Following a presentation to the State Board of Education by College President Dr. Tom LoBasso, Daytona State College has been granted approval to offer the Bachelor of Science in Accounting, bringing the total number of bachelor’s degrees offered by DSC to seven. The new program is scheduled to begin fall 2020 upon tentative SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) accreditation. It will be the second bachelor’s program in the School of Business Administration in addition to the Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management.
“DSC seeks to meet employers’ needs with high quality, accessible and affordable programs that link directly with jobs in our community,” said Dr. Amy Locklear, DSC Provost. “This degree is a result of almost two years of research, community surveys and conversations with local businesses and higher education colleagues. Our research showed that the near future will bring more jobs than can be filled by current accounting graduates in our region.”
“This presents students in our service area an affordable option to acquire a highly specialized, well-paying skill – one that will set them on a career path that will be fulfilling and rewarding,” said Max Nagiel, Chair of the School of Applied Business. “The program also aims to close an existing gap in the supply of BS Accounting graduates and the local and regional demand in our service area.”
Daytona State already offers an AS in Accounting Technology that provides the principles and practices necessary for a successful career in the accounting profession or for transfer into a bachelor’s degree program. The College also offers AS Certificates in Accounting Technology Management and Accounting Technology Operations that are embedded within the AS degree program or may be pursued separately.
Students will be able to enter the BS in Accounting from the AA, the AS in Business or the AS in Accounting. Those who earn their BS degrees from Daytona State save thousands of dollars in tuition costs compared to private and public four-year universities.
“The Bachelor of Science in Accounting was strongly supported by local companies such as James Moore & Co. and Brown & Brown Insurance,” said Locklear. “These and other industry leaders do not want to import talent, but rather grow it right here at home, and this degree creates those opportunities. This program will be taught by highly trained faculty with a wealth of real-world experience. Their goal is to produce skilled professionals ready to enter the high-demand field of accounting.”
“Data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) projects 1,007 accounting job openings in our service area over the next eight years, or 126 per year,” Nagiel added. “The program offers us the opportunity to provide students with one more advanced educational options while helping our community fill an existing skills gap.”
Daytona State began offering its first bachelor’s degree in 2005 in Applied Science in Supervision and Management. Since then, the College has added bachelor’s programs in Engineering Technology; Information Technology; Elementary Education; Secondary Education (with specializations); and the most recent in 2014, Nursing.
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