July 20: Accounting Co-op Program Highlighted in The Globe and Mail

The new accounting co-op program offered by the College of Management and Economics was mentioned today in The Globe and Mail's weekly Business School news roundup.  An excerpt from the article follows: 

Add the University of Guelph’s College of Management and Economics to a growing list of business schools offering a co-op education in accounting.

Guelph’s first regular co-op class will begin in fall, 2013, but a limited number of 15 or so top students will be offered placements for work terms next summer.

The new program – an honours bachelor of commerce accounting in co-op education – removes a competitive headache for the college.

“At the Ontario university [student recruitment] fair, the first question students ask is ‘do you have co-op?’” says Fred Pries, interim chair of the college’s department of business. “It’s a very popular thing among students.”

The college created an accounting major in the bachelor of commerce program three years ago, with an eye to introducing work placements at some point. Under the revamped program, students will have their first semester-long placement after their second year of studies, with up to four work terms before graduation.

In response to industry demand, the program includes back-to-back work terms that last eight months, giving the employer more time to assign a project and assess a co-op student’s potential as a prospective employee.

Prof. Pries says the work experience gives students a chance to determine whether accounting is a good fit. “The things you learn at university you can see how they apply in the real world,” he says. Employers benefit too. “They get a bright, enthusiastic person coming in for a little bit of time and often they will hire that person after graduation,” he says.

By adding the co-op element, students take an extra year to graduate from the four-year program.

Read the full Globe and Mail article