Update 6/16/06

Dear ANJO International CPA Students,

As a follow-up to our last update message on 6/9/06, we are able to provide you with the following additional details on the progress being made to serve you.

1.	New Details on Exams:
	a.	Schedule of Exams for the next three months (additional exam dates for later months will be announced in July so that students can plan ahead):
		i.	June Exams
				1.	June 25, 2006 in Tokyo – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
		ii.	July Exams
				1.	2nd and 4th Sunday – in Tokyo – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
				2.	1st and 3rd Sunday – in Osaka – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
				3.	3rd Saturday – in Nagoya – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
		iii.	August Exams
				1.	1st and 4th Sunday – in Tokyo – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
				2.	1st and 4th Saturday – in Osaka – Exam Times: 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
	b.	Arrangements for Students Needing Exams – But Who Are NOT living in Japan
		i.	Students who need to complete course exams – but who are NOT living in Japan should complete the procedures outlined below for “Making Reservations for Taking Course Exams” and provide information in your reservation request to notify MSU-Billings that you are NOT living in Japan and need to arrange a proctored examination site near you. Please also provide specific information on the location where you reside and MSU-Billings will work with you to identify and arrange an appropriate location near you to enable you to complete a secure, proctored examination for these courses.
	c.	Payment Policy for Exams
		i.	All students who take exams will be charged a $25 exam administration fee to cover the costs of administering these exams ($25 per course exam)
		ii.	Students who have NOT already paid for taking exams for credit will pay the $100 per credit exam fees, plus the $25 per course exam administration fee.
		iii.	Students who have already paid for but have not yet taken exams for credit will not have to pay the credit fees to complete the exams, just the $25 per course exam administration fee.
		iv.	MSU-Billings cannot allow “unlimited free retakes” of exams. If students complete but do not pass an exam, and wish to retake the exam for credit, they will be charged the $100 per credit exam fee and $25 per course exam administration fee each time they wish to take an exam to earn course credit from MSU-Billings.
	d.	Submission of “Course Attendance” Documents for Taking Exams:
		i.	Due to the circumstances affecting students ability to receive and access course lectures during this transition, MSU-Billings will NOT require students to submit “Attendance” documents which had previously been required by ANJO International in order to take the credit examinations. All students who believe they are prepared to complete the exams to earn credit for these courses can sign up for and complete the course exams WITHOUT submitting “Attendance” documents.
	e.	Making Reservations for Taking Course Exams:
		i.	Students who wish to reserve a seat to take any course exams should submit a reservation request by sending an e-mail with “EXAM REQUEST” in the subject heading to anjostudent@msubillings.edu .
			1.	Students may submit the main text of their e-mail message in Japanese if they prefer – but students must write the words “EXAM REQUEST” in English in the subject heading to ensure proper processing of your reservation request.
			2.	All “EXAM REQUEST” e-mail messages must contain the following information:
				a.	Full Name:
				b.	Date of Birth:
				c.	Exam Date: (The scheduled exam date above that you want to make a reservation for)
				d.	Exam Location:
				e.	Exam Starting Time: (Indicate which time – 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., or 5:00 p.m. that you want to reserve a seat for the exam)
				f.	Course Number: (The course number of the exam you are wanting to complete)
				g.	Payment Status: Please state if you have already “Paid” previously for the credit exam or “Unpaid”…our staff will confirm your payment status in our database – but your designation of “Paid” or “Unpaid” will help expedite the process of confirming your reservation.
			3.	“EXAM REQUEST” Deadline:
				a.	All students wishing to complete an exam must submit the “EXAM REQUEST” e-mail message at least 5 days in advance of the exam date in order for us to confirm your reservation and prepare for your examination materials. The deadline to reserve a seat for the June 25th exam date is June 20th.
			4.	Exam Reservation Confirmation & Follow-up Procedures:
				a.	Once we have received your “EXAM REQUEST” e-mail, our staff at the MSU-Billings Japan Office will send you an exam reservation confirmation e-mail to confirm your reservation and to provide you with specific instructions for the exam location, transportation, required materials, etc.
				b.	MSU-B Japan Office Staff will provide calculators at the exam site. Students must bring pencil and eraser.
				c.	All students must also bring their ANJO Student ID Card or other photo ID (such as a Drivers License) to be admitted into the exam.
				d.	Students should also bring an approved credit card (MasterCard, VISA, or Discover) to arrange for payment of the exam administration fee and/or course credit fees.
				e.	All students should arrive 30 minutes before an exam start time to complete registration and payment paperwork required for all exams.
					i.	Once approved and signed-in, students will be checked into the secure examination room and provided a seat to complete the examination.
				f.	After the exam is completed, the MSU-B Japan Office will send the student's Registration Form to MSU-Billings (US) in order to formally process the course registration and credit card payments.
					i.	If a credit card is not accepted, students will be contacted by MSU-B Japan Office to get a new payment information.
					ii.	A students final grade and transcript cannot be provided to a student until approved payment is completed.
				g.	After each exam date, the MSU-Billings Japan Office Staff will score and process the exam results.
					i.	Students will be notified of their "Fail" or "Pass" status by email with a final "Grade" being sent by regular mail within 1 week after taking the exam.
					ii.	Final student grades will be sent by email to MSU-B(US) for all exams taken within each month on the 30-31st of each month
						1.	Once these grades are received at the end of each month, the MSU-Billings (US) Office will enter the grades onto the student’s official transcripts which will be maintained as a permanent record at MSU-Billings.
						2.	Once the grades are officially records, students may request copies of official University transcripts at any time following the transcript request instructions provided in previous “Update” messages posted on the http://www.msubillings.edu/uscpa website.
2.	We are continuing to work to finalize arrangements for the distribution of course materials, establishing the site and contact information for the MSU-Billings Japan Office, a potential partnership agreement with another Japanese education company, and other services and resources to be provided for students. We announce additional details as final decisions can be made in the next two weeks. We thank you for your continued patience as we work to finalize these new arrangements.
	a.	MSU-Billings will be hosting a public information session for students on July 8th, 2006 in Tokyo, Japan where we hope to be able to provide you with more specific details on these arrangements. The information session will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room in the Kasumigaseki Building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan. Additional details on this information session will be posted on the http://www.msubillings.edu/uscpa website during the 1st week of July.

Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding during this time of transition. Although it will take some additional time to confirm the final arrangements described above, you can trust that MSU-Billings is committed to helping you continue toward your educational goals as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kirk Lacy
Dean – College of Professional Studies & Lifelong Learning
1500 University Drive
Billings, Montana 59101

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