Chaffey College Program Review Report

Transcription

1 Program Review Title: Program Code: Review Type: Type: Chaffey College Program Review Report Accounting, Financial Services, and Real Estate ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES Instructional SLO's Overview of Chaffey College Program: Describe the program mission as it relates to the college mission: The Accounting and Financial Services program is directly aligned with the college mission statement in that it serves a diverse range of students from a variety of disciplines. There are two main purposes of the program; the first is transfer orientated -- to prepare students to successfully transfer to the four year school; the second is occupational -- to prepare students who wish to attain marketable skills in industries providing immediate employment opportunities without having to obtain a Bachelors or Masters degree. These purposes are not mutually exclusive, as evidenced by the increasing number of students that currently work in the accounting, financial services and real estate fields and are pursuing a college degree at the same time. To serve both purposes, the Accounting/Financial Services program offers an A.S. degree in Accounting and Real Estate, as well as the following certificates: Accounting, Accounting Paraprofessional, Payroll and Income Tax Preparer, Accounting for Governments and Non-profit Organizations, Accounting and Financial Planning, Real Estate, and Real Estate Sales Person. Accounting courses are required as part of the major or certificate program in the following course areas: Business Administration, Small Business Management, Management, Real Estate. Additionally, many programs outside of Business and Applied Technology are requiring Accounting 1A as a part of their degree, or as an elective. For example, many Bachelors and Masters in Public Health, Kinesiology, and Economics programs are now requiring Accounting 1A as a core course. In addition, Introduction to Financial Planning is an elective for the A.S. Degree in Gerontology. Recent data from the bureau of labor has projected jobs in the areas of financial services, real estate, and accounting to have double digit growth over the next years. The department is committed to students' success and has therefore taken the initiative to work with the success centers to provide accounting tutors at all three campus success centers. These tutors have positively impacted the success and retention rate of our students. There are currently 114 hours of tutoring available each week. Many of the tutors are bilingual and come from different cultural backgrounds, allowing them to meet the needs of our diverse student population. A direct correlation has been found between student retention and success and the tutoring received. An area for growth in tutoring would be additional staffing of tutors during the summer session, due to the accelerated class schedule. Responses to Prior Year PSR Prior Year's Recommendations and recommendation Commendations Committee commends the program for reaching out to the off-site centers and for accomplishing many of last years planned activities. Recommendations NONE Program Changes NONE State how program/service addressed these recommendations

2 The department continues to offer more sections of classes under the hybrid environment which results in a more effective use of classrooms. Additionally, the department plans to evolve our hybrid courses into a completely on-line environment in the near future. This will not only achieve classroom efficiency but it will capture student populations that might not otherwise attend Chaffey College. The initial thrust will be to develop and implement a completely on-line component of the tax program, as this will allow more students to earn the Registered Tax Preparer?s certificate from the State of California as well as help students to prepare for the IRS Enrolled Agent exam. With the recent changes to the Enrolled Agent exam format, which will make it easier for students to take the exam, there will be increasing demand for these classes. Much of this demand cannot be serviced in the traditional classroom environment. Further on-line development will occur in the traditional accounting transfer classes, financial and managerial accounting, as well as the Real Estate program. The Real Estate program in particular lends itself very well to the on-line environment and, given the excellent reputation of the program here at Chaffey, there is untapped demand for these classes beyond the confines of the district boarders. With recent state regulatory changes to the Real Estate Sales Person, Real Estate Broker and Real Estate Appraisor exam requirements, additional classes will be needed by applicants to qualify for state certification. On-line classes are an extremely viable option for busy professionals striving to meet these qualifications. As the need for additional on-line classes in the Accounting and Financial Services area is clearly evident, it goes without saying that the department will need additional faculty and resources to make these plans a reality. A full-time instructor position in the Financial Services and Real Estate area is essential to meet these goals. Program Services and Review last year approved a full time faculty position in the financial services and real estate curriculum. However, this position was not funded through the president's cabinet for this academic year. This request will again be forwarded to Program Review and, as will be shown from program data, there is a striking need to fund this position in order to take advantage of significant FTS as well as meet the needs of our students. New Activities and Outcomes 1. ACCTNG Requests Faculty Request Category: Title: Tenure-Track Accounting Instructor Priority: 2 FTE: 1.0 Previous Recommended: NO Employee Status: New Overload: YES Remarks Chaffey College offers classes in financial, managerial, and payroll accounting, as well as bookkeeping and software classes. Both full-time and adjunct instructors are utilized to conduct these various classes. Full-time faculty members carry responsibilities in addition to teaching a full time course load. These responsibilities often include managing particular areas of coursework, certificate programs, and other extracurricular activities. By having one individual responsible for such items, accountability can be established for

