News Releases

Tax relief: KU class helps students, proposes legislation for disabled vets

Monday, December 3, 2007

By Andi Witczak, Center for Service Learning

Think taxes are boring? Recipients of tax advice from University of Kansas graduate students didn't think so. This fall, 23 students in a business tax class used their knowledge to help meet community needs in a new service learning course.

The students completed two service learning projects as part of a tax research class with Raquel Alexander, assistant professor of accounting and information systems. The students drafted proposed federal tax legislation to provide assistance to disabled veterans returning to school. In addition, the students conducted tax and financial planning workshops for performing arts students and faculty in the School of Fine Arts.

From the beginning, the students were excited about helping others but didn't realize the impact the project would have on the community as well as on their own learning.

Senior Kristin Kuhn said she was surprised by how much the service portion of the class improved her understanding of tax research skills.

"Research has been very exasperating for me to learn, because it takes so much practice and I can't be good at it immediately," she said. "However, this service project made worth of all the time, frustration, and effort that I've put forth the past few months."

She also said that the service allowed her an opportunity to see how her college education could be beneficial as she transitioned into a career in business.

"The class also helped me to understand why research is such a crucial tool to have as I begin my career," she said. "This project defined the reason I chose this career to begin with: to help and serve others. It was very rewarding to stand in front of strangers, explain tax advice and observe their "ah-ha" expressions or head nods. It really more accurately confirms the past four and a half years of my college education, and that's a really comforting feeling."

Alexander said she assigned the labor-intensive projects to allow students to develop skills necessary for a successful tax career. Students had to identify the client's tax issues, perform research on those topics and then communicate the findings. Alexander said service learning projects were a perfect fit because of the strong student interest in community service activities. Each year, tax students volunteer at the law school free tax clinic. Recently, tax students developed a Web site for Hurricane Katrina tax laws (www.ku.edu/~katrina) and created tax relief brochures for Greensburg residents. Alexander said the students received positive feedback immediately during the presentations.

"While the student enthusiasm for the class service learning component has been incredible, the biggest response has been from the AIS Advisory Council. Our alumni and supporters have been quite moved by our students' efforts to provide tax assistance in the community, in Kansas and across the nation."

Throughout this process, Alexander has been supported by the university's Center for Service Learning, which was established in 2005 with the intent of creating meaningful and experiential learning opportunities for students. The center believes that service learning fosters better understanding of classroom material, is a catalyst for innovative leadership and social responsibility and can drive positive change in the world. Students enrolled in the course will also have an opportunity to become certified in service learning. The certification process consists of four components including completion of a service learning course, an independent service project, a set of directed civic engagement and leadership readings and a reflection. Certification in service learning benefits students in all majors and disciplines and, in turn, supports a diverse array of community organizations. In the past three years, students in more than 26 majors and four graduate programs have been certified in service learning impacting more than 40 community organizations and partnering with them for more than 5,725 hours of service.

Overall, Alexander and the students say that the experience has been meaningful. The strong emphasis on serving the community even caused positive changes in student priorities.
Master’s student, George Dale Reichert said, “I noticed that my personal goal for this project became less and less focused on a grade and more and more focused on the people who we would be presenting to and trying to help.”

In the end, the tax research and service were beneficial to both the students’ academic learning and the community as a whole.

Edwin “Eddie” Thomas Mitchell, a master’s degree student, said, “Most people would probably rank doing their taxes somewhere between getting a root canal and waiting in line at the DMV. Therefore, one of the most important skills we can develop in our careers is the ability to communicate effectively — to boil down these dense tax laws into meaningful bits of information that everyone can understand and apply. Luckily, my class got a chance to try this out.”