(NOTE: Exhibits are not included in this web page. For tables and charts, see original publication in Journal of Accounting Education).

Abstract: This article presents the results of a longitudinal study on characteristics of accounting students, conducted by the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA). Surveys were administered annually to seniors and Masters' students at FSA member schools in the United States for a five-year period from 1991 to 1995. The instruments measured various student attributes, including quality, future educational plans, career plans, plans for professional certification, extra-curricular involvement, attitude toward the accounting profession, attitude toward learning, attitude toward the 150-hour requirement, and various demographic dimensions. Trends in these attributes are relevant to many currently debated topics in accounting education.

Results of the first four years' surveys have previously appeared in Journal of Accounting Education (Vol. 10, pp. 25-37; Vol. 11, pp. 211-225; and Vol 13. pp. 393-411.) In this article, trends in the data are presented with tests of statistical significance.

Each year from 1991 to 1995, the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) conducted a survey of seniors and Masters' students at FSA member schools, with the intent of establishing a longitudinal data base of student characteristics. The original motivation for the survey was reports of declining student quality in American accounting programs in the late 1980s (Perspectives 1989; Inman et al 1989; Graves et al 1991) In response to these concerns, in 1990, the FSA's governing board created the Data Base Committee and charged it with measuring and tracking trends in the quality of accounting students. This mission was later expanded to include various other student characteristics, including demographics, attitudes, and the timing of and influences on students' decisions to major in accounting.

The survey instrument went through an evolutionary process. After the first and second administrations in 1991 and 1992, improvements and refinements were made. These changes between years hamper direct comparisons on some items. However, from 1993 to 1995 the instrument remained fairly consistent, enabling longitudinal comparisons. Thus, in the data presented below, some items show trends over the full five years, while other items show trends for only the most recent three or four years.

The survey was administered during spring semester/spring quarter each year to both senior accounting majors and also graduate students in professional accounting Masters' degree programs. In 1991, the questionnaire was administered at 29 FSA schools, yielding 2,124 usable responses (Graves et al, 1992). In 1992, 26 FSA schools participated, yielding 1,622 usable responses (Graves et al, 1993). In 1993, 3,481 students at 39 schools participated, and in 1994, 2,177 students at 27 schools participated (Nelson & Deines, 1995). In 1995, the only year not previously reported in this journal, 2,564 students at 40 schools participated in the survey.

Presented below are much of the data resulting from the surveys. Due to space constraints, not all information collected in the surveys has been included in this article (see Appendix B).

DEMOGRAPHICS

In all years reported, females outnumbered males at the undergraduate level, while males outnumbered females at the graduate level, implying that while accounting is an attractive major for female undergraduate students, fewer of them choose to extend their studies past the baccalaureate than do their male counterparts (see Table 1). While the mix between females and males remained constant for undergraduate students, the data suggest a possible increase in the percentage of females in Masters' programs in the last two years. While the suspected trend is not statistically significant when analyzed across all five years (p=.13), it does reach significance when analyzed across only the most recent three years (p=.05).

The information on ethnic background provides cause for concern but reason for optimism. While certain minority groups are still underrepresented in FSA programs, the overall percentage of minority students is increasing rapidly. The percentage of white undergraduate students decreased from 89 to 81 percent over five years. This drop is not attributable to foreign students, who accounted for between 2 and 4 percent; rather, it is reflective of increasing black, hispanic, asian and other US-citizen minority representation. Nevertheless, the percentage of black accounting seniors at FSA schools remains disturbingly low.

Similarly, the percentage of white students appears to be dropping in FSA Masters' programs; however, this trend does not exhibit traditional levels of statistical significance (p=.07). While blacks are even more seriously underrepresented in Masters' programs than at the senior level, the good news is that they appear to be one of the most rapidly growing minority groups. This information is particularly salient because one of the most oft-cited arguments against the 150-hour requirement is that it will decrease the number of people of color entering the accounting profession. That argument is not supported by this study. On the contrary, during the last five years as the 150-hour requirement has started to take effect, the percentage of blacks at FSA schools has increased at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Hopefully, this information may help to allay concerns about the 150-hour requirement.

