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UBCO reverses decision

One week after an unwavering Faculty of Management Dean Roger Sugden made a controversial decision to cut three fourth year accounting courses, UBCO has reversed the decision.

Just before 8 a.m. Monday UBCO sent an email to all students stating the courses would, in fact, be offered (see below).

“We are truly sorry for the confusion and anxiety this has created for our students and their families,” stated the letter.

It was signed by the Provost and Vice-Principal, Academic, Cynthia Mathieson, and by Dean Sugden.

The email guarantees that all Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) pre-requisites will be taught on campus in the 2014-2015 school year.

This was a reversal from their announcement last Monday that the classes were being cut, no ifs, ands or buts.

Students had asked Castanet to be in attendance last week when Dean Sugden was scheduled to discuss the decision with students. He refused to speak in front of media and parents and left the meeting.

Students responded with outrage that such a significant change was being made without their input, a way to debate the decision and announced on the last day of class.

The following day Sugden spoke with media and gave his reasoning, indicating at that time that the decision would not be reversed.

The change, set to begin this fall, would have meant that any third year students who had hoped to take all their pre-requisites in order to start the CPA professional designation at UBCO would have had to apply to other schools or take the courses by correspondence.

On Friday, Okanagan College came forward and said it would help any UBCO students take the courses at the college that they needed to complete their pre-requisites.  

The unexpected email this morning only indicated that the CPA pre-requisites will be offered during the 2014-2015 year but does not say anything about the future of accounting at UBCO after that year. 


Email from UBC as it was sent to management students:

UBC commits to on-campus CPA courses for next year

Bachelor of Management students at UBC Okanagan will be able to take all Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) prerequisite courses on campus next year.

Over the past week, the Faculty of Management has actively consulted with students, hearing their concerns about the future availability of three CPA prerequisite courses in tax, advanced financial accounting, and audit. Acting on those concerns, the Faculty has now confirmed that it will offer on-campus courses in all eight CPA prerequisite subjects in 2014-2015.

We are truly sorry for the confusion and anxiety this has created for our students and their families. The Faculty of Management will continue to work closely with students to ensure delivery of these courses meets their needs.

Cynthia Mathieson

Provost and Vice-Principal, Academic

Roger Sugden

Dean, Faculty of Management

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