Accounting professionals play a huge role in the success of businesses today. And while becoming a traditional accountant is always an option, other important contributions are made by individuals who specialize in using technology to collect and analyze data for business planning purposes.

So if you want to “test the waters,” so to speak, there are important skills to learn that can help you pursue entry-level positions while developing the knowledge and know-how to integrate general accounting, finance, data interchange and network technologies.

But how to you get the skills to land that first job?

Business Accounting Technology

Associate Degree. This degree in accounting puts the focus on using internet technologies and financial electronic commerce as tools in the accounting process. In fact, accounting professionals use technical knowledge to perform most of the day-to-day tasks in the digital marketplace. This degree in accounting blends accounting concepts, financial applications and elements of business with accounting technology, such as business data interchange and migration, and network technologies. What you get is a practitioner-oriented program of study that can help you prepare to function in a variety of business atmospheres.

Some of the courses you can expect to take include: (more…)

Doctoral education in the United States, though the envy of the world, needs serious reforms that require a new emphasis on the creation of “intellectual communities” that will change the roles of both professors and graduate students, argues a book being released today by the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching.

The Formation of Scholars: Rethinking Doctoral Education for the Twenty-First Century (Jossey-Bass) emphasizes the importance of some concepts — like intellectual community or having professors in a graduate program actually talk among themselves about their goals for the program — that at first glance may sound a bit obvious. But surveys of graduate students and professors collected for the book illustrate that such basics as having a departmental consensus on graduate education are nothing to take for granted. The surveys in fact found that major aspects of doctoral programs aren’t well understood by the professors who require them or the students who must complete the requirements.

While the book goes to great lengths to say that it is not suggesting an overhaul of everything in graduate education, it could be read to be suggesting numerous significant changes. For example, it says that a key feature such as the qualifying exam is currently offered in many cases without a departmental vision of what it is for — and with students left confused and frustrated. Dissertations, the book argues, are defined in a much too narrow way. And the apprenticeship model, in which a graduate student theoretically learns from a learned scholar in the field, needs to be rethought to, among other things, get away from the idea that any one professor can provide what’s needed. (more…)

Distance learning has special challenges. You will probably never see or meet the teacher. You won’t have classmates. You don’t have a campus full of people studying the same thing. But you can succeed! Plan on it! Follow the simple tips below, and you’ll do better in your learning. They may seem pretty basic, but they’ll help keep you focused and on track.

1. Set goals

Goal #1: “I will succeed in this course.”
At the beginning of a new course, look through the materials. Break the lessons/assignments into manageable chunks. You might not have time to do
a full lesson in one night, so plan for how much you can do, then stick to it until
you’re done.

2. Establish a regular study/learning schedule.

Keep a calendar or journal with your study goals and important dates clearly
marked-and look at it every day (a calendar can’t help you if it’s closed!).
Determine what time is best for you to study. Is it after dinner on Wednesdays
when your partner is at bowling? Is it Saturday mornings when the kids are at
soccer?
Take breaks-walk around and stretch. Drink some water or have a light snack. If you’re studying nutrition or health topics, you know how important this is!
If possible, have a dedicated study place with all the supplies you might need (computer, paper, pens, calculator, etc.)
Pace yourself. Don’t over extend yourself. There’s a reason it takes several years
to graduate from traditional university. You’re in this to learn, not just to get a certificate, so make sure you’re learning, not just racing through the materials.

3. Talk about it! (more…)