BizVoice Update: CPA Society Effort Moves Forward

The Indiana CPA Society’s Center of Excellence was featured in the November-December issue of BizVoice® magazine. The focus is on competency-based education and the model applies beyond the accounting industry.

In the first of what is expected to be a number of partnership announcements, the ethics course from the Center of Excellence is being added to the accounting curriculum at Indiana University East. View the details on that agreement.

Education Off the Playing Field

FKudos to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business for the recent announcement of a partnership with the National Football League Players Association. Career development, certificate and degree graduate level program options are part of the mix for current and former players.

Preparing young people for life off the field is a very good thing. Astonishingly, media reports have indicated as many as three-quarters of NFL players are bankrupt within five years of retirement. Details are in this press release.

This is only the latest example of Indiana institutions and businesses working with athletes. The current BizVoice magazine spotlights Indiana University East and its online program for tennis players (including Venus Williams) and the Language Training Center’s work with LPGA golfers.

Video Spotlights Higher Ed Success Story at Ivy Tech & IU East

A BizVoice® magazine story earlier this year included the following quote:

“We used to have an associate degree in nursing,” states Nasser Paydar, chancellor of Indiana University East (IU East) in Richmond. “Ivy Tech has an associate degree in nursing. What this did was confuse the students in the first place. Why would two state institutions within walking distance have the same degree program, accredited by the same agency?”

IU East no longer has any associate degree programs. Its partnership with its neighboring Ivy Tech campus and other locations within its region goes much deeper. It is a formula that can – and should be – replicated in areas around the state.

But don’t take our word for it. Listen to students, faculty and administrators at the two Richmond campuses describe how young people are able to move through the higher education process more efficiently and be prepared to enter the state’s workforce. A video on the Achieve Indiana web site tells this important story – in their words. 

Cover Subject is Education Innovator

Take a look at the Indiana Chamber’s BizVoice magazine covers (71 of them over the past 12 years) and you won’t see a lot of people. We don’t have anything against people, particularly Hoosier leaders in their field. We interview them, we gather their insights and we focus on telling good stories.

The lack of photographs is due more to the absence of a full-time staff photographer and the presence of a very talented creative director who has been involved in all but the first two issues of those 71. Tony Spataro won’t want me to mention his name (yeah, right), but I digress.

Our March-April issue does feature a photo of someone making a difference in higher education. His name is Nasser Paydar and he is chancellor of the Indiana University East campus in Richmond. His neighbor, literally across the parking lot, is Ivy Tech Community College.

Paydar eliminated associate degrees and remedial classes (why duplicate what Ivy Tech is doing, he says) and turned his focus to partnerships. He’s giving up potential students in the short run but gaining a strong pipeline for his campus’ bachelor and advanced degree programs. And, most important, he’s operating with the top priority on the students. Sounds like a simple concept, but it’s not one that is always followed.

The in-depth story on higher education efficiency and effectiveness is titled Breaking Down Walls: Columbus, Richmond Show the Way. Give it a read and let us know what you think.