Applying Balanced Scorecard to Blackboard Technology in Accounting Education

Introduction

To overcome a declining retention rate in accounting courses and to attract more of its students to become accounting majors without sacrificing student learning or increasing costs (C. Spiceland, J. Spiceland, & Schaeffer III, 2015; Watty, McKay, & Ngo, 2016; Ersoy-Babula, & Babula, 2018), many accounting institutions have adopted Blackboard technology to deliver courses (L. Lawson-Body, Willoughby, A. Lawson-Body, 2015; Clark-Gordon, Bowman, Hadden, & Frisby, 2019). Academic executives have been giving increased attention to the measurement of accounting students’ performance through the use of interactive learning technologies, which are heavily used in accounting education (Özpeynirci, Yücenurşen, Apak, & Polat, 2015; Watty et al., 2016). Blackboard technology is becoming a teaching method used to adapt online learning instructions to the needs of accounting students (Basioudis & de Lange, 2009; Wilson, 2013; L. Lawson-Body et al., 2015; Gibeault, 2018).

Today, every reputed educational institution run their online learning courses and hybrid learning courses (traditional face-to-face courses delivery combined with online learning courses) under the electronic learning (e-learning) system (Zhang, Zhou, Briggs, & Nunamaker Jr., 2006; Delen, Liew, & Willson, 2014; Alenezi & Shahi, 2015; Navimipour & Zareie, 2015; Gibeault, 2018; Gavaldon & McGarr, 2019; Clark-Gordon et al. 2019; Salama, Iskandara, Ibrahima, & Farooq, 2019). Many instructors use Blackboard to monitor students’ progress carefully and to boost students’ performance (Gibeault, 2018; Fluck, 2019). These benefits of the use of Blackboard have been diversely appreciated because some learners are dissatisfied with their e-learning experience (Liaw, 2008; Gibeault, 2018). That raises a critical issue of how the use of Blackboard contributes to the academic performance of accounting students, because accounting education continues after the graduation of accounting students. Many students struggle with the analytical thinking process required in accounting (C. Spiceland et al., 2015). Without a strong motivation to apply the extra time they may need to be successful in accounting, students will often get discouraged and stop trying (C. Spiceland et al., 2015; Watty et al., 2016). What matters for most accounting students is not the degrees delivered by the academic institutions, rather it is to maintain certification through continued education.