Trinity University’s Accounting degree programme has received the full accreditation of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, according to a press release from the Corporate Affairs Office of the University.
The release affirms that a letter from the office of the Registrar/Chief Executive of the accounting body, conveying the accreditation, reads, “we are pleased to inform you that the Council of the Institute has approved full accreditation of the B.Sc. Accounting programme of your university. The accreditation is for the duration of four academic sessions with effect from 2022/2023 to 2024/2025.”
… “We are thrilled,” Trinity University’s Vice Chancellor enthuses
Responding to the development, the acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Clement Olusegun Olaniran Kolawole says, “We are thrilled to receive this accreditation from ICAN. It is a testament to the quality of our programmes, and to the hard-work and dedication of our faculty and staff, in providing high-quality education to our students.”
The Vice Chancellor said that it was not surprising that the full accreditation came through after a thorough and professional resource inspection process by the accounting body, considering the quality of the University’s personnel, standard of the available facilities and the commitment to global best practice by the University.
…Professionalism, a core value of Trinity University
Professor Kolawole further remarked that professionalism was one of the core values of the University, pointing out that this is why, for instance, every lecturer in the Accounting Department is chartered, in addition to their academic qualifications. He added that, as a matter of policy, before students could graduate in any discipline in the University, they must have obtained at least two internationally recognized certifications in their fields of study, in alignment with the focus of the University to produce graduates with global relevance, academic excellence, practical competence and impeccable character.
…Accreditation well deserved by Trinity University – Acting Dean of Faculty
In her comments, the acting Dean, Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Sciences, Dr. Folakemi Ohunakin, said that the accreditation was a desirable outcome, and well deserved by the University,
considering the investment in human, material and time resources to make sure that the total person is produced in Trinity University, not only in the accounting department, but across all disciplines. She recalled that while the ICAN resource inspection was strict and thorough, Trinity University was able to easily earn the accreditation.
…Securing a win, after a thorough process
She said that the ICAN team reviewed indices like the students’ entry qualifications, student affairs, students character trait, tuition standard, course programme, time-table, academic requirement for staff, staff charter status in accountancy, non-academic staff requirement, and staff development and training. Other indices reviewed, she continued, included examination systems, external moderation, students’ projects, main library assessment, departmental library, e-library, staff offices, classrooms/lecture halls and theatres.
She added that more indices reviewed also included IT centre and computer systems, functionality and maintenance, availability of computer applications, employers rating of students in SIWES, availability/quality of entrepreneurial centre, departmental journal and collaboration with other universities on conferences and seminars, as well as funding. She said that in all these the University did well across board and was able to earn full accreditation.
…Trinity University don says ICAN accreditation offers a bundle of benefits
Analyzing the implication of this development to the University, Dr. Oladipo Olowosegun of the Accounting Department of the University, explained that the ICAN accreditation represented a professional recognition of the University’s accounting programme, which is complimentary to the academic recognition earlier given by the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the University to run the accounting programme. He further explained that the professional accreditation had a lot of benefits for the students and graduates of the University:
“It will enable graduates of Trinity University degree programme to receive exemptions from ICAN foundation exams, and start their chartered process from the skills stage, rather than from the foundation stage. Students of any institution not yet accredited would have to start from the foundation stage. Another benefit is that Trinity students could apply for student membership of the body. In addition, they are also eligible to enter into other programmes and competitions organized by the accounting body, among other benefits.”
…At Trinity University, we will always uphold the standard – Vice Chancellor
The Vice Chancellor appreciated the Institute for finding Trinity University worthy of the accreditation, and assured the accounting body that the University would continue to uphold the standard and ethics of the profession.