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Northern Illinois University

College of Business - NIU

Illinois Board of Examiners Provisional Approval for CPA Exam Eligbility dated July 30, 2007 … you can take the CPA examination while completing the final semester or quarter of college courses.

CPA Review for Credit

The Northern Illinois University (NIU) CPA Review can be taken for three or six semester hours of credit.

Both Northern and non-Northern CPA candidates may enroll for credit if they take the Audit & Attestation or the Financial Accounting & Reporting review. Each 3-hour course credit costs approximately $920 for Illinois residents and approximately $1500 for out-of-state residents. Be aware that the tuition fee may change slightly from semester to semester. The fees for each three credit hour course must be submitted to the NIU Bursar's office upon receipt of the billing. The credit tuition fee is in addition to the cost of the CPA Review course.

To earn credit, the candidate must attend 90% of the review lectures (may substitute recordings when traveling) and take three, 3-hour exams for 3 credits. A total of six credits may be arned by taking both Audit and Financial for credit.

Note, some international students may not be eligible to earn credit. Questions should be addressed to the NIU International Student office at 1(815) 753-1346. Click here for more information.

The classes may be taken at any location. However, correspondence courses are NOT available for credit. The financial accounting review is course number ACCY 475, CPA Problems I and the Auditing review is ACCY 476, CPA Problems II. The registration procedures are described below.

The course will be graded (no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory). The grade for each course is based entirely on the three individual exams worth 100 points. The exams will cover CPA Review course information.

NOTE: ACCY 475/476 courses do not fulfill major requirements toward any NIU undergraduate or graduate coursework. The credit earned fulfills only the requirements established by the Illinois Board of Examiners to sit for the CPA exam in the State of Illinois.

Note that a student must register separately for the audit and/or financial accounting review, and for each class: ACCY 475 and/or ACCY 476. For questions regarding taking the CPA Review for Credit or information on registering, contact the CPA Review director at 1(815) 753-6207 or email her at dhopkins@niu.edu.

Illinois law and university policy require that all students born on or after January 1, 1957, enrolling in class at the NIU campus provide written evidence of current immunization status with respect to certain communicable diseases by the first day of the term enrolled. Failure to provide the required documentation by the first day of the term will result in a $25 late processing fee. An encumbrance will also be placed on the records of students who are not in compliance and your transcripts will not be released. Although some students may take this course(s) off campus, the course professor is based in DeKalb; therefore the course(s) is considered on campus. You will receive immunization information from the University Health Service once you are accepted to the university. To view the immunizations required and the form to be completed, click here. For transcript purposes, all students enrolled in ACCY 475 and/or ACCY 476 are considered to be on campus and therefore must provide proof of immunization as previously described. Additional immunization information may be obtained from the University Health Service at 1(815)-753-9585.

All CPA candidates planning to take the CPA Review for credit will receive the course syllabus at the first review class meeting. Debra Hopkins is the instructor for all credit review courses. (dhopkins@niu.edu)

All candidates will take the three individual exams online using their own computer. The three individual exams are posted to a secure website allowing students to access the exams from any location in the world. Exams will be faxed or mailed only if there is a computer malfunction.

Procedures for Registering

ACCY 475, CPA Problems I, or ACCY 476, CPA Problems II

Course registration procedures differ depending on your status as a “currently enrolled NIU student” or as a “student who has earned a Bachelor's degree”.

  1. Before the first class session, gather the following (if applicable):

    1. Students who have earned a Bachelor's degree from ANY INSTITUTION OTHER than NIU should obtain:

      • An official transcript from their undergraduate institution.

      • A copy of immunization records.

      • Bring this information to first session.

  2. Attend the first class session of any NIU Audit or Financial Accounting review class:

    1. Students who have earned a Bachelor's degree FROM ANY INSTITUTION OTHER than NIU:

      • Must be approved to be a Student-At-Large (SAL) by presenting transcript and immunization to Course Director (Debra Hopkins).

      • Will receive a permit number to register. This permit number is required for registration.

    2. Currently enrolled NIU students:

      • Will receive a permit to register. This permit is required for registration.

  3. After the first class session, register for the course:

    1. Students who have earned a Bachelor's degree FROM ANY INSTITUTION OTHER than NIU:

      • Registration will be managed by the CPA Review Course Director.

      • Print the student-at-a-large application, fill it out, and bring to the first class you attend.

    2. Students who have earned a Bachelor's degree from NIU

      • Register as a Student-At-Large (SAL) by completing the SAL application form found at http://www.xap.com/applications/niu_student_at_large/apply.html.

      • Submit an official transcript showing that you have earned a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution. The transcript must be sent to:

        Northern Illinois University
        Graduate School
        Admissions
        DeKalb, Illinois 60115

      • Complete a form to be submitted with your CPA exam application to the Illinois Board of Examiners. The form will be distributed and discussed during one of the early sessions of the CPA Review.

    3. Currently enrolled NIU students:

      If you are currently pursuing a degree at Northern Illinois University follow the instructions below.

      • Register for CPA Review non-credit course online.
      • Register through TRACS at 1(815) 753-8900 or http://myniu.niu.edu for ACCY 475 (Financial Accounting & Reporting) or ACCY 476 (Audit & Attestation) as you would for any other NIU course.
      • Complete a form to be submitted with your CPA exam application to the Illinois Board of Examiners. The form will be distributed and discussed during one of the early sessions of the CPA Review.

Procedures for Paying for ACCY 475/476 and the NIU CPA Review

When a CPA candidate takes the CPA Review for credit, two payments must be made:

  1. A payment to the NIU CPA Review for the noncredit portion of the Audit or Financial Accounting review in the amount.
  2. The credit fees will be billed separately by the NIU Bursar's office. Payment for the credit portion will be made to the NIU Bursar's Office for the semester hours and fees. Payments must be made directly to the Bursar's Office using the procedures enclosed with the bill.

All textbook materials are included in the above course fee.

For questions about the above information, please call the CPA Review office at 1(815) 753-6207 or email cpareview@niu.edu.