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 250 graduate students.
- Approximately 80 undergraduates will have had an internship experience.
- In 2009, $256,629 was awarded to 124 Accountancy scholarship winner
- We will graduate over 325 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: 3.50
Graduate (M.A.S.):
- Average GMAT: 589
- 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.
- Professors across the nation have once again rated Northern Illinois University's accountancy program among the elite in the nation. The Public Accounting Report's 27th Annual Professor's Survey published in 2008, ranked NIU's Accountancy program 13th in the United States and one of only four non-Ph.D. programs in the top 15. Inclusion in the rankings places NIU in some highly regarded company including six Big Ten schools (including Illinois) and Notre Dame. Our programs were ranked 23rd in the 2008 Annual America's Best Colleges edition of U.S. News and World Report.
In addition, NIU accountancy students' performance on the CPA exam has ranked among the best in the nation for three decades. In January 2009, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy released pass rates for candidates taking the CPA exam in 2007. NIU Department of Accountancy graduate students placed 12th in the country (out of more than 900 institutions). NIU is the only Illinois university to have student performance ranked in the top twenty nationally. In addition, our students placed second in the country on the auditing section of the CPA exam (with a 90 percent pass rate). NIU accountancy graduate students placed 24th in the nation in 2006, and 9th best in 2004.
Third, our academic peers at Northern and in the State of Illinois recognize our faculty for their excellence in teaching. The following faculty members have received these teaching awards:
- Dr. Jim Young, University Presidential Teaching Professor
- Dr. John Simon, University Presidential Teaching Professor
- Ms. Debra Hopkins, Illinois CPA Society Outstanding Educator Award
- Dr. Pam Smith, 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 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 Endowed Professorship
- Dr. Donald Tidrick, Deloitte Professorship
- Dr. Tim West, Grant Thornton Faculty Fellow
- Dr. Jim Young, Crowe Horwath Professorship
In addition, the HSBC Professorship is currently open.
