Improving graduate outcomes for business students through effective written communication skills

The student cohort comprised students enrolled in the first year accounting subjects BAO1107 - Accounting Information Systems and BAO1109 - Hospitality and Tourism Accounting. The students were normally required to attend two hours of lectures and one hour of tutorials per week. In the first stage of the project, an optional weekly one-hour workshop was conducted by the Student Learning Unit to provide assistance with the preparation of the essays required for the accounting subjects. The workshops were evaluated using a questionnaire to students as well as anecdotal evidence from the lecturers and tutors involved with the study. Results revealed a considerable improvement in the writing skills of students over the course of the semester.

In the second stage, a number of new strategies were implemented, including promotion of Communication Skills within the subject structure through changes in stated subject objectives, introduction of a progressive approach to assessment, and the redesign of lecture notes. In addition, a new SLU lecture presentation was included within the normal lecture program, the optional Workshops were further developed, and a new system of essay marking was introduced.

The third stage was to embed the Communication Skills strategies into the accounting subjects in a systematic manner. To this end a series of Writing Skills materials were incorporated into the normal tutorial program, to complement the development of technical skills. In addition, a tutor guide was written and staff development activities were undertaken to assist the tutors to work with these tutorial materials.

The paper will report on progress in Stage 3 and on some of the lessons learned over the course of the project.