ACCOUNTING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: WHO TEACHES, WHO STUDIES?

ACCOUNTING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES:
WHO TEACHES, WHO STUDIES?

A REPORT OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION
• MARCH 29, 2010 •
ACCOUNTING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES:
WHO TEACHES, WHO STUDIES?
A REPORT OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION
REPORT PREPARED BY:
David W. Leslie, Chancellor Professor of Education,
The College of William & Mary
RESEARCH PROJECT COORDINATOR:
Bruce K. Behn, The University of Tennessee
2009–2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION:
Nancy A. Bagranoff, Old Dominion University
Kevin D. Stocks, Brigham Young University
Susan F. Haka, Michigan State University
Ira Solomon, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Belverd E. Needles, DePaul University
Christopher J. Wolfe, Texas A&M University
Kazuo Hiramatsu, Kwansei Gakuin University
Robert H. Colson, Grant Thornton LLP
Jean C. Bedard, Bentley University
Gregory B. Waymire, Emory University
Bruce K. Behn, The University of Tennessee
Stacy E. Kovar, Kansas State University
MARCH 29, 2010

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FOREWORD
Recently the American Accounting Association (AAA) sponsored a report, Trends in Non-
Tenure-Eligible Accounting Faculty, 1993–2004 (December 2008) and co-sponsored a report, Accounting
Faculty in U.S. Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993–2004 (February, 2008)
with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Designed as a companion
piece to these recent studies, this report is intended to expand our understanding of the “supply
chain” in accounting education. A number of articles and papers discuss tenure-track and nontenure
track accounting faculty and accounting doctoral students, but limited information is
available on the role of community college faculty in the United States. This analysis looks at
status and trends for community college faculty in accounting, and like its companion reports
on tenure-track and non-tenure eligible faculty, does so within the context of the larger higher
education environment in the U.S. today.
Given their growing prominence in educating future accounting students it is important to
better understand these members of our academic community. The U.S. Department of
Education’s statistics center listed 1,528 two-year colleges in its 2007 survey of institutions of
higher education.1 The Department of Education reported that 6,617,930 (or 36.2%, more than
one third) of all college students were enrolled in community colleges in 2007–08. About 47%,
nearly half, of all students in public colleges and universities were enrolled in two-year colleges
before attending a four-year institution.
In 2008 the recommendations of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Advisory Committee
on the Auditing Profession urged the academy to: “Ensure a sufficiently robust supply of qualified
accounting faculty to meet demand for the future and help prepare new entrants to the
profession to perform high quality audits,” and “Develop and maintain consistent demographic
and higher education program profile data.” Given growing numbers of community colleges
and students enrolled in community colleges, it is critical that we understand trends for community
college accounting faculty and their essential role in educating many accounting students.
With those interests in mind, we again asked David W. Leslie, Chancellor Professor Emeritus
of Education, The College of William & Mary, to conduct our study. David has a distinguished
career in demographic analysis extending across all levels of education. His recent
report, The Reshaping of America’s Academic Workforce, for TIAA-CREF where he is an Institute
Fellow, has been frequently quoted in the mainstream press. In the Fall of 2007, Leslie presented
findings from the AAA/AICPA sponsored project Accounting Faculty in U.S. Colleges and Universities:
Status and Trends, 1993–2004, during testimony to the Advisory Committee on the Audit
Profession to the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. The Advisory Committee,
chaired by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Arthur Levitt and former
SEC Chief Accountant Don Nicholiason, was chartered to consider and develop recommendations
relating to the sustainability of the auditing profession including implications for education
and preparation of new practitioners.
It is the continual pursuit of the AAA to add value to the accounting community by gathering
data and perspectives from outside the accounting environment, providing a context in which to
1 Data extracted from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Data Analysis System, http://
nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
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better understand the state of accounting education, allowing us to better forecast challenges
and opportunities for the future. The American Accounting Association thanks David Leslie for
the continued energy and creativity he brings to understanding accounting education. David
would like to thank Susan Crosson, and AAA Executive Committee members Kevin Stocks,
Nancy Bagranoff, and Bruce Behn for their review and comments during completion of this
report.
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 7
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9
Institutional Context ............................................................................................................................. 11
Characteristics of Accounting Faculty at Two-Year Colleges ........................................................ 15
Characteristics of Accounting Students at Two-Year Colleges ..................................................... 31
Summary and Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 39
Appendix A .......................................................................................................................................... 41
References ............................................................................................................................................. 43

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report describes the members of the faculty work force who teach accounting at community
colleges and the students who say they are concentrating in accounting at these institutions.
