Annual Report - Accounting

Program Goals  

In addition to the competencies required for Associate of Science degrees, the Accounting Program includes the following outcomes:

  1. Perform basic accounting tasks and maintain accurate accounting systems including the preparation of financial statements.
  2. Use appropriate software to complete accounting/bookkeeping tasks.
  3. Access, analyze, and interpret information to make judgments and to solve business problems.
  4. Practice within the legal and ethical parameters of the profession
  5. Interact with customers, vendors, and co-workers in ways that effectively support the work to be accomplished and customer satisfaction.
  6. Organize, prioritize, and perform work tasks to meet deadlines
  7. Write clear and accurate business documents.
  8. Set personal career goals and plan strategies for achieving them.

Program Description

The Accounting Program at Leeward Community College offers three credentials: Certificate of Completion (12 or 15 credits), Certificate of Achievement (32 credits) and Associate of Applied Science degree (60 credits).

Both the Certificate of Achievement (32 credits) and the Associate in Applied Science degree (60 credits) programs are designed to prepare the student for entry-level accounting positions in accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, inventory, bookkeeping, and other related fields. It emphasizes students' development in the areas of analytical knowledge, communication skills, and computer applications. The accounting programs provide solid foundations for any business career in government and private industry. In order to obtain an accounting certificate or degree, students must pass all required accounting courses with a grade of "C" or better.

The Accounting Program also offers a Certificate of Completion in Small Business Accounting for the student who wishes to quickly acquire accounting knowledge to be applied in a new or continuing small business. This certificate can be earned by attending live or online classes.

Currently the Accounting Program utilizes five full-time faculty and several part-time lecturers to teach approximately 30 classes each semester. All instructors and lecturers have a master's degree. More than half of the instructors and lecturers also have earned their CPA license.

An advisory board is consulted annually to ensure curriculum and courses are current and relevant to employer needs.

Assessment of Program SLOs

SLO 2 and 3 - Associate in Applied Science, Accounting; Course: ACC 155
Results:
All students earned 50%, or 2.51 on a 5-point scale.

Analysis:
The faculty members were disappointed in the results of this assessment.   We did question whether the expectation was appropriate for the course.   At a system-wide meeting other accounting faculty confirmed that our expectation was too high for this course.   It was also agreed that additional focus would be placed on financial statement analysis in preceding accounting classes to better prepare students.

Plan:
In future semesters, we will focus on students' ability to calculate ratios as a primary outcome.   We will also provide more specific instructions regarding what students are expected to do.   Additional time will also be spent reviewing financial statement analysis concepts before the project is assigned.

Faculty members would also like to see additional support of accounting program students.   Past results have shown that accounting program students complete the AAS degree at a higher rate with focused counseling support.

Budget Impact
ACC 155 utilizes Microsoft Excel for spreadsheet assignments. Continued funding of the MS(r) Excel software would be required for this course to continue. Actual cost would be a software license agreement for MS Office for at least one computer lab. Currently, the campus funds all computer labs and faculty computers for MS Office. No additional cost is needed at this time.

Focused counseling support may or may not require an additional cost. Training of current counselors, or specifying one counselor to become knowledgeable of our programs, would not require additional funding. Re-instituting a previous program of faculty advising would require funding for assigned time. Assigned time could cost between $1,372 and $5,019 depending rank and number of credit hours of assigned time given.

SLO 1 and 6 - Certificate of Achievement, Accounting; Courses: ACC 124, 201, 132
Results:
ACC 124/201 - Students answered the questions correctly 72% of the time.

Analysis:
Faculty members would like to see students earn 100% on basic accounting concepts. Results of this analysis indicate that additional work is needed in this area.

Plan:
Faculty members will be encouraged to emphasize the basic accounting concepts in the introductory classes. We would also like to have accounting tutors to assist students with these difficult concepts.

Budget Impact
The only action item that requires funding is the cost of accounting tutors.   An accounting tutor will cost between $1,500 and $3,000.