3 the various course offerings. This way that faculty member holds the responsibility for reviewing the coursework, ensuring it is up to date, and that the students receive the most relevant and reliable information. For example, the department is currently looking at the possibility of developing qualifying courses for students interested in sitting for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Exams. By providing such classes, additional enrollment by a new type of student would be possible increasing overall FTEF. But, this type of expansion would require a full time faculty member to manage the roll-out, course content, and overall maintenance of the new program. With the planned expansion of online classes, additional individuals will be needed to delegate the management of these classes, review and update course content, and maintain commercial viability of our certificate programs. The addition of a full time faculty member would also help to increase the department s cumulative knowledge seeking out individuals with diverse areas of expertise to help create a dynamic department and learning environment. Currently, the two full-time accounting instructors, with one serving as the department coordinator, facilitated only a minority of the accounting classes offered (40%) -leaving the majority (60%) to be taught by adjunct faculty. This poses several concerns for the school. First, with the majority of courses taught by adjunct, or part-time, instructors there are simply not enough technical expertise available to manage specific courses or certificate programs. In the field of accounting this can be particularly alarming since so much revolves around integrating industry knowledge into the coursework. Additionally, there is a compelling need for an additional faculty member to assist in the management of the development and management of online course content. Proper online expansion of existing classes will be hindered without an additional full time faculty member. We are currently significantly behind other colleges in the area in the development and offering of on-line curriculum and this can simply be attributed to not enough hands to do the necessary work. Also, as part-time instructors experience a higher turnover than do tenure-track faculty members, this makes it exceedingly difficult for continuity to be maintained in courses, programs, and the department as a whole. This lack of continuity and accountability can lead to a compromise in the overall integrity of the accounting program affecting the school, students, and community. With the expansion of accounting course offerings

4 at both the new Chino campus and the Fontana center, it is imperative that the department have the requisite number of full-time faculty to offer a highly diverse, technically superior, market driven accounting program at all locations to ensure the best opportunities for our students Instructional Software Category: Item Desc: Quickbooks Price: Quantity: 100 Total Cost: 1360 Recommended For Yes Purchase: Purchased: No Remarks Quickbooks is currently the most widely-used software accounting system by small to medium sized businesses not only in our area, but across the country. The accounting department therefore needs additional licenses in order to meet the growing demand for this course. Expanded course offerings at the Chino and Fontana campuses are planned and the existing number of Quickbook licenses will not be sufficient. One hundred additional site licenses are required to meet the anticipated growth for these additional course sections. This will enable the school to run the Quickbooks software classes simultaneously at all campus locations and increase student retention and satisfaction General Supplies Category: Item Desc: Flash Drives Price: 40 Quantity: 15 Total Cost: 600 Approve For Purchase: Yes Purchased: No Remarks Full-time and adjunct faculty incorporate a variety audio-visual technology and other forms of multi media provided by the publishers to enhance the student learning experience in the classroom. Flash drives represent the most efficient manner in which to store and transport this information to the classroom. At present due to configuration of the instructor computer work stations in the classrooms, CD-roms are not viable as a medium delivery device and flash drives are the best method of managing this task. 2. Real Estate 3. Financial Services Requests Faculty Request

