Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Peer assisted study sessions for financial accounting

Caitlin Larrick, James Madison University
Laura R. Salt

Abstract

James Madison University (JMU) offers Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) for a variety of courses throughout different disciplines. This past Spring semester PASS was offered for 15 courses across campus, including three courses in the College of Business (COB). PASS is administratively handled and financial supported by JMU. They are review sessions led by students who have successfully completed the same course with the same professor in order to help improve students’ performance in that same course. Since we conducted similar review sessions, we adopted the same name, PASS, because many students were familiar with this term from other COB courses. Our collaborative, creative Honors Capstone Project allowed us to engage in a creative endeavor in which we worked closely with Professor Shifflett and the rest of the Accounting department. The purpose of our project was to aid struggling College of Business students in the Financial Accounting (COB 241) class required for admission into COB 300. Our primary objective for this semester was to help the students in COB 241 succeed by using our knowledge from our JMU accounting courses. Through achieving this objective we also benefited greatly from leading PASS. We were able to apply what we learned in accounting and become more confident in our knowledge of the subject. By continuously reviewing the basics of accounting through leading PASS we were able to keep our accounting knowledge fresh as we prepare to sit for the CPA exam. Finally, we were also able to develop lasting relationships with professors in the COB accounting program. These objectives were our guide for conducting PASS this semester.