Do You Want To Teach? AAA To Hold Conf On Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA) Aug. 1-2, 2009
May 20, 2009
FEI Summary
Have you ever thought about teaching accounting at the college level? Would you like to help instill practical insights into the college curriculum? Did you put the dream of teaching aside because you thought only those with Ph.D.'s could teach? If that's the case, you may not be aware that colleges today encourage a diverse faculty pool, including professors who hold Ph.D.s and are deemed Academically Qualified (AQ) to teach, as well as some professors who do not hold a Ph.D. but have substantial experience in accounting or finance, and are deemed Professionally Qualified (PQ) to teach.
A practical, hands-on session for those interested in (or currently) teaching, called the Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA), sponsored by the American Accounting Association (AAA) - the professional association for accounting professors - will take place on Sat., Aug. 1 - Sun., Aug. 2, in New York City. This is the second annual CTLA and like last year, is being held in conjunction with AAA's annual meeting (Aug. 1-5) in NYC. Separate registration for CTLA is required and space is limited; early registration is encouraged.
UPDATE: The pre-registration deadline is July 20; any questions, contact Deirdre Harris deirdre@aaahq.org.
CTLA is designed for those interested in teaching accounting -- whether they are just beginning to teach, experienced faculty or experienced practitioners in accounting or finance who do not hold a Ph.D., but are interested in potentially becoming PQ faculty. The CTLA program provides a cost-effective way to learn about teaching from master teachers and leaders in the profession. CTLA was developed by, and is co-chaired by, Dr. Susan Crosson, Professor at Santa Fe College, and Dr. Kevin Stocks, Director of the School of Accountancy in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University; Stocks was recently selected as President-Elect of AAA.
Why Teach Accounting?
There are a number of reasons why FEI members and their staff and colleagues may be interested in teaching at the college level. Here are just a few:
· a longstanding interest in teaching;
· a desire to give back to the community by supporting education;
· a desire to help equip today's college students with practical knowledge, taught from the perspective of experience in the field and potentially identify new hires for your firm;
· to help offset the growing shortage of Ph.D.s in accounting; and/or
· to explore a potential new career or second career, whether you are presently working, in transition between jobs, retired or thinking about retirement.
FEI Members Previts, Moyer on CTLA
Listen to what FEI member Dr. Gary J. Previts, has to say about CTLA. Previts, the E. Mandell deWindt Professor of Industrial Economics and Professor of Accountancy in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, is immediate Past President of AAA, the professional association for accounting educators, and is a long-standing member of FEI. Previts speaks about the potential value of the CTLA program to financial executives: "CTLA is a two-day resource meeting where participants can:
1. Begin to establish a national network among academics and practitioners interested in teaching accounting;
2. Gain fundamental knowledge about today’s academic environment;
3. Learn what is unchanged and what is dynamic in the curriculum of today (It’s not your curriculum from college days!); and
4. Acquire a sense of learning technologies, and how they are applied in the classroom."
Further, continues Previts, "the session is cost effective and time effective. Probably nowhere else in the country is so much accomplished in such a short time."
Another incentive to attend CTLA: the two day session, offered on the weekend, offers 16 continuing professional education credits. Additional CPE is available for those who attend the AAA Annual Meeting Aug. 1-5; separate registration is required as noted below.
Previts also chaired the Subcommittee on Human Capital of the U.S. Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (
ACAP). A number of recommendations issued by his subcommittee relate directly and indirectly to increasing the level of participation of experienced professionals from the fields of accounting and finance (i.e. Professionally Qualified or PQ faculty) alongside traditional faculty with PhDs (i.e. Academically Qualified or AQ faculty). These recommendations, as shown in ACAPs final report,
include:
· Reflect real world changes in the business environment more rapidly in teaching materials.
· Require that schools build into accounting curricula current market developments.
· Improve the representation and retention of minorities in the auditing profession so as to enrich the pool of human capital in the profession.
· Increase the supply of accounting faculty through public and private funding and raise the number of professionally qualified faculty that teach on campuses.
· Emphasize the utility and effectiveness of cross-sabbaticals. [NOTE: Cross-sabbaticals are, in essense, exchange programs developed by a particular school and an employer, in which a professor and an experienced professional change places for a set period of time, such as one to two years, during which time each participant can contribvute to and learn from being in the other participant's environment, e.g. exposure to the latest academic research and attitudes of students and other professors; or exposure to practical challenges and the latest practices in the work environment.]
FEI member Mark D. Moyer also speaks highly of AAA's programs aimed at introducing professionals to teaching. Moyer attended the predecessor program to CTLA, then-called the PQ program, in August, 2007. At the time, Moyer served as CFO of Ziff Davis Media. In October, 2008, Moyer became CFO of the Institute of International Education (IIE).
We asked Moyer if his experience in the AAA PQ program has prompted him to take a first step at teaching a course at the college level, or if it played an indirect role perhaps in his recent career move.
Moyer notes, "I do think my desire to move towards teaching was part of the reason that the IIE role was of interest to me. I also thought some experience in the not-for-profit world would be another credential to bring to the classroom in the event I did finally start teaching."
