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Retention Criteria

Any student admitted to NIU can declare the accountancy major; however, to enroll in any 300- or 400-level accountancy courses, students must meet criteria from option 1 OR option 2.

• Criteria Option #1
  1. Meet the requirements to enroll in UBUS 310, Business Core Lecture*; and
  2. Obtain a 3.20 cumulative GPA or higher (NIU plus transfer GPA based on a four-point scale); and
  3. Obtain a minimum grade of B in ACCY 206, Introductory Financial Accounting, and minimum grade of B in ACCY 207, Introductory Cost Management, or equivalent courses. If a student earns a C in ACCY 206/207, a second opportunity to take the course can be provided. See the Accountancy advisor for further details.
  Students who meet Criteria Option #1 must formally request a review of their transcript by submitting a completed Department of Accountancy Transcript Review Request Form to the Department of Accountancy. (This form is separate from the NIU Admission form and the College of Business Transcript Review Form for UBUS 310.) Students will be notified concerning the results of that review via their NIU student email account. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that all transcripts are on file at the NIU Office of Registration and Records so that request forms can be verified in a timely manner.



• Criteria Option #2
  1. Meet the requirements to enroll in UBUS 310,* Business Core Lecture; and
  2. Obtain a passing score on the Accountancy Qualifying Examination (AQE). Students who wish to meet Criteria Option #2 should contact Testing Services at 815-753-1203 to register for the AQE. Learn more about the AQE exam and free review...

*Requirements to Enroll in UBUS 310

• Complete the following courses with a C or better: ACCY 206, ACCY 207, MGMT 217, UBUS 223, OMIS 259, ECON 260, ECON 261, MATH 211 or MATH 229, PSYC 102, and ENGL 104 or ENGL 105 or equivalent courses; and
• Complete 60 semester hours (Junior standing); and
• Obtain a 2.75 cumulative GPA (NIU and Transfer GPA)