It is presented in three parts. The first, “Institutional Context,” presents general data on two-year
institutions. The second, “Characteristics of Accounting Faculty at Two-Year Colleges,” relies
on National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) data to cover the demographic characteristics,
career trajectories, and work patterns among those who teach in the nation’s community
colleges. The third, “Characteristics of Accounting Students at Two-Year Colleges,” describes
those who self-report that their field of study/major is in accounting using data from the National
Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS).
Overall, faculty and students at two-year institutions differ in many ways from those at fouryear
institutions. A large majority of both faculty and students at two-year institutions are parttime.
Both faculty and students are also far more likely to be employed elsewhere. Faculty are
less likely to have terminal degrees or their highest degree in accounting than are those at fouryear
institutions. Students are substantially more likely to be female, are more career-oriented
(than transfer-oriented), and appear to be less prepared for college-level courses.
Roughly 38% of all accounting faculty in the U.S. teach at community colleges, and about
two-thirds of accounting faculty at two-year institutions teach part-time. It is estimated that the
number of accounting faculty at two-year institutions has declined on the order of 11% between
1993 and 2004, while the number of accounting students at these institutions increased almost
8% (from 189,400 to 203,900) between 1990 and 2008.
Faculty teaching accounting at two-year institutions are increasingly female, mostly Caucasian,
hold master’s degrees or less, and are often teaching in a field in which they have not
earned their highest degree. They tend to be otherwise employed and have multiple sources of
income. About 90% report being either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs.
Two-year institutions educate a far more diverse student population than do traditional fouryear
institutions, diverse in characteristics, preparation, life experience, motives, and educational/
occupational/career trajectories. Roughly 40% of all students who report concentrating
in accounting enroll at two-year institutions and about 19% of accounting majors at four-year
institutions had earned at least some transfer credits (not necessarily in accounting) from an
associate-degree-granting institution in 2008.
Almost 60% of these students indicate that their primary motive is to gain occupational skills,
while only 40% indicate plans to transfer to a four-year institution. About 70% are female, and
over three-quarters are White. Over half, 52% were older than 27 in 2008, consistent with the
range in age of all students at two-year institutions. Three quarters work full- or part-time while
in school, and enter with more academic “risk factors” than do students at four-year institutions.
Principal characteristics that differentiate two-year accounting faculty and students from those
at four-year institutions are the proportion engaged in either teaching or learning on a part-time
basis, and the proportions who are either partially or fully employed elsewhere. Most two-year
faculty do not have terminal degrees (just over 11%, and about 70.5% held a master’s degree in
2004), nor their highest degree in accounting, and teach an older and substantially at-risk student
population with multiple reasons for investing in higher education.
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These differences highlight the need to understand more fully how teaching and learning of
accounting varies among types of institutions, and in particular, how those who ultimately transfer
from two-year programs to upper division classes at four-year institutions are prepared. What
these students learn and how they learn it may ultimately affect both the practice and broader
understanding of the field’s concepts and principles in business, government, and the profession
itself.
Accounting in Community Colleges: Who Teaches, Who Studies? Leslie
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INTRODUCTION
This report describes the members of the faculty work force who teach accounting at community
colleges (using data from 1993 and 2004 federal surveys of faculty1) and the students who
report they are concentrating in accounting at these institutions (using data from surveys conducted
in 1990, 1996, 2000, and 20082). This report is third in a three-part series by the American
Accounting Association focusing on understanding trends for the accounting faculty workforce.3
Relying on survey data available online from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study
(NPSAS) and the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) administered by the National
Center for Education Statistics, this report is similar in method and scope to two previous
studies of full-time tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty in accounting.
The U. S. Education Department’s statistics center listed 1,528 two-year colleges in its 2007
survey of institutions of higher education.4 The Education Department reported that 6,617,930
(or 36.2%, more than 1/3) of all college students were enrolled in community colleges in 2007–
08. About 47%, nearly half, of all students in public colleges and universities were enrolled in
two-year colleges before attending a four-year institution. And about 49% of all undergraduates
were enrolled in a two-year institution at some point. There are reasons to expect that these
1 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty, http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/nsopf/. “NSOPF was conducted in
response to a continuing need for data on faculty and instructors—persons who directly affect the quality of
education in postsecondary institutions. Faculty are the pivotal resource around which the process and outcomes
of postsecondary education revolve. They often determine curriculum content, student performance standards,
and the quality of students’ preparation for careers. Faculty members perform research and development work
upon which this nation’s technological and economic advancement depends. Through their public service
activities, they make valuable contributions to society. For these reasons, it is essential to understand who they
are; what they do; and whether, how, and why they are changing. This study was designed to provide data about
faculty to postsecondary education researchers, planners, and policymakers. NSOPF is the most comprehensive
study of faculty in postsecondary educational institutions ever undertaken.” NSOPF was conducted in four
cycles: 1987–88, 1992–93, 1998–99, and 2003-’04. Because survey items are not always consistent from cycle to
cycle, and because a reasonably long period was desirable to establish trends, this report relies on the 1993 and
2004 survey data. The two previous reports on accounting faculty relied on these surveys, as well, so results can
be compared. No further faculty surveys are planned, according to NCES staff, so the 2004 data are the most
current available.
