New Programs to Support our Accounting Students

September 05, 2014

The accounting department instituted a few new programs in order to encourage business students to consider a career in accounting. All the efforts by the department are in response to alumni, student and professional feedback and we hope to bust some of the myths of a career in accounting. The following highlight some of the new or revitalized programs:

The college and the university have supported our efforts for “practicum” courses for both of our introductory courses in financial and managerial accounting. Professor Stacy Kline has been instrumental in developing the practicums, which are supplementary courses that support student success in the introductory accounting courses and allow students to ask questions and review concepts in a two-hour weekly session. Each practicum is lead by students of Beta Alpha Psi, the honorary accounting society, who have been chosen through an interview process to help undergraduate students succeed in accounting.

The Undergraduate Faculty Coach (UFC) is a new program designed by Dean Linnehan to help support students with career information from a faculty member. This program has been extremely beneficial for our accounting students who have been faced with the challenge of completing 150 hours of college coursework before they may be licensed as a certified public accountant. Professor Jennifer Wright has been serving as the UFC for the accounting department this past year and holds office hours for students to drop in and ask questions about coursework, co-op jobs, resume building and 150-hour requirements. This program will continue in the academic year of 2014-2015.

The Accounting Society will kick off this year to support our current groups and really foster a relationship with younger students and provide them with the information needed to pursue a career in accounting. This new group will allow for freshman and sophomore students to connect and take a leadership role earlier in their Drexel career.

Alumni Connections is not a new idea but it is a growing one as a result of student requests. There are so many choices as an accounting major and often students would like to ask questions of alumni about what their personal experiences have been in pursuing a career in accounting. If you are interested in connecting with our students one-on-one to offer career information, please contact Megan Snell (meh358@drexel.edu).

Professor Grein is always trying to connect the real world to our students in her auditing class. Every year Professor Grein has alumni work with students on a case study, which includes a review of workpapers by professionals and giving feedback directly to students. This is also not a new program but one that we hope to expand and host a department audit case competition. If you are interested in supporting the case competition, please contact Professor Grein (bmg33@drexel.edu) and let her know in what capacity you would be willing to help.