media that are relevant to course content.

Assessment Points – Four Paths

Assessment Path	Relevant Skills	Introduce	Emphasize		Reinforce
General Accounting Research Skills	Library navigation, ABI Inform, Edgar	Acctg 3500: Research Paper			MAcc 6160: Case-based research paper
Financial Accounting	FARS FASB.org	Acctg 3110: FARS & FASB Research assignment	Acctg 3120: Case-based research paper	MAcc 6120: Case-based research paper
Auditing	PCAOB SAS SEC	Acctg 4510: MC Exam Questions	MAcc 6560: SEC, Edgar, SAS Project
Taxation	RIA Checkpoint	MAcc 6400: Three research papers of increasing complexity to introduce, emphasize, and reinforce.

 

Assessment Results and Implications – Indirect Assessment

Advisory Council: To ensure that the program’s outcomes are appropriate and meaningful, an active advisory council of accounting community professionals met twice last year, in October and April.  Key agenda items were the School of Accountancy’s assurance of learning efforts and accreditation status, computer software used in industry, Meet the Firms on the Golf Course, discussion of the School’s mission, goals, and learning outcomes, Career Services, and scholarship money.

Meet-the-Firms:  Another form of assessment is the level of participation by firms in the annual Meet-the-Firms night.  In the Fall of 2005, 28 firms participated, of which 13 were public Accounting firms, with another five from government accounting.  Many students attended the event to network and begin or continue the process of finding a job in the profession.  Feedback from firms was received on ways to improve the night and improve the students’ preparation for the evening. 

Meet-the-Firms on the Golf Course: During the Fall of 2005, 20 firms sent representatives to the golf outing, including 4 national and 11 local/regional firms.  Forty students attended.

The level of participation in these two events by the firms in the region suggests that they find the WSU Accounting program to have sufficient quality to warrant their recruiting efforts.

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”).

2006 Results – Overall Satisfaction: The 2006 exit survey found that students continue to 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.

Undergraduate Students

Exit Survey Question	Baseline: 2001	2005	2006
My overall experience in the undergraduate program in the	1.975	1.76	1.69
School of Accountancy was very pleasant.
I would recommend the undergraduate accounting program	1.875	1.55	1.58
to my friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduate Students 
 

Exit Survey Question	2006
My overall experience in the MAcc program was very pleasant.	1.66
I would recommend the MAcc program to my friends	1.59

            Undergraduate Students

Outcome/Year	Exit Survey Scores
	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Knowledge Acquisition:	1.900	1.885	1.710	1.735	1.89	1.82
Critical Thinking Skills:	1.625	1.485	1.835	1.780	1.80	1.68
Information Skills:	1.864	1.796	1.817	1.854	1.98	1.98
Professional Values:	2.000	1.500	1.710	2.050	2.00	1.85
Communication Skills:	1.913	1.970	2.130	2.105	2.54	2.16
Contextual Awareness:	2.162	2.187	2.213	2.204	2.18	2.10
Interpersonal Skills:	1.925	1.730	2.080	2.210	2.24	2.19

 

 

 

The table illustrates that the students’ perception of the program is strong in helping students acquire knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, information skills, and professional values.  It is also evident from the scores and their year-to-year trends that further emphasis needs to be placed on providing additional opportunities for students to improve communication and interpersonal skills and gain contextual awareness.  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. It is important that direct measures be implemented to assess what students know to validate what they think they know.

Graduate Students

Outcome/Year  (Sorted by 2004 scores)	Exit Survey Scores
	2006
Knowledge Acquisition:	1.73
Critical Thinking Skills:	1.66
Information Skills:	1.71
Professional Values:	1.79
Communication Skills:	1.67
Contextual Awareness:	2.32
Interpersonal Skills:	1.97