By Sara Hinds
Hands-on learning is paramount to every ˮ program. Students have the opportunity to apply classwork in the real world and hone their skills. For accounting majors, you can’t get any more hands on than preparing tax returns.
Every year, a small group of ˮ students provide free, basic tax assistance to Crete and surrounding communities through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program.
The . It’s designed to help individuals who have disabilities, language barriers and lower incomes. The big stipulation in the Crete area is VITA cannot help individuals who own farms or businesses. But anyone else, including ˮ employees and students, can use the service.
Student volunteers aren’t required to major in accounting to volunteer with VITA, but they do have to become certified in tax law through the IRS.
This prerequisite also falls on Tracy Corr, an assistant professor of practice in accounting. Corr has been the site coordinator for the Crete VITA location since 2023.
She ensures her student volunteers follow regulations, and she double-checks every tax return as part of the quality review step VITA requires.
Another unique aspect of VITA that differs from your neighborhood certified public accountant is where the student volunteers prepare the tax returns — right in front of the client.
Corr said students find this practice intimidating at first, and a bit like a professor grading their work right in front of them. But by the end of tax season, “they are pretty confident.”
“It's good for them,” Corr said. “I've seen them learn how to interact with our clients and become more secure or confident in their abilities. So it's kind of neat to see.”
This year, three ˮ accounting majors volunteered. Starting in February and continuing until the April 15 tax deadline, they held half-hour appointments Monday afternoons and a couple of Saturdays at the .
February was booked, Corr said. She hoped that by offering weekend time slots this year, they could help more people. Last year’s student volunteers prepared 60 tax returns, an uptick from 50 the year prior. As of the week before the tax deadline, they are at 95 returns.
