Park University - ACBSP Accredation

I am working my way through an employer-paid MBA through this school (which is local to my hometown of KC though I don't live there anymore). I also have a CPA and 15+ years of experience in accounting and business analytics.

My eventual goal is to become an adjunct accounting instructor either online or at one of the local community colleges - as a part-time gig, of course. I am wondering if I made the wrong choice - will ACBSP accreditation only (and not AACSB) keep me from becoming an online or CC accounting instructor (adjunct?). Should I transition to a different program?

 

My MBA focus is in Management Accounting, so I have already taken 15 graduate credit hours in accounting fields. So I would just need to pick up an extra 3.

Thanks.

 

I think that would only affect one of my courses. The rest have ACC prefixes. But that seems so ridic.

Honestly, finding accounting graduate courses is somewhat tough. There's only so much to cover.

 

I've pondered the same question. After all, what is the theoretical basis for such an applied field?

 

I don't see any impact on the usage of a degree in the US that comes from a program accredited by any other agency than AACSB. I have no opinion on the international scene.

 

Most CCs I've encountered only require a Masters degree for full time or tenure track work. Many still let you teach with only a bachelors degree as an adjunct. Even that can flex a bit. They don't have someone with an M.Eng. teaching the courses in auto repair that lead to an associates degree. While academic qualifications are most often the qualification that schools and accreditors require, they are not the only ones. I know for a fact that Binghamton University will hire an accounting adjunct with no bachelors degree if they have a CPA. The thing is, in New York, it's almost more difficult to be a CPA and not have a Masters as well given the course requirements to be eligible to sit for the exam but that's another matter entirely.

With a bachelors degree and a CPA you could likely teach in a CC is my point. The MBA will be icing on the cake and open more doors. It's easy for schools to get people with general business backgrounds and the humanities. Accounting is a tougher proposition. It's also a field where the certification/license matters more than the masters in terms of whether an instructor is qualified to teach. It should be noted that the 18 credit requirement 1) differs slightly from regional accreditor to regional accreditor 2) for some the requirement is to have a Masters degree in the field you're teaching OR 18 credits.

So if you have an M.A. in History you can teach history. This is important because a history major might take coursework from other departments like Medieval Studies or Sociology. If I want to teach history at a college and my M.A. is in Religious Studies, however, I need to meet the 18 credit requirement. That's HLC's rule. There is clearly an exception process in place for some disciplines and with some accreditors to allow for people with exceptional experience in a field to teach in that field as adjuncts.

As for what an accounting PhD might write about, remember that not all accounting is bookkeeping. Tax law is well within the domain of accountants and one could write a dissertation on a topic in that world just as easily as a legal scholar could. I would imagine a forensic accountant might have some interesting topics to explore. One might write about how cryptocurrency ought be treated given that it is essentially a new thing that established accounting methods never envisioned as they developed. Stuff like that?

 

The subject isn't the issue. In a scholarly doctorate, the research does one of two things: test theory or create theory. That is, deductive or inductive. What I'm puzzled about is what theory(ies) could drive accountancy? Even my field, HRD, has a foundational theory. I'm not ruling it out, but I'm puzzled by it. Now, a professional doctorate that advances practice? Sure. Again, either inductive or deductive, but not theory-testing or theory creating.

 

In one of my favorite books, How to Complete and Survive a Doctoral Dissertation, Sternberg warns about this very thing. The main goal of a dissertation is to get a doctorate. That means you have to select a subject and design a research project that can be done within the confines of the dissertation process. Picking a topic that can be overcome by events, or one in which it is hard to get access to data--"A Comparison of Leadership Circle Profiles from Business Leaders and Crime Bosses"--is a bad idea (and should be headed off by your advisor). Do a dissertation you can complete, then go do the research you love after you've graduated.