ALMOST half of Accountancy sophomores failed their retention exams, following a stricter screening process to improve UST’s showing in the certified public accountant (CPA) board exams.
Out of 764 second-year students, 315 students were removed from the program. A total of 476 took the retention exam, with 211 students or 44.33 percent failing. This was lower than last year’s 47.58 percent, wherein 265 out of 557 failed the test.
Accountancy Dean Minerva Cruz said the retention exam was implemented to screen students who were “really fit” for the program.
“Accounting is very in demand but we have to be selective of our students,” Cruz said. “We [want to] either maintain or improve our performance in the board exams.”
One hundred eighty-five sophomores were exempted from the retention test after getting grades of 2.0 or higher in Accounting 1 and 2, while 104 students were automatically transferred to Management Accounting after failing the two courses.
The retention exam, which was implemented in 2011, replaced the grade retention policy of 2.75 in Accounting 1 and 2.5 in Accounting 2.
While UST wants Accountancy to be a “quota course,” Cruz said there was still need for a retention exam.
“An applicant may have a high rating in the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test but it does not assure us that the student is fit for Accountancy,” she said.
“We will not bend the rules, otherwise, we will not be able to sustain our good performance in the CPA board examinations,” Cruz told the Varsitarian.
The college also plans to raise the passing grade for its Integrated Accounting courses to 80 percent from 75.
Integrated Accounting courses are review subjects for the CPA board exam, offered during the summer for junior and senior students. Under the revised curriculum, the 24-unit courses will be given in the last semester of the fifth year.
The college has also cut freshmen sections to 19 from the usual 22 sections to accommodate free classrooms for the first batch of fifth-year students. Gena Myrtle P. Terre
