In the academic year 2003-2004, Mumbai University introduced the BAF Degree (BCom in Accounting and Finance). The BAF program is just an upgraded version of the BCom degree. Ideally the university should have simply upgraded the BCom degree, but instead they chose to keep the BCom program almost as is, and rather introduced a new BAF program, only to confuse students and parents alike 🙂
We often this question from parents of students : Should my child take admission to the BCom program or the BAF program?
Here are some points that can help students and parents decide on which degree to choose.
What is good about the BAF degree:
- The syllabus of the BAF program is more up to date and industry oriented as compared to the BCom program
- BAF students work on more class projects and practical exercises compared to B.Com students, leading to a better learning experience.
- Those preparing for CA have an advantage as the syllabus of Accounting and Finance related courses of the BAF program are already covered by the CA syllabus.
In which cases should you prefer the B.Com degree:
- In most B.Com programs, attendance is not compulsory. This gives BCom students more to work on their CA articleship. In most BAF programs, high attendance is mandatory. So if you planning to do a CA articleship during college, then opt for the BCom degree.
- B.Com has courses in Human Resources (HR), Industrial Psychology, Import-Export, Advertising etc, whereas the BAF syllabus is restricted to mostly accounting and finance related courses. BCom degree thus gives you a slightly broader exposure.
- Admission cutoffs for BCom are slightly lower than BAF. So in case you have a chance of getting admission from a better college for a BCom program, go for it.
As a conclusion, I would say – It really doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you enroll for the BAF or BCom degree. Make a choice based on parameters that are important to – College choice, Syllabus, Location, Attendance and so on 🙂
In 2005 Jay Rege, along with his wife Jothsna Rege, co-founded Academy One, a career guidance and study abroad counseling venture. Prior to co-founding Academy One, he worked as a software developer with HCL Technologies. He holds a computer engineering degree from Mumbai University and a MBA from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA. He has also been a visiting faculty at a few colleges where he teaches topics related to entrepreneurship.