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2008 Educators' Conference takes a futuristic turn

Educator avatars gather in Second Life
for a demonstration of the virtual
world during the MACPA's 2008
Educators' Conference.

You knew with a title like “Time & Space: Closing the gaps in accounting education,” this would be no ordinary Educators' Conference.

And it wasn’t.  Starting with MACPA CEO Tom Hood’s “What Do You Say to a Millennial?” the conference maintained an unusual focus on the new. Drawing upon sources as disparate as Business Week and a clip from "The Devil Wears Prada," Mr. Hood distinguished all four generations currently occupying the workplace and the college campus — matures, baby boomers, GenX and millennials — and the challenges this mix presents for all parties. Educators were encouraged to explore teaching tactics to address  the unique expectations and learning styles of today’s young people.

Second Life, homework online and a clearer path to the CPA exam

In a similar vein, Byron Patrick, CPA, of KAWG&F introduced the professors to Second Life, a Web application that provides a simulated environment peopled by avatars. Mr. Patrick described how Second Life operates and the opportunities for holding “live” classes, conferences or campus recruiting on “islands” in the Second Life space. The audience marveled as he conducted a simulated face-to-face meeting with a university professor based in Florida.

In a slightly less revolutionary vein, Roy Carson, CPA, of Anne Arundel Community College shared his recent experiments with online homework assignments. He described tools prepared by himself and by a textbook publisher, including spreadsheet exercises, video segments and electronic grading. Mr. Carson concluded that students like doing homework online but that their performance has not significantly improved; hence he will continue to refine the process.

Ray Speciale, CPA, newly appointed member of the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy and an accounting professor at Mount St. Mary’s University, summarized the recently enacted educational requirements needed to sit for the CPA exam. The new requirements offer more flexibility in terms of curriculum choices, accommodate courses that are offered on quarter-based programs, and encourage some integration across the curriculum. 

Bridging gaps between educators, employers and cultures

This year’s conference also included two panels of CPAs. Members of the MACPA Accounting Education and Career Task Force — MACPA members Jeff Lawson, CPA (Stoy Malone), Brian Lazarus, CPA (Baltimore City Community College), Gerry Lindner, CPA (Ernst & Young) and Bruce Lubich, CPA (UMUC) — provided an update on the progress of the group, which is now focusing on several areas for research: educator-practitioner collaboration on courses; a diagram of the diverse pathways to the CPA; cooperative efforts between colleges and universities; and exploring Web 2.0 technologies.

The panel on “Communicating across Cultures” discussed the challenges of communicating with students from other cultures, both in the classroom and online.                             

Brian Lazarus, CPA, of Baltimore City Community College and Hyacinth Ezeka, CPA, of Coppin State University shared the perspective of foreign-born students and teachers and recommended strategies for communicating this increasingly prominent group.

Mr. Lubich described challenges at the graduate level and Jim McKinney (University of Maryland College Park) surveyed a number of theories about contrasting cultures.

Millennial money

As in past conferences, the closing session  was delivered by relatively recent accounting program graduates, Kristen Waskiewicz (Clifton Gunderson) and Mark Kaufman (Beers & Cutler). Their topic, “What I wish I had known about managing my finances,” focused on the concerns of college graduates burdened with student loan and credit card debt. Ms. Waskiewicz regretted that she had not known more about credit card management and compensation packages; she urged the professors to included personal finance content wherever practicable. Mr. Kaufman observed that “even finance students don’t know how to manage money.” He urged that colleges take finances out of the real of theory and teach practical applications.

The Members in Education Committee of the MACPA is grateful to MACPA members and colleagues who contributed to the success of this year’s conference. The MACPA especially appreciates the efforts of Don Butt, CPA, of Mount St. Mary’s University, who served as general moderator for the conference and kept the proceedings running smoothly.