American Accounting Association 2006 Midwest Region Meeting March 30 – April 1 Chicago, Illinois

Friday, March 31, 4:00 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.
Concurrent session 4B - Cases (Teaching and Curriculum)

Title: A Cost-Accounting Community-Based-Learning Project

Laura Jean Kreissl University of Wisconsin, Parkside	David Lewis Kenosha Water Utility
Sueann Edenhofer Community Education Connection	Robert Blagg University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Megan O’Donnell University of Wisconsin, Parkside	Sara Painter University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Dipen Shah University of Wisconsin, Parkside

ABSTRACT: Forty students at the University of Wisconsin Parkside participated in ten related “Solutions for Economic Growth” (SEG) Center / “Community-Based-Learning” (CBL) projects as a major part of their Fall 2005 Advanced Cost Accounting course. The goal of the projects was to actively engage the students in the course topics by having them put their learning from their cost and other accounting and business classes into immediate practice under practical situations. Working in close cooperation with a community partner-client, the Kenosha Water Utility District, students were asked to cost out multiple aspects of the older sand filtration process and the state of the art micro membrane filtration process for comparison and use by the district serving in excess of 100,000 people. The projects entailed a variety of planning, supervising, operating, and evaluating challenges for faculty, students, and community partner-clients. Comments by students received as this project has yet to be completed include going from trepidation in and resistance to doing the projects to an enthusiasm for the “learn by doing” approach to cost accounting, better understanding of the problems faced by firms in trying to trace and apply costs, and a huge dose of reality in dealing with teammates and clients with differing availabilities, expectations, and temperaments.

This teaching presentation/discussion will elaborate on this first-time effort of planning, operating, and evaluating the projects. In addition, participating students will display some of the posters made as part of their final presentation for the project as well as their power-point presentation made for use by the Kenosha Water Utility District.

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