"There hasn't been an issue as important in accounting as this in years," said Dr. Vincent Apilado, professor and chairman of the department of finance and real estate at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The Enron and Andersen crashes may go down as the most expensive business meltdowns ever, and many have alleged that a cover-up of key financial losses at Enron was the source of the company's bankruptcy.

But while the scandal has only recently sparked public interest in the industry's ethics, local finance and accounting professors say they've been teaching students about workplace ethics for years.

"Ethics have really become an issue over the last decade or so, and we've tried to institutionalize a course in ethical treatment, both at the undergraduate level and the graduate level," Dr. Apilado said.

Undergraduate seniors in UTA's finance program can enroll in a course called Business in Society, and senior-level graduate students can choose between an advanced Business in Society course or a class entitled Legal Environment of Business.

Dr. Apilado said the decision to teach finance students about ethical quandaries they may face on the job was made after insider trading scandals in the 1980s.

The Enron collapse is a perfect instructional tool for students on how not to manage a company's finances or audit its books, he said.

"If that information isn't transparent or accurate, how can accurate decisions be made in terms of investing and financing?" he asked. "So the Enron/Andersen situation fits at the very bottom of business decision-making."

Dr. Frederick Wu, professor of accounting and department chairman at the University of North Texas, said UNT does not offer formal business ethics courses but encourages instructors to weave ethics discussions into regular classes.

"We cover very substantive subjects about ethics in accounting," he said. "The case of Enron will eventually be a business case to be studied."

But Dr. Wu said UNT professors refrain from telling their students exactly how they should act in a given situation.

"They have to make that judgment, and they have to decide what action to take," he said. "We're not going to tell them what action to take because values differ from person to person."

But in a case such as Enron, where a lack of full disclosure of vital financial data has been the chief complaint lodged against Enron and Andersen, instructors must make it clear that accountants have a duty to be honest, Dr. Wu said.

"Disclosure is a basic accounting principle," he said. "Any basic transactions which will affect financial information should be disclosed. In the case of Enron, the accountants should speak up."

Part of the problem is that accountants pushed into an ethical corner may have to choose between their integrity and their jobs, said Mark Anderson, assistant professor of accounting and information management at the University of Texas at Dallas.

"Your livelihood depends on pleasing the boss, and yet from a bigger perspective, you're put in a situation where you're really compromised," he said. "We encourage our students to think hard about whether what they're doing is shading the truth or providing fair disclosure."

Mr. Anderson said he occasionally hears from alumni or graduate students working as accountants that they're facing a similar ethical dilemma.

"I tell them to get out," he said.

So far, most college and university professors say the Enron scandal has not adversely affected student recruiting or enrollment.

"When I talk to the students in our program, they don't care too much," Dr. Wu said.

"They want to be in accounting, regardless. They know that accounting is a skill that offers a high degree of job security. They want to go into the field because they think it's a good field to go into," he said.

In fact, Dr. Apilado and Dr. Anderson said that students are finding the Enron case and accounting investigations at other big companies, such as Global Crossing Ltd., to be fascinating lessons in real-world challenges.

The news is on the front page of newspapers, and it is inspiring lively classroom discussions.

"They see that there are people out there who will try to bend the rules and they will be caught," he said. "Those who try to win by cheating get caught. That lesson is an advancement in and of itself."