Information on the full-time versus part-time status of students in school reveals a trend toward more full-time students and fewer part-time students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Where nearly one in four Masters' students reported their status as part-time in 1992, fewer than one in five classified themselves as part-time in 1995. Approximately half the percentage of seniors as Masters' students were part-time in all years.

STUDENT QUALITY

Table 2 reports measures of student quality, as proxied by self-reported GPAs and standardized entrance exam scores.

The direction of the trend in seniors' GPAs is clearly upward. The percentage of seniors who had high school GPAs 3.6 or higher rose from 45 percent in 1993 to 49 percent in 1995. Concurrently, those who had undergraduate college GPAs of 3.6 or higher increased from 19 percent in 1993 to 24 percent in 1995. Interestingly, the percentage with accounting GPAs 3.6 or higher also grew from 19 percent in 1993 to 25 percent in 1995.

While undergraduate GPAs are clearly rising, entrance exam scores are not keeping pace. There were no statistically significant changes in SAT/ACT scores between 1993 and 1995 (p=.30). While the raw data suggests a small increase in the percentage of the "best and brightest" (those with SAT total scores above 1350 or ACT composite scores above 29) majoring in accounting, the second-tier of "good students" (1160-1350 or 26-29) declined slightly from 1993 to 1995. These results paint an inconclusive picture of the trend in undergraduate student quality. Combined with the GPA information, there is a disturbing implication of widespread "grade inflation," including within accounting courses.

Among Masters' students, the results are consistent and more encouraging. Every measure of student quality shows improvement over time. The percentage of Masters' students with high school GPAs 3.6 and above increased from 50 percent in 1993 to 60 percent in 1995. Those with undergraduate overall GPAs in this range rose from 29 percent to 37 percent. Those with undergraduate accounting GPAs 3.6 and above grew from 35 percent to 42 percent. The percentage with graduate-level GPAs 3.6 and higher increased from 41 to 48 percent. Although they do not demonstrate statistical significance, the raw scores for graduate-level accounting GPAs are consistent with the above trends (p=.18).

While changes in standardized entrance exam scores do not demonstrate statistical significance at traditional levels, the raw data suggest trends consistent with a rise in student quality among Masters' students. For the SAT/ACT exams, the percentages in both of the top two categories increased between 1992 and 1995. Thus, the percentage with SAT scores above 1150 or ACT scores above 25 rose from 45 percent in 1992 to 51 percent in 1995 (p=.22). Similarly, the percentage of students with GMAT scores above 600 increased from 25 percent in 1992 to 28 percent in 1995 (p=.14). These results, while inconclusive because of a lack of statistical significance, are encouraging because they are consistent with the GPA data.

It should be noted that, irrespective of the change in student quality (or lack of it), the overall quality of both seniors and Masters' students in FSA accounting programs appears to be quite good. Fully 82 percent of seniors and 89 percent of Masters' students in 1995 reported ACT or SAT scores at or above the 50th percentile, while 70 percent of Masters' students reported GMAT scores at or above the 50th percentile.

ACADEMIC MAJOR DECISION

The timing of and factors influencing students' decisions to choose accounting as an academic major exhibit some interesting trends (see Table 3), with important implications for strategies to recruit qualified students into accounting programs. The percentage of senior students who do not personally know someone who is an accountant is rising (from 14 percent in 1993 to 18 percent in 1995), while the percentage of students who are making the decision to major in accounting while still in high school is also rising (from 28 percent in 1991 to 32 percent in 1995). Additionally, the percentage of seniors who first considered majoring in accounting while they were still in high school is increasing (from 41 percent in 1991 to 44 percent in 1995). Concurrently, the percentage of seniors who changed to accounting from other majors is dropping, while the percentage who originally started out as accounting majors is increasing (from 26 percent in 1991 to 36 percent in 1995).

