Ahrens to Receive Innovation in Accounting Education Award

Markus Ahrens, CPA, CGMA, professor of accounting and chair of the accounting and legal studies department at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, has been selected to receive a 2019 Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the American Accounting Association.

“I'm very honored and excited to receive this prestigious award in accounting education,” said Ahrens.

Ahrens, along with Cathy Scott, an associate professor of business accounting and program co-coordinator at the University of North Texas-Dallas, created the “Teaching and Learning Toolbox.” It is a website and blog to help other educators easily connect technology with pedagogy. The site also enhances accounting education and raises the learning bar by creating synergy, engagement and collaboration in the classroom and online.

The toolbox supports the role of technology in the classroom to engage students and create active learners.

“When technology is used effectively, it can cultivate peer collaboration and prepare students for the real world, by enhancing their research, collaboration and problem-solving skills,” Ahrens said.

Technology should also allow for lower-level learning activities to be delegated to students outside of the classroom, Ahrens added. This allows for students and the instructor to engage in higher-level learning inside the classroom.

The Teaching and Learning Toolbox has created a global teaching and learning community. This concept has received praise from higher education faculty, high school instructors, vendors and professional organizations.

Ahrens joined STLCC-Meramec in 2001 and currently serves as the accounting program chair. He has received national and state awards for his teaching and innovation in the classroom, including the 2018 Missouri Society of CPA’s Outstanding Educator of the Year Award, the 2016 American Accounting Association/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize, the 2018 and 2013 AICPA Bea Sanders Innovation Awards in Teaching Introductory Accounting Courses, and the 2017 Educator of the Year Award from the American Accounting Association Two-Year College Section.

Ahrens also earned the STLCC District Innovation of the Year Award in 2018 and 2007.

Ahrens will receive the award, a unique glass art piece and a monetary prize, at the association’s annual meeting Aug. 14 in San Francisco, Calif. The award is sponsored by the Ernst & Young Foundation.

The Innovation in Accounting Education Award is intended to encourage innovation and improvement in accounting education. It recognizes significant programmatic changes or a significant activity, concept or set of educational materials.