Bookkeeping

The Bookkeeping Certificate of Achievement is tailored for students who wish to have the basic foundation needed to enter the accounting field. Bookkeeping is the foundation for financial record keeping of any business and requires accurate analysis of an economic event then the proper recording of that event.  Bookkeeping is a credentialed occupation that sustains lifelong employment as well as the foundation to step into higher-level accounting positions.  The coursework required for this certificate includes basic accounting and information system concepts coupled with specialized accounting software and robust keyboarding skills.

Enrollment Projections: Our enrollment projections are based on the total number of students currently enrolled in our accounting and business degree and certificate programs. In the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year, there were 196 students with officially declared business majors and 960 students with officially declared accounting majors. Although all of these students could potentially complete this certificate of achievement, we expect that only a portion of these students would choose to pursue the certificate program. Based on our analysis of qualitative data (student surveys), we expect that approximately 36 students (approximately 18 percent of accounting students or 4 percent of business students) will be interested in completing this certificate annually.

The accounting, finance, and business faculty realize the extensive need for direct and indirect marketing of this certificate program for our existing and prospective students. The faculty believes that the effective marketing efforts conducted professionally at the college level will increase the enrollment rates tremendously. In contrast, in absence of marketing, the overall success of this certificate will be hindered despite its apparent market demand.  

The primary goal of this certificate is to provide students with an avenue to learn the basics of bookkeeping and thereby earn a Certificate of Achievement in Bookkeeping which can provide a faster route to meaningful and gainful employment opportunities. Students can focus on this short-term goal that would give them the credentials to be employed in almost any bookkeeping environment. At the same time, the credits will be usable towards future educational goals.

The primary objectives of this certificate are to provide students with the necessary theoretical understanding of the accounting cycle as well as provide students with the necessary coursework to learn how to journalize business transactions, utilize special journals, and create financial statements for business decision making purposes.

The program requires 13 units of accounting and business coursework and 3 units of an English course.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
ENGL 1A/1AH/1AMC/1AMCH	English Composition	3	Year 1, Semester 1
CABT 157	Business and Technical Writing	3	Year 1, Semester 1
ACCT151A	Introduction to Accounting	4	Year 1, Semester 1
CABT110A	Computer Keyboarding - Alphabet	.5	Year 1, Semester 1
CABT110B	Computer Keyboarding - Numbers/Symbols	.5	Year 1, Semester 1
ACCT163	Using Quickbooks	3	Year 1, Semester 2
BUS5	Business Information Systems	4	Year 1, Semester 2
CABT102	Basic Spreadsheet Calculations	1	Year 1, Semester 2

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The results of our research into identifying similar certificate programs in the area shows that there are currently no community colleges or universities in Santa Cruz-Monterey Sub-Region that offer a similar certificate.