Business Finance
BU381-VA: Webcourse using
Desire2Learn (D2L)
Course Syllabus: Fall 2016
Professor Rob Hull, Clarence W. King Endowed
Chair in Finance
Office: HC311-I
Course Mail: The instructor will expect students to
use the Communication menu in Desire2Learn
(D2L) and choose "email" to send a message to
this email address: rob.hull@D2L.washburn.edu.
Login: The easiest and best way to login into
Desire2Learn
is
to
go
to:
https://D2L.washburn.edu.
Meeting Times Students are required to be available to take mid-term
and final exams online. Exams can be taken at any
location as long as a student has a computer and a
reliable online access. The university provides
adequate locations on campus during the
examination times. See “Dates and Times of
Exams” of the “Examinations” section of this
syllabus for more details.
Office Hours / The instructor is available for individual
appointments either in an office setting or phone
Availability
set-up. You can make appointments through
course mail inside the “Communication” menu.
For phone appointments, students can request my
cell phone number or give me your phone contact
information.
Instructor:
Desire2Learn
Student
Orientation
Required
Materials:
Students can also use the “Communication” menu
within Desire2Learn (D2L) to ask questions and
I will try to respond as soon as possible. Unless
D2L is not working, please do not email me
through Washburn’s Outlook email system but
only communicate with me through D2L using
rob.hull@D2L.washburn.edu.
The solutions given inside the “Content” menu for
each chapter’s assigned questions and problems
are in the same detail as would be presented in
class. When viewing a file there is an arrow to the
right of the file name; by clicking on this arrow
you can better view the file. For Excel files, you
click the download button to read.
While most (if not all) students can probably learn
how to navigate an online course on their own,
there is a short online training course that can be
taken. All online students should automatically be
informed about this training. All the topics
covered in the training may not be applicable to
this particular class. The most important topics are
Email, Navigating, Discussions, Quizzes and
Grades. From inside Desire2Learn you login and
then click on the select a course list at the very top
left-hand corner; from this drop-down menu, you
will see the Desire2Learn Student Orientation and
you click on it.
(1) Financial Management: Core Concepts by
Raymond Brooks, 2012, Pearson Education, 2nd
edition. You can get by on an earlier edition since
all materials are supplied online.
(2) You need a satisfactory tool to work financial
management problems such as a business
calculator or Excel. Some students might feel they
can get by with a regular calculator.
Accounting 225, Economics 211, Math 141, 2.0 GPA
and 54 hours.
Students are responsible for knowing prerequisites.
Students not meeting prerequisite requirements are
subject to administrative withdrawal from the
course.
Normal computer skills are required as well as access
Computer
to the internet (such as supplied on campus).
Needs
Minimum technology requirements for taking a web
course are supplied by the web technicians (Web
Techs) for students taking classes with online
components. If you are having problems or just
want to know what works the best, please contact
webtech@washburn.edu
or
support@washburn.edu.
Please introduce yourself by clicking on the
Introduce
“Communication” menu and then the
Yourself
“Discussion” link. The introduction topic thread
should be visible near the top.
Report Errors Students are asked to report errors in webcourse
materials by using the course mail (described
above).
IMPORTANT: The “News” link within the “Course
News Tools
Home” menu should be checked each time you
log in to the online course as important
notifications are put there.
This is an online class and technology break-downs
Warning
can occur. You are responsible for keeping up
with suggested deadlines as given in “News” link
and Topic Outline.
Prerequisites
Catalog Course Description
This course covers the theory and techniques of financial management
that are designed to provide the basic financial background needed
by students in business, economics, or related fields. Topics include:
capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy, cost of capital,
and working capital management.
Ethical Behavior
Students can expect to be exposed to learning materials that relate to
ethical behavior as well as find an integration of this topic within the
textbook.
Seven Major Learning Objectives (or
Outcomes) for Assessment
1. Demonstrate an ability to organize and interpret
information on business organizations to draw and
support conclusions (Chapter 1, 17, 18 and throughout
the course).
2. Demonstrate an ability to define problems of the
financial manager (Chapters 1, 17, 18 and throughout the
course).
