Summer is shaping up

Well, my Spring Semester is coming to a close. Sorry I haven't kept y'all up to date so much this semester! It was a successful one and I also managed to keep regular hours at my part-time job with H&R Block. Fun seeing most of my old clients - it's my eighth season so I'm starting to see a lot of regulars. I like that.

Anyhow, here's how Summer School is shaping up:

Summer Pre-Session (mid-May to early June):

Earth's Environment: Intro to Physical Geography - Introduction to fundamental laws of nature as expressed physical processes that govern the spatial distribution of Earth's land, sea, air, and biological environments. Focus on fluxes and feedbacks among these systems, and interactions with humans. (This will finish off my Tier One Natural Sciences requirement.)

First Summer Session (mid-June thru mid-July):

Cost and Managerial Accounting - Concepts and analytical procedures necessary in the generation of accounting data for management planning control.

Spreading throughout both those UA semesters is a Pima Community College course in Business Ethics (taken online).

And two classes in the Second Summer Session (mid-July to mid-August):

Using and Managing Information Systems - Ways that organizations improve their business practices through the use of computer technology. Course emphasizes systems technologies, enterprise integration, business applications, and critical analysis of organizational change through information systems.

Introduction to Prehispanic, Hispanic, and Chicano Art - Survey of the native, prehispanic arts of Meso; Central and South America; art since the conquest of Mexico, Central and South America; and Hispanic Arts of the Southwest and contemporary Chicano art. (This will fulfill my Tier Two Arts requirement.) Sounds very interesting, plus it only meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays! All the other summer classes meet every day.

The Accounting and MIS classes will serve to dilute my Fall and Spring semesters to just FOUR classes instead of FIVE. I just can't do five at once!

Oh, and an update on GOLF. They cancelled my summer Golf class (budget cuts, no doubt) but I was able to sneak into one of the previously full Fall Semester classes (by checking the web registration EVERY DAY until finally spotting an opening!). So golf will not happen until October. The weather is better then anyway!

Sadly, too true!

Overwhelming is right!

The new Accounting Majors gathered yesterday evening for their official Welcome Session. Looked to be approximately 100 of us. Very competitive entry this year, or so they said. It didn't appear to be what they tell ALL the classes, but you can never be sure. Said they had more than the usual requests for Accounting this semester, which is interesting. When requesting admission I had to pick my first, second, and third choice of majors - which was difficult because there was such a steep drop off after the first choice. I'm imagining there are a few - or many - students (and their parents!) faced with deciding whether to stay in their second choice of major or try for accounting again next semester. I don't envy them.

During the session they showed us what our next four semesters are likely to look like and here is a list of the classes:

Acct 310 Cost & Managerial Accounting
Acct 400A Intermediate Financial Accounting I
Acct 400B Intermediate Financial Accounting II
Acct 451 Analysis of Financial Statements
Acct 461 Accounting Information Systems
BNAD 314R Business Communication
Econ 300 Microeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions
Econ 330 Macroeconomic Institutions & Policy
FIN 360 Quantitative Financial Management
Mgmt 310A Organization Behavior & Management
Mgmt 402 Integrating Business Fundamentals with Ethics & Law in Management
MIS 304 Using and Managing Information Systems
MIS 373 Basic Operations Management
Mktg 361 Introduction to Marketing
Plus two more Accounting electives

Yikes! You'll think I'm nuts, but they all look really interesting and I can't wait to get started. Planning to take Acct 310 and MIS 304 this summer. I'm already sure one of my electives will be Acct 420 Introduction to Federal Taxation since I already know some of it.

One thing I like is the emphasis they place on the cohort system. During admission we had to choose a morning or afternoon cohort (mornings, please!) and thereafter they will place us with the same group throughout our academic career. They explained that they want students to feel a sense of community - not just attend class, get our degree, and leave.

It's partly due to the age differential and partly my own fault that I haven't really established a sense of community so far, so I'm looking forward to this forced/coerced version that will do some of the work for me!

About half the room raised their hands when asked if they were interested in becoming a CPA. I wasn't one of them, but I'll keep my options open and see what transpires in the next two years to change my mind. At my age and stage of career, it doesn't seem worth the extra time and effort with respect to its value, but I might decide differently later on.

Eller College is also well known for their Entrepreneurship Program which could be similar to a minor for us Accounting majors. That would unfold during Fall 2010 for me, if I decided to go that route. We aren't required to choose a minor and I hadn't intended on it, but I do want to learn more about the program.

So I have a full calendar for the next couple of years! Let's get started already!

