Donald Miller

A Survey of Assessment Practices in Accounting Departments of Colleges and Universities.

Abstract This study reports the results of a 1999 survey of 164 chairs of accounting departments at institutions of higher education in the United States. It identifies assessment tools/techniques used by accounting departments, describes the focus of assessment processes, and reports how the outcomes of assessment activities were used. Institutions that awarded the doctorate degree had the most concern about meeting their responsibility to the public and to students. At schools accredited by the AACSB—The International Association for Management Education—accounting departments considered planning to be a purpose of assessment to a significantly greater extent than departments at schools accredited by other associations. At institutions accredited by the Association of Collegiate and Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), assessment results were used for instructional changes to a significantly greater extent than at departments accredited by the AACSB or by regional accreditation associations.

Business Communication Skills in Information Systems (IS) Curricula: Perspectives of IS Educators and Students

As the importance of communication skills for students, regardless of their disciplines, becomes evident, it is important to determine whether colleges provide students with adequate opportunities to acquire such skills. The authors compared information systems (IS) educator and student perceptions of communication skills in IS curricula. Gender, discipline, position and student classification, and school size were among the variables that were examined. Results showed that educators and students agreed that IS curricula had the appropriate emphasis on many of the communication skills. However, the two groups significantly differed on their extent of agreement or disagreement with appropriate level of emphasis and the number of courses that cover such communication skills. Results revealed that educators felt there were a few communication skills, such as proofreading, listening, facilitating meetings, and using interpersonal skills with external customers and management, that needed more emphasis in the IS curriculum. Implications for educators and researchers are reported.

Personal Finance Education in Recessionary Times

The authors report the status of personal financial education in light of the recent economic crisis from the perspective of secondary school business teachers. Results showed that in the state of Kansas, 20% of the schools required a personal finance course prior to high school graduation, with 12% considering such a requirement. The recession has had a small but positive impact on personal finance enrollments and graduation requirements. Overall, 20% of the schools in this state were not complying with the state mandate to teach financial literacy. The demographic similarities between Kansas and the rest of the United States suggest a widespread need for additional financial literacy education.

Assessment at AACSB Schools: A Survey of Deans.

The purpose of this research was to document the extent to which Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)–accredited business schools have implemented strategies to improve students’ ability to achieve program learning objectives. Assessment of academic programs is increasingly important at AACSB schools. Compliance with changing accreditation requirements and continuous improvement necessitated revision of assessment methods and modification of programs. Deans at 91 AACSB schools participated in this research. Communication skills were the most-assessed competency. Mandating increased coverage of specific skills or topics across the curriculum was the most frequent change made as a result of assessment. Further studies will be needed to track this dynamic activity.