Hillsdale’s recent accounting graduates scored in the top 3 percent in the nation on the Unified Certified Public Accountant exam.
For the year 2014, Hillsdale College graduates,who studied accounting and took the CPA exam for the first time, had a passing rate of 78 percent with an average score of 81, while the national average of first-time test takers was 72.6 with a pass rate of 55 percent. The overall national pass rate was 49.5 percent and the average was 71.9.
The results put the school in top 3 percent nationwide, ranking 22nd of 776 schools, including graduate programs.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants administers the CPA exam with assistance from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and its state affiliates. It is the only licensed qualification in accounting, and passing the exam is a requirement for individuals seeking to qualify as certified public accountants.
The CPA exam presents the effectiveness of the accounting department directly, which makes it unique in Hillsdale’s programs, having a universally accepted “direct measure” to show efficacy.
“This is an exam that the majority of accounting majors across the country take,” Profssor of Accounting Michael Sweeney said. “It gives an unbiased view of how we are doing, and this was a great year for our program.”
Sweeney said the department is ecstatic about the results while the small size of the school makes the results very much subject to fluctuations that could simply be random in nature.
“It is important to note the national data includes a substantial number of candidates with graduate degrees with almost all of our students having only Hillsdale degrees,” Sweeney said.
According to the accounting department, the average age of Hillsdale students taking the exam was 23.8 while nationally it was 29.1.
“Older candidates have had much more to learn from practicing as accountants,” Sweeney said. “Nevertheless, we ranked higher than the schools with well-regarded Masters in Accounting programs.”
Professor of Accounting Bruce Ikawa said this fact makes the performance of Hillsdale students all the more remarkable.
“The key to having good results on the CPA exam is to have smart students taking it,” Ikawa said. “In the last couple of years, we have had outstanding graduating classes.”
Sweeney said the outstanding results are a team effort.
“We just pointed through the way,” he said. “The kids did the work.”