5 Category: Title: Priority: 1 FTE: 1.0 Instructor of Real Estate and Financial Services Previous Recommended: YES - Number of times: 1 Employee Status: Overload: Remarks New YES To date the real estate program has been a significant FTES generator for the college as well as offering a fulfilling and lucrative career path for an untold amount of students. But the program is at a critical crossroads at this point in time and not only it's continued viability, but it's actual survival is at stake. There are some potentially significant problems on the horizon. The state real estate regulatory agencies are in the process of significantly changing the qualifying education needed to sit for the real estate sales persons, brokers and appraiser exams. While we are currently in compliance, there is great danger that in the very near future we will not be and the reason for this simple - we do not have a fulltime real estate instructor who can develop the new curriculum that is needed, as well as revise the existing curriculum, to meet these changes. This is not a task that can be assigned to adjunct faculty as the task is much too demanding in terms of time and expertise. All of the current demands of the real estate program are met by the department coordinator, who does not have a background in real estate. At present, ALL of the courses in the Real Estate curriculum are taught by adjunct instructors. We are the only college of our size in the area that does not have a full-time instructor in the real estate area and that is significant for a number of reasons. Not only are we in danger of losing our accreditation as a result of the aforementioned changes to the licensing exams, but we are foregoing significant opportunities for continued growth in this area. Recent data has shown a significant enrollment growth in on-line delivery of real estate classes, but at present we do not offer any of our courses on-line. In addition, while some sectors of the real estate area may be slowing, such as sales, others such as property management and appraisal our growing, but we are not in a position to take advantage of this trend. Given the significant FTES that the program generates for the college, and the low rate of capitalization that it requires, it is imperative that this program be granted a full-time faculty member to further enhance and develop the opportunities for both our students and the college. Last year the PSR committee wisely and graciously approved the request for this position, but is was not funded

6 at cabinet. We ask once again that the committee look towards the best interests of our students and the college and approve this position, in the hopes that we can save this program before it is too late. Previous Activities and Outcomes 1. Activity: In addition to our current software offerings, we are planning to add a course offering for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting. This software package will expand our current offerings (Peachtree, QuickBooks, and Great Plains) so that our students have an opportunity to learn the software packages most widely used in local industry. We expect that this software will have a significant customer base due to the integration with other Microsoft Office programs. The course will be added to the curriculum under our current software course offerings (ACCTG 459, 460) to provide another option to assist the student in earning their desired degree and/or certificate in Accounting. Outcome: The student will have an understanding of one or more of the accounting software packages used by approximately 85% of businesses in the Inland Empire, thus leading to enhanced employment opportunities. Fully While the Microsoft office package has not be offered as a class yet due to publisher materials not available at the beginning of the year, all other software packages (Peachtree, Quickbooks, and Great Plains) were offered giving students the opportunity to develop and enhance their software skills. Over recent years there has been a sharp increase in demand for students with software knowledge. These skills will make them much more marketable in the current business environment. The possibility of offering these software classes online is being investigated so that we may serve additional students, maximize classroom use, and serve the needs of the business community by creating technically prepared and well-rounded citizens. 2. Activity: Adherence to established professional requirements and continually monitoring changes in regulatory requirements. All current program requirements will be up-to-date and relevant to the actual working environment. Outcome: 60% of students completing the programs will demonstrate significant proficiency in the subject discipline by successfully completing comprehensive projects and/or exams administered by the program or the respective regulatory agencies. Fully Within the department there are two program subject to outside regulatory requirements: the tax program and the real estate program. The tax program is regulated by the California Tax Education Council (CTEC) which requires all programs offering instruction leading to the Registered Tax Preparers certificate to follow a strict set of curriculum guidelines, as well as undergo an accreditation review every three years. This past summer our program underwent accreditation review and received a high commendation from CTEC on the performance of our program. All students completing the ACCTFS 453 class are required to prepare as a project a complicated tax return that tests numerous facets of tax preparation. A passing score on this project is required to receive the Registered Tax Preparer's Certificate. Approximately 85% of the enrolled students in the tax class this past year have achieved that objective. The Real Estate program is subject to regulation by the both the California State Board of Real Estate and the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers. Both of these agencies require that the curriculum cover key material that will be tested in the licensing exams given by these agencies. Instructors meet this goal in several ways including comprehensive lecture coverage of the key subject areas as well as regularly administering practice exams which parallel the test pattern of the licensing exams. To date, of those students who successfully complete the RE 10 Principles class, upwards of 75% of the students are successfully passing the Real Estate Salesperson exam.

