Goal of the Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) Program:

The primary goal of the MSA program is to prepare the student for a professional career in accounting, and, in particular, to prepare the student to take and pass the Uniform CPA Examination (or other appropriate professional examination). Students who complete the MSA degree will build on their undergraduate business and accounting coursework to obtain a comprehensive understanding of complex financial accounting and reporting, taxation, and regulatory issues. Students will gain the ability to understand constraints, identify alternatives, develop conclusions, and cite the professional accounting literature in support of these decisions. They will develop the ability to recognize, utilize, select, and analyze both the information provided by systems and the systems themselves in place in a variety of business structures and companies, and the skills needed to identify how companies gather, process, store and deliver information useful in decision making. Students will also acquire a broad education in Finance, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Management, and Operations in preparation for their professional business career. As an integral part of the accounting curriculum, students will develop a competence in verbal and written communications, interpersonal skills, ethical decision making and computer applications. A global perspective is also integrated into graduate curriculum to enable students to compete in a constantly changing business environment.

Learning Objectives of the Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) Program:

Goal 1: To prepare the student for a professional career in accounting, and, in particular, to prepare the student to take and pass the Uniform CPA Examination (or other appropriate professional examination).

Learning Objective 1: Students will gain a working knowledge of current issues facing the accounting profession.

Approach 1: Through a series of in-class presentations by accounting professionals in a variety of organizations and positions, students will be exposed to topics of current interest in Professional Issues in Accounting (B AD 63022). Assessment Measure: Students will be required to prepare team papers and presentations on selected current topics in B AD 63022. A random sample of the resulting submissions will be evaluated. Success will be indicated by a minimum score of 80%.

Learning Objective 2: Students will develop basic networking and interpersonal skills necessary for success in obtaining an initial position in the accounting profession as well as a continued successful career.

Approach 1: Students will be encouraged to interview for and participate in the Accounting Internship Program (B AD 63092) (elective).

Assessment Measure: Students enrolled in B AD 63092 (Accounting Internship) will be required to maintain journals during the internship and submit those journals to the instructor. A random sample of the journal entries will be evaluated subjectively.

Approach 2: Students will be encouraged to participate in the accounting student organizations.

Assessment Measure: Success will be indicated by a minimum active participation in accounting student organizations of 50% of the MSA student population.

Approach 3: Students will be placed in accounting positions of an appropriate level within 3 months of graduation.

Assessment Measure: Initial student placement will be tracked by Career Services and the Accounting Department. Success will be indicated by a minimum placement rate of 70% of MSA graduates within 3 months of graduation.

Approach 4: Students will continue to be employed in accounting positions of an appropriate level one year and five years after graduation.

Assessment Measure: Continuing student placement will be tracked by the Graduate School of Management, Alumni Affairs, and the Department of Accounting. Learning Objective 3: Students will develop the