Overview: Commerce Faculty

My name is Wycliffe Bryan Mvula, I am studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. I joined MAGU in 2019.

Indeed there are many universities in Malawi, both Private and Public. It is a wish of every learner in secondary school to attend a Public University education one day. Sadly not every learner can make it there. In this case, a Private University becomes a second choice for many parents and students. To cut this short, I chose to pursue my degree program with MAGU because it is one of its kind. It’s distinct and unique. MAGU does not only develop student’s academic knowledge in their fields of study but also their Spiritual lives are also of great concern. This helps students to do what is morally right and academically outstanding as they are fully baked and transformed left and right.

In my case, when I started schooling at this institution two years ago, I thought that learning is all that constitute University life. But now, at the end of my second year, I have realized that this is definitely not the case. For me, the University experience here is also about discovering and trying new things as well as mixing with people from diverse backgrounds and thereby broadening one’s horizons. As a MAGU student, I have learned to be a responsible person as most of the students leave their parent’s home to live on their own in a new place altogether. As such, they are faced with a new-found responsibility of fully caring for themselves.

In no time, I probably see Malawi Assemblies of God University as one of the universities every parent would want to send their children to. In addition to this, I also see MAGU offering new marketable programs that will help to transform our country in all angles of human need.

MAGU currently offers a Pre-University programme which runs for six months split into two 3-months residences separated by a one-month recess as well as the following Bachelor of Arts programs:

• Bachelor of Commerce: Accountancy
• Bachelor of Commerce: Banking and Financing
• Bachelor of Commerce: Business Administration
• Bachelor of Commerce: Business Information Systems
• Bachelor of Commerce: Cooperative Business
• Bachelor of Commerce: Insurance
• Bachelor of Commerce: Marketing
• Bachelor of Commerce: Monitoring and Evaluation

All MAGU programs have a foundational distinctive curriculum with a unique institutional demand for all the candidates that come through the program. Additionally, most programs carry a minor concentration but others based on special circumstances do have.

Duration of the Programmes

For a MAGU student to be qualified to graduate, they must complete all the required courses and the necessary elective hours to fulfil the mandatory minimum of 132 credit hours of study. Under normal circumstances, this requires a full-time student to study at our school for eight consecutive semesters of four years. Whereas the Master of Arts Degree takes about eighteen months when they are taken into four consecutive-one month residencies.

Credits

Credits for a course are a means of measuring a student’s progress in an academic program. Credits represent the standards for the amount and quality of work required for students to complete a given course. Malawi Assemblies of God University’s academic and credit systems of measuring progress in an academic program may vary from those of other countries and other institutions. MAGU functions on a 15:1 lecture hour per credit ratio. Each classroom course consists of 15 hours of classroom teacher-student lecture hours per-credit-hour including a final exam. Lecture hours are based on a 60 minute hour. Consequently, a student taking 36 credit hours per year will complete 180 lecture hours per trimester or 540 lecture hours per year.

A Diploma credit similarly amounts to the equivalent of approximately a 15:1 Lecture hour credit ratio. At the graduate level, a credit represents the equivalent of approximately 20:1 lecture hour per credit ratio of time spent in study by the student. Credit time includes class contact, after classwork, etc. MAGU requires a student to complete between 90-96 credits to complete a Diploma; 140-150 Credits to complete Bachelor’s degree and about 45 credits for Masters’s Program. The credit system though essential for accreditation associations is especially useful when the student wishes to transfer credits earned in one university to another university. The credit system makes it possible to make such comparisons.

Academic Organization of the Program

MAGU’s academic year begins in September and is divided into semesters for both the diploma and Bachelor of Arts programs. The Master of Arts programs are conducted through one-month intensives. Both the Semesters and One month intensives can equally be carried out through the evening, weekends and interterm formats. The full-time programme offers two (2) sixteen-week semesters each year. The part-time programmes such as the Inter-term, evening and extension programmes require the same courses and credit hour criteria as the full-time programme, but the schedules vary.

