You must meet two conditions to register for a second course:
- The exams must be scheduled for different times. Exam schedules are set nationally and cannot be changed. Check the CPA preparatory courses exam schedule to ensure the exams are not scheduled for the same date and time.
- You must meet the required prerequisite(s) for the second course.
CPA preparatory courses are very demanding, and we recommend you plan an average of 20 hours of study time per week for core courses and non-core courses. Students should expect to spend additional time if they are less familiar with any concepts. Considering this commitment, it’s generally advisable to enroll in just one course at a time to manage your workload effectively.
If you plan to enroll in two courses concurrently, meeting the time commitment may be challenging if you are also working. To discuss your options, please contact our advising team at [email protected].
The flexible model of CPA preparatory courses means you can select your examination date immediately after you register for a course or wait to choose an exam date when you feel ready to do so. There is no downside or penalty for waiting, please keep the following in mind:
- You must attempt the course end examination within one year of the course start date. The start date for non-core courses is considered the course registration date.
- You must register for your preferred exam date at least six weeks before the exam.
- You can change your exam date once you have selected it; however, a withdrawal fee will apply if you decide to change your exam date within six weeks of the exam.
The fee paid with course registration covers one course registration and one exam registration. Exam withdrawal and rewrite fees (if applicable) are separate.
If you are taking a CPA preparatory course you will have access to the course materials in D2L for 12 months from the course start date. At the end of the 12 months, the course will be “retired”, and you will no longer have access.
CPA preparatory courses are very demanding and we recommend you plan to spend an average of 20 hours of study time per week for each preparatory course. Students should expect to spend additional time if they are less familiar with any concepts.
There are 14 CPA preparatory courses with exams offered over four exam sessions annually. It will take three to four years to complete all 14 courses, assuming one exam per exam session.
Non-core preparatory courses have e-textbooks and are available through Brightspace (D2L); you will be provided with information on accessing the Bookshelf on electronic devices upon registration.
Core preparatory courses do not have e-textbooks; all course notes and resources will be available through Brightspace (D2L).
Please refer to the CPA Preparatory Courses Student Guide for more information.
Knotia is CPA Canada’s platform, it gives access to the CPA Canada Handbook. You will be provided with access to Knotia once you have access to the course materials in Brightspace (D2L).
You will not have access to the Canadian Federal Income Tax Collection or Professional Engagement Guide.
Contact the CPA Canada Customer Service Department at 1.800.268.3793 or [email protected] for any issues with your Knotia account.
You can withdraw from a course via My CPA Portal . If you withdraw before you write the final exam or before your exam time limit expires, you will not be charged an exam attempt. Fees for preparatory courses are refundable, less an administrative fee, until Brightspace (D2L) access has been granted.
To withdraw from a course:
- Log into My CPA Portal
- Click on ‘Registrations’ then ‘Module Registration’
- In Module Registration click on ‘View’ next to the applicable course
- On the page for the applicable course click on ‘Withdraw’
Before withdrawing we recommend that students contact our delivery team at [email protected].
Non-Core Preparatory Courses
There are four quizzes based on the e-textbook. These quizzes are not mandatory for completion, but students are encouraged to complete the quizzes to help them prepare for their exam. Quizzes will not contribute to your overall course mark.
Please refer to the CPA Preparatory Courses Student Guide for more information.
The evaluation of non-core courses is based 100 percent on the final exam. Students must achieve 50 percent on their final exam to pass the course.
Core Preparatory Courses
The core CPA preparatory courses are designed to allow students to work through course concepts in an effective and efficient manner. The courses will incorporate technology solutions that will adapt course content to meet unique learner needs.
Each course contains six units. For each unit, you will complete the following learning activities in this order:
- Smartbook and adaptive questions
- Assigned practice problems
- Assigned task-based simulations
- Unit assessments
Informational Technology does not have task-based simulations. Please refer to the CPA Preparatory Courses Student Guide for more information.
You will need to achieve a minimum overall grade of 75 percent on your course activities. This is used to determine your exam eligibility. The following unit activities contribute to your course completion grade:
- Adaptive Review
- Unit Assessments
- Practice Problems
- Task-based Simulations
- End of Course Survey
Informational Technology does not have task-based simulations. Please refer to the CPA Preparatory Courses Student Guide for more information.
You can view your accumulated overall exam eligibility grade in Brightspace (D2L) at any time. To view your grade, go to your course page in Brightspace (D2L) and click on Grades – at the very bottom you will see the ‘overall course grade’.
Please note your overall score listed on the UWorld learning system does not represent your overall exam eligibility exam.
You have one year from your initial course registration date to write your final exam and you must achieve a minimum overall grade of 75 percent on your course activities at least two weeks before your registered final exam date.
If you exceed the one-year time limit without completing the final examination, you will fail the course and be charged an attempt.
Please contact [email protected] before the unit activity’s deadline. Approval for these requests is not guaranteed.
You do not need to complete the course activities before you register for your final exam, you can register for your final exam at any time before the exam registration deadline. However, you must complete all course activities with a minimum overall grade of 75% at least two weeks before your registered final exam date.
- Consistent with CPA PEP, to be eligible to write the course exam, you must achieve a minimum grade of 75% on course activities. The grade is calculated on a combination of reasonable attempts and performance on activities.
- If you do not meet this requirement, you will not be eligible to write the course exam.
- Once you are eligible to write the course exam, the exam grade becomes your final course grade. In other words, the exam grade is weighted 100 percent towards the course grade (and the other activities completed in the course do not count towards the course grade).
- You must achieve a minimum grade on the exam of 60% to pass the course. If you achieve 50-59% on the exam, you may rewrite the exam without retaking the course. If you achieve below 50% on the exam, the course must be retaken (and eligibility towards the exam must be attained again).
To qualify for the upcoming exam, course requirements must be completed at least two weeks before the exam date. Below are two options:
- If you still have time remaining within your one-year course completion deadline, you can reschedule to write the exam at a later exam session and pay the exam withdrawal fee.
- If you do not complete the course requirements and withdraw yourself from the exam, you will fail the course and be charged a failed course attempt.
If you do not achieve a minimum grade of 75% on course learning activities at least two weeks before your final available exam attempt, you will automatically fail the course and be charged a failed course attempt. You will be required to register for the course and pay the applicable fees again.
You will receive access to course materials within five business days of registering for the course.
Yes, you will have access to the D2L course throughout the year with access to materials, an instructor, and the discussion board. As new students enroll, they will be added to the same course/cohort.
Once you register for a course, you will have one year to complete it from your initial registration date, and you will receive access to course materials within five business days. Therefore, you should not register for a post-requisite open enrollment course until you have successfully passed your prerequisite courses.
Grades from your previous attempts in D2L and UWorld will remain recorded and needs to be manually cleared by CPAWSB. This process can take up to five business days. During this time, you will not be able to submit any coursework. Please refrain from starting any adaptive reviews in UWorld, as any new progress or submissions will be removed.
In the meantime, we recommend reviewing your reading materials and working through the other course components such as task-based simulations, practice problems, and unit assessments that are available in D2L.
You will have access to lead facilitators on the course discussion board. Please contact [email protected] if you have any administrative questions.
Sample exam questions and accompanying solutions will be available in the courses.
