WITH hopes of attaining a more comprehensive accounting education, the Department of Accountancy has separated from the College of Commerce and Accountancy (Commerce) to become the new UST- Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy.
“The College can now harness its resources for its development as well as of its faculty and students as the premier accounting school in the country,” Rector Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. said during the launching.
In the last two years, the University has been the top Accountancy school based on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure examinations conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission for Category B (schools with more than 100 examinees). The University recently registered a 78 per cent passing rate in the October CPA licensure examinations.
According to College of Commerce Alumni Foundation, Inc. (COCAFI) president Laura Acuzar, the College was named after the internationally-renowned accountant because of his integrity and intelligence.
Velayo, a recipient of the Outstanding Thomasian Alumnus Award for business last March, graduated from the College of Commerce in 1940.
To finance the separation and the establishment, the COCAFI has started endowment campaigns, which Accountancy department chair Dr. Rosario Fudotan projects to reach some P100 million.
Also, several donors such as the SGV & Co., which Velayo co-founded with fellow Thomasian Washington Sycip, and the Friends of Velayo group are also helping raise funds.
Fudotan said the new College would focus on giving its students and faculty international exposure to achieve high specialization and globalization in the accounting profession.
Acuzar also said alumni, who are more experienced in all concepts of accounting, would be tapped to teach in the College to ensure quality education.
Moreover, Fudotan said the College will offer a new curriculum for freshmen where major subjects are offered from the first day in college.
She also said that the new curriculum would provide the University higher standards for the formation of the students as future accountants.
The new College will be housed in the fourth floor of the Pay Parking Building, which is currently under construction, Velayo said.
The plan to separate the Department of Accountancy from Commerce was conceptualized 10 years ago. It was formally proposed to the University in September 1997. However, according to Fudotan, the previous College of Commerce administration, headed by Dean Amelia Halili, thought that the separation was then “premature.”
Last July 16, the plan was revised according to the Commission on Higher Education’s new pronouncements on the Accountancy program. It was approved by the University’s Board of Trustees last October.
The CHED also gave a memorandum order on the separate professional identity of Accountancy.
According to Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Dr. Armando de Jesus, an ad hoc selection committee headed by Fr. Lana would decide on the dean and other administrative officials of the new College soon. John Rheeno T. Cabangcalan