While less pronounced in some cases, the Masters' students exhibit similar trends. For example, the percentage of Masters' students who "always planned on accounting" as an academic major increased from 16 percent to 27 percent between 1991 and 1995. Additionally, the percentage of Masters' students who did not decide to pursue an accounting degree until after they had already completed their senior college year dropped from 32 percent in 1992 to 24 percent in 1995. Clearly, the trends indicate that students are making career path decisions earlier, and with less information from personal acquaintances. These data imply that recruiting efforts directed at the high school level may become increasingly effectual in attracting students into accounting programs.

Among seniors, by far the most common year for selecting an accounting major remains the sophomore year in college; in fact, the trend suggests this is becoming increasingly typical. The percentage of students who first considered an accounting major during their sophomore year increased from 25 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 1995, while the percentage who actually made the decision to major in accounting during their sophomore year increased from 29 to 31 percent. Since the first college-level course in accounting is usually taught in the sophomore year, it is also worthy of note that, among seniors, the percentage who reported that their first course in accounting had a positive effect on their attitudes toward the accounting profession dropped over time (from 72 percent in 1993 to 68 percent in 1995), while the percentage who reported the course had a negative effect on their attitudes increased (from 7 percent in 1993 to 9 percent in 1995). These results suggest that the recruiting potential of the first course in accounting has not yet been fully realized, and that changes to the first course should be carefully monitored to ensure they are having the desired effect.

While students are becoming less impressed with the money to be made in accounting, they are becoming more influenced by their perceptions that there are jobs available in accounting. The percentage of seniors who reported that money was their primary motivation for selecting an accounting major decreased from 27 percent in 1991 to 22 percent in 1995. For Masters' students, this percentage dropped from 22 to 18 percent. Concurrently, the percentage of seniors who stated that their primary motivation was the availability of jobs increased from 24 percent in 1991 to 31 percent in 1995. For Masters' students, this percentage increased from 23 to 33 percent. These trends may reflect increasing job insecurity throughout the economy in the 1990s, resulting in a mentality that having a job is more important than how much money the job pays. A possible implication of this finding is that perceptions of decreased job opportunities for accounting graduates (i.e., a "soft" job market or poor placement of current graduates) could have an increasingly significant negative impact upon future enrollments of qualified students into accounting programs.

STUDENT ATTITUDES

Three attitudes were measured by the survey: general attitudes toward the accounting profession, locus of motivation for learning, and opinions about the length of pre-entry education that should be required of Certified Public Accountants (see Table 4).

Attitudes toward the accounting profession were measured with the Accounting Attitude Scale (AAS). Seniors' overall attitudes exhibited a curved trend where they improved until they peaked in 1993-94, then dropped in 1995. This trend is consistent between both sexes and also among caucasian and hispanic students. Other ethnic groups' attitudes varied erratically between years but, in contrast to the majority, generally showed improvement over time.

Trends in the overall attitudes of Masters' students toward the accounting profession are more erratic and difficult to interpret than are those of seniors. Generally, attitudes improved and worsened in alternating years. This pattern is consistent between both sexes and among most ethnic groups. In all years for both seniors and Masters' students, female students exhibited more favorable attitudes toward accounting than did male students.

Students' motivations for learning were measured with the Locus of Learning Motivation Scale (LLMS). The higher the score on this scale, the more intrinsic the student's motivation for learning. Seniors exhibited a downward trend in LLMS scores over time, toward a less intrinsic (more extrinsic) motivation. While senior females consistently outscored their male counterparts on intrinsic motivation, the trend over time toward a more extrinsic motivation encompasses both sexes. Because it indicates a love for learning and a belief that knowledge is valuable for its own sake, an intrinsic motivation for learning is believed to predict lifelong learning. Thus, the downward trend in LLMS scores has undesirable implications for accounting graduates' predilections towards lifelong learning, a characteristic deemed desirable by the largest national public accounting firms (Perspectives 1989) and the Accounting Education Change Commission (1990).

