The new accounting curriculum is fully operational at Mesa Community College (MCC). The purpose of the new curriculum is to instill the competencies and skills required for MCC transfer students to be successful in the professional business and accounting programs at four-year institutions. Central to the new curriculum is a shift from a knowledge-oriented to a process-oriented education system. The decision-usefulness of accounting information is emphasized versus the mechanical procedures employed to prepare accounting information.

The Business Program at MCC has three major goals. First, students must be able to transfer to a variety of professional business programs at four-year institutions. Second, graduates must possess the knowledge and skills that are necessary to successfully compete for entry-level business positions. Third, course work must offer flexible training programs for students desiring skill refinement to satisfy the employee upgrading requirements of the local business community. Implicit in these goals is that MCC graduates must have the ability and motivation for continued learning throughout their academic and business careers. The purpose of the new program is to lay the base for this continual life-long learning.

Traditional accounting education programs focus on “transfer of knowledge.” Learning is usually defined and measured in terms of knowledge of facts, concepts or principles. The overriding goal of MCC’s new curriculum is the development of an introductory accounting core that changes the educational focus from knowledge acquisition to “learning to learn.” This involves developing in students the motivation and capacity to continue to learn outside the formal educational environment and to continue to use these learning strategies throughout their lifetime. To accomplish these goals, efforts have been focused on several specific curriculum activities.

Learning objectives have been developed for each course. The new accounting curriculum is viewed as a single progressive course that spans two semesters. The learning objectives for the course are split into three cycles.

Students are active participants in the learning process. Classroom activities and assignments are designed to encourage students to think. A common format for addressing classroom activities is that students complete assigned background reading before class. At the start of class the instructor makes brief introductory comments and explains the activity. Student groups then work through the activity. Upon completion of the activity, the instructor facilitates a class resolution and ties the activity back to a learning objective.

The curriculum is focused on fundamental concepts with high generalizability. The primary focus of the course is to relate how accounting information is used to make economic decisions by a variety of users. Thus, the decision usefulness of information, rather than the procedural aspects of developing the information, is emphasized.

A variety of instructional methods are employed to accomplish the learning objectives of the course. A case methodology of analysis is used to illustrate concepts and analyze significant accounting and business issues. Student speaking and listening skills are enhanced through the use of group activities and presentations.

Students are taught how to “learn to learn.” Students are regularly questioned Socratically, to develop their thinking, reasoning and deductive abilities. Text material is not reread to students. Students learn how to read and understand information from a variety of sources. This ensures students are exposed to opposing views on the business topics discussed in class.

In Spring, 1994, the program was expanded to include a computer-oriented laboratory to provide “hands-on” experience for students to reinforce the concepts introduced in the classroom. This format will center on using the lab to cover the necessary mechanical and procedural material by way of computer-based instruction. Computer simulations, computerized practice sets and behavioral experiments will be important components of lab activities.

A monograph of the project will be available soon. This document will outline how the curriculum was developed, summarize curriculum objectives, provide course outlines and include examples of course activities and projects.