Sophomores at the AMV-College of Accountancy no longer have to meet a “cut-off score” to be able to major in Accountancy, but a new “retention program” is set to be implemented.
The requirement to obtain a grade of 2.75 in Accounting 2 has been abolished, but under the new retention policy, grades in Accounting 1 and 2 cannot be lower than 3.00. Students must also get a passing mark in retention exams to be retained in the Accountancy course.
Students who get a grade of 2.00 or higher in the two subjects will be exempted from the examination, while those who fail will be transferred to the Management Accounting program.
“Achieving a 96 percent rate [passing rate in the October 2010 board exam] for first-time takers is indeed an achievement, [and] maintaining or surpassing that would be a bigger challenge for us. One way of achieving this is by conducting a retention examination,” Accountancy Dean Minerva Cruz said.
The new policy would allow the college to limit the number of sections and students in the Accountancy program, thereby “addressing the problem in facilities.”
Only graduates of the Accountancy program are eligible to take the licensure examinations for certified public accountants. Management Accounting graduates may get certifications as bookkeepers, cost accountants, and accounting technicians.
College Secretary Josephine Relis said officials will determine the passing score for each exam and the number of students to be admitted, with the capacity of facilities as basis.
The change in policy did not make the process easier as results would still depend on the “quality of students,” she added. But the new policy will help students “because when they are not able to meet the 2.0 grade requirement, they still have a chance to be retained,” Relis said.
The new retention policy drew mixed reactions from students.
“I think this policy is better because it will give [more] students a chance to advance in Accountancy,” said Accountancy Student Council President Justin Louis Hebreo.
But Management Accounting junior Lara Joy Junio, who was transferred to the program as a result of last year’s cut-off score, said she was disappointed with the new policy.
“Our retention grade last year was 2.75. It would be unfair for us who enrolled in Accountancy and ended up in Management Accounting because of failure to retain the necessary grade,” she said.
Last year, 2,147 out of 2,920 incoming juniors were retained in Accountancy, while 773 were transferred to Management Accounting.
