By Katerina (Ruanjia) Liu, PhD

Despite a recent uptick in the fall of 2024, accounting student enrollment has generally been declining in recent years. The fewer student enrollments combined with a growing demand for accountants will increase strain on the profession if not addressed. Institutions such as the University of Illinois and Brigham Young University have obtained STEM designation for their accounting degrees to increase student interest, but educational institutions without STEM designation on their accounting program must find other approaches to raise students' interest in accounting education.

Keeping students engaged, especially nonbusiness majors, is key to effectively teaching intricate accounting frameworks and principles. A student-centered learning environment rather than traditional lectures is essential, as it prioritizes students’ needs, interests, and learning styles while emphasizing active engagement and real-world application.

Active Student Engagement

Students with limited or no business background will often take an introductory accounting course to meet a degree requirement. Going in, they lack the motivation to retain accounting jargon and learn accounting principles. If the instructor does not lay groundwork that is more embracing and uses technical accounting terms from the start of the lectures, the course tends to have less enthusiastic students.

I’ll use an anecdote from the beginning of my own managerial accounting classes as an example. When I discussed the difference between financial and managerial accounting, I mentioned that managerial accounting is not bound by GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) or IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), and is flexible to suit business needs. One student responded, “How does the GAP have anything to do with these two accounting frameworks?” He thought I was referring to Gap Inc., the American clothing and accessories retailer.

This moment led me to reflect on effective approaches to teaching accounting to nonaccounting students. Accounting is more than just numbers, after all. It involves analysis, interpretation, and storytelling of a business’s situation. I considered the learning process for new material and realized that subject relevance is a strong foundation for engagement and understanding. I started to interest students with a small, relatable case/scenario in each chapter. When discussing costing systems (i.e., job order costing and process costing), instead of introducing complex technical terms I began the conversation by asking students about wedding budget plans for a tuxedo or bridal dress.

Three options were given: purchase or rent off-the-rack, have it custom-made, or still undecided. After they made a choice, I discussed the benefits and drawbacks of off-the-rack and custom-made wedding dresses. They can relate to this topic from the customer perspective. But how do sellers consider and track costs from an accounting perspective? By warming up the conversation in a relatable way, students become ready to learn the features of two distinct costing systems.

Constant Feedback through Technology

Another key aspect of active learning is offering students immediate feedback. I implemented a student response system (SRS) to enhance the delivery of accounting materials. Unlike traditional physical clickers, iClicker is easier to use and more flexible. It helps with various learning goals, including the following:

• Checking students’ understanding of recent topics before moving on to new material.
• Evaluating students’ understanding of new concepts introduced in class or assigned as pre-class preparation.
• Offering study tools that allow students to bookmark questions from past activities, create flashcards, and generate practice tests to reinforce learning.
• Tracking student attendance and participation.

One unique feature of iClicker is the ability to post exercise questions as a poll. Based on the poll results, instructors can gauge how well students comprehend new material and decide whether further explanations are needed. Additionally, instructors can grade the poll and provide immediate feedback on students’ learning progress. Students are motivated to learn more when they achieve a high accuracy rate on poll questions, and highly motivated students are more likely to seek knowledge, engage actively in learning, and embrace new challenges.

Educational institutions must embrace creative, student-focused teaching methods to address the dwindling number of accounting students amid growing industry demand. By designing dynamic learning environments that emphasize real-world relevance—such as using relatable examples like wedding budget planning—and integrating interactive tools such as iClicker for instant feedback, educators can boost engagement and understanding. A student-centered learning environment links lectures to real-world scenarios, making learning engaging and demonstrating accounting’s relevance to everyday life. This approach may also inspire more students to pursue accounting careers, helping meet the growing demand for skilled professionals.

Katerina (Ruanjia) Liu, PhD, is an assistant professor of accounting at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind.

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^{Statements of fact and opinion are the authors’ responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the PICPA's officers or members. The information contained herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For actionable advice, you must engage or consult with a qualified professional.}