3. Calculate financial ratios and analyze financial statements
(Chapters 2 and 14).
4. Compute present value for various scenarios including
security valuations (Chapters 3-8 and throughout the
course).
5. Make capital budgeting decisions using various
mathematical techniques including net present value, internal
rate of return and profitability index in a capital budgeting
environment (Chapters 8-10 and 18).
6. Compute the cost of capital and effects of leverage
(Chapters 1, 8, 11, and 15-16).
7. Calculate working capital management problems
(Chapters 12-13).
NOTE: Information on both major and chapter learning
objectives are found by first clicking on the “Contents” menu and
then scrolling down to the “Learning Objectives” module.
Topic Outline (and tentative dates)
Ch. 1: Financial Management 8/23
Ch. 3: The Time Value of Money
(Part 1) 9/2
Ch. 5: Interest Rates 9/13
Ch. 7: Stocks and Stock Valuation
9/23
Ch. 9: Capital Budgeting Decision
Models 10/5
Fall Break (10/8 to 10/11)
Ch. 10: Cash Flow Estimation 10/17
Ch. 12: Forecasting & Short-Term
Financial Planning 10/27
Ch. 14: Financial Ratios and Firm
Performance 11/8
Ch. 16: Capital Structure 11/18
Ch. 2: Financial Statements 8/29
Ch. 4: The Time Value of Money
(Part 2) 9/8
Ch. 6: Bonds and Bond Valuation
9/19
Ch. 8: Risk and Return 9/29
Practice Mid-Term Exam: 10/7
Mid-Term Exam (10/13 at 8:30
p.m.)
Ch. 11: Cost of Capital 10/21
Ch. 13: Working Capital
Management 11/2
Ch. 15: Raising Capital 11/14
Thanksgiving Break (11/23 to
11/27)
Ch. 17: Dividends, Dividend Policy & Ch. 18: International Financial
Stock Splits 11/28
Management 12/5
Practice Final Exam: 12/8
Final Exam (12/12 at 8:30 p.m.)
Examinations (return to top) (return below)
● SCORING, CHAPTERS COVERED, & GRADES:
There are two exams.
(1) The mid-term exam covers Chapters 1-9. (2) The final exam
emphasizes Chapters 10-18. The final tends to be comprehensive
in nature because a number of concepts and formulas introduced
in earlier chapters can be found throughout the course.
More information on exams including review sheets with formulas
can be found by clicking on the “Exams” module inside the
“Content” menu. Once inside this module, you should familiarize
yourselves with all exam-related links including two links from
which you take your mid-term and final exams. Like most course
materials, exams can typically be accessed through clicking on the
“Course Home” menu and the “News” link.
You can expect a time limit of about 90 minutes for each exam. For
details on the types of exam questions, please read the “Exam
Information and Instruction” link inside the “Exams” module.
Students should have access to general exam feedback (your score and
class average) after taking each exam; however, wait two days before
any feedback becomes official.
Unlike the quizzes (which are available throughout the semester), the
following applies to either a mid-term exam or final exam:
- an exam is only available to take during the designated exam date
and time; and;
- individual feedback (as found for quizzes) is unavailable for exams
for security reasons but exam feedback can be requested from the
instructor by using the course mail in the “Communication” menu
Each exam counts 33⅓% of your grade; the twenty quizzes also
count 33⅓% of your grade. Class participation (described later)
is used to determine your grade if you are on the borderline
between two grades. In summary form, the class scoring is:
Mid-Term Exam …………….
Final Exam …………………..
Quizzes ……………………….
TOTAL ………………………
33⅓%
33⅓%
33⅓%
100%
See the sections in this syllabus on “Online Quizzes and Exams” for
more information. To find out how you are doing in the course, you
click on the “Assessment” menu and from the drop-down box you
click on “Grades.” (To get more detailed information you can click
on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select
“Progress” and then click on a topic such as “Quizzes.”) If you
receive 80% on your first quiz and have not completed any other
graded tasks, then your performance (to date) should be reported as
80%. The class average should also be reported. Suppose you later
receive an 80 on the Mid-Term Exam and your average for all
quizzes taken up to the time is 86. Since the Mid-Term Exam and
quizzes are each worth the same (e.g., worth 1/3 of your grade), your
current overall grade would be computed as (86 + 80) / 2 = 83. Now
suppose later you get a 71 on the Final Exam (and maintain your
quiz average of 86) then your final average would be (86 + 80 + 71)
/3 = 79. Since seventy-nine is a borderline number (See the Expected
Grading Scale below), your class participation will be looked at to
determine if you get a “B” or “C” grade.