While caucasian seniors exhibited the above-described trend toward a more extrinsic motivation, the good news is that most other ethnic groups displayed an opposite trend over time, toward higher LLMS scores, indicating a more intrinsic motivation. Graduate students' motivations for learning were more intrinsic than those of seniors in all years and were fairly consistent between years. In all years for both undergraduate and graduate students, "non- traditional" students over 40 years of age were found to be exceedingly more intrinsically motivated than were younger students.

Attitudes toward pre-entry educational requirements were measured with the following question: "Considering what you know of the degree of complexity of accounting and the responsibilities of CPAs to the public, and also considering how many years it takes to become a lawyer or a doctor, how many years of college education do you think should be required to become licensed as a CPA?" Responses to this question remained remarkably consistent between years, with seniors responding a weighted average of approximately 4.9-5.0 years and Masters' students approximately 5.1-5.2 years. These results are consistent across all years, between both sexes, and among all ethnic and age groups. This finding is particularly relevant to the 150-hour discussion, because it suggests that both senior and Masters' accounting students in all sex, ethnic, and age categories consistently believe five years of university education should be required for certification. Interestingly, in 1991, 21 percent of Masters' students believed more than five years of university education should be required for certification; by 1994, this had grown to 29 percent.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR INVOLVEMENT

Seniors' participation in Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) increased slightly over the five years, rising from 26 percent being actively involved in 1991 to 29 percent in 1995 (see Table 5). However, this increase appears to have come at the expense of participation in student organizations in general; the percentage of seniors involved in no extracurricular organizations of any kind increased from 40 percent in 1991 to 46 percent in 1995. Such a trend is disturbing in light of the "well-rounded" entrant attributes desired by the profession, which are generally presumed to be developed through extra-curricular involvement.

Similarly, active participation in BAP among Masters' students also increased, from 30 percent in 1991 to 35 percent in 1995. Unlike seniors, however, the Masters' students also exhibited increased participation in other student organizations, from 48 percent in 1991 to 53 percent in 1995.

Internship experiences were added in 1995 as a new item in the survey. Twenty-five percent of both seniors and Masters' students had either already completed or were currently involved in internship experiences, and another 8-9 percent had definite plans to complete internships in the future. Fifteen percent of seniors and 10 percent of Masters' students reported they might consider an internship in the future, while 51 percent of seniors and 57 percent of Masters' students said they had no such plans.

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION AND CAREER PLANS

The number of seniors planning additional education beyond the baccalaureate increased from 68 to 71 percent during the five years (see Table 6). This trend of a gradual increase is expected to continue as 150-hour laws are phased in and as more states pass the legislation. Seniors planning a Masters' degree in accounting or tax increased from 27 percent to 33 percent, while those planning MBAs dropped slightly from 20 percent to 18 percent.

While the CPA exam is clearly the professional certification exam of choice among accounting students, an increasing percentage of students do not plan to take the CPA exam (see Table 7). Among seniors, only 7 percent had no plans to take the CPA exam in 1991; by 1995, this group had increased to 11 percent. For Masters' students, the number with no plans to sit for the CPA exam doubled from 4 percent in 1991 to 8 percent in 1995.

Conversely, the percentages of students planning to sit for the CMA and CIA exams were fairly constant throughout the years, with no statistically significant changes. Possible slight increases in the number of Masters' students planning to sit for these two exams failed to reach statistical significance (17 percent in 1991 rose to 20 percent in 1995 for the CIA exam, p=.07; 26 percent in 1991 rose to 30 percent in 1995 for the CMA exam, p=.11.) For seniors, no discernable trends are evident, with about 23-25 percent planning to take the CIA exam and approximately 26-29 percent planning to sit for the CMA exam in all years.

Among undergraduate students, an increasing percentage selected public accounting as their first career choice after graduation, rising from 47 percent in 1992-93 to 51 percent in 1994-95 (see Table 8). Just over half of those preferring public accounting also chose audit as their preference over tax or consulting. As the national CPA firms scale back their hiring, particularly in auditing, accounting programs should consider the strategic implications of the career paths their students desire to pursue versus where the jobs are.