Fear is a great motivator!

Nearly everyone who reads this blog knows I got into Eller College and am officially an Accounting Major. Now the hard classes begin! I'm hoping to get started this summer so I won't have to take five classes in the Fall semester (this old brain can't juggle that many at once!), but first I have to attend the Accounting Orientation session next week. I'm curious how many other Accounting majors there are.

Oh, the fear part? Since I am now a Business junior, I get to enroll in classes that are restricted to students in the business college. Meaning the upper division accounting stuff, of course, but also one called PE 219, aka, GOLF! Yup they have a 1-credit course called Golf, and I'm enrolled for the Summer Presession. There are only 16 spots available so I was lucky to get in. It meets an hour and forty minutes every day for three weeks.

Golf starts on May 18 so I have only 58 days to get into golf shape. I'm afraid I've let my exercise and yoga routines lapse a little the last year or so. Other than walking to class from an outlying parking lot four times a week, and riding bikes some weekends, I haven't done much else in the way of exercise. Now I'm motivated, and then some!

I don't expect to keep up with the young-uns, but I just don't want to hold them back due to being out of shape. So I'm walking and/or doing the treadmill half an hour a day (will gradually increase that), doing yoga to get my muscles and joints stretched, and will probably add some weights for upper body strength as the time gets closer.

From what I've read in a few articles on the internet, the class takes all comers, even those with no prior experience. I've played a little with my hubby over the years, but consider myself a newby since I can't even hit a drive consistently. So hopefully I'll learn how to swing and a few other things about the game. Look out Lorena Ochoa!! ;-)

Well, that was fun!

Had my big Eller College admission interview today and here's some of what I remember. (Hey, it's been a whole seven hours - you can't expect me to remember EVERYTHING!)

Today was the final of three steps in the process - the first two happened weeks ago: a large group orientation session where they explained all the steps, and an individual advising appointment to give it that personal touch. Right away after the orientation I hopped on the computer and snagged an early advising appt that, I believe, gave me the "choice" mid-day interview time today.

In the value system of 20-somethings, having to be ANYWHERE before 11am is a form of punishment, so I'm sure my fellow classmates were ecstatic with their 11:35 time slot. I'd have been just as content with an earlier time. When you hit the ground running at 5am as we do at our house, six hours is way too much time to think!

I dutifully arrived around 20 minutes early and found the halls crowded with black-suited students! Looked a lot like a funeral! I'd opted for a demure forest green jacket and skirt set and found myself pert-near the only one who deviated from the "standard!" Of course there was the occasional glitter-spiked heel to break up the monotony, and a few dark grays and browns. But all in all, they cleaned up pretty nice.

My interview was with a nice young kid who just got his degree in Finance (probably a masters) and an older gentleman from the community. I didn't catch either of their names, but probably wouldn't post them here anyway. They were friendly and made me feel comfortable right way.

They started by asking me for my 60-second "elevator" spiel (shucks, I hadn't really prepared one and it probably showed!). They asked if there was anything on my resume that I wished to highlight, then they spent the next few moments apologizing for having to ask me the same "canned" questions they were told to ask everyone! I didn't mind, but maybe to them the questions seemed stilted for an older candidate.

The ones I remember best include:
- Describe a problem that you have encountered at work or in your personal life where you have had to think "out of the box" to come to a solution.
- Describe an issue currently in the news that interests you, and why.
- When working in a team that isn't working well together, how would you motivate your teammates to get back on track?
- Describe a difficult project you took on and how you accomplished it.
- Think of a time when you made a bad judgment call and describe what you learned from the experience.
And two ethics questions on the Interview Case they gave us to read at the orientation session involving the utility/legality of businesses using social networking sites (like Facebook) as part of their screening process.

I tried to answer truthfully and with enthusiasm. There were maybe 10 total questions plus some interesting discussion regarding the housing crisis (my choice of current news item). I was their last (of six) interview so we chatted a bit after the time's-up knock on the door. We conversed about tax returns and the lack of state regulation over mortgage brokers and how businesses have been operating on credit for so long. They also assured me I likely would do fine in the upper division accounting curriculum.

Working 28 years for the same department didn't give me much opportunity for meaningful interviews so I'm relieved it went so well. As each interview concluded, students were herded into a room where they took our photographs (no idea why!), and then we all traipsed into the large auditorium for the skills assessment test. Twenty somewhat easy accounting-type test questions on which we need to score 75% or higher. Pretty sure I did okay.

Decisions are to be emailed in about two weeks. I'll let you know!