Woolf University - Educational Partnership & Institutions

[sarahmac]

One thing to clear up... Woolf is not defined by upGrad in any way. upGrad is one of 22 their "folleges" (franchises? customers?). In fact, Woolf's functions are to 1) make sure none of their colleges is a degree mill (hard to tell, but I don't see blatant mills in the list), and 2) submit paperwork to MFHEA and get programs on the official Malta-accredited list (demonstrably successful in that). So far, so good. The only question remaining is whether they can avoid slipping up and keep recognition for foreseeable future. 

That said, I was looking at this program: 

Master of Business Administration (woolf.university)

It's from upGrad, and their plan is to get approval from ACCA so students can get 9 exemptions (out of 14) from ACCA exams, leading to recognized accounting designation. If they can do that, and teaching is good enough to pass Strategic Professional exams as well... For $3K, I see it as a very viable option for someone changing careers to accounting or finance fields (primarily not in the USA - I'm not sure there is a direct path from something like this to CPA designation. But in much of the world, CPA and ACCA are credentials on the same level). ACCA is one of 6 recognized accounting designations in UK, very popular worldwide. It is seemingly big in southeastern Asia, where upGrad presumably has expertise. Not bad, not bad at all. I actually passed the ACCA exams and completed University of London MS Professional Accountancy. This makes me an "Associate" ACCA member.

ps. there is a PDF brochure of this program on upGrad website, but it is not linked from main page. Looks like they are not actively advertising it yet. In contrast, GoIT, a Ukrainian software developer training company with offices in other countries, actively promotes their Woolf MSCS program.

9 of 14 exemptions is a big deal!! 

This program would potentially be a massive offering to the UK market, ACCA is the benchmark standard. There is also reciprocity with NZ and AUS too so that is huge for AUS migration and visa points in particular. Someone could do this program for 3k, finish off the ACCA, and apply for a professional AUS State sponsored permanent visa since its a "needed profession".


I don't know how someone would finish the ACCA while in the US though. One of the requirements last time I checked is a couple years experience in the job, being supervised at a firm where at least one person above you is ACCA qualified. My partner is pursuing the ACCA exams currently but it was only possible because one of the people above him is a British contractor working for the DoD, otherwise it would have been CPA only.