At this writing, 45 states and U.S. jurisdictions have adopted legislation requiring 150 hours of college credit before a person can sit for the CPA exam. In response to the 150-hour requirement, many business schools have added new degree programs. This paper examines trends in new graduate business programs and discusses curriculum planning implications for programs that face the 150-hour requirement.

THE INCREASE IN GRADUATE ACCOUNTING DEGREE PROGRAMS

     In a review of 220 universities, Schmidt (1993) concluded that a graduate degree represented a trend in academic responses to the 150-hour requirement. The first portion of this article builds on the Schmidt study by summarizing the increase in graduate business degree programs over the past ten years and projecting the likely increase over the next ten years.

     Figure 1 summarizes accounting degree offerings for universities in the United States and U.S. jurisdictions. In 1988, 297 of the universities had graduate business programsÑ281 had either master's of accountancy or MBAs with accounting concentrations or both; 16 had MBAs with no accounting concentration. By 1999, 530 universities had graduate business programsÑa 78 percent increase.

     Figure 2 compares the degree offerings for AACSB and non-AACSB schools in 1999. Of the 359 AACSB universities, 95 percent have graduate business programs. However, only 40 percent of the non-AACSB universities have graduate business degrees. A study by the AICPA (1996), combined with the data shown in Figures 1 and 2, provides a basis for projecting the nature and size of future increases in graduate business programs. The AICPA study found that 57 percent of responding universities did not have curriculums that qualified graduates for the 150-hour requirement. Of those 57 percent, 70 percent said they would implement changes, and 43 percent of those said that the changes would include a new master's degree program. Rezaee and Elmore (1993) report similar results. If these surveys are representative, then approximately 17 percent (57 percent * 70 percent * 43 percent) of all four-year colleges and universities in the nation will implement new graduate programs, resulting in an estimated increase of approximately 140 new graduate degree programs (17 percent of 838 universities). Since 95 percent of AACSB universities already have graduate business degrees, most of the new graduate programs will be at non-AACSB institutions.

CURRICULUM PLANNING IMPLICATIONS

     The data discussed above provides a basis for making several curriculum planning recommendations. AACSB Schools Ninety-five percent of AACSB schools offer graduate business programs. Because these programs are competing to attract students, they should attempt to differentiate their programs. An important step in planning this differentiated curriculum is gathering feedback from the university's constituents, e.g., students, employers, and internal constituents. Universities with No Graduate Business Programs As shown in Figure 2, there are 19 AACSB universities and 289 non-AACSB universities that have no graduate business programs. These undergraduate-only institutions face a significant challenge as their states implement 150-hour requirements. If they do not offer a graduate degree, they face competition from schools that do. The data provided in the previous section suggests that many universities have already added graduate programs to meet this competitive threat, and many more will add graduate programs in the coming years. However, a review of the literature revealed no evidence that CPA candidates, or their employers, prefer the graduate degree solution to the 150-hour requirement. In fact, a recent survey found that only 57 percent of CPA exam candidates (who were subject to the 150-hour requirement) enrolled in graduate programs (Donelan, 1999). The results of that study, summarized in Figure 3, show that 6 percent of CPA candidates earned double majors and 15 percent enrolled in additional undergraduate hours for the sole purpose of meeting the 150-hour requirement. Those results suggest that undergraduate-only institutions may be able to develop a competitive niche through high-quality undergraduate double major and certificate programs.

CONCLUSION

     The 150-hour requirement appears to be one of the factors that is driving an increase in the number of graduate business programs. As a result, graduate programs face an increasing number of competitors. In the face of this increased competition, graduate programs should carefully assess their constituents' needs and attempt to differentiate their graduate curriculums to meet those specific needs. Those universities that do not offer graduate business programs face an even greater competitive challenge as their states implement the 150-hour requirement. However, before these institutions consider adding graduate programs to meet this challenge, they should carefully assess their constituent needs. If graduate degrees are not highly valued by constituents, or if graduate programs do not complement the university's existing competitive advantage, then the best use of scarce resources might be to remain an undergraduate-only program. These undergraduate-only business schools can maintain a competitive niche by preparing graduates for entry into other university's graduate programs, preparing graduates for the CPA exam through additional undergraduate courses, or preparing students for non-CPA careers.

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REFERENCES

American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. 1988. AACSB Membership Directory, Saint Louis, MO.
American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. 1999.

www.aacsb.edu, November 1999. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 1996. AICPA 150-hour implementation survey results (excerpts published in the AICPA

150-Hour Curriculum Handbook, section 11). New York: AICPA. Donelan, J. G., How Tennessee CPA Exam Candidates meet the 150-hour Requirement,Ó Tennessee CPA, September 1999, 38-40.

Hasselback, J. R. 1988. 1988 Accounting Faculty Directory. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Hasselback, J. R. 1998. 1998-1999 Accounting Faculty Directory. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.

Rezaee, Z. and R. C. Elmore. 1993. Issues, challenges, and opportunities of the 150-hour accounting program: A survey of administrators. Accounting Educators' Journal, 5 (1), 1-20.

Schmidt, R. J. 1993. Accounting curriculum responses to the 150-hour requirement. Journal of Accounting Education, 11 (1), 15-41.