A Descriptive Study of the Institutional Characteristics of Introductory Accounting Courses Offered by Community Colleges

• In Event: Research with an Impact on Scholarship and Practice

Abstract

Community colleges play a crucial role in higher education; more than thirty percent of all undergraduate students are enrolled at a two-year institution and almost half of all students enroll in a community college at some point in their academic career. Recognizing the important role these institutions play in educating future accountants, the American Accounting Association has called for research that contributes to a better understanding of these members of the academic community. Extant literature has provided data on the characteristics of introductory accounting courses for four-year institutions but not for community colleges. We fill a void by providing data on the characteristics of introductory accounting courses offered by two-year institutions. Data are collected on several dimensions including: course size and staffing, pedagogical orientation, standardization of course elements, textbook selection, and use of technology-based course management tools. All dimensions have been used in previous research, facilitating comparisons with four-year institutions. The resulting data should be of interest to instructors, administrators, regulators, and academics; it provides a benchmark for developing curricula, research, and regulation.

Authors

• Jonathan Nash, University of New Hampshire

• Catherine Plante, University of New Hampshire

• Allen Hartt, University of New Hampshire