School of Accountancy and Taxation
- Mission Statement
The School of Accounting & Taxation creates a synergy between accounting, business, and economic theory and contemporary practice to prepare working professionals and full-time students for careers in a global, culturally diverse, information-driven economy.
Three principles are central to our mission:
- Education - The first, and foremost, is fostering learning through excellent teaching, individual attention, and scholarship, which develops, assesses, and disseminates good practice.
- Research - The second is the application of theory to practice through applied research and scholarship, and the utilization of applied research to further learning in the classroom and through co-curricular activities.
- Community - The third is advancing contemporary practice and creating learning opportunities by contributing to the accounting profession and to business and the community.
- Student Learning Outcomes
- Certificate (Not Applicable)
- Associate Degree (Not Applicable)
- Bachelor Degree
At the end of their study in either Accounting (BS) or Finance (BS), students will
- Demonstrate knowledge of key accounting concepts
- Be ethically aware
- Be analytical and critical thinkers
- Be effective communicators
- Be globally informed
- Certificate (Not Applicable)
- Curriculum Grid
- Program and Contact Information
The School of Accounting & Taxation creates a synergy between accounting, business, and economic theory and contemporary practice to prepare working professionals and full-time students for careers in a global, culturally diverse, information-driven economy.
Three principles are central to our mission:
- Education - The first, and foremost, is fostering learning through excellent teaching, individual attention, and scholarship, which develops, assesses, and disseminates good practice.
- Research - The second is the application of theory to practice through applied research and scholarship, and the utilization of applied research to further learning in the classroom and through co-curricular activities.
- Community - The third is advancing contemporary practice and creating learning opportunities by contributing to the accounting profession and to business and the community.
- The field of accounting encompasses the well-recognized profession of public accounting including auditing, management advisory services, and tax services; professional careers in industry such as management accounting (controllership), cost accounting, and internal auditing; careers in various governmental agencies and other accounting and business-related fields. (Accounting is defined as the process of gathering, classifying, interpreting, and presenting financial and non-financial information for decision-making purposes to diversified user groups.)
Contact Information:Dr. Darcie Costello
91¶ÌÊÓƵ
3803 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408
Wattis Business Bldg, Rm 251
(801) 626-6492
darciecostello@weber.edu - Assessment Plan
The assessment plan for the School of Accountancy is comprised of activities that refine and develop learning outcomes consistent with our mission, collect data which are indicators of learning, and gather data that indirectly assess the program’s achievements.
The plan to assess the program and student learning is best indicated by the following high-level process and value-chain diagrams:
Assessment Plan
The School of Accounting and Taxation (SAT) maintains AACSB accreditation that is independent from the Goddard School of Business and Economics. The latest guidance from AACSB suggests an Assurance of Learning (AoL) program that measures student performance less frequently while focusing more effort on meaningful closing the loop activities. The SAT has adjusted its AoL schedule accordingly. We last collected direct measures of student performance in Spring 2024. To ensure our AoL efforts are program-based rather than course-based, the SAT faculty met in Fall 2024 to review and discuss the results from our Spring 2024 direct measurement of student performance across all learning outcomes. This meeting encourages AoL participation from all faculty members. This meeting also provides an opportunity for program-based continuous improvement. When student performance falls short of established performance targets, all faculty members who introduce, reinforce, and/or apply that learning outcome in their course(s) can discuss changes that can be implemented across the curriculum to improve student performance going forward. The SAT will collect direct measures of student performance again in Spring 2026. In the interim, we are implementing closing the loop activities (curricular changes) developed during our faculty meeting that we expect will result in improved student performance across our learning outcomes.
In summary, direct measures of student performance were collected in Spring 2024. The faculty will implement closing the loop activities during Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025, and assess the effectiveness of closing the loop activities in Spring 2026. The cycle will then begin again.
The SAT collects indirect measures of student performance in addition to direct, outcome-based measures of student achievement. The department meets regularly with our Advisory Board. Board members provide feedback regarding our curriculum, including suggestions for potential improvements based on ongoing changes in the accounting profession. Additionally, our graduating students complete an exit survey. Students answer questions addressing the degree to which they feel they’ve met the learning outcomes identified in our curriculum map. The accounting faculty discuss these indirect measures during department meetings to identify possible curriculum improvements. - Assessment Report Submissions
2017 - Conducted Program Review
- Program Review
This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.