7 3. Activity: Instructors will include wide-ranging group projects, accounting simulations and comprehensive exams in their course presentation so as to promote analytical thinking and problem solving. Outcome: 75% of students competing Accounting degree or certificate programs will be able to maintain the financial records of a business and develop suitable strategies for company viability through presentation and analysis of financial activity. Fully Group projects must be completed satisfactorily in order to pass the class. Many projects are to be completed on software based accounting programs to provide students with experience on commercial accounting software packages. Many group projects also have a written and oral presentation component. Emphasis on these areas help prepare students for transfer as well as a career in the professional environment. Employers have responded that the ability to work in a group environment, as part of a team, is a growing skill they seek out in their prospective employees. Diversity in the groups is encouraged in order to maximize the cross-learning of skills and culture. These group projects help students gain a comprehensive understanding of analysis and decision making. Successful completion of work on a group project is a necessary element to passing the class, thus ensuring that students will have the ability to both prepare and analyze the financial records of a business. 4. Activity: Evaluate our existing Payroll and Income Tax Preparer certificate to determine a more effective sequencing of course work. Currently, we offer one certificate for Payroll and Income Tax Preparer. We plan to separate this certificate into two distinct certificates Payroll Preparer and Income Tax Preparer to enhance student vocational skills and secure entry level employment. We plan to align the certificates in a manner in which we can prepare our students to master the skills necessary for passing nationally recognized professional certificate exams such as the Enrolled Agent and Certified Payroll Preparer Certificates. Outcome: It is expected that this activity will result in an expansion of topics offered and an increased number of certificates will be awarded. Additionally, students completing these certificates will be better trained to take advantage of employment and market demands relevant to specific employer needs. Partially The interest generated by students for these certificate programs has increased. Because of this growing interest, the existing curriculum is being reviewed and a reconfiguration is expected by the end of the academic year to provide for certification in this area. Also, this examination includes evaluating where the bookkeeping curriculum should fit into a certificate. In addition, the current changes to the Enrolled Agent exam are being weighed in terms of how best to create a certificate to best meet student interest in the career path of taxation and financial services. Certificates in other areas such as payroll, bookkeeping, and software are also currently being reviewed. In recent years, the inland empire has witnessed astounding growth in small to mid-size businesses. Certificates in areas such as payroll, bookkeeping, and software would best meet the ongoing demands of this growing business sector in the inland empire. As part of this evaluation process, the department plans to develop a survey that will be sent to local businesses. This feedback will be critically important as we continue this process of developing and grouping certificates in a wat that best meets the needs of all our stakeholders, students and businesses alike. This entire process has been somewhat slowed by the lack of permanent, full-time faculty within the accounting department. While a new faculty member was hired this year as a replacement for Cindy Navaroli, who resigned shorty before the beginning of the Fall 2006 semester, there is a critical need for an additional faculty within the department.

8 5. Activity: Course offerings in Real Estate will be continually monitored to ensure conformity with state Real Estate regulations and exam requirements. Outcome: 70% of students completing the Real Estate program will pass one of the three Real Estate state exams listed above. Fully To date, of those students who successfully complete the RE 10 Principles class, upwards of 75% of the students are successfully passing the Real Estate Salesperson exam. Instructors meet this goal in several ways including comprehensive lecture coverage of the key subject areas as well as regularly administering practice exams which parallel the test pattern of the licensing exams. This success has been mirrored on the other qualifying exams. While our students have has great success to date on the real estate qualifying exams, there are some potentially significant problems on the horizon. The state real estate regulatory agencies are in the process of significantly changing the qualifying education needed to sit for these exams. While we are currently in compliance, there is great danger that in the near future we may not be and the reason for this simple - we do not have a fulltime real estate instructor who can develop the new curriculum that is needed, as well as revise the existing curriculum, to meet these changes. This is not a task that can be assigned to adjunct faculty as the task is much too demamding in terms of time and expertise. All of the current deamnds of the real estate program are met by the department coordinator, who does not have a background in Real Estate. Given the significant FTES that the program generates for the college, and the low rate of capitalization that it requires, it is imperative that this program be granted a full-time faculty member to futher enhance and develop the opportunities for both our students and the college. Externally Imposed Regulation: 1. Organization: California Tax Education Council-(CTEC) - this agency is the accreditation body for all tax programs in the State offering qualifying education in taxation. Last Review: 06/30/2007 Recommendations: None. The agency re-certified the program's accreditation and lauded the tax program for it's depth and committment to high standards in the field of tax education. Budgetary recommendations: None. Addressed Satisfactorily: Yes Status of Recommendation: Next Review: 06/30/ Organization: State Department of Real Estate Last Review: 07/30/2007 Recommendations: The program needs to develop additional real estate courses to meet the changing educational requirements for both the salespersons and brokers license. Additionally, it was recommended that the program offer courses in the curriculum on-line in order to meet the needs of busy real estate professionals. Budgetary recommendations: There is a dire need for a full time real estate instructor to meet the ongoing needs of the program and satisfy the above recommendations. Currently, all courses in are taught by adjunct faculty and administrative duties are handled by the department coordinator, who does not have a background in real estate. As this program generates considerable FTES for the college, it would be sound policy to hire a full time instructor to manage and futher develop this already successful program. Addressed Satisfactorily: No Status of Recommendation: In order to substantially meet these recommendations, a full time faculty member, which program review has approved in the past, needs to hired. Next Review: 07/30/ Organization: California Office of Real Estate Appraisers

