Dr. David Wang’ombe – Dean School of Management and Commerce (SMC) Strathmore University facilitated a highly interactive breakout session on how to embed ACCA in undergraduate programmes at a two day conference in Addis Ababa. Dr. Wang’ombe shared insights on his experience in running such a program at Strathmore, analyzing the effect of Education and Technology in Africa.

Strathmore University is among the first higher learning institutions in Africa to offer ACCA-Bachelor of Commerce (BCOM) embedded programs.

“Strathmore was among the first to offer ACCA tuition in Africa and also the first to offer ACCA’s Platinum Approved Learning Partner (ALP) in East and Western African region. The BCOM Exempt programme was initiated in May 2005, where Students with professional accounting qualification i.e. AACA or CPA were exempted two years of their studies – joining the BCOM degree program in 3rd year. The exemptions are done in line with CUE regulations,” Dr. Wang’ombe explained.

The BCOM exempt programme was not only as a result of demand in the market but also due to the realisation of a need for:

• Academic result skills by employers (not only professional but also degree course)
• Employers looking to promote experts who not only have a professional course, but also a degree.

The programme is mostly attractive to the working class who already have professional courses.

“Now, students can join 1^st year and learn ACCA courses alongside their BCOM course, if they wish to specialize in Finance, Accounting or Economics fields,” Dr. Wang’ombe advised.

Strathmore University has since partnered with ACCA to make the Exempt journey conducive. The University is now offering a unique ACCA embedded B.COM programme with special incentives. The embedded programme enables students to:

• Simultaneously pursue their academic degree and professional qualification.
• Save time and money as they pursue both qualifications.
• Increase graduate’s employability by leveraging on the brands of Strathmore and ACCA.
• Be ACCA students from the first year and have full access to ACCA learning resources
• Earn ACCA exemptions progressively, as they take their Bachelor of Commerce exams
• Be entitled to preferential financial incentives on their ACCA fees
• Be entitled to preferential access to a network of ACCA approved employer
• Offer internship opportunities for students with the ACCA network of approved employers and full access to the resources and jobs advertised on the ACCA Job Board
• Offer mentorship opportunities with ACCA senior members for students in the programme

By the end of the programme, BCOM Students are not only given promotions but also employed in/as Investment Management firms, the financial sector, Auditing and Taxation organisations Asset Management Analyst, Credit Analyst, Financial Analyst, Stockbroker, Wealth Management Analyst, Financial Accountant and Management Accountant.

Education in Africa faces challenges through social economic environment; lack of enough trained teachers; lack of learning and teaching materials; and a lack of attrition rate through primary, secondary and tertiary education.

However the advancement in technology offers unique opportunities to alleviate some of these challenges. It continues to be used in the classroom in; Synchronous Online Learning for expanded reach, Asynchronous Learning for Convenience and to offer consistent quality, Blended Learning – Strathmore’s preferred option.

Technology in Education allows collection of data at Individual and Institution levels. This data can be used to improve both teaching and learning and to spawn new Models of Education.