UC s Accounting Program Counts Among the Nation s Best

BusinessWeek

magazine surveyed thousands of business majors at more than 100 schools around the nation, asking them to rate their schools’ programs in 12 specialty areas, including ethics, corporate strategy, business law and sustainability.

And for the first time, the accounting program in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business (CoB) ranked in the top 10 nationally.

“The strength of our accounting program is in providing students a comprehensive, practical and results-based educational experience,” says CoB Dean Will McIntosh. “BusinessWeek’s ranking of our program as one of the top 10 in the nation is evidence that the UC College of Business continues to focus on delivering a business education that is relevant to the marketplace by integrating real industry experience with state-of-the-art curriculum.”

UC’s ranking — along with several others in the top 10 — seemed to catch many at BusinessWeek by surprise.

Tim Sale, professor of accounting, was amused but not surprised at how BusinessWeek explained, “The best programs in accounting, sustainability and other specialties aren't always the obvious choices. …But the … top-ranked accounting programs might not be the ones you would expect. In fact, the average overall rank for the accounting top 10 is 30, with schools like No. 45 Baylor, No. 48 Binghamton and No. 91 Cincinnati in the mix for top spots.”

“I’m not surprised — we’ve worked really hard to build a successful program,” Sale says. “We’re trying to prepare our people for the CPA profession. This is a good indication that we’re doing the right thing. We also hear from firms that have hired our students that they like the good work ethic and technical preparation of our students.”

“We appreciate our students’ confidence in us and their understanding that we’re preparing them for their careers,” says Associate Professor Jens Stephan, head of the CoB Department of Accounting. “We go out of our way to provide professional developmental opportunities for them, for example, by partnering with our friends in the accounting profession.”

Another way that the CoB Accounting Department provides opportunities for its students is by supporting and advising student groups and activities, such as the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. Tosha Moorer, president of the NABA UC chapter, says their group assists students by

• Overcoming challenges and limited opportunities
• Creating and promoting friendships
• Producing an environment conducive to learning
• Recognizing excellence
• Offering several leadership and organizational roles
• Offering skill enriched workshops that promote professional development
• Offering networking opportunities via regional and national conventions, and relationships with the local professional chapter (Greater Southern Ohio) and other local professionals

"I was in a cooperative business education program as a high-school senior, and began my first brush with accounting there," Moorer says. "I looked at schools in Ohio for their accounting programs and applied for various scholarships. I got attracted to UC in particular because of the strong faculty and courses offered. I saw that many of the courses offered prepare students for the CPA exam, and that was very important to me."

First-year accounting major Sophia Calloway is vice president of UC's NABA student chapter and also a Kolodzik Business Scholar at UC. She says, “I looked at the other business schools and the programs they offered, but they did not offer nearly as many opportunities as UC did.”

Here’s BusinessWeek's Accounting Top 50:
 
1 Boston College
2 Binghamton University
3 Georgetown University
4 Cornell University
5 University of Southern California
6 University of Texas–Austin
7 Baylor University
8 University of Richmond
9 Southern Methodist University
10 University of Cincinnati
11 Ohio University
12 Miami University
13 Boston University
14 Arizona State University
15 Brigham Young University
16 University of Nebraska
17 Bryant University
18 Florida International University
19 Northern Illinois University
20 Texas Christian University
21 University of Pennsylvania
22 George Washington University
23 Rutgers University
24 John Carroll University
25 Xavier University
26 University of Massachusetts–Amherst
27 University of Oklahoma
28 University of Notre Dame
29 Clemson University
30 University of Virginia
31 University of California–Berkeley
32 Pennsylvania State University
33 Colorado State University
34 James Madison University
35 University of Arkansas
35 University of Arizona
37 St. Joseph's University
38 Georgia Institute of Technology
39 Texas A&M University
40 Syracuse University
41 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
42 Hofstra University
43 University of Connecticut
44 Michigan State University
44 University of Florida
46 Belmont University
47 University of Houston
48 Santa Clara University
49 Purdue University
50 William & Mary University

BusinessWeek's complete rankings

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