The College of Idaho can add another accolade to its list of top honors with an endorsement from AccountingEdu.org listing the College’s Accounting-150 Hours program as the top accounting bachelor’s program in the state for the 2018-2019 school year.
AccountingEdu.org, a resource for aspiring CPAs and other accounting professionals to explore options for education and career options, rated bachelor accounting programs based on data from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), ranking schools primarily on graduating students’ first-time pass rate of the CPA exam.
“At its core, accounting is about the concrete…the quantifiable,” stated AccountingEdu’s lead-in to the list of top schools. “But all too often even accounting students give too much attention to subjective noise when trying to get a feel for the quality of one degree program versus another. We all know better than to give weight to anything that can’t be represented in numbers.”
The C of I’s CPA exam first-time pass rate stands at 63.6 percent, the highest rate of success within Idaho. 2016 data provided by NASBA revealed only 54 percent of candidates nationally pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt, placing C of I’s students far above the national average.
Although AccountingEdu chiefly used this statistic in its endorsement of the C of I, the website also praised the College’s accounting program for its unique, five-year program providing all the necessary credits for students to qualify for CPA designation, as well as the amount of opportunity for internship and experiential learning, including individually arranged capstone projects.
“There are plenty of reasons why The College of Idaho stands out for its Accounting 150 Hours Major program,” stated AccountingEdu. “It provides students with opportunities to work on projects that connect them with the community, build strong connections with accomplished alumni and local leaders, and partner with professional mentors.”
Dr. Marilyn Melchiorre, C of I’s chair of the business and accounting department, credited fellow faculty members John Danielson, Kris Erne and Rick Goodwin for their work over the last five years to continue pushing C of I’s accounting curriculum to higher levels of rigor, helping to better prepare students for post-graduation success.
“This is exciting news for our department,” Melchiorre said. “What sets the C of I accounting degree apart from others is the unique curriculum of fundamental and advanced accounting courses containing hands-on learning with faculty mentors who have extensive work experience in both public and private accounting sectors.”
For more information about C of I’s accounting program, visit https://www.collegeofidaho.edu/academics/departments/business-accounting. For AccountingEdu’s full list of top accounting schools, click here.
The College of Idaho has a 127-year-old legacy of excellence. The C of I is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition and history of producing successful graduates, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.