● DATES & TIMES FOR EXAMS: (return to top)
Each student is required to be available to take two online exams: MidTerm Exam is on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on October 13 and Final
Exam is at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12. These times have
to be set later in the evening to minimize conflicts with other classes
and work schedules.
Unless special permission is granted, all students are required to take
the exam at the same time for security reasons.
If there is a technology breakdown such that the whole class cannot
resume the exam in a reasonable amount of time, then the exam
will automatically be programmed for the next day at the same
time unless announced otherwise. Students with conflicts with the
make-up time should immediately contact the instructor and give
their times of availability to take the exam.
If a technology problem occurs for an individual while taking an
exam, you should not panic. Stay call and immediately inform me
through course mail and also notify webtech@washburn.edu. Be
ready to resume the exam if the problem can be quickly resolved.
Students are expected to make arrangements with employees, doctors,
family, travel agents, and so forth so that conflicts are avoided for
scheduled exam times.
● SPECIAL EXAM TIME:
If you have an unavoidable conflict and want to request permission for
special time for a scheduled exam, you must notify me through
course mail (in the “Communication” menu) as soon as possible. The
instructor cannot be responsible for trying to successfully make last
day arrangements. All special requests must be documented and
students can be responsible for costs involved if an outside proctor
has to be hired to monitor the make-up exam.
For related information see the “Make-Up Policy” section below.
● TESTING METHODS:
Exams use the following testing methods to assess if a student has
mastered the course learning outcomes.
First, there is an objective part made up of true or false, multiple
choice questions, and matching questions.
Second, there is a mathematical part composed of problem solving.
Due to the nature of an online exam these problems are often
multiple choice questions.
Third, there is an analytic part that consists of analyzing important
financial management issues. Once again, due to the nature of
online exam these can be in the form of multiple choice questions.
Examples of the above questions and problems are found for each
chapter (located in the “Content” menu) and can be experienced
before the exam by doing the assigned questions/problems for each
chapter and by taking the online chapter quizzes and practice exams.
By using the “News” link within the “Course Home” menu, you can
typically be reminded of (and linked to) important materials like
quizzes.
Even though work cannot be shown on online exams that have
problems, students should still practice the following procedure when
working a problem:
(i) Write down the formula,
(ii) Insert the proper values for variables in formulas, and
(iii) Use a business calculator (or traditional calculator if that works
for you), or a spreadsheet application like Excel to get your
answer.
NOTE. You can find Excel examples and a complete list of
formulas in the “Items of Interest” module (inside the “Content”
menu).
Ample examples on how to work problems are given in the online
solutions found for each chapter’s materials within the “Content”
menu, which organizes the chapter materials for the first half of the
course (materials covered on mid-term exam) and the second half of
the course (materials covered on final exam).
● EXAM INSTRUCTIONS:
Posted inside the web course are exam instructions.
Hit the "Content" menu and then the “Exams” module and you will find
the following.
First, there are three links with exam information, exam instructions,
and a preparatory “What You See …” link before you take your
first quiz. I suggest clicking on these links and reading them early
in the course.
Second, for each of the two exams, there are practice exams. There is
also review links ("Mid-Term Exam Review” and “Final Exam
Review”) with review questions and key formulas.
The review questions can help jumpstart you in studying for each
exam; however, a thorough review must be done throughout the
course by completing all assigned quizzes and chapter
questions/problems.
The formulas supplied by clicking on the "Mid-Term Exam
Review” and “Final Exam Review” will be like those needed for
your exams.
Study these formulas and make sure you know how to use them.
