[Spartanburg, SC] I am sitting in a USC Upstate computer lab as I write this. Why?
My students are taking a test. Instead of forcing them work everything by hand with a calculator, I’m letting them work any part of the test on a MS Excel spreadsheet. When done, they can e-mail their file, and turn in anything they wrote by hand on the original test copy.
One of the courses I’m teaching this semester is Intermediate Accounting 2. The focus of this course is on the right side of the balance sheet. The first topics are accounting for loans and bonds. I emphasize amortization tables to aid in generating numbers for financial statements. I also emphasize using spreadsheets and good techniques (i.e., a diamond organization and using the round function). So when it came time for the test, some students asked if they could work appropriate parts on a spreadsheet.
Concordia College students asked for the same accommodation a year ago. Everyone there was happy with the experience, so I’m trying it again.
This is the first accounting or finance class in which my students get to use Excel. Wow! Very unfortunate, IMHO.
Professors need to adjust to the times. I’ve been using spreadsheets in class since 1984 at Andrews University. Why not emphasize them so much students will need them as an essential tool to take an exam.
Oh, I also have a series of spreadsheet assignments for each upper level accounting course I teach. I’m the only accounting prof at my school to do so.
Debit and credit – – David Albrecht
Dave,
Excellent! Too many students memorize the information for a test with no concept of how to actually use the material they are memorizing in the real world, just ask Jeff Smith! Having been in business for over 25 years I am appalled at the number of students who are passing accounting classes with absolutely no useful skills in accounting. Those “canned” packages are dumbing down our educational system. I completely agree with Jim…….
Concerning the “series of spreadsheet assignments,” how do you ensure that each student has done their own work rather than copying the file of another student and then ‘tweaking it’ to make it appear as original work?
Anne,
There is no perfect way to ensure that any student performs the work assigned by a professor. Generally speaking, though, if a student has progressed to an upper level accounting majors class, I think that student is concerned about learning new skills and knowledge. Moreover, students really want to learn spreadsheets because they know it is an essential business skill. Consequently, most students appear to be doing their own work.
If anyone still persists in cheating, then so be it. In the big picture, the only person injured is him/herself, as the skill is not picked up.
Because the overwhelming majority appear to be doing their own work, I don’t do much to root out possible fraud.
Anne,
I often wonder the same thing about the “canned” packages used to instruct students. How does the professor know a student is not getting someone else to do their homework and quizzes?
That is a very good idea. Being highly proficient at setting up a spreadsheet, almost as if it was second nature, is a critical skill to any accounting work. It is a key as running a 10-key was 20 years ago. (Ask your prof – he can explain it to you.)