For Accounting Professor Kristin Li, teaching online is about more than delivering course material. It is about helping students build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in their accounting careers. As an instructor in Cal State Fullerton’s Online B.A. in Business Administration degree-completion program, Li is committed to making sure her virtual students have both the academic foundation and resources they need to thrive in an online learning environment.

Li earned her M.A. in Accountancy from The Ohio State University, and her teaching interests span financial, managerial and intermediate accounting, as well as internal auditing and control. In the online business degree-completion program, she brings that expertise to ACCT 301 – Intermediate Accounting I, a course customized specifically for online business bachelor’s students. Through her teaching, Li helps students connect accounting concepts to the skills they’ll need to navigate the profession beyond the online classroom.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), Li prepares students to use new digital tools responsibly as a personalized learning assistant through an online orientation that all students attend at the same time. Teaching critical-thinking skills is an integral part of Li’s focus.

“I emphasize data skepticism, training students to critically evaluate AI outputs for errors using their own accounting knowledge and to collaborate with me whenever doubts or discrepancies arise,” says Li. “Through this blend of technical accounting rigor, data modeling, and AI literacy, the course equips our online business students with financial intuition and necessary tech skills required of modern business leaders.”

As an accounting professor, Li understands that many students may be considering a future as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). To help them prepare for that goal, she hosts CPA information sessions four times each semester, where she explains the requirements and helps students map out an individualized pathway. Her approach reflects the importance of having a clear plan and the right strategies for succeeding in an online learning environment.

Four Tips to Succeed in Online Learning

Online learning offers the benefit of flexibility coupled with the challenge of needing a higher level of discipline, especially when courses such as Li’s are condensed into eight weeks rather than the traditional 16. To counsel students on how to best succeed, Li points to four essential strategies:

1. Know Your Road Map. Li’s course builds on ACCT 201 – Financial Accounting, a common undergraduate entry-level accounting course. Prepare for your return to college by working with your assigned online business academic advisor to set up a road map that takes into account your previous academic experience and your busy life schedule.
2. Build a Study Time Budget. Li suggests working students carve out manageable short segments, such as 30 minutes before breakfast or an hour during lunch, to reach the goal.
3. Leverage CSUF Online Resources. TitanGPT (the university’s version of ChatGPT, accessible through your student portal), LinkedIn Learning access and CSUF Pollak Library databases and research guides are opportunities available to online students.
4. Communicate Early and Often with Faculty. Online business professors such as Li are available to their students through online office hours, which are published on each course syllabus. In addition, online tutoring is available for several online business courses through the Business Tutoring Center, and embedded tutors known as teaching assistants have been added to several online business courses. If your course has an embedded tutor (teaching assistant), their name, contact information and office hours will be published in your class syllabus. Because Online Business courses are only eight weeks long, it is crucial that you reach out quickly — and as often as needed — for academic support. Avoid waiting until the last minute!

With these practical strategies and dedicated faculty such as Professor Li in your corner, you are well-equipped to turn your time in the online business program into a thriving business career after graduation.