Accounting program ranks #2 in nation, falls from #1 in 2000
By Charles Kemp
Contributing Reporter

Students at The Calloway School of Business and Accountancy performed exceptionally well on the 2000 Certified Public Accountant exam – Seventy-two percent of the students passed – the second highest passing percentage in the nation, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

The national average is “somewhere between 15 percent and 16 percent,” Dale Martin, an associate dean of academic programs and resources, said. “This more than quadruples the national average.”

The Calloway School began to offer in 1997 a 5-year undergraduate program with a master’s degree in accounting. Since then, university students have placed either first or second nationally on the CPA exam. The accounting program was ranked seventeenth among all of the nation’s different undergraduate accounting programs by the CPA Personnel Report’s twentieth Annual Survey of Accounting Professors.

The university has offered a bachelor’s degree in accounting since 1947. In the early 1990’s, a movement that resulted in the “150 Hour Law” began. This law required that students have a mandatory 150 hours in order to take the CPA exam.

According to Martin, with this new law in effect, students began struggling to make the 150 hours in four years. “You rarely find a student with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Most everyone has a Master’s degree now,” Martin said.

With over 400 students in the Calloway School, it is the largest undergraduate program available at the university.

For senior Kim Morgan the achievements of the school were a factor in her decision to attend the university. “I found a major that I really enjoyed, and the school was great; so I stayed here,” she said.

Martin gives credit for the excellent record of the Calloway School to outstanding students, a very rigorous program, a faculty that works closely with the students and small classes – averaging fewer than 25 students each.

Senior Ashley Hess, a student in pursuit of a 5 year masters in accounting degree, said, “classes are so tailored toward passing the CPA exam. They’re very all-encompassing.” On the 2001 exam, the university has been notified that three of the highest scores in North Carolina are from this university’s students. Wendel Kralovich, ‘01 received the gold medal, Kirk Sonnenfield, 01, the silver and Brian Branson, ‘01, the bronze. The average student must receive a 75 percent or above to pass the test. Each of these students scored over 95 percent on the CPA exam. The Calloway School also offers four-year degrees in business, analytical finance, mathematical business and information systems.