Colleges and universities historically have ignored the capital costs associated with institutional administration in their estimates of overall and per-student costs. This neglect leads to distortion of data, misunderstandings, and uninformed decision making. The real costs should be recognized in institutional accounting. (MSE)

In response to high attrition in accounting courses, Hudson Valley Community College began a "late start" program for students otherwise inclined to drop or fail the course, in which students can begin again up to four weeks after the semester is under way, at no cost. Results have been encouraging. (MSE)

An effort to enhance quality and efficiency at the University of Florida was designed to produce quick results without involving many employees and focused on the accounts payable department. Flowcharting identified inefficiencies and pinpointed opportunities for improvement in labor-intensive processes, mailings, check registers, reports,…

Accounting graduates must be able to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas. Ethics should be taught frequently and in short doses, using such methods as videotapes, discussions of current events, and cases of real company practices. (SK)

The CO/OP (founded in 1973 as the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials Cooperative Corporation) has created and produced administrative software for schools. Describes two areas in which software can increase revenue and provide protection for personnel: (1) invoice/accounts receivable for the rental of school space; and (2) an…

In an accounting class in which 25% of grades were derived from group work, students completed peer evaluations. Regression analyses revealed that accounting majors and students with higher grade point averages received higher peer evaluations. Higher group homework and class participation grades were associated with higher peer evaluations. (SK)

A study of undergraduate accounting students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore) determined that the examination scores of students using an Internet site as an adjunct to learning in a financial accounting course were superior to those of students who did not and that scores for students who had previously failed the course were significantly…

To be useful for management decision making, the college or university's cost accounting system must capture and measure improvements. Activity-based costing (ABC), which determines more accurately the full costs of services and products, tracks improvements and should proceed alongside reengineering of institutional accounting. Guidelines are…

In late 1994, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new rules applicable to issuers of municipal securities (including school districts) concerning disclosure to the investment community. Describes how SEC's existing Rule 15c2-12 has been implemented. Discusses its purpose, jurisdiction, obligated persons, written…

Offers suggestions for more effective teaching of the first course of accounting in terms of time, content, and process. Suggests the use of visual aids and the concepts approach. (Contains 18 references.) (JOW)

Less than 5 percent of charter schools have been shut down nationwide. Charter school advocates say closings prove that accountability measures already present in law and in practice are working. Critics counter that closings often reveal that more oversight is needed. Discusses fiscal mismanagement and the need for training. Summarizes…

This paper presents a bidding strategy that may be incorporated into case-intensive courses. The purpose of the bidding process is to equitably distribute credit when students are assigned cases of differing degrees of difficulty. The paper also collects data to help answer a basic research question regarding this device: Is there evidence of…

Recent scandals have tarnished the integrity of the accounting profession, marking it with a modern version of the scarlet letter "A," which represented disgrace in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." In this study, the authors surveyed college business students on their perceptions of the accounting profession and examined how it can…

Students struggle with the subject of secured transactions under the Uniform Commercial Code. In this article, the author presents a method that uses balance-sheet information to help students visualize the difference between secured and unsecured creditors. The balance sheet is also used in the Uniform Commercial Code process, in which one must…

Framed by the accounting education change debate and growing national concern regarding student attrition, this paper examines the perceptions of first-year students as they commence their study of accounting at an Irish university. It explores a range of factors which impact on students' learning: their motives for entering higher education,…