In the spring of 2023, Senior Lecturer Diane Biagioni invited her students to stop by and chat with her and their fellow classmates at an informal open house, which she called “Meet, Greet, & Have a Treat.” The idea was to give students an opportunity to make connections with one another, which is important in a jumbo course like A306 Management Accounting and Analysis.
The way the accounting curriculum is designed, the courses that students take before they decide to major in accounting tend to be large in size. Therefore, the department looks for opportunities to make a big campus and a big major feel a little smaller and more intimate.
“At the meet and greet, students talk about where they are from, internship applications, study abroad opportunities, graduate programs, favorite places to visit, superpowers, superheroes, favorite musicians, favorite movies, you name it,” says Biagioni, who sends these students a follow-up email, thanking them for coming by and letting them know how excited she is to work with them this semester.
When the department heard how well attended this event was, it planted a seed.
“Sometimes it’s difficult for students to make connections,” says Professor Bridget Stomberg. “Our DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) committee shared that even if a student has a brief, informal social interaction with other people multiple times, that can really increase a person’s sense of belonging and can make a world of difference in terms of how students view that experience.”
The accounting department wanted to create an opportunity for students to connect, so on a Friday afternoon in the fall they hosted a department-wide Accounting Open House at the Godfrey Atrium where they served pizza, cookies, and drinks; played games; and distributed Kelley swag to students.
“This was an opportunity for students who were either majoring in accounting or thinking about majoring in accounting to engage with each other and with faculty to learn more about the major as well as what they can do after earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting,” says Stomberg.
The department had representatives from all student accounting organizations on hand, in addition to representatives from Graduate Accounting Programs, to talk about what it looks like to get an additional degree in accounting.
“We talked about the CPA exam and about curriculum and how to major or double major in accounting,” says Stomberg. “We also discussed how they can incorporate the accounting curriculum into their degree plans.”
There were individuals from academic advising, career services, faculty volunteers, and student volunteers. So it really was a robust experience that enabled students to come to a casual setting to learn more about the accounting program at Kelley and the accounting profession in general.
They plan to repeat this event annually, perhaps offering one in the fall and another in the spring.
“We like providing informal social events to increase community and belonging among current accounting and prospective accounting students,” says Stomberg.
Adds Biagioni, “And it doesn’t hurt to have bags of popcorn on hand, along with chocolate anything!”
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