You do not have to memorize these formulas because you are
allowed to have formulas when you take your exams.
There is a “Chapter Formulas” link inside the “Items of Interest” module
that gives students formulas from each chapter and may prove
valuable for students who want a summary of all formulas in the text.
This “Chapter Formulas” link leads to a file in a PDF format because
html files cannot always process formulas given by software like
MathType that are used to generate equations that are more
readable.
Other links inside “Items of Interest” include “Excel Examples to
Help Work Some Common Problems” link and “Solutions to
Textbook Questions/Problems”. The “Excel Examples to Help
Work Some Common Problems” link can be very valuable for
students who want to work many problems quickly and
accurately. The “Solutions to Textbook Questions/Problems”
link should not be used unless you have worked all the assigned
questions and problems; this link can become out of date if the
publisher does not send the instructor updates when the textbook
changes.
Online Quizzes and Exams (return)
Besides the Mid-Term and Final Exam, there are 20 online quizzes: a
Syllabus quiz (taken first), 18 chapter quizzes, and a Learning
Objectives Quiz (taken last). Scores are tabulated automatically and
all scores are averaged inside the web course. To take a chapter quiz,
hit the quiz link accessed by clicking on the “Content” menu and then
navigating to the desired chapter for which you want to take the quiz
(you can also go to the “Assessments” menu to find it). Once you
take a quiz, you can review it as often as you like. Except for the
“Learning Objectives Quiz,” the highest score of the two quiz
attempts is taken. For the “Learning Objectives Quiz,” your two
attempts are averaged. The Learning Objectives Quiz is different
from all other quizzes (that have 10 questions and 15 minutes)
because the Learning Objectives Quiz has 14 questions/problems
and you have 30 minutes to take it.
If you want to view and study over the quiz instructions before you take
your first quiz, then go to the “Content” menu, then the “Exams” link,
and then the “What You See when You Click on to Take an
Assessment (Quizzes & Exams)” link.
The Syllabus Quiz can be found in Ch.1’s material and should be
taken before Ch. 1’s quiz.
You are required to finish the first nine chapter quizzes before the
Mid-Term Exam and the next nine chapter quizzes before the Final
Exam.
As explained in the “Exam Information and Instructions” link (found
inside the “Content” menu and then the “Exams” module), quiz
questions are multiple choice and true/false questions and all you
have to do is click on the correct answer. For matching questions,
you have to click by each term or concept to match it with the
appropriate description or definition.
Unlike quizzes, exams are only available to take during the designated
exam date and time. There is also no immediate feedback on exams;
however, feedback can be requested on an individual basis as noted
above in the “Examinations” section. General feedback on how the
class performed is typically given within a couple days after the
exam.
Please report errors (like an error in a quiz problem) using the
“Communication” menu and the “Email” link by emailing the
instructor at rob.hull@D2L.washburn.edu.
Scores and feedback on correct answers can be viewed immediately
after taking a quiz.
Some types of feedback on quizzes are limited due to constraints of
technology. For example, exponents are designated by “^”.
Symbols are also at times modified, for example, the standard
deviation symbol for sigma is expressed as “s”.
Somewhat better feedback can typically by found for the assigned
chapter problems (inside the “Content” menu) where superscripts
and more appropriate symbols can be used.
The 18 online chapter quizzes and the Syllabus Quiz are short with only
ten questions per quiz and a time limit of 15 minutes per quiz. No
answers can be accepted after the time limit runs out because your
quiz will be automatically saved at that point. Sometimes you will
finish in five minutes and other times it is possible that you may not
quite finish; it all depends on the degree of difficulty of the questions
for a particular quiz. Do not attempt a quiz until you have properly
studied a chapter because it can affect your quiz grade. As described
previously, the Learning Objectives Quiz has 14 questions and you
have 30 minutes to take it. This quiz covers includes some
questions/problems similar to that found in the homework for all 18
chapters. You may have trouble finishing this quiz on time if you
have not reviewed these questions/problems so you know what
formulas might be needed.
PLEASE NOTE: Quiz questions differ in their degree of difficulty
so you may score better on an earlier quiz because you randomly
received easier questions. It is possible each of your two attempts
will randomly generate more difficult questions than a classmate.