2 “The purpose of NPSAS (National Postsecondary Student Aid Study) is to compile a comprehensive research
dataset, based on student-level records, on financial aid provided by the federal government, the states,
postsecondary institutions, employers, and private agencies, along with student demographic and enrollment
data. NPSAS is the primary source of information used by the federal government (and others, such as researchers
and higher education associations) to analyze student financial aid and to inform public policy on such programs
as the Pell grants and Stafford loans.” http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/about.asp. “The first NPSAS study
was conducted during the 1986–87 school year; subsequent studies have been carried out during the 1989–90,
1992–93, 1995–96, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007–08 school years.” http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/ (It is
only possible to break out accounting majors in the 1989-90, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000, and 2007–08 data.
Appendix A presents anomalies in the 1992-93 NPSAS data—a large departure from standard Education Department
data on enrollment—to justify omitting those data from tables in this report, a conclusion in which National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES) staff concur.)
3 See Accounting Faculty in U. S. Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993–2004. Sarasota: American Accounting
Association (and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), 2008. http://aaahq.org/temp/phd/
AccountingFacultyUSCollegesUniv.pdf. Also, Trends in Non-Tenure-Eligible Accounting Faculty, 1993–2004,
Sarasota: American Accounting Association, 2009. http://aaahq.org/temp/phd/LeslieReport2.pdf.
4 Data extracted from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Data Analysis System, http://
nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/.
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trends will continue or increase. With economic challenges facing many families and individuals
in the current environment, tuition and fees at four-year institutions have risen beyond the
reach of more prospective students, leading them to apply to community colleges in increasing
numbers. Similarly, as unemployment rises, more workers will undoubtedly opt to retrain by
returning to college and community colleges are expected to absorb a large proportion of these
students.5 In addition, expanded GI Bill benefits may encourage large numbers of veterans to
attend community college.6
Overall this study finds that faculty who teach and students who study at two-year institutions
differ in many ways from those at more traditional four-year institutions. The major difference
is that a large majority of both faculty and students at two-year institutions are part-time.
Both faculty and students are also far more likely to be employed elsewhere. Faculty are less
likely to have terminal degrees (11.2%, and 70.5% have a master’s in 2004) or their highest degree
in accounting than are those at four-year institutions. Students are substantially more likely to
be female, are more career-oriented (than transfer-oriented), and appear to be less prepared for
college-level courses.
Part-time faculty at two-year institutions (two-thirds of the total) spend more time on their
other jobs (about three-quarters of their working hours) than on teaching and research. Students
who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions may find that faculty at their new institutions
have a different, perhaps more intensively disciplinary, orientation to the field. Students’
own work experience may help them understand basic ideas and practices in introductory courses,
but their experience may not be as relevant in upper-level courses. Adapting to a different set of
expectations following transfer may involve some “transfer shock.”7 By understanding the variety
of motives with which students enroll in two-year institutions, as well as their more varied
backgrounds, faculty at both two-year and four-year institutions may be better prepared to adopt
varied and nuanced approaches to teaching and learning that take this variability into account.
This report describes the characteristics of both faculty and students and discusses some of the
implications for the field. It is presented in three parts. The first, “Institutional Context,” presents
general data on two-year institutions. The second, “Characteristics of Accounting Faculty at Two-
Year Colleges,” relies on NSOPF data to cover the demographic characteristics, career trajectories,
and work patterns among those who teach in the nation’s community colleges. The third, “Characteristics
of Accounting Students at Two-Year Institutions,” describes those who have enrolled at
these institutions who self-report that their field of study/major8 is in accounting.
5 Both the New York Times and Washington Post have recently run stories highlighting enrollment pressures at
community colleges. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/education/
.28community.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=community%20college&st=cse. And see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/30/AR2009053001762.html?hpid=topnews.
6 See Chen, G. How Will the New GI Bill Impact Your Community College Enrollment Options? Community College
Review. July 9, 2009. http://www.communitycollegereview.com/articles/130.
7 See Ishitani. T. T. How Do Transfers Survive after ‘‘Transfer Shock’’? A Longitudinal Study of Transfer Student
Departure at a Four-Year Institution. Research in Higher Education. 49: 403–419, 2008.
8 “Field of study or major” is the terminology used in the NPSAS survey. Students at two-year institutions may not
settle on a major until after transfer to a four-year institution. Accordingly, the estimates in this report may not
“capture” all students who enter two-year institutions but ultimately receive baccalaureate or higher degrees in
Accounting.
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