Mode of Delivery of the Programme

Full-Time Programme

Full-time students attend MAGU in the day programme. The day programme is established on a semester system consisting of two seven-week long blocks interspaced by a mid-term week recess. Full-time students may also take advantage of the Evening or Inter-term programmes and occasional independent courses as allowed by the DVC-A’s Office.

Evening Programme

MAGU offers a multi-stream evening programme that meets on the MAGU Campus two nights per week. Courses meet either on Monday and Thursday evenings or on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Courses begin at 5:30 PM and conclude at 8:30 PM. They run for 25 days, the Final Exam is given on the last day of class.

Inter-Term Programme

The Inter-Term Programme is designed to give busy professionals, the opportunity to attend classes at MAGU in a short-block format. Courses are structured to meet for a period of 6 or 7 days depending on their credit value. Students may take up to 6 courses per year in the short-block format and the remaining courses are given as independents.

Independent Courses

MAGU allows students to take accredited independent studies when necessitated by schedule or other conflicts. Independent study courses will be assigned with the approval of the DVC-A

Further Course Requirements

Attendance and Participation

Students are required to faithfully attend all courses in their programme of study, all chapel services, as well as to faithfully participate in the required Practical Ministries as prescribed by the MAGU Catalogue. All MAGU students are also required to successfully complete the MAGU Internship Programme prior to graduation. Faithful attendance is defined in the Academic Orientation Manual as well as the Student Handbook which all new students receive. In summary, for a three-credit course a student is allowed to miss six hours and for a two-credit course a student is allowed four hours. Beyond these, the student will be dropped from the course and given a failing grade.

Faithful participation in MAGU’s Practical Ministries Programme is determined by the student’s supervisor as well as required forms to be completed in order to assure that the student has fulfilled all the requirements. These are practical ministries performed under the direction of a ministry supervisor.

Minimum Student Workload for Each Course

Students are expected to regularly and punctually attend all classes. They are to properly prepare their assignments whether written or reading, to complete all course requirements, to observe the MAGU Standard Attendance Policy, to complete all written work independently of others, and hopefully, study two hours for every one-hour in class.

Student Assessments

Continuous assessment shall be a part of a student’s assessment throughout his/her degree programme. Reading, mid-term examinations, assignments, projects, research papers, quizzes, class presentations, practical work, etc., will be included in the calculation of the student’s final mark for a given course. The course instructor will determine the appropriate composition of the continuous assessment assignments. The various forms of continuous assessments will represent 60% of the student’s final course grade.

• Over the-Semester Papers
  The student write at least four short papers of not more than four pages in the space of 14 weeks.
• Quizzes schedule
  The Students write four Quizzes over the space of 14 weeks at the average rate of three weeks.
• Project
  The required project tasks the student to demonstrate an ability to apply the principles taught in the course. This work gives them valuable practical experience in using the knowledge gained. The project is worth 20 percent of your final grade and must be submitted to your lecture before taking the final examination. (The Project Instructions are supposed to be written separate from this outline).
• Mid Semester Examinations
  The Mid Semester Examinations is technically regarded as part of the continuous assignment. The Exam will carry a total of 20% of the total grade of a student.
• Final Semester Examinations
  In addition to continuous assessment, a final examination shall be administered at the end of each course. The total points will be added to the continuous assessment in order to determine the student’s final grade for the course. These exams are evaluated by the department both for its format and its assessment standards. They are proctored in the last week of the Semester. The end of course assessment (Final Examination) will represent 40% of the student’s final course grade.

Course Grade
Your grade for a three-credit course is based on the following categories of assessments

Final examination	40%
At Least Four Bi-Weekly Quiz Exams	10%
At Least Four Small Papers	10%
Mid Term Examination	20%
Semester-long Course Project	20%

Total Credits Offered for the Programme

The Bachelor of Commerce Degree is a broad-based program albeit with specific ingredients making it unique, versatile and dynamic to facilitate knowledge acquisition and the mastery of skills necessary to equip students for their vocation.