University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Texas, USA Students are very familiar with their own universities and also are interested in improving their alma maters. The purpose of this research is to share insights about a project that can be used for both traditional Auditing courses and the Internal Auditing course. The project requires that students "audit" certain elements of the universities' non-confidential finances as well as perform operational and compliance techniques. The project creates synergy for experiential learning and improvement of university operations. Examples of educational issues that were improved with the operational audits are: (1) better information posted for office hours and class times; (2) better scripting for professors' and staff's voicemail messages; and (3) campus safety improvements. The students also seemed more enthusiastic about auditing and happy to contribute to the excellence of their university.

This research examines the CPA exam pass rates for higher education institutions in Texas. An investigation related to the top schools and AACSB accreditation is conducted as well as analyses related to public vs. private schools, area of the state where the institution is located, and University Systems. The results reflect impressive pass rates by University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University at College Station in terms of both number of students taking the exam and the percentage passing it. There was a significant CPA rate lead with private universities only when the two outstanding public universities were omitted from the analysis. The research also found significant differences in terms of areas of the state as well as university systems. The analysis and the findings are very important to students with CPA exam success as their academic primary goal with their university education, the educational institutions preparing the students, and society as a whole. The findings may help guide both the universities and the students to better success with the exam as well as perhaps help taxpayers and legislators know how well tax money is being spent in this area.