Educating Tomorrow's Accountants

College campuses are the critical battlegrounds for combating the accountant shortage - as we and others have often observed. A chance item in a Wisconsin small-town newspaper shows that the battle isn't confined to the Whartons and Chicagos of the world, but is also being fought at the grass roots.

"The Fox Valley Technical College's Oshkosh campus is expanding its accounting program in response to increasing job opportunities in that field," says the article in the Northwestern, in Oshkosh, Wis. (population 69,216).

The technical college is gradually increasing its number of accounting students over the years as part of its regional business plan, said Melissa Kohn, FVTC Oshkosh campuses director. The program has increased by 15 percent since 2005, which at that time had 90 students....

"So, the growth is really indicative of meeting the trends of the labor market," Kohn said.

Accounting is one of four areas slated for expansion in a business plan the campus adopted last September with the aim of boosting full-time enrollment 8 percent by 2010. (The other three growth areas are certified nursing, medical assistant and information technology.)

The Oshkosh campus increased accounting course offerings and hired two new accounting professors this year. One of them, Kay Bellile, said students in her classes include high school graduates, displaced workers and people re-entering the workforce.

Accounting program at FVTC Oshkosh reports growth [The Northwestern]