Last year, the ACCA trumpeted its deal with the Oxford-Brookes University (not to be confused with Oxford University). ACCA announced that
 

Students completing the first and second parts of ACCA's new professional examination will be eligible for the BSc in Applied Accounting (Honours). The new arrangements will be introduced from December 2001 when ACCA begins examining under its new syllabus. Source: ACCA press release of 29 June 1999.

Now AABA can reveal that the above its not true.

ACCA has been facing a number of difficulties on the education front. In January this year, its officials were summoned to the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) which expressed unhappiness with its new syllabus. The syllabus had already been approved by the council and was prepared under the leadership of the Deputy-President, Dr. Moyra Kedslie. The DTI objected to the 'exemption' and 'referral' policies of the ACCA. So they had to be tightened up. ACCA council has not been asked to approve the revised syllabus.

The details of the Oxford-Brookes deal had to be changed as well. ACCA students  passing the first and the second parts of the professional exams will not receive the Oxford Brookes degree. Instead, the students will be required to register with Oxford-Brookes and write a 5,000 word research project.

This means that the students have to pay a fee to register with Oxford-Brookes and be subject to its supervision. Any reasonable university would also expect the students to be in contact with their supervisor. All this costs money. The immediate effect that students based outside the UK will find it difficult to pursue this qualification. More than 70% of the ACCA students are outside the UK.

The UK based students know that the market place is smart and that the employers will begin to discern good degrees from freebies. So the value of the degree is not likely to be high. Would they want to go through the time, expense and the trouble to get a degree that will have little value. It is unlikely to secure admission for them to the Masters courses at prestigious universities.

There is also uncertainly about who will receive the degree. Are the  1999 Certificate stage students eligible? What about those passing the equivalent exams in 2000 or earlier? Students have no representation at ACCA council and are unable to question the leadership.