In 2017, 75% of Calvin students taking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam for the first time passed, a rate 25% higher than the national average of just under 50%.

This rate places Calvin 8th nationally out of 281 institutions with 21 to 60 first-time test-takers and in the top 4% of all institutions. On the regulation section of the exam, which had the second lowest cumulative pass rate in 2017, Calvin students had the highest pass rate in Michigan, at 80%—a rate 10% higher than the next highest Michigan institution, and 33% higher than the national average.

The CPA exam is typically taken in a student’s final year or after graduation and must be passed to receive accounting certification. It is made up of four sections: auditing and attestation, business environment and concepts, financial accounting and reporting, and regulation.

Calvin offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Accounting program and a nine-month Master of Accounting program through its business department. The accounting program has a long history of nationally competitive CPA pass rates.

“Calvin students have been successful on the CPA exam for many years,”  said Julie Voskuil, professor of business at Calvin. “We are typically in the top 25 medium-sized institutions in our CPA exam passing rates.”

Voskuil attributes this success to a combination of factors: “I see our students grow a lot during their time at Calvin, and many of them are highly motivated.” She added, “I also think that students get a great education from our faculty—most have been teaching for 10 years or more, and all have passed the CPA exam.”

“Calvin’s business program has done an excellent job at equipping me for success on the exam,” said Davinia Peterson, a senior Calvin accounting student currently preparing for the financial accounting and reporting section of the CPA exam.

“Studying while still at school, I’ve seen how much of the class materials overlap with the CPA exam content,” Peterson added. “Whenever I don’t understand a lecture in my CPA review course, I look up my intermediate accounting notes for a further explanation.”