A Message from the Chair
Dasaratha V. Rama, Texas A&M International University
I am pleased to write this first message to you as Chair of the Teaching and
Curriculum Section. I thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role. The
T&C Section has developed over the years due to the vision, hard work, and
dedication of past chairs. I hope to consolidate and build upon what others
have done and to move us forward in new directions. The rapid changes in the
business environment, accounting profession, and information technology pose
new challenges for accounting educators. In the future, I hope that the T&C
Section will continue to explore emerging issues in support of our stated
objective of "continual improvement of accounting education, especially
through the development of relevant and innovative curricula, a renewed
emphasis of effective and efficient instruction, and the exploration of
knowledge-organization issues related to accounting programs."
For the current year, I have created three new committees to deal with a
range of information technology issues relevant to our section. Below I will
briefly outline the rationale for the work of these committees. In future
issues of the newsletter, I will describe the work of other committees and
regional activities.
The issue of information technology and the accounting curriculum is not a
new one and has been debated in prior issues of this newsletter. In the Spring
2000 issue of the newsletter, Jim Rebele argues for a "little professional
skepticism" in using technology and cites high costs, lack of evidence
about the benefits of IT use, inadequate planning, and significant time
commitment on the part of faculty as some areas of concern. The Fall 2000 issue
includes a response to this column in which Denise Nitterhouse argues that we
should integrate technology into the curriculum as long as it does not impede
student learning, even if we cannot show enhanced learning. I think both
arguments have merit. In my view we should be focusing on "How can we make
judicious use of our resources to integrate IT in a way that enhances student
learning?" I hope that the work of IT-related committees described below
provides useful information for this purpose.
Integrating Information Technology (IT) in the Accounting
Curriculum
Given the current changes in the profession, the new CPA exam, and the
increasing use of complex IT in business processes, the issue of addressing IT
topics within the accounting curriculum assumes increasing importance. The
Accounting Information Systems course provides one obvious avenue for
discussing IT topics. While the AIS course is a start, one course may not be
sufficient for developing sophisticated IT skills in the current environment.
The committee chaired by Professor Clinton White (University of Delaware) plans
to examine the profession's expectations in terms of IT skills and knowledge,
as well as the curricular responses that can address these expectations. I hope
that the committee's efforts will result in resources that can inform our
efforts towards integrating IT topics across the accounting curriculum.
Improving Teaching & Learning with Technology
The second committee chaired by A. Faye Borthick (Georgia State University)
deals with a different set of issues related to IT. As instructors we have a
rich array of technologies available for enhancing course delivery. On the one
hand, these technologies have the potential for improving student learning. On
the other hand, the use of IT involves significant faculty time and resources.
Further, the effective use of specific technologies for delivering instruction
requires considerable expertise and thus substantial faculty training. My hope
is that the Committee on Teaching and Learning with Technology will provide a
forum for accounting educators to share ideas on the effective use of
technology for enhancing course delivery. Please visit our web site (http://raw.rutgers.edu/raw/aaa/tccomm/)
if you are interested in serving on this committee or in learning more about
potential issues to be addressed through this committee.
T&C Connections
The idea for the third technology-related committee arose as a result of my
work as the Section webmaster for the past two years. The web is more than a
means of disseminating information to members. I believe that we can creatively
use emerging technologies in many ways to enhance the value provided to our
members. The use of Forum technology by the Executive Committee and other
groups is one example. Through enhanced communication, document sharing, and
asynchronous communication, such technologies enable us to overcome geographic
barriers and time constraints and allow members to participate actively in
Section activities. The T&C Connections Committee chaired by Donald Wygal
(Rider University) aims to develop new ways of communicating with members on an
ongoing basis, disseminating resources developed through the efforts of T&C
committees, enhance participation in Regional and National meetings, and
recognize the contributions of our members. I hope that the T&C Connections
committee will help in developing a coherent vision for our use of these
technologies and provide continuity to our efforts in this direction.
I am pleased with the involvement of numerous colleagues in the Section who
are serving on various committees. I would also like to acknowledge the
committee chairs and regional directors for their hard work and leadership. I
hope that with the increasing use of electronic communication we will find ways
to involve an increasing number of our members in T&C Section activities
and engage in meaningful dialogue with colleagues on issues of interest to us
as accounting educators.
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