Results:
ACC 132 - Students earned an average score of 81%

Analysis:
Results indicate that students were able to satisfactorily complete a general excise tax return.   However, after reviewing the results of this assessment, faculty members determined that the general excise tax project was not a representative assessment for this course.   The majority of time in this course is focused on payroll accounting, and the manual payroll accounting project better assesses student learning.

Plan:
Faculty members decided to create a different assessment tool for the student learning outcome. The assessment will focus on the manual payroll project which better represents the learning outcomes for this course.

Budget Impact:
None

Overall Program Analysis

The program demand is healthy. The Accounting program has been showing stability in number of majors, student semester hours and student registrations. There is strong interest in the accounting classes, and the faculty continues to look for ways to enhance current courses with technology and other relevant classroom tools.

The faculty continues to offer more courses through the Internet to meet increased demand for alternate delivery methods. Students continue to request access to courses through the Internet, and the faculty has responded with additional courses. By Spring 2006, all required accounting courses will be offered via the Internet.

The program efficiency is healthy.   The faculty has continued to schedule courses to best meet student demand.   Internet classes are offered as an alternative for students who cannot take classes scheduled during the day.   If a course appears to be low-enrolled, immediate action is taken to modify the delivery method or cancel the course.

There is also an effort to hire only the most qualified lecturers to ensure quality instruction.   All faculty members continue to participate in professional development and peer evaluations to improve instructional performance.   A concentrated effort has been made to enhance student learning in all accounting classes.

Program effectiveness is considered unhealthy. We believe students are well-prepared to enter the workforce after participating in our program; however, students continue to leave the program early to start work before receiving their credentials.   The low unemployment rate in Hawai'i continues to lure students into the workforce without completing their credentials.   The need for accounting skills remains strong; however, getting students to complete our programs is difficult.   It is our goal to increase the graduation rate to a more acceptable level for our student population as well as to look for other programs we can offer to provide the needed skills in a more timely manner.  

Future Plans

Accounting has been selected as an "in-demand" major on college campuses. (Source: AccountingWeb.com and Job Outlook 2005 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.) Additionally, statistics from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations indicate accounting positions will be growing through 2012.  

The Accounting Program continues to look for ways to meet the demand through new shorter certificate programs at Leeward.   We are currently creating an Academic Subject Certificate in Accounting to give liberal arts students the opportunity to learn accounting skills while earning their Associate of Arts degree.   This certificate will be in addition to the three credential programs already offered.   We are also looking at how to create more flexibility in our course offerings by modularizing classes and/or offering non-credit options.   These areas will be a focus in the coming years.

In an effort to improve student learning outcomes for our program and courses, we are currently participating in system-wide efforts to standardized student learning outcomes.   Part of this effort includes increased assessment and analysis of how well we are meeting the needs of the students.   This increased effort should provide us with additional information regarding how to further market our program and how to improve the retention and graduation rates of our students.  

The faculty members also continue to look for ways to enhance course delivery through increased use of technology.   We are currently looking at adding pod casting and video streaming capabilities to our online classes.   Many of the faculty members also utilize an online homework manager application that allows students to practice accounting problems on their own.   The homework manager provides feedback as the student works through the problems.

Finally, to achieve a higher student success rate in our classes as well as to improve the completion rate of credential programs, the division is looking to enhance current advising and counseling programs to better service our students.   It is our goal to have division-specific advising and counseling to ensure our students receive quality information about our programs.   We also want to ensure that students are aware of support services that are available such as learning resources and tutoring to further improve student success in our classes.

Program Articulations

The Accounting Program articulates with University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu. Most of our courses articulate with the community colleges within the University of Hawai'i system.   Additionally, ACC 201/202 and ACC 124/125/126 articulate with University of Hawai'i - Manoa.   Finally, we also have course articulations with Hawai'i Pacific University.

Advisory Board

 

Contact Us | Updated on July 2, 2006 | ©2006 Leeward Community College