Northern Illinois University

College of Business - NIU

Rankings & Awards

Meeting the Challenge . . . and More

The mission of the NIU Department of Accountancy includes excellence in teaching, involvement in significant research, leadership in and service to the professional community, and service to the College of Business and to the University.

The Department's role in the education of its majors is to integrate general education, general business, general accounting, and specialized accounting curricula in order to prepare students for first careers as well as further education so that students can advance careers or make career changes.

Excellence in teaching demands relevant and innovative programs, useful learning materials, and effective instructional systems. As indicated by several measures, the NIU Department of Accountancy successfully fulfills this mission.

First, the NIU Department of Accountancy currently has about 425 upper-level undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students.

  • Approximately 75 undergraduates will have had an internship experience.
  • In 2007, $181,000 was awarded to 98 Accountancy scholarship winners.
  • We will graduate about 300 students in three accountancy programs this year and the graduating class is very strong.

Some statistics about Northern graduates are:

Undergraduate:

  • Average ACT score: 25
  • Cumulative GPA: 3.45

Graduate (M.A.S.):

  • Average GMAT: 560
  • Average Undergraduate GPA: 3.50

Secondly, a number of national statistics and polls further indicate the quality of the accounting program at Northern.

  • NIU has had several national rankings for students passing the CPA exam during the last ten years. NIU students have also won national and/or state awards for the CPA exam performance.
  • The Department of Accountancy programs continue to be ranked among the elite in the nation by both Public Accounting Report (where both our graduate and undergraduate programs are ranked in the top 20) and U.S. News and World Report (where we are ranked 23rd in the 2008 Annual America's Best Colleges edition - our highest ranking ever).

Third, our academic peers at Northern and in the State of Illinois recognize our undergraduate faculty for their excellence in teaching. The following faculty members have received these teaching awards:

  • Dr. James Young, University Presidential Teaching Professor
  • Dr. John Simon, University Presidential Teaching Professor
  • Ms. Debra Hopkins, Illinois CPA Society Outstanding Educator Award

The following faculty members have received the University Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award:

  • Dr. John Simon
  • Dr. David Sinason

In recognition of his dedication to education, Dr. John Engstrom has received the Coopers and Lybrand Excellence in Teaching Faculty Fellowship. In addition to the above awards, members of the NIU Department of Accountancy faculty have been selected for chaired professorships/fellowships at NIU. These financially supported professorships indicate external recognition of excellence and have been awarded to:

  • Dr. Natalie Churyk, Caterpillar Professorship
  • Dr. Douglas Clinton, Alta Via Consulting Professorship; Burge Family Faculty Fellow
  • Dr. Chih-Chen Lee, Michael and Patricia Strachan Professorship
  • Dr. Katrina Mantzke, Kieso Professorship
  • Dr. Rebecca Shortridge, Gaylen and Joanne Larson Professorship
  • Dr. David Sinason, PricewaterhouseCoopers Professorship
  • Dr. Pamela Smith, KPMG Professorship
  • Dr. Donald Tidrick, Deloitte Professorship
  • Dr. Sally Webber, HSBC Professorship
  • Dr. James Young, Crowe Chizek Professorship