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Students demand Accounting
By Gergana Zapryanova
December 7, 2008
“I am reluctant to make a promise that I might not be able to deliver” – Sullivan
More than 25 students attended the Student Government [SG] meeting on Wednesday, December 3, to raise their concerns about the Introductory Accounting I and II courses for the Spring semester. The Dean of Faculty Steve Sullivan could not attend the meeting but he addressed students’ issues in an e-mail sent to the SG Chair Daniyar Abenov.
Among other sections that were added to various courses in the Business Department, one more section of Introductory Accounting II is now available, Sullivan explained in his e-mail. However, students complained that this is not enough because there are still waiting lists for the course, while Accounting I is still unavailable.
“There are substantial waiting lists in other courses, notably in Business Law. This demand is somewhat surprising, since three sections are being offered this Fall and they are not all full,” Sullivan wrote in his email.
Abenov assured the students that the SG is aware of their concerns and will continue its talks with Dean Sullivan and the chair of the Business Department.
“At the moment I do not have an instructor available to offer the course, but efforts are underway to try to locate one,” Sullivan wrote. He added that changes can still be made to the course schedule. “As you know, I am reluctant to make a promise that I might not be able to deliver,” Sullivan added.
“I believe the administration is trying to solve this problem,” Vaska Dimitrova, Vice President of the SG, assured students. “I feel fairly confident that we will ultimately address most of the concerns of most of the students,” Sullivan concluded his e-mail.
According to the 2008/2009 Undergraduate Catalog, Introductory Accounting I has to be offered every semester. The course is a prerequisite for all Business courses except for Marketing. “I don't want to lose time taking other courses because I've taken most of my GenEd courses,” student Polina Hrisova said.
“Not offering Accounting is pretty damaging to the students,” Pontes said. “The absence of Accounting I shifts the whole list of BUS courses somewhere far in my schedule,” Ecaterina Captari, who started a student petition on the issue, said. However, she acknowledged that it is too early for a significant change. “I would be glad if the course appears even in the add-drop week.”
“The petition didn’t change anything” in terms of having the course back, Pontes said. However, it was important as the department “waived the prerequisite for Business Law,” Pontes said. Captari added she appreciates the change but added that it is “far from being the right response to the petition.”
Read more on the students' petition here.
