Each fall semester, Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business offers a Municipal and Nonprofit Accounting course and we are looking for community partners with which to partner for student community-engaged learning projects.
Please see the information below, and if you are interested in pursuing a partnership, please fill out this interest form.
If you have any questions about whether a project is suitable for the students to carry out, you can email Andrea Canuel, Associate Director of Community-Engaged Learning, at
andrea.canuel@fairfield.edu.
Please note that our ability to meet the needs of all interested partners will depend on the number of students who enroll in the course as well as the alignment of their respective schedules with partner needs. Thus, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to assign a student to your organization.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE AND COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING:
Municipal and Nonprofit Accounting will be offered to juniors and seniors at Fairfield University each fall as a community-engaged learning course. Community-Engaged Learning is a kind of experiential education that connects classroom learning with community-based projects and service. In the classroom, the course examines fund accounting theory and concepts as well as the culture of nonprofit organizations and government agencies. In doing so, it examines reporting principles promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board as well as the Governmental Accounting Standards Board as they relate to healthcare organizations, voluntary health and welfare organizations, universities and municipalities. In collaboration with community partner organizations, students learn about and apply tools of the academic discipline and specific course concepts in their service experiences. This combination enhances academic learning and civic awareness. These service activities are used in conjunction with the readings, lectures, class discussions, and other assignments as contexts for student learning. We maintain a pool of community partners and we aim to sustain relationships year to year.
In this course, students will serve at a nonprofit organization for a minimum of 20 hours during the semester. Students will write reflections on their experiences throughout their community-engaged learning and create a final presentation to present at the end of the semester to share what they have learned from this experience. This will include general knowledge of the nonprofit organization and the nonprofit sector as well as specific accounting related knowledge that they obtained.
HOW THE COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING WILL WORK WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION:
Timing: The 20 hours of service can be scheduled to best serve your organization, but should be consistent once the semester begins (for example, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks or 4 hours per week for 5 weeks). We would like students to serve in a way such that they have a chance to get to know the organization and its mission. Please note that the semester runs from late August to early December. We anticipate the students to start their projects by mid-September and finish by the last week of November.
Types of activities: In the past, students have served with a variety of not for profits throughout Fairfield County area. Most of the organizations were voluntary health and welfare organizations. Students worked in the accounting offices of performing some of the following accounting tasks:
1.
Analysis of general ledger accounts
2.
Bank reconciliations
3.
Entry of payroll into accounting information systems such as Peachtree, Quickbooks and industry specific accounting software
4.
Processing accounts payable
5.
Paying accounts payable
6.
Entering cash receipts
7.
Cash flow analysis for the potential purchase of a building
8.
Internal control study
9.
Analysis of profitability of various fund raisers or shows held at a not for profit theater
10.
Assistance with other operations (manning a store or helping with other administrative functions as well).
11.
Processing scholarship funds and subsidized lessons
12.
Governmental reporting on state, local and federal funding
13.
Creating and strategizing about institutional partnerships
Other possible tasks:
1.
Budgeting (preparing and/or presenting)
2.
Assistance with specific programming or other special projects or fundraising events related to the organizations mission (e.g. planning, budgeting, analysis)
3.
Other relevant tasks can be discussed as needed
ABOUT OUR STUDENTS:
Most of the students taking this class are juniors and seniors and most have already had an internship at a for-profit entity of some sort (usually a national CPA firm). They are generally reliable and we work with them to communicate with their community partners on a regular basis. We expect students to treat this experience as they would a job and ask that you participate in the supervision process. Sometimes conflicts do arise and we expect students to communicate with their community partners if they are unable to report to work.
There will also be a Community-Engaged Learning Associate (a student leader) for this course who will act as a liaison between the professor, the students, and community partners to accept feedback, and help address any issues as they arise.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL IMPACT AND OTHER POSSIBLE COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
The Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University offers a variety of courses across multiple disciplines each year. If you are interested in learning about other opportunities to partner with us, please contact Andrea Canuel
andrea.canuel@fairfield.edu.
