SummaryThe present study compared work commitments, overall job satisfaction, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards satisfactions, and organizational and professional turnover intentions of 718 male and female accounting professionals at different career stages. Career stage was measured by professional tenure. The results indicate that there are some differences in work attitudes across career stages for male accounting professionals. Job involvement, organizational commitment, and intrinsic and extrinsic rewards satisfaction are positively related to professional tenure. Organizational turnover intentions are negatively related to professional tenure for male accounting professionals. There are no significant differences in work attitudes across career stages for female accounting professionals. An examination of reasons for differences in work attitude patterns between male and female accountants suggests the need for research to determine whether later career stages (advancement and maintenance) differ for men and women. The results also suggest that future research should consider defining career stage in terms of the overlap between stages defined using alternate career stage measures.

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Assessment is becoming important from many different perspectives. Universities are planning, developing, and testing various assessment models to satisfy stakeholders. Many accrediting agencies are also requiring assessment plans and their implementation from universities for reaccreditation. This article describes how assessment was used to continuously improve a database course in a Web MBA program, and combines Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle with Bloom's taxonomy to develop rubrics for problem solving learning objectives in an online course. Results from direct and indirect measurements are used to improve the course. Specifically, two semester results are compared for course assessment. Results show some improvement; however, the course requires continuous improvement to meet benchmarks. The model presented here is generic in nature and should be useful for all educators who plan to initiate or continue the assessment and continuous improvement process. Instead of reinventing the wheel, educators can learn from our experiences and use the results as a starting point for their own assessment programs.

Many assessment activities are conducted within the context of AACSB International reaffirmation of business programs. Central to the AACSB evaluation process is assurance of learning standards. Learning goals vary among institutions because of differences in mission, faculty expectations, and student body composition. The objective of this research is to determine the factors that influence the academic performance of students in upper-level accounting courses and to assess student performance against course learning goals. The study explores the relative importance of both academic and non-academic factors in predicting performance outcomes. The results indicate that several academic factors (GPA, student’s diagnostic exam score, and student’s self-assessment of course learning objectives) are significant in predicting a student’s final numerical course average. The study also examines the association between student achievement of course learning goals and various non-academic demographic and student success factors. The results indicate that student course loads, employment status, marital status, and family responsibilities do not equally impact student learning outcomes. The study extends existing research by using non-traditional students at an upper-division university and a variety of approaches to assess the achievement of course learning goals.

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