9 Last Review: 09/30/2007 Recommendations: The appraisal program needs to substantially revise it's curriculum to meet the new standards for meeting qualifying education in this area, which will go into effect in January of Budgetary recommendations: The department needs to hire a full time real estate instructor who has the expertise to make these needed changes to the curriculum and further develop the program. This is growing area in the field of real estate and the college is not maximizing it's opportunties in this area Addressed Satisfactorily: No Status of Recommendation: The program coordinator, who does not have a real estate background, is trying to effect these changes, but with the other demands of the position, and limited expertise in this area, it is becoming a significant challenge. It seems imperative that the college hire a full-time real estate instructor, which program review has approved in the past, in order to meet the growing needs of this program. Next Review: 06/30/0008 Awards Data Payroll & Income Tax Preparer (E117) 2003/FA /SP /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /SP 0 6 Additionally, this data does not count the significant number of students that receive the Registered Tax Preparers Certificate from the State of California, which is bestowed by successfully completing course work here at Chaffey. Acctg for Govt & NFP Orgs (L008) 2002/FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /SP 0 2 Real Estate: California (L380)

10 2002/FA /FA /SP 0 1 Real Estate Salesperson (L381) 2002/FA 0 4 Accounting (S005) 2002/FA /SU /FA /SP /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /SP 14 0 Real Estate: California (S380) 2002/FA /SP /SP 1 0 Real Estate (S381) 2004/FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP 4 0 Accounting (T005)

11 2002/FA /SU /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /FA /SP /SU /SP /SU /SP 0 2 Budget If any unexpended funds in last years budget, please briefly explain why these funds were not spent. No Were any additional funds requested (VTEA, other grants, etc.)? If so, please list source of additional funds and amount received. No We did request funds for 40 lap top computers and two storage carts to be used for the accounting and financial services classes. To date, we have received the carts, but not the computers.

12 Data for FTEF Data for FTEF for ACCTG TERM PCTPTandOverloadFTEFs PCTFullTimeFTEFs PT and Over Time Full Time Total 2002/FA /FA /SP /FA

13 2004/SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP Data for FTEF for ACCTGFS TERM PCTPTandOverloadFTEFs PCTFullTimeFTEFs PT and Over Time Full Time Total 2003/FA /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP Data for FTEF for RE TERM PCTPTandOverloadFTEFs PCTFullTimeFTEFs PT and Over Time Full Time Total 2002/FA /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP Retention Data

14 Section Data by Course By Meet Time Section Totals For ACCTG Term Morning Afternoon Evening Weekend Arranged Internet Total 2002/FA /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP Section Totals For ACCTGFS Term Morning Afternoon Evening Weekend Arranged Internet Total 2003/FA /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP Section Totals For RE Term Morning Afternoon Evening Weekend Arranged Internet Total 2002/FA /FA

15 2003/SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /FA /SP /SP