However, for all of the total quizzes, things should even out.
You can review a quiz as often as you like. If you have trouble
viewing
a
quiz
you
have
taken
then
contact
webtech@washburn.edu.
If a student does not take a quiz at least once, a zero score is eventually
recorded and that is one less quiz attempt that you can review when
studying for an exam.
You should sign off and save your quiz or exam before your allotted
time is up.
You may be given no warnings when your time is up so you are
responsible for knowing how much time you have left before you
are automatically kicked off. Thus, you should save each answer
individually in case you get kicked off. (You may also be kicked
off due to internet or technical problems and thus you should save
answers individually in case you have to resume a quiz; if kicked
off due to internet problems you should be able to resume your
quiz by logging in with no lost time.) Typically, you have a one
minute extension if you have not saved your answer and submitted
your quiz or exam at the end of the designated time limit.
The best way to ensure you can finish on time is to be prepared before
you take the quizzes; this includes having all mathematical
formulas ready beforehand.
If something beyond your control (like a technical breakdown) prevents
you from finishing on time and resuming your quiz, report all the
details to the Web Techs at webtech@washburn.edu. Also, notify
me through course mail about the problem and I can try to program
another attempt or adjust your score for the problem. Please keep in
mind that I typically cannot fix technical problems so it often does
little good to tell me without telling the Web Techs.
REMINDER: You are responsible for taking the quizzes by the
suggested date given in the “News” link within the “Course Home”
menu. I suggest even trying to keep ahead of schedule.
Class Participation (return)
Student participation performance is used if a student is on the
borderline between grades. The types of class participation can vary
depending on whether the course is taught as a full-blown online
course or a hybrid/web-assisted course as a full-blow online course.
For example, for a hybrid course, class attendance can be more
readily recognized. Otherwise, a student’s participation is consists of
(i) the number of “good posts” and “good replies” accompanying a
discussion thread and (ii) the completion of other optional
assignments such as the case study (given inside the web course) and
report on guest speakers. Students can initiate their own discussion
within the “Lounge Area for Discussion Threads” link but the topic
has to be related to the course materials.
Do not worry if other students do not reply to your posts as you are
only responsible for making your own posts.
Students must complete all of their posts and replies by the last
official class day (but are encouraged to not wait until the last
week to start making posts).
Examples of Class Participation include:
One way of participating is by clicking on the “Learning Objectives”
module and doing some of the suggested assignments found there
that also involve posting a comment using the “Communication”
menu (from this menu you can click on “Discussion” and find
discussions already listed and for which you can post a comment).
Another way of participating is by reading an article in The Wall
Street Journal or looking at a finance website to find an article
related to a key concept such as capital budgeting. The student
follows up on this by using the “Lounge Area for Discussion
Threads” link to post a comment about this article.
Doing the suggested case study (and starting a thread to discuss
aspects of this case study) is another example of Class
Participation.
Go to the Case Study module to get the link to the Case Study.
It is difficult and for that reason I have posted solutions for those
who get stuck. The solutions are only suggested answers. For
those who do the Case Study I am more interested in your effort.
At times, links to online WSJ articles (often with accompanying
videos) might be found inside course tools. You can make posts
on these articles and videos within the Lounge Area.
If there is no link then you can start a thread or respond to one
someone else has started. To do this hit the “Communication
menu”, then “Discussion link,” scroll down to the Lounge Area
and then click on “Lounge Area for Discussion Threads, and
then hit “Start a New Thread.” You can also respond to an
existing thread in a similar manner. If any problems contact
webtech@washburn.edu or take the brief Desire2Learn
Student Orientation as described previously.
If students read an article and do not make a post then there is
no way for the instructor to award Class Participation credit.
Read other students’ posts and respond with your own reply.
Expected Grading Scale (return)
"A": 90 to 100 percent; "B": 80 to 89 percent; "C": 70 to 79 percent;
"D": 60 to 69 percent; "F": below 60 percent.