Among Masters' students, there was a conspicuous decline in the percentage of students preferring tax (from 34 percent in 1991 to 23 percent in 1995), which had the effect of pulling down the total preferring public accounting (from 69 percent in 1991 to 61 percent in 1995.) This shift coincided with a shift in Masters' students preferring controllership positions (from 11 percent in 1991 to 15-17 percent in 1993-95). This trend is consistent with reports of a reversal of typical career paths - - traditionally, from school to public accounting to industry; in the future, from school to industry to public accounting (Reckers 1995).

SUMMARY, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSION

This study reports the results of surveys of senior accounting majors and accounting Masters' students conducted annually from 1991 to 1995 at certain schools which are members of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. Demographic information reveals that, while minority groups are severely underrepresented at the undergraduate level, and that this problem is even more pronounced at the graduate level, the disparity is decreasing over time. Additionally, although fewer female students than males choose to continue their studies into the graduate level, this phenomenon may also be diminishing over time. An increasing percentage of students report they are full-time, as opposed to part-time, students.

As measured by self-reported GPAs, undergraduate accounting student quality appears to be rapidly increasing; however, standardized entrance exam scores are not rising. This discrepancy raises the question whether the rising GPAs reflect increasing student quality or merely "grade inflation." On the other hand, quality increases among graduate students as measured by rising GPAs appear to be corroborated by rising entrance exam scores; however, the existence of this trend is not certain due to a lack of statistical significance. Thus, trends in student quality are inconclusive.

Trends indicate students are making their career path decisions earlier in their academic experiences. Large and increasing numbers of accounting students first consider majoring in accounting before graduating from high school. Increasing numbers also actually make their decisions to major in accounting while still in high school. Fewer students are starting out in another major and switching to accounting; increasingly, students who eventually graduate from accounting programs are starting out their college experiences as accounting majors. A decreasing number of students report that the first college course in accounting had a positive effect on their attitudes toward the accounting profession. Increasing numbers of students indicate the availability of jobs is their primary consideration in choosing accounting as an academic major; conversely, fewer are reporting that money is their primary motivation.

The motivation for learning among seniors is becoming more extrinsic over time, suggesting more students are becoming more motivated to go to school to get a job, not necessarily to learn for the sake of learning. This trend may predict a decreasing inclination toward lifelong learning. Interestingly, the trend is not consistent between ethnic groups; while caucasians exhibit the trend toward an extrinsic motivation, most minority groups exhibit an opposite trend, toward a more intrinsic motivation.

The vast majority of students at both the senior and Masters' levels believe at least five years of college education should be required for licensure in public accounting, and increasing numbers of Masters' students believe that more than five years should be required. Increasing numbers of accounting seniors are planning postgraduate study, and most of the increase relates to increased plans for Masters degrees in accounting (as opposed to extra undergraduate hours, MBAs, night classes, etc.) Nearly three-quarters of senior accounting majors plan to meet the 150-hour requirement in some way.

Participation in Beta Alpha Psi is increasing, but seniors' memberships in other campus organizations are dropping. Among Masters' students, memberships in both Beta Alpha Psi and in other campus organizations are increasing over time. Internships were part of the experience of 33-34 percent of accounting students in 1995.

While the vast majority of accounting majors still plan to take the CPA exam, this number is shrinking over time. Conversely, while relatively few students plan to sit for the CMA and/or CIA exams, these numbers appear to be increasing slightly over time. While increasing percentages of seniors would pick public accounting as their first choice for a career, decreasing percentages of Masters' students would do so. Nevertheless, public accounting is still the preferred career choice of most Masters' students, as compared to approximately half of the seniors.

The data reported in this study are subject to some notable limitations. Participation in the study was voluntary, and various FSA schools chose to participate in various years. Thus, the data suffer some validity and reliability problems due to a lack of either 100 percent inclusion or random sampling among schools. Therefore, the data cannot be generalized to all FSA institutions. Furthermore, the trends reported might be confounded by inconsistencies in the specific schools that participated in the survey in each of the five years.

