Loyalist and UOIT come together to create new accounting program

Loyalist College president Maureen Piercy addresses accounting students and professors during the official announcement of a partnership with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Photo by Cam Kennedy

By Mo Cranker

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College announced a new accounting program partnered with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Wednesday evening.

The new program will incorporate a standard two-year Loyalist accounting diploma and a UOIT accounting degree. Once the students finish their two years at Loyalist (while taking some online UOIT classes) they will transition into third year at UOIT in Oshawa, where they will finish their university degree in accounting.

“This is a much easier and seamless way for accounting students to earn a diploma and degree,” said Loyalist College president and chief executive officer Maureen Piercy.

Practicing chartered professional accountants are required to have a university degree and at least 30 months of relevant industry experience to qualify as a CPA and Piercy said that this program gets students ready to join the industry.

Within Canada there is currently multiple designations of accountants; a chartered accountant, certified general accountant and a certified management accountant. Soon these will all fall into the same category of chartered general accountant.

“This agreement with UOIT presents a really exciting opportunity for our students to obtain the credentials they will need to qualify for the emerging CPA professional designation,” she said.

Jennifer Percival, associate dean (programs) at UOIT, said she believes that  more colleges and universities could create joint programs in the near future.

“It does provide another option for students so that they have the opportunity to choose between college and university later in their education without a penalty of requiring time for completion of their education,” said Percival.

“As more and more professions look to require university degrees, this may be extremely important to leave as many options open to students as they explore their career interests.”

Jim Whiteway, the dean of business at Loyalist’s Bancroft campus, also sees the benefits of diploma to degree programs.

“We tend to be more applied in the college area and UOIT has a great handle on application and the way they present theory. It’s not just about sitting in class and hearing a lecture it’s really about getting your hands involved, the best of both worlds.”

The program has been in the works for just over a year and in its first year they expect around eight to ten students to participate, Percival added.

“We realize that it will take some time for people to understand the program and determine if it is a good fit for their career,” said Percival. “The program is attractive to students bit it is a challenging on with clear academic expectations that must be met.”

UOIT hopes that this is the first of multiple programs to be partnered with Loyalist, she said.

“In the Faculty of Business and IT (information technology) we are already working on obtaining the funding for the development of an online bridge for our Networking and IT Security program,” added Percival.

Sadie Montgomery, class representative for her accounting class, said picking this program was an easy choice.

“After taking a year off after high school I decided to go to college as a less expensive alternative, just in case I didn’t like it. The choice to join the UOIT side was a no brainer for me.”