So what's new? The course, "Accounting in Action," is an integrated learning system of video lessons, textbook, study guide and an Internet site. One of the aspects that makes this new series truly different is its interviews with real people in specific areas of study to bring the real world of accounting and business to the students. This new twist was realized from shortcomings of another, older series of accounting videos.

Discoveries of the Present
Seeds of this project were planted in the early '80s when the DCCCD took an advisory position with the University of Pennsylvania to design an earlier version of a distance-learning accounting course. The videos, in this course, were designed to be a substitute for a classroom instructor for the first semester.

This original set was used for more than 15 years-but in time, its age began to show. Students could only take the first half of a two-part course, the videos were outdated and the Internet didn't even exist! But then came the kicker: the older set did not meet the needs of colleges and universities who offered the first accounting course in either the 65/35 or 50/50 financial/managerial formats. The old series had only one version, and could not be used by some places.

Clearly, a replacement was needed.

In 1997, the LeCroy Center began building a new distance-learning course from the ground up. Combining the analytical and problem-solving aspects of this course into an easily communicated format was, to say the least, a major challenge.

"The cookie cutter approach to accounting just doesn't work in the real world," said Dallas CPA Frank Korman, content specialist for the project who is also on the LeCroy faculty and teaches accounting for the DCCCD. "To be effective, accounting must be custom-tailored to each specific situation. It must add value to the decision making process."

The Center began to design the actual lesson plans to turn learning objectives into video objectives. They had to find a way to demonstrate, visually, the main ideas of the lessons and then breath life into them.

"Accounting is not just about debits and credits; those are just the fundamentals," said Korman. "Each user will have unique demands and it is up the accountant to adapt themselves, and the accounting, to their own situation."

Real World Wake-Up Call
Scriptwriters, researchers and others on the team worked in harmony to bring a real-world application to the project and to the students. Direct application of the material to the business world, above all else, was the main objective of the project.

First person interviews-spanning the United States--included visits with CFOs, treasurers, financial executives, staff accountants, academics and governmental staff. One of the biggest hurdles the project had to clear was identifying and securing suitable interviewees.

Thought was also given to the size of the company and its geographic location to ensure the full spectrum of business communication and practices were shown. Their availability, too, played a role; only about one in 25 of those contacted would agree to an interview. Some of the companies that appear in the series include Disney, Sprint, William Morris & Associates, Dain-Raushcer and AT&T.

Once the interview was set up, the topics and questions to be asked were sent to the interviewee ahead of time. A crew recorded the interview, along with background/filler shots of other people in the office and the person to be interviewed doing his or her job.

Korman found a positive correlation between the success of the interviewee and their level of articulation as a communicator. "They not only know what they are talking about, but they communicate very clearly and colorfully."

For such a large undertaking, the budget was approximately $1 million, along with contributions from Irwin/McGraw-Hill, publishers of the accompanying textbook. While this figure might seem an enormous amount of money for the task, it is quickly accounted for given the high cost of video editing and production.

It is the hope of the LeCroy Center that this new series will provide students not only quality, tailor-made instruction, but will remain cost-effective and provide excellent instruction. This series already is distributed both nationally and internationally; its success, no-doubt, due to a well-conceived project.

For more information on the LeCroy Educational Center and the video series, contact Frank Korman at frankorman@dcccd.edu.