THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

COMMITTEE:

Higher Education and Professional Practice

TITLE OF ITEM:

Master Plan Amendment: St. Francis College, Brooklyn, BS/MS, Accounting

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

December 20, 2004

PROPOSED HANDLING:

Approval (Consent Agenda)

RATIONALE FOR ITEM:

Master Plan Amendment is needed to authorize an institution’s first program at a new level of study.

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goal 2

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

St. Francis College seeks approval of an amendment to its master plan to authorize it to offer a Bachelor of Science/Master of Science program in accounting.  Master plan amendment is needed because this would be the College’s first graduate degree program.  A petition for action requesting approval for the Trustees to confer the Master of Science (M.S.) degree at the College appears separately on the Regents agenda.

 

The Office of the Professions has determined that the proposed program, if approved, would meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

 

Recommendation:    I recommend that the Regents take the following action:

 

VOTED, that the master plan of St. Francis College be amended, effective January 11, 2005, to authorize the College to offer a Bachelor of Science/Master of Science program in accounting.  This approval will be effective only until January 31, 2006, unless the Department registers the program prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.  This action does not authorize additional master’s degree programs at Saint Francis College without further Regents action to approve an additional master plan amendment.

 

 

St. Francis College, Brooklyn

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)/Master of Science (M.S.), Accounting

 

St. Francis College, Brooklyn, is an independent, four-year institution that was granted an absolute charter by the Regents in 1957.  St. Francis College offers registered programs leading to the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Associate of Science (A.S.), and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.).  The College has requested registration of an Accounting program leading to the Bachelor of Science/Master of Science degrees.  This program would be the College’s first at the graduate level.

 

Program

 

Section 52.13(b) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires that, on or after August 1, 2004, accounting programs registered as leading to licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) shall be programs leading to baccalaureate or higher degrees that include 150 semester hours of requisites or prerequisites, at least 33 semester hours in professional accounting, at least 36 in general business, and at least 60 hours in the liberal arts and sciences.  Within each of these three content areas, the Regulations identify curricular requirements.  To date, most programs registered pursuant to Section 52.13(b) include master’s degrees.  Effective August 1, 2009, applicants for licensure as a CPA must have completed a registered 150 semester hour program in accounting or the equivalent.

 

Since 1974, the College has offered a B.S. Accounting program registered as meeting the “old” guidelines under Section 52.13(a) of the Regulations.  The proposed multi-award program is built upon the College’s undergraduate program and meets the new standards for registration for professional purposes. 

 

Enrollment

 

The College plans to admit 20 students to each class.  Applicants for admission must submit evidence of successful high school completion, acceptable mathematics and English Placement scores, and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.  Applicants whose native language is not English must present at least a score of 500 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). 

 

To progress in the dual degree program, students must pass all accounting courses in the first six semesters and have a minimum GPA of 2.8 in accounting courses.  Students not meeting these requirements may be given consideration if they receive a satisfactory score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or they may pursue the 150-hour BS program or the four-year nonlicensure-qualifying Accounting program.  Transfer students may apply for the program as long as they meet these standards.

 

Faculty

 

The Chair of the program has a Ph.D. in Accounting, two full-time accounting faculty have MBAs, and all three are CPAs.  While their research activities are relatively sparse, the consultant indicated that they have active consulting practices, are members of professional organizations, and have achieved recognition in the business community, which are important attributes for faculty preparing professional accountants.  There are three adjunct accounting faculty, two of whom hold MBA degrees and are CPAs, the third has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a JD degree.  The consultant noted that faculty teaching assignments are good matches to their respective backgrounds.  There are also several adjunct professors teaching business law who have JD degrees and active law practices.  Support faculty teaching the economics/finance courses have Ph.D. degrees in economics or finance.  The faculty member teaching business communications has a Ph.D. in international business/finance.  The composite of faculty credentials and experience are adequate to teach the proposed program.   

 

Facilities

 

The library has a computer research center with 40 terminals with Internet access.  The library has over 170,000 volumes, 520 periodical titles, and 1,000 audio-visual titles.  The library is a member of METRO and WALDO consortia that extends access to numerous library resources.  The library’s electronic resources include several databases that feature accounting, business, and management indexes and full articles.  Over 100 computers on campus are continuously upgraded to insure state-of-the-art computer hardware, software, scanners, etc., accessible to faculty and students.  The College also supports the Blackboard course management system that allows students to have access to course-related materials from any web browser on or off campus.

 

Planning Review

 

A canvass was conducted of all institutions in the New York City Region.  Of the seven institutions that responded, none expressed objections or concerns.