USING AN ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEM IN AN INTRODUCTORY
MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING COURSE: SOME LESSONS LEARNED
John L. Haverty
Associate Professor
Accounting Department, Haub School of Business
St. Joseph’s University
5600 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19139
Email: jhaverty@sju.edu
INTRODUCTION
This paper reports on the introduction of an online homework system in a managerial
accounting course, and tests whether or not the introduction of an online homework system has
any impact on student evaluation of teaching. In addition, student and instructor reaction to the
introduction are reported and some lessons learned are noted.
The use of assigned homework problems and exercises in accounting has long been a part
of most accounting courses in the curriculum (Rayburn and Rayburn 1999). Over the years,
accounting instructors tried different methods to encourage and/or require students to do
accounting homework. At times, homework would be collected and graded. At other times,
homework was ungraded and simply reviewed in class. Sometimes solutions were provided in
class, and sometimes solutions were made available to the students outside of class (Lindquist
and Olsen 2007). While assigning homework was always valued by accounting instructors, the
clerical effort involved in collecting and grading the homework and providing timely and
meaningful feedback to the students became more burdensome as class sizes increased. Recent
technology has provided instructors with a potentially attractive solution to this dilemma, the
online homework system. The use of these systems has become more prevalent in accounting
courses, particularly at the introductory level (Peng 2009), and are being simultaneously
introduced in other disciplines as well (Fynewever 2008).
Online homework systems allow professors to use internet technology to assign
homework problems, coordinated with the assigned textbook, that students are able to complete
online and are automatically graded. The instructor can control many aspects of the homework
including
• Selection of problems
• Nature and timing of feedback
• Choice of algorithmic problems (each student has a similar problem with different
numbers)
• Use of online quizzes and tests
The use of an online homework system is a particularly attractive option given the current
uncertain financial situation facing nearly all colleges and universities. Introductory accounting
sections, both financial and managerial, are seeing increased class sizes as a result of financial
strains. The potential cost savings in clerical support for instructors in the form of grading
assistants and saving of instructor time appear to be quite large. Potential cost savings may be
mitigated, however, by the instructor's reluctance to use this new technology due to perceived
heavy start-up costs involved in the first-time use of an online homework system, and the
possibility that student evaluations might suffer due to a possible negative student reaction to this
new technology.
TEST OF THE ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEM
The online homework system was tested in three sections of a managerial accounting
course taught in the spring semester of 2009 at a mid-sized urban private university. Increased
average class sizes in the first-year accounting course motivated the limited introduction of an
online homework system. There were 18 sections of managerial accounting taught that semester,
17 of which served a traditional full-time day student population. There were 725 students
registered in these 17 sections. At this university, managerial accounting is required for all
business school students, and is normally taken during the second semester of a business
student’s first year, with its prerequisite, financial accounting, taken in the first semester. The
section taught in the evening was excluded from this study since those students are normally
older students working full-time and are chosen by a different admissions mechanism. The
accounting department in this university has a long tradition of course coordination, consisting of
a common syllabus for all sections with baseline homework exercises and problems assigned
across all sections.
Thus all 17 sections of managerial accounting were taught from a common syllabus and a
common baseline set of homework problems. Of the 17 sections of managerial accounting, the
three sections taught by the course coordinator used an online homework system as a mechanism
to assign, check and grade homework. There were 135 students in these three experimental
sections. Students selected the instructor and the section as part of their normal registration
process. They were not aware that they would be using an online homework system when they
registered for the course, but they were informed of it about a week before the course formally
began. This was before the end of the add-drop period, when the students could change courses
or sections as part of the normal process. No unusual add-drop activity was noticed during the
course of this study. Other sections used the traditional ungraded homework system in which the
homework was neither collected nor graded, but was reviewed in class. At this university,
ungraded homework has been the traditional method of delivery of the managerial accounting
course.
ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEMS AND STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING
The standard student evaluations used in all courses at this university for a 4-year period
(2006-2009) were obtained. Students were asked to assess their agreement with a series of
statements on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest level of agreement. The four
statements used in this analysis were:
1. The course appears to have been carefully planned.
2. Course objectives are being achieved.
3. Compared with other courses on this level carrying an equal amount of credit, the
effort I put into this course is as much as in other courses.
