ACCT 695: Graduate Field Experience Master Syllabus
Course Instructor: Faculty Directory
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Course Website: Canvas
Course Description
This course provides a framework for approaching, successfully completing, and reflecting upon a professional field experience in accounting. The course is designed for students who will complete semester long internship in the field of accounting either in public accounting or in industry. Offered by Accounting.
MSA Program Goals emphasized in this course
Professional skills - Our graduates will demonstrate professional skills necessary for success in thepublic accounting profession.
Teaming & Leading - Our graduates will demonstrate the team leadership and interpersonal skillsneeded to form, lead, and work effectively in diverse organizational teams.
Ethics and Professional Responsibility - Our graduates will understand the importance of ethicalconduct and the regulatory environment of accounting.
Professional Communications – Our graduates will communicate effectively to professionalaudiences in both written and oral forms.
Analytical Decision Making - Our graduates will demonstrate analytical decision-making skills.
Accounting Research - Our graduates will effectively conduct and communicate accountingresearch.
Internship
An internship involves working for an organization that will provide you opportunities to grow as a professional. The ideal internship leverages your education with your recently gained business knowledge and serves to enhance career and job opportunities. Internships require 50 hours of professional work per academic credit earned. You will need to work 150 hours to earn full credit for this course over eight or fifteen weeks depending on your specific internship.
An Internship Agreement specifying the goals of the internship, planned activities and responsibilities, and an indication of the organization’s commitment must be completed and approved through the Costello College of Business. You will be required to meet with the instructor to review the internship assignment and your Career & Internship Goal Statement. Additional meetings can be scheduled to monitor progress on the learning objectives and internship experience.
The Course
Course Site
The course is available on Canvas in your Student Portal. Log into the Canvas portal. Click on the Course Acct 695 to open the online classroom. Please refer to the Courses Support website for more Canvas help.
Course
- This course is designed to supplement your internship as a personal and professional development course. In addition to strong technical skills, effective leaders must possess good management skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills.
- The course is setup as units to accommodate the varying lengths of internship programs. An eight-week internship will complete one unit per week and a fifteen-week internship will complete a unit approximately every two weeks.
- This is a self-paced asynchronous online course.
- Throughout the course there will be supplemental learning articles or videos to include the following: networking, time management, business writing and presentation skills. There will be discussion boards related to the supplemental learnings.
- Required assignments are graded and will be due at various dates throughout the course. See course calendar for specific due dates.
- Effective time management is key to delivering professional quality products on time. There will be a 10% penalty for any late work. If you believe that you will miss a due date, please contact Professor Butler as soon as possible to discuss an alternative due date to prevent a late penalty.
- You will be required to meet with Professor Butler once during the module through Zoom. At this meeting we will review your Career & Internship Goal Statement (Due Unit 2) and internship assignment. This meeting will be part of your participation grade. Additional meetings are encouraged and can be requested at any time during the course. Professor Butler is available by scheduled appointment.
Course Setup - The course site is organized as follows
- Home – Welcome, Meet Professor Butler
- Syllabus & Course Calendar
- Announcements
- Modules - Learning Units
- Assignments Details, Requirements & Submission Links
- Discussion Boards
- Grades
- Zoom Link – To meet with Professor
Assignments
Professional Development Book – It will be important throughout your career to stay current and continue to grow. In addition to continuing education courses and professional organizations, executives often read one to two professional business books per year to keep up with the latest management trends. Choose ONE professional development book to read during the course. Below is a list of possible books. If you would like to choose a different book it will need to be approved by the Professor. The specific assignment instructions related to the book presentation are posted on the Canvas course.
- Any management book by Peter Drucker
- Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to be the Best and Learn from the Worst – Robert Sutton
- Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success – Richard Templar
- Business Leadership: Influence and Lead! Fundamentals for Personal and Professional Growth – Michael Nir
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
- Leaders Eat Last or The Power of Why – Simon Sinek
- Heart of a Leader – Ken Blanchard
- Good to Great or any book by Jim Collins
- Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi
- Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss
- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
- Emotional Intelligence 2.0 – Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves
- Books about Leaders of Successful Companies to include, but not limited to: Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Marriott International, McDonalds, Disney and Starbucks.
Provide your selected book for the course and email the professor by the end of Unit 1 of the course. You will be required to make a presentation of the book in Unit 7 of the course.
Internship Journal/Video Reflections (140 points – 14%) Due: Every Unit The purpose of the journal/video is to document activities and experiences related to your internship. This journal/notes should be kept and used to assist you in writing your Internship & Career Goal Reflection Paper. The journals should be submitted for each unit (20 pts each - 7 total) in the course.
The journals should be about 300 - 750 words (single-space) or a video should be 5 to 15 minutes. Specific assignment instructions are posted on the Canvas course.
Note: These journals/videos are designed to be personal reflections and will not be shared with other students. There is no rubric for the journals because there is no correct way to journal. However, your submissions must be free of typos and your reflections must be complete.
Career & Internship Goal Statement (100 pts - 10%) Due: Unit 2. The purpose of this statement is to articulate your career aspirations and goals. Any goal that is written down has a higher likelihood of being achieved. While long-term goals can change, consider what type of career you’d like to have. Then consider the skills and abilities you’ll need to shape your actions today that will prepare you for the future you desire. Specific assignment instructions and grading rubric are posted on the Canvas course.
