The Impact of Online Education on Accounting Recruiting.

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Abstract

We describe higher education’s shift to online learning and its impact on accounting programs’ recruiting processes. Technological advances have enhanced the growth in online education, where current online homework platforms, the level of faculty acceptance and use, plus university promotion of these advances are as varied as the technology itself. Faculty involvement ranges from no integration, to “web-enhanced,” to blended or hybrid learning, to fully online and massive open online courses (MOOCs). Individual university involvement ranges from no or few online courses to fully online degree programs. Educational institutions, students, employers, and others should weigh the benefits against the potential costs of programs that involve greater online course use because learning outcomes may differ from traditional programs. Through research, personal experience, and interviews, we consider both benefits and costs of online courses emphasizing the needs of accounting firms in their recruiting efforts.

Authors

• Stefanie Tate, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Alan Reinstein, Wayne State University

• Natalie T Churyk, Northern Illinois University