How was the PQ program (now expanded as the CTLA program) of value, we asked Moyer. He responded: “I found the PQ program (now expanded as the CTLA program) to reinforce my interest in teaching and am looking forward to attending the new CTLA program."
He adds, "Since participating in the PQ program, I have taken my career closer to the education field in two ways: (1) I am now CFO for the Institute of International Education (www.iie.org, an independent nonprofit founded in 1919 which manages over 250 international educational exchange and training programs for governments and corporations, foremost of which is the Fulbright Program for the U.S. Department of State), and (2) I have accepted an adjunct appointment for one course commencing this fall at Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. I am looking forward to it and will be using part of my summer to develop my teaching materials."
Moyer adds: "I would certainly recommend accounting professionals who are even considering teaching at some level and at some future date to consider attending the CTLA program.”
Overview of CTLA Program
Following is a general outline of the CTLA program planned for Sat., Aug. 1-Sun., Aug. 2, 2009 in New York City. There may be some adjustments from the general outline below.
Saturday, August 1
· Registration and Continental Breakfast
· Morning Workshop for New Teaching Faculty and Practitioners Interested in Teaching
o “Life in Academia, Faculty Career Options, Accreditation, and Future Trends”
Gain an overview of academics, academic life, teaching responsibilities, the role of faculty citizenship, business research and academic research, money and the academy, tenure, and the tenure process. Learn about accreditation, when business and accounting disciplinary accreditation matter, how at some institutions faculty positions may be called either PQ (Professionally Qualified) or AQ (Academically Qualified), keeping active status as a faculty member, and future trends in education.
o “Panel Discussion—Experiences, Insights, and Advice of AQ and PQ Faculty”
The panel session will provide career paths and insights about becoming successful faculty members from current profession-centered faculty.
· Teaching Keynote at Lunch
· Over 20 Craft of Teaching afternoon sessions featuring how-to teach tips and techniques for teaching on campus, online, and hybrid courses, as well as sessions on accounting and technology hot topics.
· Effective Teaching Practices Poster Forum at Lunch and the Reception where master faculty discuss how they teach their accounting courses.
· CTLA Reception
Sunday August 2
· Teaching with Technology Morning CPE
Four 100 minute concurrent sessions provide a hands-on primer for CTLA participants to effectively blend web-based and electronic-based resources with paper-based ones to create a robust and meaningful course. Topics include creating audio and video podcasts, using Camtasia, WIMBA, and tablet computers to teach; and using student preferred technologies like iPhones, Twitter, Second Life, and YouTube to make the teaching/learning connection.
· Preparing for Class Afternoon CPE
A small-group working session where CTLA participants will develop their own course materials, i.e., syllabus, course calendar, assignments, and exams. Cohort groups will be formed by course, i.e., Financial, Managerial, Intermediate, Advanced, Tax, AIS, Audit, or International. Session will provide a review of best practices and mentoring opportunities by experienced faculty. Participants are encouraged to bring their USB drives, laptops, course description, textbook, old course materials and school calendar.
· Or, select one of the above and one of the half-day AAA Annual Meeting CPEs listed here.
· Opportunity to join the Early Bird Reception
Registration
CTLA participants are encouraged to stay for the 2009 AAA Annual Meeting and Career Fair, which takes place Aug. 1-5 in New York, but registering for the full Annual Meeting is optional. CTLA participants receive an Insiders’ Guide to education and teaching sessions throughout the annual meeting. Rates are:
Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (16+CPE) August 1-2 $360
($180 AAA membership required, 'panel a' on the registration form, plus $180 CTLA fee,
'panel c' on the registration form) - OR -
CTLA plus AAA Annual Meeting (40+ CPE) August 1-5 $740
($180 AAA membership required, plus $180 CTLA, plus $380 Annual Meeting fee)
Space is limited for the CTLA program, and early registration is strongly encouraged.
Note also:
- the above fees are 'starting' totals only, in that the $180 is minimum dues (additional dues entitle you to join additionals sections of AAA, and receive additional journals); there are also additional fees to attend some of the meals at the Annual Meeting
- you can, if you wish, register for CTLA now (if you are concerned about being locked out due to limited class size), and register for the remainder of the Annual Meeting later, HOWEVER, registrations for CTLA or Annual Meeting received after June 22 are subject to a $50 late fee, and registrations received after July 20 are subject to a $100 late fee. If you decide to register for CTLA first, and the Annual Meeting later on, it is recommended that you contact Deirdre Harris at AAA for assistance, her contact information is listed below.
- Some section lunches/breakfasts fill up quickly. Tickets for the Tuesday and Wednesday AAA lunches will be distributed at the meeting on a first come/first served basis.
Links to further information and to register:
Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA)
AAA Annual Meeting
Questions? Contact Deirdre Harris at AAA. Email: Deirdre@aaahq.org Phone (941) 556-4119. Please let her know you heard about the CTLA program from FEI.
Updated July 15, 2009 by Edith Orenstein, director, Accounting Policy Analysis and Communications, Financial Executives International (FEI). This summary does not represent FEI opinion unless specifically noted above.