Leader/Mentor Interview “Newspaper” Article or Video (200 pts - 20%) Due: Unit 5. The purpose of this assignment is to help you become engaged and expose you to networking with other professionals. You should identify a leader/mentor within the organization you are interning that you believe may provide valuable information and insight. You should request an information interview and prepare interview questions in advance of the meeting. More details on networking and information interviews will be provided in Unit 3: Networking. You will prepare a summary of your interview similar to newspaper article or a newscast which means your article/video newscast should be concise. Specific assignment instructions and grading rubric are posted on the Canvas course.
Professional Development Book Presentation (200 pts - 20%). Due Unit 7. The purpose of this video presentation is to provide an opportunity for you to succinctly present the highlights of the book and how you can use what you have learned in your professional career. This exercise is meant to build your confidence in public speaking as a professional and future leader. Specific assignment instructions and grading rubric are posted on the Canvas course.
Note: The video or article will be posted/shared on a discussion board for class discussion and feedback.
Internship & Career Goal Reflection Paper (200 pts - 20%) Due: Unit 8. The purpose of this self-reflection paper is to summarize and reflect on your internship experience and discuss the professional skills you learned. The paper should incorporate your internship and career goal statement from Unit 2. In addition, you should re-affirm or alter your future career goals based on the internship experience. Specific assignment instructions and grading rubric are posted on the Canvas course.
Supervisor Evaluations/Timesheets (25 pts each – 2 total - 5%) Due Unit 4 & 8
You will ask your internship supervisor to submit a written evaluation of performance at the midpoint (Unit 4) and the end (Unit 8) of the internship. The Supervisor Evaluation/Timesheet form will be posted on the Canvas course and needs to be completed and signed. Please scan the evaluation and upload it to the Canvas course under the assignment links as a pdf.
Check In, Discussion Board and Participation (110 pts – 11%).
Engagement and networking with other professionals will be a major contributing factor of a successful career. Being engaged is key to learning in a graduate program because students learn from each other. Discussion boards facilitate class discussion and participation in an online remote learning environment. There are several discussion boards throughout the course. The two discussion boards related to your internship experience are worth 10 points each (20 points). The four discussion boards related to the learning units are worth 10 points (40 points). The two assignment related discussion boards are worth 10 points each (20 points). The check in with the professor (30 points) is your opportunity to ask questions and to ensure you are having a successful internship experience.
Note: There is no rubric for these assignments. Your overall engagement and participation will be assessed and is at the discretion of the professor.
Grading
Your grade will be assigned based on the number of points you earn on each assignment. Below is the grading scale.
| Grade | Total Points |
|---|---|
| A | 900 - 1000 |
| B | 800 - 899 |
| C | 700 - 799 |
| F | Below 700 |
| Course Assignments | Total Points | % of Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Internship Journal/Video Reflections (20 pts each - 7 total) |
140 |
14 |
| Career & Internship Goal Statement |
100 |
10 |
| Executive/Mentor Interview “Journalism” Article/Video |
200 |
20 |
| Professional Development Book Presentation |
200 |
20 |
| Internship & Career Goal Reflection Paper |
200 |
20 |
| Check Ins, Discussion Board & Participation |
110 |
11 |
| Supervisor Evaluations (2 total) |
50 |
5 |
| Total Points |
1000 |
100% |
Note on Grading: All assignments have been designated with a generous word range or length guide. If the assignment is under the range, then your ideas may not be fully developed, and you may need to invest more time in completing the assignment. If you are over the range, your ideas may be disorganized and not communicated clearly and concisely. Writing is an iterative process. It is important to edit your writing and presentations. Grading will be based on the overall quality and content of the assignment. Grading rubrics will be provided for most of the graded assignments.
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Unit # |
Professional Development Supplemental Learnings |
Graded Assignments/Deliverables |
Due Date |
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1 |
Leadership Skills * Linked In Learning Video: Leadership Foundations
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2 |
Time Management * You Tube Video – Get Corporate Ready: The Three Ps of Time Management * Harvard Business Review: Conquering Digital Distractions |
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3 |
Communication * CPA Practice Advisor: A Guide to Better Client Communication * Journal of Accountancy: How to Communicate with Purpose * The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Effective Email Communication *Financial Cents: An In-Depth Guide to Client Communication for Accounting Firms |
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4 |
Business Writing * Linked in Learning Video: Tips for Better Business Writing * Harvard Business Review: The Science of Strong Business Writing |
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5 |
Presentation Skills * Linked In Learning Video: Creating & Delivering Presentations * Harvard Business Review: What it Takes to Give a Great Presentation *Harvard Business Review Video: 3 Steps to Better Presentation Slides * Harvard Business Review Video: Create Slides People Will Remember |
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6 |
Business Etiquette *Linked In Learning Video: How to Develop Friendships and Connect Meaningfully with Work Colleagues *Indeed: 26 Business Etiquette Tips (And How to Improve Yours) |
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7 |
Professional Relationships * Linked In Learning Video: Building a Better Relationship with Your Boss * Forbes: Building and Maintain Professional Relationships |
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8 |
Networking * Linked In Learning Video: Professional Networking for Career Starters * Harvard Business Review: Start Networking Right Away (Even If You Hate It) * Harvard Business Review: A Smarter Way to Network |
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