AICPA, NASBA sunset Experience, Learn and Earn program

The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy are sunsetting the Experience, Learn and Earn program at the end of the fall 2025 semester.

The ELE program, which was designed to help early-career accountants achieve the 150-credit-hour requirement for CPA licensure at an affordable cost through Tulane University, will close on December 13. Simulataneously, many states are establishing new, more accessible paths to licensure, including Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia and more.

"Market conditions have changed since the pilot began, and the program is unlikely to achieve the scale it needs to be sustainable," Sue Coffee, CEO of public accounting at the AICPA, wrote in the Journal of Accountancy on July 3, announcing the decision.

The program was formed through a tri-party agreement between the AICPA, NASBA and Tulane University. Tulane offered courses at the reduced rate of $150 per credit hour, "looking for sufficient volume play for this program," according to Liz Burkhalter, director of the CPA pipeline at the AICPA.

"With, at the time, impending regulatory changes around licensure, we knew that this solution to the market wouldn't be longstanding. In addition to that, a lot of firms themselves were coming up with their own talent solution programs, whether it was through their own in-house programs or finding their own partners," Burkhalter said. "We knew that a swift change to this was likely going to happen, so we decided to sunset the program at the end of this year."

Burkhalter says the AICPA views ELE as a success, with over 260 students going through the program in its roughly two years running.

"I think coming to the market with ideas and knowing when an idea is no longer sustainable, or understanding when to swiftly make a decision is really important," Burkhalter said. "To all of the firms who are creating their own talent solutions: We know the time and cost of education can be a hurdle for some students, and so having their own sets of solutions continues to be something that we're seeing and something we're encouraging support for candidates. Every candidate has their own set of needs to be met as they're looking toward licensure, and so having lots of options available out there for them remains really important."

The last day to register in ELE was Aug. 1, with the semester beginning on Aug. 18. The fall semester and the program will end on Dec. 13.