By Laura Urnmoneit
(July 7 – 14:00 ET) – Acadia University is launching a new financial services program this autumn. Through the Fred. C. Manning School of Business, the university will be offering a specialization in personal financial services within the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program.
“Within the BBA program there’s a required package of programs like personal financial management, estate planning, investments, portfolio management, ethics, and marketing. Students also have to take their Canadian Securities course and complete a work term,” says Dr. John Churchill, program coordinator and business professor.
This program is the first of its kind in the undergraduate sector in Canada. According to Churchill, the school has also been looking at adding other designations.
“Right now at least students will have the background knowledge to write different kinds of exams. But we’re also looking at lining it up more closely with the CFP,” he says.
The program takes four years and students should expect to find it challenging. Churchill believes graduates will have the ability to gain employment in the financial services industry and make a contribution right away.
“Yes, it’s a challenging program but students should also expect to have something valuable when they graduate,” he says.
The university houses about 3,500 students. It expects to have between 25 and 30 students enrolled in the program this September. Because of its small size, the university is able to wire the whole campus with each student able to work on their own laptop.