Over the last decade, higher education has experienced a growing number of disruptions. State support of universities has declined substantially and significant changes have been made to the federal financial aid system. There have been greater calls for accountability and evidence documenting the value of a college education. Two disruptive forces in particular, the rise in online education and financial pressures for state-funded colleges, have resulted in an increase in the number of courses, including business and accounting courses, being offered online. With the growth of online accounting courses, some have questioned their quality relative to traditional face-to-face classroom accounting instruction. In fact, a recent Gallup poll finds only about a third of the survey respondents rate online programs as “excellent” or “good” (Bidwell 2013). Many accounting educators are responding to these questions by pioneering new approaches to online accounting instruction. These approaches often focus on capturing and assessing data generated from online students to obtain insight into strategies that enhance the effectiveness of online accounting classes. This paper provides an overview of the current status and future prospects of online accounting education, focusing on mechanisms designed to enhance its effectiveness.
