Intermediate Readiness Committee Community College Connection February 6, 2015

Motivation Title of PowerPoint Improve performance in Intermediate I Diverse backgrounds of our students Failure and withdrawal rates Varied levels of preparedness Non-traditional students returning to school International students History in the Principles courses A committee was established to study the effects of our assessment program on performance in Intermediate I

Our Process Title of PowerPoint Intermediate Readiness Committee – Formed in 2006 Entrance Exam (also known as the Readiness Exam) 40 multiple choice questions over the accounting cycle, primarily – one hour duration Letter of explanation Exam during first class meeting Passing grade = 70% Re-test opportunities (5 opportunities in total) Non-credit review opportunities 83% passed the exam by the time the testing period ended Students were required to withdraw or receive a semester grade of F if they did not pass the exam.

Our Process (continued) Title of PowerPoint Our Process (continued) Spring 2007 Too much time and too many attempts on exams Only one attempt now permitted Non-credit reviews no longer offered Added developmental component: ALEKS® Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces http://www.ALEKS.com Students who did not complete ALEKS® by the deadline had the option of withdrawing or staying in the class and receiving a semester grade of F. We wanted a shorter time line, so students could add another class.

Title of PowerPoint Since 2007, our program has remained essentially the same: Receive funding for ALEKS® Offer a study guide online Added Principles of Accounting II for Accounting Majors (ACTG 2125) to the curriculum

Curriculum Changes Title of PowerPoint Principles of Accounting II for Accounting Majors (ACTG 2125) Added to the curriculum in Spring 2008 Course covers six chapters of financial and one chapter of managerial accounting, and includes the following: Extensive review of the accounting cycle Outside assignments related to SOX, the accounting profession, professional etiquette and interviewing, CPA certification, IFRS, etc. Outside speakers from the Accounting profession A comprehensive project incorporating various aspects of an annual report for a publicly traded company A comprehensive project on financial statement preparation

Curriculum Changes (continued) Title of PowerPoint Curriculum Changes (continued) Principles of Accounting I (ACTG 2110) Coordinated the curriculum in Fall 2012 Implemented common exams across the sections as part of the coordinated curriculum

Where do our Intermediate I students take Principles II? Title of PowerPoint Where do our Intermediate I students take Principles II? 66.5% at our university 18.6% at a community college 8.8% other (international or unknown) 3.7% at another four-year public university 2.4% at a private four-year college

Title of PowerPoint What do students think of the Readiness Program? Survey of student perspectives on our Readiness Program (Likert scale of 1-10) 8.4 – strongly believed an entrance exam is appropriate 8.4 – strongly believed a review of Principles was needed 8.7 – strongly believed ALEKS® provided a good review 8.6 – strongly believed they were better prepared for Intermediate I as a result of completing ALEKS® 7.2 – found ALEKS® to be user friendly 6.3 – did not take too much time to complete

Results: Contingency Table Title of PowerPoint Results: Contingency Table Counts of Grades by Period of Observation using Three Grade Categories: Significance of Trends

Title of PowerPoint Means and Standard Deviations for Intermediate I Grades and Readiness Test Scores for ACTG 2125 and Non-ACTG 2125 Students ACTG 2125 Students Non-ACTG 2125 Students (n = 87) (n = 57) Variables* Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Intermediate I Grade 2.218 1.293 1.490 1.337 Readiness Test Score 75.747 13.184 55.754 14.631   *ACTG 3110 Grades and Readiness Test Scores significantly differed between ACTG 2125 students and Non-ACTG 2125 students.

Conclusions Title of PowerPoint Interventions did improve student performance in Intermediate I. We have devoted a lot of time and resources to collecting and analyzing data, and continue to do so. In a recent AACSB visit for the maintenance of the Accounting Department’s separate accreditation, this was noted as a Best Practice. We believe our program has been successful and plan to continue the program and refine the process.

Round Table Discussions Title of PowerPoint Round Table Discussions What are your ideas for ways our program can better support your students when they enroll in Intermediate I at MTSU?