4. Overall, I rate this instructor as a good teacher.
The mean student responses on each of the four items were tabulated for the instructor
teaching the experimental group, as were the mean student responses on the same four questions
for all instructors in the accounting department, and are shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Student Evaluation of Teaching Results
Experimental Group Compared to All Accounting Faculty
2006
2007
Average 20062008
2008
Experimental
Year 2009
The course appears to have been
carefully planned.
Experimental Scores
Department Scores
4.29
4.37
4.22
4.34
4.46
4.39
4.32
4.37
4.41
4.44
4.27
4.32
4.06
4.28
4.40
4.35
4.24
4.32
4.28
4.41
3.86
4.11
4.12
4.15
4.06
4.16
4.01
4.14
4.18
4.24
4.01
4.28
3.95
4.27
4.13
4.30
4.03
4.28
4.19
4.39
Course objectives are being achieved
Experimental Scores
Department Scores
Compared with other courses on this
level carrying an equal amount of
credit, the effort I put into this
course is as much as in other courses
Experimental Scores
Department Scores
Overall, I rate this instructor as a
good teacher
Experimental Scores
Department Scores
NOTE: Students were asked to assess their agreement with a series of statements on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5
indicating the highest level of agreement.
The average means were calculated for the non-experimental years of the study, 20062008 and shown in individual columns. The simple average of the years 2006-2008 was
calculated and is shown in the next to last column. The last column shows the average means for
2009, the year of the experiment. The effect of the use of the online homework system on student
evaluations can be seen by comparing the average for the years when the online homework
system was not used (2006-2008) to the scores in 2009 when the system was introduced. These
scores are shown in bold on Table 1. For all four items, the means in the year 2009, when the
online homework system was used, are slightly higher than the average scores for the three years
(2006-2008) when the traditional non-graded homework system was used.
This slight increase, however, should also be examined in the context of the student
evaluations for the entire accounting department over the same time period. Table 1 also shows
the evaluation scores for the entire accounting department on these same 4 student evaluation
items. It can be seen that evaluation scores for the entire department were also improved in 2009
as compared to the average for the years 2006-2008. This appears to be a history effect possibly
resulting from a very stable core faculty who are gradually increasing their teaching skills over
time.
In summary, a slight increase in student evaluations was noted by comparing the average
scores of the experimental instructor for three years prior to the introduction of the online
homework system with that same instructor's evaluation scores the year of the introduction of the
online homework system, on all evaluation items studied. This increase, however, was mitigated
by an overall rise in similar measures during the same period for the overall accounting
department. It is not possible to conclude that the introduction of the online homework system
improved student evaluations of teaching, but no decline in student evaluations was noted. It
appears that the savings in reduced clerical effort on the part of the instructor by using an online
homework system can be achieved without suffering any reduction of student evaluation scores.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEM: LESSONS
LEARNED
At the conclusion of the course, student responses to two open-ended questions were
recorded. The questions were:
1. What did you like about the course?
2. What didn’t you like about the course?
No attempt was made to do a detailed quantitative analysis of the open-ended responses.
Overall, student responses were overwhelmingly positive with a total of 88 positive comments
and 19 negative comments. Many of the negative comments revolved around implementation
issues, including the time the problems were due (students did not like a 7:00PM deadline, and
frequently expressed a desire for a later submission deadline. Students were given three attempts
on most assignments, and expressed a desire for more attempts). There were a few comments
about the cost of the online homework system, the fact that it duplicated material already in the
textbook, and a few negative comments about the complexity of the user interface, particularly
the scrolling required between the data given in the problem and the place on the screen where
they had to enter their responses.
A summary of selected student comments pertinent to the online homework system is
shown in Table 2. These comments were selected because of their relative frequency, i.e. more
than one student often made very similar comments. When reading this table, it is important to
note that the number of positive comments far exceeded the number of negative comments.
Table 2
Selected Student Responses to Open-Ended Questions in Student Evaluations of Teaching
Experimental Group
Selected Positive Responses
Selected Negative Responses
•The homework manager was an
•The course cost a lot of money with
excellent study tool for the tests and the book and so it was a lot more to
a good way for students to stay on pay for it
top of their work
•Homework manager difficult to
•The homework manager was good operate
practice and really helped me boost •The homework manager could be
my grade
confusing. I would rather not sit and
•I liked the homework manager
do it on the computer because
because it gave feedback right away everything is not always in front of
instead of waiting for a teacher to you.
have to grade the homework for
•I think the homework manager was
everyone
a total waste of money seeing that
•The homework manager is a nice all the questions were in the
extra grade and forces you to
textbook
practice accounting
•The homework manager sucked
•It helped me practice the problems
and learn what I was doing wrong
right away.
