Liberty University - starting MS Acct next week

Here we go again, this guy can't seem to make up his mind. :Eyecrazy:

Over the past two months I have done a lot of interviews for jobs as a claims adjuster in states like CA, AZ, TX, NM, FL and NC. I came to the conclusion that an MBA is going to make matters worse because I have been in claims for 18 years and I've reached the max on the pay scale, which in claims is not that good, and over the past two weeks I started resorting to making changes on my careerbuilder and monster with accepting 10K less than my current salary.

If I plan to take a cut in pay, I might as well jump into a field that I prefer and at least have the potential to make more dollars in the future. I decided to go with Liberty because I can't beat the 250 per unit fees and tech waiver for veteran discount. Not really a drawback, as I have to take 5 undergraduate accounting units and 8 graduate accounting classes to get my MS in Accounting. The school is also accepting both of my Davenport University credits, so not everything is lost.

Anyone else here taken any accounting courses at Liberty? I am taking Inter. Acct I this semester, but thinking of taking two classes per semester the get everything done in 13 months.

 

Yes, I have. I had a minor in Accounting while working on my undergrad work in religion. I ended with 18 hours in accounting. I ma now working on my M. Div. Anyway, the courses were very good. It can be challenging if you have no background in accounting or do not have a live person with experience to talk with but it is possible to do well if you apply yourself. I spent about 20 hours per week per accounting course and earned "A's" in all accounting classes. I dropped out of the M.S. Accounting program due to a career decision. I had the pleasure of tutoring accounting majors from a few state colleges. That was fun when they learned I was only taking a minor and was more knowledgeable than were they. I would highly recommend Liberty. Advice is to stay ahead, be ready to give 20 hours or more per week and do the all the problem sets each week. Accounting is a good field that should have more than decent openings in the near future due to older accountants retiring, etc. Be warned, some employers do not like to hire CPA's that do not also have an undergrad degree in accounting. The M.S. will give you depth of knowledge in accounting but not a wide foundation like the undergrad degree will. This is very helpful if you are considering auditing.

Thats just my experience and opinion. After you finish you may be better suited to look for a government accounting job as the requirements are less rigid than the private sector. This would lead to different designations in the future and to a different career track but, imo, better security and starting pay.

good luck,
Bobby

 

I'm working on a doctorate in Teaching and Learning at Liberty, so I don't have any experience with their accounting program, but I love Liberty U. I'm finding that they offer a well-designed curriculum delivered by caring and helpful instructors. They are an extremely conservative, Christian university and everything they do reflects that, so depending on your worldview, you will either love it or hate it.

 

Thank you for the feedback Bobby. I currently have 9 units from the local community college, and with Liberty, I would need to take 15 undergraduate and 24 graduate credits. I am seriously considering taking Taxation II (Corp. tax) in addition to my five preq. undergraduate credits because both taxation courses cover all chapters on the comprehensive tax book. In addition to the tax II that should give me 27 undergraduate and 24 graduate credits for 51 units total.

 

Even though the semester does not officially start until tomorrow I like how the school allows students to log onto blackboard a week prior to the semester to get started. What I noticed about the program is that it has less discussion board posts and more work on the end of chapter questions and case assignments that pertain to the subject compared to Davenport. In regards to the school being a Christian university and how the professors and some students appear to be very religious, I can see how this would be a turnoff for some students. This does not bother me at all because I noticed this school is very well organized, and everyone I have spoken with from my advisors, to financial aid and everyone else has been very courteous and professional.

 

I'm thinking about applying to either Liberty's MS Accounting program or Sain Joseph College's Master of Accountancy. I'm a military veteran, so Liberty would cost less for me overall (about 50%), although I'd have to take 3 undergrad accounting courses to get in to that program, whereas I already have the prereqs for the SJC program.

Can anyone familiar with either program comment on them? I would use the degree to do financial translation work and perhaps tax returns.

 

I just completed both ACC301 Intermediate Accounting I and ACC401 Taxation and getting ready to start ACC302 Intermediate Accounting II and ACC311 Cost Accounting in a few weeks. I will say that I am enjoying these courses, and glad to spend less time with discussion board posts and more time on the book and homework assignments. I noticed from reviewing the syllabi on different accounting courses at Liberty, I will be able to take two courses per eight week semester and should be able to complete the degree by end this year.

 

Thanks, joel. How many hours a week have you spent per class? I think I'd only be able to take one course per 8 week semester given my other responsibilities.

 

Not really sure, because I'm working 40 hours a week, studying for my Associate in Risk Management Designation and taking both classes. Between my RM and 2 accounting classes, I am spending around two hours per day Monday thru Friday, and 3 to 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. You can review the Syllabus for each class to get an idea how much work you have to do.

 

Thanks....

 

I'm not in the accounting program but I like Liberty a lot so far.

 

It looks like I'm going with Liberty, since I haven't found a better option from the UK or South Africa, and Liberty seems to be better than SJC. My only concern is that a US MSA may not be international enough for my purposes since I am likely to be translating documents drawn up on IFRS, but maybe I can supplement that with a course of two after I finish the MSA.

 

I start my undergrad in Accounting next Monday at LU.

 

I think you will be happy with your decision.

 

Thanks SurfDoctor. After a year of "shopping" around, I think LU is the best bet for me. I only found out about LU because of this website-and I am very thankful for that. Before I found this site, I had just enrolled at University of Phoenix. Luckily I was still a couple weeks before classes started and quickly jumped ship after reading some posts here.

 

Once again, good move. I would choose Liberty over UoP any day. I enrolled at UoP a few years ago and jumped ship too.

 

My buddy and his wife are pursuing masters degree's from Liberty, and both of them speak very highly about the college itself.

Good luck.

 

I agree that Liberty is a great school. Only thing is that the advisors are sporadic at times on emails, but I found calling them is a quick way of getting everything taken care of. You will need to contact them initially when you register for classes, or courses that have perquisites. This morning, I was able to add three of the four classes for the summer term, and took less than 10 minutes to get auditing added via phone, because I'm starting Inter. Acct II next week.

 

Another thing to add is that his wife also did her undergraduate there, and still decided to go there a 2nd time to complete her master's. So like I said, no complaints.

 

Joel, I want to hear about your experiences at Liberty. Please fill us in when you get going. Their education classes are great; I'd like to know how their accounting classes are.