UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION

Effectively dealing with the university administration requires that you learn to effectively use the administrative process for change in place in your particular institution. Communication is key to any hope to influence, gain favor, and move your department forward. Recognizing that each institution is unique, and that personalities of specific administrators (e.g., deans, provosts, etc.) are important considerations in implementing change, the following are offered as suggestions for the accounting administrator.

Communication/Rapport with Campus Support Groups

Staff structures can be created to work as harmoniously as possible with other offices.

Many departments find that in most offices there is a key person, usually a secretary, with whom the departmental secretary has contact, who can smooth the path in a few moments. Departments need to nourish these relationships and retain staff who have been able to network with such people during their service in the department.

Have meetings with key personnel in important support offices.

Keeping the Golden Rule firmly in mind, it might be useful to solicit the support of other chairs in the college, along with the dean, and invite the key personnel of the office to lunch. When such meetings have the weight of a college behind them, they may get results otherwise not possible. Departments might consider offering an annual recognition and appreciation award for offices that are particularly helpful.

Let support units know that you want to be treated as their customers.

Hear their points of view and respond in a way that is productive. Consider getting the right person, using the right tone, making sure the gravity of the problem is understood, and inviting the other party to join you in owning the problem and sharing the satisfaction of fixing it.

Be able to differentiate accounting from other fields.

Accounting has several unique aspects as an academic discipline. Listed below are some of the most significant ones that you, as an accounting administrator, must often explain to others.

• The CPA, CMA, and similar credential designations have important professional and societal significance. These credentials may differentiate accounting from other business disciplines, as well as from non-business disciplines, in the university.
• AACSB separately accredits accounting programs. This is the only business discipline treated in this way.
• Accounting faculties often maintain very close contact with constituents, as part of fund raising activities, student placement activities, etc.
• The accounting profession, via the American Institute of CPAs, the Accounting Education Change Commission, the national mandate for the 150-hour requirement, and in other ways has become actively involved in the entry level education of accountants. This involvement is continuing to grow.
• Accounting professionals are called upon to assume high levels of responsibility very early in their careers, placing a burden for adequate preparation on education at the university level.

Making your colleagues in the business school and at the university aware of these differences is an important, and often difficult responsibility of the accounting administrator.

Will Changes in Accounting Education Lead to an Increase in the Demand for Resources?

Administrators in the school of business and the university often incorrectly assume that changes in accounting education will result in increased accounting requirements, leading to additional resources for faculty positions in accounting. This is especially true of the 150-hour requirement. An important responsibility of the accounting administrator is to educate school of business and university administrators concerning the current interest in the profession in the breadth of the curriculum. Changes in the education for accountants will not necessarily result in significant increases in accounting faculty.

As noted in other sections of this guidebook, many universities have programs to fund educational innovation. Traditionally, schools of business have not obtained significant funds from these programs. Contemplated changes in accounting education allow you to apply for these funds. This may result in additional university funds flowing to the school of business, with an increase in its prestige within the university.

Selling the 150-hour Requirement

The 150-hour requirement is well on its way to becoming the norm for entry level accounting professionals. Yet, you may still have to sell this requirement to your colleagues within the school of business and university. Following are some important points to consider.

• The 150-hour requirement will lead to growth in graduate enrollments. If your university has graduate programs, the increased enrollments which may be anticipated with the 150 hour requirement may be attractive to university administrators. While the 150-hour requirements enacted to date do not require graduate credits, many universities will provide the additional education via graduate offerings. Also, many universities which have graduate programs desire to see those programs increase in size. Legislated 150-hour requirements may be viewed as a means of assisting universities in meeting their stated growth objectives in graduate programs.
• Changes in accounting curricula which are innovative in nature may be used as a catalyst for additional fund-raising activities from both external and internal sources.
• The thrust in accounting education change is toward broad educational requirements. Thus, the increased educational requirements may not require significantly increased accounting units and may be used to: 1) better integrate accounting with other disciplines and; 2) utilize idle faculty capacity in areas important for professional accountants (e.g., communications, logic, ethics, and etc.).

Changes in Reward Systems

The unique aspects of accounting may argue for some flexibility in the reward system for accounting professors. This is a delicate issue which also has been discussed in other areas in this guidebook. The accounting administrator may need to play an important role in facilitating a change in attitude toward the following issues.

• In some situations it may be appropriate to emphasize the teaching mission. For example, the accounting profession has taken a strong position in support of increased emphasis in teaching and rewarding faculty members for teaching excellence. The first AECC Issues Statement is such an example.
• In some situations it may be appropriate to consider a broader definition of scholarship. The accounting profession, as well as others in academia, are calling for a broader interpretation of scholarship, including theoretical, applied, and educational research. The Carnegie Foundation study entitled, "Scholarship Reconsidered, Priorities for the Professorate," is an example of a call for a broader definition of scholarship. This study is listed in the bibliography.
• The relationship between educators and the profession is very close. Some faculty already invest heavily in professional activities and more may need to do so in the future. This should become part of the faculty member's service role. The relationship between the profession and educators is discussed in more detail in another section of this guide.

It is very important to emphasize that care must be taken in arguing for differences in rewarding accounting faculty and that flexibility in standards does not mean lower standards.

The Department's Image on Campus

Often, achieving goals within a university setting is dependent on the image of the accounting school or department and its faculty and students. An important responsibility of the accounting administrator is to provide leadership in building academic credibility within the university. This may be done in a variety of ways, such as providing for faculty leadership (e.g., faculty senate, chair of important curriculum, research committees, and etc.), receiving awards for excellence in teaching and research, and others.

Summary

The ability of academic administrators to effectively manage their programs depends upon their ability to influence others within the university. This is especially important for the accounting administrator as accounting has several unique aspects that differentiate it from other academic disciplines. Your ability to make your colleagues understand these differences will have much to do with your overall effectiveness as an administrator.

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