•Homework manager problems were
good review problems for tests and
good grade boosters, especially
since three tries were offered
•I never use the book, but I love the
homework manager. It is great
practice and the points help my final
grade.
Several issues arise from the last two positive comments in Table 2. Again, comments
were only noted in this table if more than one student made them. Many students saw the online
homework system as a grade booster, something like an extra credit assignment. It may be the
grade boosting aspect of the online homework system that they liked, rather than the online
homework system itself. With this in mind, instructors need to be careful to tie the online
homework system assignments into a final grade, or else students will most likely not use it.
Surprisingly, a negative aspect of the online homework system was evident in a number
of the positive comments about the online homework system. A number of students indicated
that the online homework system was so good in the practice and instant feedback it provided,
that they did not read the book. The online homework system might be so attractive to the
students and so tied into their final grade that they neglect other aspects of the course they feel
are less valuable. Instructors need to be aware of this possibility and insure that students who do
read the book are rewarded in the short term via their final grade in the course.
INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION OF THE ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEM
Issues noted by the instructor teaching the course using the online homework system
were that there was much up-front planning required, but that the publisher provided excellent
technical support. There were no reported downtime issues with the online homework system.
There were a few challenging times in the course, involving student registration with the online
homework system’s website. Students had to use exactly the same name as their official
university name. Start-up was troubling, since students required much consultation to enter the
first few problems. This problem was particularly difficult with a few of the lesser technically
knowledgeable students. Instructors can also expect a flurry of last-minute emails asking for help
immediately before the problem is due. These can be difficult for a faculty member to respond to
adequately. Overall, the instructor concluded that the online homework system was relatively
easy to operate, and the extra time involved in the operation of the online homework system was
less than the time spent reviewing the assigned homework in class. Also, it did eliminate the use
of a teaching assistant.
One negative aspect of the online homework system was that it did not support the use of
Excel to solve the homework problems. A much-simplified spreadsheet that did not have any
mathematical functionality and a calculator were provided as student support. This irritated
students who were conversant with Excel. Since skills on Excel are considered a critical student
skill at this university, this was considered a major shortcoming.
ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEMS AND INSTRUCTIONAL COST
Detailed cost data were not available to the researchers during the course of the study. A
rough surrogate for the total cost of delivery was the cost of teaching assistants assigned to assist
the instructor in the conduct of these classes. The instructor teaching the experimental group did
not have a teaching assistant assigned. All other instructors were assigned a teaching assistant
who was granted a small stipend for assisting these courses, largely in grading. While this does
not provide conclusive evidence that the cost of delivering a course using an online homework
system is less than the cost of the same course taught in the traditional fashion, it appears that it
did successfully eliminate the need for a teaching assistant in these sections. In view of the fact
that the instructor reported time-saving as a result of the use of the online homework system, the
fact that no observable decline in student evaluations of teaching were noted, instructors should
seriously consider the use of online homework systems in these constrained economic times.
CONCLUSION
This experiment showed that the use of an online homework system had no negative
effect on student evaluation scores. It must be added that this experiment took place in a context
of increasing class sizes from previous years. Also, the instructor introducing the online
homework system had no prior experience with such systems. Student commentary was
overwhelmingly positive, but this was not reflected in increased numerical scores on the
evaluation. Student comments indicated there were some implementation issues including the
time the assignments were due, the cost of the system, the number of attempts permitted, and the
necessity to do what they perceived to be too much scrolling during the completion of the
homework. They appreciated the instant feedback and the opportunity to correct their mistakes.
The instructor noted excellent technical support from the publisher, but some issues with student
registration, email immediately before an assignment was due, and noted the lack of Excel-like
spreadsheet capability. Overall, the experience was positive, and the saving in clerical effort in
the face of increasing class sizes was achieved without any decline in how students perceived the
course. Instructors should consider the introduction of this technology.
REFERENCES
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investigation of the use of check figures and completed solutions in teaching intermediate
accounting. Journal of Accounting Education 25 (3):103-117.
Peng, J. C. 2009. Using an Online Homework System to Submit Accounting Homework: Role of
Cognitive Need, Computer Efficacy, and Perception. Journal of Education for Business
84 (5):263-268.
Rayburn, L. G., and J. M. Rayburn. 1999. Impact of Course Length and Homework Assignments
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