Walsh College of Accountancy and Business
Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration, founded in 1922, is a non-profit business school based in Troy, Michigan, offering a broad range of business and related technology degree programs and granting certificates and degrees at the bachelor and master levels with satellite locations in Novi, Clinton Township, and Port Huron, as well as online. Walsh College offers programs in fields of accounting, taxation, finance, information technology and assurance, management and leadership, and marketing.
Degree programs
Undergraduate Degrees
- Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcct)
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
- Bachelor of Science in Business Information Technology (BSBIT)
Graduate Degrees
- Master of Science in Taxation (MST)
- Master of Science in Accountancy (MAC)
- Master of Science in Finance (MSF)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- MBA and Master of Science in Finance (Dual MBA/MSF)
- MBA and Master of Science in Marketing (Dual MBA/MSMKT)
- MBA and Master of Science in Management (Dual MBA/MSM)
- MBA and Master of Science in Information Technology Leadership (Dual MBA/MSITL)
- Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)
- Master of Science in Information Technology Leadership (MSITL)
- Master of Science in Management (MSM)
- Master of Science in Marketing (MSMKT)
Students and alumni
Eighty-seven percent of undergraduates transfer from a community college. Walsh College requires a minimum of 60 semester credit hours (30 of which must be in liberal arts) from all entering undergraduate students.[1] More than 4,400 students enrolled during the 2011-2012 academic year. Walsh College has 27,000 alumni worldwide. More than 85 percent live and work in Michigan.
Careers and recruiting
During the 2013-14 academic year, over 1,200 companies recruited at Walsh College, including the Big Four Accounting Firms. Students and alumni could access more than 2,600 job opportunities posted through the Career Services Office. In fall 2010, Walsh College opened its doors for the Blackstone Launch Pad, which provides students and alumni entrepreneurs with free advice and access to industry experts.
Faculty
The majority of the faculty members come from the real world of business; 80% are actively employed in the business community. If all of the Faculty business experience was added up the Faculty has 3,000 years of business experience in more than 70 different business, technology, and educational certifications or designations
- Sheila Ronis, Ph.D., director of the MBA and Master of Management programs and professor of management completed The Fulbright Specialist Program in October 2011. Michael Levens, Ph.D., associate professor, was named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster in 2010, for a five-year term.
Scholarships
Over $300,000 in scholarship funds are available.
Community
Walsh College assists the community in ongoing volunteer efforts: Blackwell Institute in Detroit, Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Focus: HOPE, Gleaners, U.S. Marines, and Vets Returning Home, Inc.
Awards
- In June 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council certified the Troy campus Jeffery W. Barry Center to the LEED Gold Level. The building is named for the late Jeffery W. Barry, the third president of Walsh College (1970–1991).
- Walsh College has captured several advertising industry awards for its “Live. Breathe. Business.” campaign.
- In 2012, TaxTalent ranked Walsh College's Master of Science in Taxation program in the top 15% of U.S. master of science in taxation programs.
- Walsh College is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, named by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
- Walsh College is named a Crain's Detroit Business “Cool Place to Work” for each year the award was given.
- The Military Times magazine recognized Walsh College as one of 64 select national institutions ranked as a "Best for Vets Business College," which provide high levels of service for active-duty and veteran military men and women.
- Walsh College has been named a 2015 Military Friendly School for the sixth consecutive year by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine and other media channels.
- In 2014, Walsh COllege was recognized as a platinum winner of the Marcom Awards. It is an international competition that receive nearly 6,000 entries each year and one of the largest creative competitions of its kind. Marcom rewards the best entrants in terms of concept, writing, and design of print, visual, audio, and web materials and programs.
Campus locations
The college has two main campuses in Troy and Novi and offers classes at two other university center locations, as well as online.[2] Classes are also offered in Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan at the University Center at Macomb Community College, and in Port Huron at the University Center at St. Clair County Community College.
Academic profile
Walsh College is Southeast Michigan's only full-service, upper-division all-business college and one of Michigan's largest graduate schools of business.
The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredits Walsh College. Specific degree programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
History
The College began with the founding of the Walsh Institute of Accountancy and the introduction of the Pace Accounting Method, at the time an innovative way of teaching accounting. Mervyn B. Walsh, a certified public accountant, purchased a Pace & Pace franchise to offer the Pace Accounting Method exclusively in Detroit. He founded the Walsh Institute of Accountancy on July 7, 1922, and on September 18 of that year, 23 students were enrolled in the first courses at the Institute.
When Mervyn Walsh retired in 1965, the State of Michigan had adopted a new bachelor's degree requirement for candidates to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination. At this time, Michigan's community college system was developing and a pivotal decision was made to build upon, rather than compete with, the community colleges by becoming an upper-division college.
On December 31, 1968, Walsh Institute became an upper-division college offering a business education to juniors and seniors who had finished two years of college. The new Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration forged partnerships with Oakland and Macomb community colleges and in 1970 broke ground for a 10,000-square-foot building in Troy, Michigan, near both colleges. Community college partnerships continued to flourish over the next two decades, and business leaders were invited to teach and develop curriculum.
The College offered its first bachelor's degrees, a Bachelor of Accountancy and Bachelor of Business Administration, in 1970. The first graduate degree, the Master of Science in Taxation, was offered in 1974. The following year, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) accredited Walsh College. Over the next several years, Walsh introduced Master of Science degrees in Professional Accountancy (1980), Finance (1986), and Management (1989). During the 1990s, the College continued to enlarge its facilities, offer classes at other locations in metropolitan Detroit, and introduce new degrees and online technology. The Master of Science in Information Management and Communication (MSIMC) degree was introduced in 1996.
In 1998 the Novi campus was opened and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was introduced. The first online courses were offered in 1998.
In 2001, the NCA granted Walsh College approval to offer full online degree programs and provided the College with a full ten-year extension on its accreditation. The first fully online degree, the Master of Science in Information Assurance, was offered in 2005. Walsh information assurance curriculum maps to industry standards as well as National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security specifications. Since 2003, these agencies have renewed the College's designation as a U.S. Center of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance Education.
In 2006, the NCA gave the College approval to offer its first doctoral degree, the Doctor of Management (DM) in Executive Leadership. In the fall of 2007, the first student cohort entered the program.
The College also received national recognition in April 2010 for a major grant to promote entrepreneurship among students and alumni. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation of New York announced that it had selected Walsh College and Detroit's Wayne State University to share a $2 million grant to initiate Blackstone LaunchPad.
Average Class Size |
21 |
11-week semesters (not quarters) |
4 |
Undergraduate Degrees |
3 |
Graduate Degrees |
11 |
For-Credit Certificate Programs |
4 |
Non-Credit Certificate Programs |
3 |
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The Higher Learning Commission, A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, renewed Walsh College’s accreditation through 2020.[3]
Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Walsh College received ACBSP accreditation in June 2010.[4] ACBSP acknowledges the importance of scholarly research and believes that such activities facilitate improved teaching.
Student life
Enrollment |
4,038 |
Minority Students |
23% |
Gender of Students |
51% female; 49% male |
Countries Represented |
64 |
Average Age of Students |
Undergraduate: 30; Graduate: 34 |
Average Class Size |
21 |