MACCT Comprehensive Exam Policy

University of Idaho

At the conclusion of your MACCT program you must pass a comprehensive exam. The exam will consist of four questions, one from each of the four core courses in the program. The test will be administered prior to finals week of your final semester of core coursework and will follow the policy outlined in this document.

Before taking the exam, you will need to read and sign this policy form to indicate that you understand the exam policy. Please ask any questions of the department chairbeforeyou sign. If you do not sign the form prior to the exam date, you will not be allowed to sit for the exam.

Exam Procedures

The exam will typically be administered over two days within the two week period prior to final exams. Students will be told the exact days and times of the exam at least two (2) weeks prior to the first day of the exam.
Students will have four (4) hours each day to answer two of the four questions. All students will receive the same questions each day. Typically the Research and Audit questions will be given on dayand the Theory and Systems questions on the other day. Which question set will be given first will be determined each semester. Students will be notified of the order at leastone week prior to the first day of the exam.
Students will use the laptops provided (or their own at the department chair’s discretion) to take the exam. No notes, books, electronic files, or electronic gadgets may be brought into the exam. Students may bring drinks, ear plugs, and a pen or pencil. The department will provide a copy of the FARS CD and scratch paper for those students who wish to make notes during the test.
Students are welcome to get a drink, use the restroom, or take a short walk during the exam period but will not receive extra time for these interruptions.
Your answers should be submitted tothe department administrative assistantno later than the end of each exam period.
Anonymity: The exam questions will be graded anonymously. In other words, the graders will not know whose exam they are grading. To aid with this process, you will be assigned a test number when you arrive for your exam. Only the test administrator will know which number corresponds to which student. You should use only your test number, instead of your name, when saving and writing all of your answers.
Please note: Your answers should be saved in separate files. The file name should be ‘TestNumber#_QUESTION’. For example: ‘Test10_Auditing’ or ‘TestNumber10_Theory’.
Each file should contain a header with your test number and the page number in the upper right hand corner.

Grading

Each question will be read and graded by two (2) members of the accounting faculty: the professor who wrote the question and another member of the Graduate Committee.
The grade for each question will be based primarily on the quality of the answer to the entire question, however writing quality and format will also be a significant portion of the grade. You are expected to frame your answers in the format indicated by the question.
Each question will be graded based on the following scale:
Exceptional Answer4
Good Answer3
Marginally Acceptable Answer2
Unacceptable Answer1
In order to pass the exam, a student must score at least a ‘2’ on all four questions.

Retakes

Students not passing the exam will be required to retake the comprehensive exam at the end of the following semester.
Students are allowed only two (2) chances, their first attempt and one retake, to pass the comprehensive exam. In the event that a student fails the exam twice, he or she may petition the graduate committee for permission to retake the exam a third time. In most cases, students will be required to retake two of the four core classes before the graduate committee will consider their petition. The decision as to which of the core classes must be retaken before petitioning the graduate committee will be made by the student, their advisor, and the department chair.
If a student has only one unacceptable answer, the graduate committee may decide to allow him or her an immediate retake of the unacceptable answer. The immediate retake question will be determined by the member of the graduate committee that wrote the original question and may be new, revised, or similar to the original question.
An immediate retake must be completed during the time arranged by the student and the department chair.
In order to pass an immediate retake, students must score at least a ‘3’. Scores of less than a ‘3’ will be considered failing and the student will have to retake the entire exam at the end of the next semester.
Before an immediate retake, students will be allowed to get advice from the professor that wrote the question that he or she is retaking.

Cheating

It is cheating to receive help from any individual during either the exam or immediate retake of the exam. During the exam, it is cheating to use any materials not provided by the department. During an immediate retake, it is cheating to use any materials other than the following: 1) materials provided by the department, 2) coursenotes, and 3) textbooks.

Students caught cheating will fail the comprehensive exam and be subject to other sanctions, including possible expulsion from the MACCT program, determined by the Graduate Committee in accordance with the University’s Academic Dishonesty Policy and the Department of Accounting Ethics Statement.

I have read and understand the MAACT Comprehensive Exam Policy.

Signature:______Date:______

Print Name:______