Members of the FSA are schools or departments with accredited graduate programs in professional accounting. Many American institutions which offer degrees in accounting are not FSA members. None of these institutions were included in the surveys. Significant differences between FSA-member and non-FSA-member institutions may limit the generalizability of the findings of this study to the population of accounting programs within the United States, and certainly to programs outside the USA.

Despite efforts to obtain responses from all accounting students at participating schools, differences may exist between students who actually completed the questionnaires and those who either failed manipulation checks, chose to not complete the surveys, or were absent from class on the day the questionnaires were administered.

All measures were self-reported. It is possible that some students may have knowingly reported inaccurate information. Additionally, some responses may be inaccurate for other reasons, including forgetting.

In the future, the FSA plans to conduct the survey on a biannual basis, enabling the continued tracking of the trends reported in this article. It is hoped that the longitudinal data will continue to provide insights and implications for such issues as student recruitment strategies, minority representation in accounting, student quality, the 150-hour requirement, propensity toward lifelong learning, the first course in accounting, extra-curricular involvement, professional certification options, career plans, and other relevant topics in accounting education.

Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC). (1990, Fall). Objectives of education for accountants: Position Statement Number One. Issues in Accounting Education, 5, 307-312.

Graves, O. F., Nelson, I. T., & Deines, D. S. (1993, Fall). Accounting student characteristics: Results of the 1992 Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) survey. Journal of Accounting Education, 11, 211-225.

______, Nelson, I. T., & Davis, J. R. (1992, Spring). Accounting student characteristics: A survey of accounting majors at Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) schools. Journal of Accounting Education, 10, 25-37.

______, Davis, J. R., Deines, D. S., Nelson, I. T., & Sanders, B. (1991). Where are the good students? Report of the 1990 data base committee. Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the FSA, (pp. 73-79). Chicago: Federation of Schools of Accountancy.

Inman, B. C., Wenzler, C. A., & Wickert, P. D. (1989, Spring). Square pegs in round holes: Are accounting students well-suited to today's accounting profession? Issues in Accounting Education, 4, 29-47.

Nelson, I. T. & Deines, D. S (1995, Fall). Accounting student characteristics: Results of the 1993 and 1994 Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) surveys. Journal of Accounting Education, 13, 393-411.

Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession. (1989). New York, NY: Arthur Andersen & Co., Arthur Young, Coopers & Lybrand, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Ernst & Whinney, Peat Marwick Main & Co., Price Waterhouse, and Touche Ross (The Big Eight).

Reckers, P. M. J. (1995). Know thy customer. In Change in accounting education: A research blueprint, C. P. Baril, Ed. St. Louis: Federation of Schools of Accountancy.

LIST OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS - 1995

University of Alabama

University of Alabama-Birmingham

Arizona State University

University of Arkansas

Brigham Young University

University of Central Florida

Cleveland State University

University of Connecticut

University of Delaware

University of Denver

Drake University

University of Florida

George Mason University

Georgia State University

University of Houston - Clear Lake

Illinois State University

University of Iowa

James Madison University

Kansas State University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana State University

Miami University

University of Miami

University of Mississippi

Mississippi State University

New Mexico State University

New York State University - Buffalo

University of North Texas

University of South Carolina

University of South Florida

University of Southern California

Southwest Missouri State University

Texas A&M University

Texas Tech University

University of Texas - El Paso

University of Utah

Utah State University

University of Virginia

Virginia Commonwealth University

University of Wisconsin

ITEMS SURVEYED BUT NOT REPORTED

The following items were measured in the surveys, but have not been reported in this article due to inconclusive trend directions or a lack of statistical or practical significance. Information on these items may be found in Graves et al (1992, 1993) and Nelson & Deines (1995). Additionally, the 1995 data are available from the authors upon request.

Age
Who influenced career decisions
Provenance (from where students matriculated into accounting programs)
Prior degrees
Second choice of preferred career plans

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