President Frederick W. Clark Jr. is fond of mentioning a particular point of pride for the university: that the pass rate of BSU graduates taking the Certified Public Accountant exam has for years been near or upwards of 60 percent.
That rates among the highest in the state, and is significantly higher than many institutions in the commonwealth, including Boston College.
Additionally, the masters of science in accountancy program has for years been Option-One compliant with the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy, which signals the strength of the program’s merits and means graduates can take the CPA exam without having to go through the process of a transcript review.
Dr. Patricia Bancroft, professor of accounting and finance and the department's graduate coordinator, has had a lot to do with these pride points, but she’s quick to spread the wealth of credit with her colleagues.
“It’s all about faculty and rigor, and our students are excellent,” she said, by way of explanation. There is an overarching idea that she and her colleagues in the accounting and finance department subscribe to, best summed up as “affordable excellence.”
“We feel wonderful, we’re able to help our students – our homegrown students, where a lot of them are first generation – and they get ‘affordable excellence’ and a great degree.”
Professor Bancroft has been at Bridgewater for nearly two decades. She carries a full teaching load each semester in addition to two other courses.
“What I do for my students and the graduate students is not flashy, but essential to providing opportunities for them to succeed as a professional in the accounting field,” she said. “My passion is to help our students succeed in academia and in life. This involves mentoring, getting to know their professional interests and goals, gather resources and give advice. “
Accounting and finance students would seem to be happy with their undergraduate experience: many turn to BSU once again when they’re ready for a master’s.
Professor Bancroft recently traveled to Jordan with other BSU administrators to help Jordanian students at partner institutions who come to BSU to earn a degree in accountancy be even better prepared.
No matter where they come from, BSU students majoring in accounting and finance do their alma mater proud when they get out into the workforce, Dr. Bancroft said.
“We hear about how engaged they are,” she said. “The work ethic is there.” (Story by John Winters, G ’11, University News & Media)