TEAm Grant
The state of Florida awarded FIU’s School of Accounting (SOA) $1.2 million as part of its TEAm grant. These funds are earmarked for increasing the number of accounting practitioners in Florida’s urban areas.
SOA used its TEAm funds to help more students enter the school, and navigate the rigorous challenges of accounting coursework. Six initiatives were designed to give students the help they need, when and where they need it.
Faculty Hiring
Summer accounting courses help more students move through the curriculum, which facilitates timely graduation. To help accomplish this, the school hired three visiting faculty members, and used grant funds to offer two additional sections of each accounting major course in the summer of 2015.
Videos
Faculty members recorded more than 40 videos, available on demand, that explain challenging facets of the accounting curriculum.
Assistantships
Graduate assistants help undergraduate faculty with grading so teachers can spend more time with their undergraduate students. A total of 12 assistantships of $5,000 each have been awarded.
Boot Camp
The two-day Boot Camp provides an engaging, in-person review of material for students who are preparing for the school’s entrance exam. In its first year, students who attended Boot Camp had a 20 percent higher pass rate than those who did not participate.
Scholarships
Students who demonstrate financial need and academic achievement with a 3.0 GPA or higher received scholarships of $2,500 per semester.
Advising
A full-time advisor was hired to coordinate with Career Management Services, ALPFA and Beta Alpha Psi on internships and career events.