New degree meets FPA standards

Mandatory financial planning subjects

Julie May

Fri 22 Aug 2008

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) has upgraded its Masters of Financial Planning postgraduate degree to meet the new FPA 90-point education standard.

"We are very pleased to be one of the first...Australian universities to upgrade our course to meet, and in some cases exceed, the FPA's 90-point standard," USC head of financial planning John Teale said.

The new course aims to better equip participants, both technically and professionally, with the introduction of mandatory financial planner-specific subjects.

The revised course will be offered online and will meet higher education standards with the introduction of new subjects, including accounting, property, tax law, statistics and information systems,Teale said.

Those who complete the course would also be better prepared to progress to the certified financial planner (CFP) certification, he said.

"Our Masters of Financial Planning course takes into account the financial adviser abilities framework, as specified by the American Financial Planning Standards Board, which sets the standards for CFP certification globally," he said.

The new course is due to be offered from March 2009.