Any change in the expected grading scale will not be determined until
all exams are graded and total points tallied for all students. The GPA
for this class over the last ten years has averaged about 2.9 (about B) varying from 2.0 to 3.4. Thus, a “B” grade can be considered
slightly above average. The Class Participation component (where
applicable to determine borderline cases) will not be computed until
the course is over.
Homework / Exam Preparation
There is no assigned homework that is required to be turned in (as
solutions are supplied and student can go over their own assigned
questions/problems on their own); however, students are free to send
me materials to look over.
Assigned questions and problems can be found by clicking on the
“Content” menu and then the desired chapter assignment materials
link.
All homework solutions to assigned questions and problems are
posted and (as noted previously) students can check their answers
with the posted solutions. Click on the “Content” menu and then
the desired chapter solution materials link.
Students who find errors on solutions to assigned questions and
problems can report these and help their class participation grade.
Before taking exams, students are expected to do the following:
Prior to the Mid-Term Exam, students are to have read Chapters 1−9
and studied the questions/ problems/solutions/formulas for these
chapters that are found by clicking on the “Content” menu and
then the “First Half of Course: Materials for MID-TERM EXAM”
module and its links. Students are also to have completed the
Syllabus Quiz (found in Ch. 1 materials) and Online Quizzes for
Chs. 1−9 by clicking on the quiz link within the chapter materials
link.
Prior to the Final Exam, students are to have read Chapters 10−18
and studied the questions/ problems/solutions/formulas for these
chapters that are found by clicking on the “Content” menu and
then the “Second Half of Course: Materials for FINAL EXAM”
module and its links. Students are also to have completed Online
Quizzes for Chs. 10−18 and the Learning Objectives Quiz (found
with Ch. 18 materials) by clicking on the quiz link within the
chapter materials link.
Prior to exams, students should review the formula sheets found in
the “Content” menu by clicking on the "Exam" module and then
the “Mid-Term Exam Review” link and the “Final Exam Review”
link.
Prior to exams, it is also recommended that students thoroughly study
the seven major learning objectives found in the “Content” menu
by clicking on the “Learning Objectives” module and its links.
Because exams are much longer than quizzes students should take the
practice exams offered to get an idea of what taking a longer exam
will be like.
Attendance / Availability Policy
Attendance (or “availability”) is required to take both online exams.
Availability times required to take online exams were given
previously in the “Examinations” section.
Make-up Policy (return)
Make-up exams can be arranged for special cases of unavoidable
conflicts that students must document. As noted above, students are
responsible for working with employers (or other instructors if they
have another class conflict) so they can take their exams at the
scheduled times.
Except for extreme emergency cases, the arrangement should be made
at least one week prior to the scheduled exam time by contacting me
through course mail using the “Communication” menu and the
“Email” link.
Disclaimer
You should not wait until the last day to finish an assignment as
technical difficulties can occur for classes with online components.
So finish your work as early as possible.
The syllabus is subject to changes whenever circumstances warrant such
changes and thus if you choose to print out the syllabus keep in mind
it can change. It is a wise practice to periodically read the syllabus as
it is hard to absorb all details with one reading.
The instructor cannot be responsible for materials supplied by the
publisher and put in the web course for student use. Such materials
include the solutions and formulas found inside the “Items of Interest
Link” within the “Content” menu. Also, the PowerPoint notes for
each chapter are supplied by the publishers and could have errors for
which the instructor will try to correct if the student reports it.
Prerequisites
Official Washburn University Policy:
“It is the responsibility of the student to meet all prerequisite
requirements for courses in which the student is enrolled. A student
failing to meet prerequisite requirements is subject to administrative
withdrawal from the course at any time.”
Master Syllabus Files Supplied by University
to Supplement Syllabus
For the University additions to course syllabus, see the “Master Syllabus
File” located in the “WELCOME TO BU381-VA (ONLINE BUSINESS
FINANCE)” link, which is inside the “Content” menu. Topics covered
include:
Mission of the University, Definition of a Credit Hour, Academic
Misconduct Policy, Disability Services, Office of Advising,
Withdrawal Policy, Attendance/Administrative Withdrawal,
Official E-Mail Address, and Success Week.