UA’s Master of Taxation degree program ranked in top 10 for ‘Best Value’

The University of Akron (UA) has been identified as having one of the nation’s best values in Master of Taxation (MTax) degree programs in a recent ranking by the website Online Accounting Degrees.

“It is the first time an external party has ranked this program in the Top 10 nationally, confirming what employers and alumni have been saying about the program for years,” says Dr. Thomas G. Calderon, chair of the George W. Daverio School of Accountancy in UA’s College of Business Administration.

Graduates have ’strong expertise’

The website examined all of the Master of Taxation programs in the United States and then ranked them based on CPA exam pass rates, early career salary, student appeal and average cost. Editors noted that a reason for UA’s high score is that “in just 15 to 21 months, students with prior accounting backgrounds can develop meaningful tax problem solving experience and graduate with strong expertise in topics such as state and federal taxes and tax planning.”

Calderon praised three continuing professional development programs — state and local tax, federal tax and international tax — that are offered as outreach activities of the MTax program, and “the wide cross section of leaders in the tax profession who advise us as members of our MTax Program Governance Board.” In fact, UA is the only school on the list that offers a Master of Taxation degree with an international tax emphasis.

The new MTax Direct, an online degree, is graduating its first cohort in November 2016.

“It allows UA to contribute to the tax profession outside our traditional home as much as we have contributed to Northeast Ohio for decades, “explains Calderon. “The online program delivers live classes to students no matter where they are. Furthermore, students participate in those classes in the same way that they would in a regular class on campus. They can raise their hand, ask questions, participate in class discussions, see their peers in class and talk with them as needed. But best of all, all students have access to recorded class sessions on demand. The technology we use (WebEx) is reliable and it has been very effective in the classroom and in business.”

Student and alumni success

There is plenty of praise to go around for the MTax graduate program’s success, notes Calderon.

“What is special about our program is the quality of the students we have attracted, the firms and partners that endorse the program by sending their recruits to study taxation at UA, the high quality faculty who are exceptionally dedicated to student success, and the alumni who have generally excelled in the profession.”

The website, Online Accounting Degree Programs, has a mission to help prospective graduate students make informed decisions about what kind of degree to pursue and where to study. Its main focus is providing rankings and profiles of degree programs in the field of accounting.

Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.