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Syllabus
BYU Course Outcomes
1. Understand a point-of-choice orientation to retirement planning
and financial storehouse accumulation and maximum sharing
opportunities.
2. Utilize personal planning strategies that are behaviorally, spiritually, and financially efficient.
3. Focus on wealth accumulation potential of personal resource
management.
4. Use state-of-the art financial technology and information sources.
5. Learn investment tools, theory, and techniques that maximize
potential return while minimizing downside risk.
6. Be able to protect financial assets from creditors and taxes.
7. Develop an estate plan that produces legacy that thrives as assets
are passed to future generations.
Course Learning Outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Prepare a personal financial plan or program.
Budget and control your income and expenses.
Understand credit and interest costs.
Economically and wisely purchase major expense items such as
a house, an automobile, and major appliances.
5. Purchase appropriate insurance.
6. Begin a program for retirement and investments so that your
personal financial objectives can be achieved.
Required Materials
1. The required textbook is: Kapoor, Jack R., Dlabay, Les R., and
Hughes, Robert J., Personal Finance, 8th edition. Chicago: Irwin
McGraw-Hill, 2007.
2. You are also required to complete the Personal Financial Planner
which accompanies the textbook. If you are using the 8th edition
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BUS M 200: Personal Finance
of the text, the Personal Financial Planner should be included in
the appendix of the textbook. If you have purchased a book that
does not have the Financial Planner, you should either return the
book to the place of purchase and exchange it for a book that does
include the Financial Planner, or you may purchase the Financial
Planner as a separate text.
Course Structure
Speedback Assignments
Ten of the lessons require the submission of a set of multiple-choice
questions called Speedback assignments. These will be submitted online
and automatically graded. Feedback will be provided for each question
answered incorrectly. Each of the Speedback assignments will be given
equal weight in determining the final grade, the summation of which will
comprise 40 percent of your final grade.
Self Checks
The Self Check questions in lessons 3, 8, 11, and 14 need not be submitted for grading. They are meant to be evaluated by you through checking
your answers against those provided. Scores for these assignments will
not be included in the final grade computation; however, similar questions will be included in the final examination. Your knowledge of the
topics covered in the Self Check questions is just as important as your
knowledge of topics in the submitted assignments.
Portfolio of Written Assignments
Your last assignment is a compilation of practical assignments corresponding to textbook materials. The real value of a course in personal finance is
measured in how involved you become in your personal financial plans.
You not only need to learn the concepts of finance, but you also need to
apply them to your individual circumstances. The report forms and the
assignments in the planner booklet are designed to help you incorporate
financial planning into your daily life. Your portfolio of written assignments should consist of three primary parts: the Personal Financial
Planner sheets, six supplemental reports, and the Internet Questionnaire.
When you complete all the Internet exercises, the financial planner, and
your six additional report sheets, you will submit all of your work in a
portfolio to Independent Study for instructor grading.
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Syllabus
Personal Financial Planner
As you read lessons 1 through 14, you will note specific assignments requiring you to fill in designated pages of the Personal Financial Planner. You
will be asked to accomplish specific tasks then fill in the corresponding
reports. Not all pages in the Personal Financial Planner need be filled
in; submit only those that are assigned in the first fourteen lessons.
Once you have completed your Personal Financial Planner pages, scan
each page and save them in a single document. Please save the document
with the name PersonalFinancialPlanner.rtf. Make sure the document is
in .RTF format so that I can see your work.
Note: The first pages of the Personal Financial Planner ask you to record
identification numbers such as Social Security, bank account numbers,
etc. Do not include these private numbers in the planner. Once you have
scanned in the other pages, add this information and keep the planner
in a safe place to help you organize your documents.
Supplemental Report Sheets
An additional six report sheets are to be completed as assigned in the
various lessons. The assignments are to be submitted as part of your
Portfolio of Written Assignments prior to the time you arrange for
the final examination.
Internet Exercises Questionnaire
Most of the lessons require the use of the internet to answer one or more
questions. Please complete these exercises as you work on each lesson,
rather than waiting until the end of the course and going back to try and
catch up. The internet exercises selected are designed to help teach you
the topics covered in the lesson. As you complete the internet exercise,
refer to Appendix A and answer the questions associated with that exercise
in a word processing document.
Note: Although many of the assigned internet exercises may be performed by hand without the use of the internet, it is important to learn
the financial tools available to you on the Web. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of sources of financial information available to
you. Part of your education in personal finance is to learn to access the
tools available. Therefore, I ask you to actually use the Internet to solve
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BUS M 200: Personal Finance
the problems in the manner suggested.
Also, note that the Internet is a constantly evolving tool. Web sites
available at the writing of this course may not be available when you actually enroll in the course. If any particular web site is no longer available,
try to find another with equivalent resources. A Google or Yahoo! search
of your topic will typically provide an adequate supply of resources.
You will submit electronic copies of your personal financial planner
and Portfolio of Written Assignments after lesson 14.
Formatting Your Written Work
You will submit written assignments to Independent Study electronically
through your course. Gather your reports and your answers to the Internet
exercises questionnaire into one .RTF document. Name the document
ReportsAndQuestionnaires.rtf and submit it. Here’s how to do it:
1. Type your paper in a word-processing program (such as Microsoft
Word).
2. When you save the file, click the Save as type: drop-down list.
3. Select Rich Text Format (*.rtf).
4. Use the course number, your first and last name, and
the assignment name for the filename. For example,
“BUSM200_JaneSmith_ReportsAndQuestionnaires.”
5. Click Save.
Submitting Your Portfolio Assignments
It’s very important that you submit all of the assignments for your portfolio at the same time. Here’s how to submit your completed portfolio
assignments:
1. Click the Portfolio Submission link in your course.
2. Click Open.
3. Attach all of the relevant assignments by clicking the Choose
File button, then locating the file you wish to submit.
4. To attach additional files, click Add Attachment and use the
Choose File button to locate and upload the next file. Make
sure you attach every file you need to include in the portfolio
assignment.
5. When you are finished, click Submit.
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Syllabus
6. You will be asked if you are sure you want to submit this assignment. Click Yes.
7. You will receive a message that tells you that you have successfully
submitted your assignment. Click OK.
Remember: Do not submit any assignment until you have completed
all of the assignments for the portfolio!
Final Examination
The final examination will consist of one hundred multiple-choice questions similar to the ones in the Speedback assignments. The traditional
conversion from percentage points to letter grades will be used, as shown
in the grading section that follows. The examination will be processed
by computer in the same manner as the Speedback assignments. It is a
closed-book exam with no time limit and you may use a financial calculator. Your score on the final examination will comprise 40 percent of
your grade in this course. You must pass the final examination with a
score of 46 percent or better to pass the course. If you do not receive a
passing grade on your first attempt, you are permitted to retake the final
examination once with a different version of similar questions. Be aware
that there may be retake fees.
Grading
Your final grade for the course will be determined by combining the
points you receive for each of three major components. The percentage
allocation of weights for the final grade is as follows:
Speedback Assignments
40%
Portfolio of Written Assignments
20%
Final Examination
40%
Total
100%
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BUS M 200: Personal Finance
Grading Scale
Grading will be according to conventional letter grades A through E, as
defined in the University Bulletin General Catalog. The percent to letter
grade breakdown follows. You must pass the final exam in order to pass
this course.
A
100
96
A-
95
91
B+
90
86
B
85
81
B-
80
76
C+
75
71
C
70
66
C-
65
61
D+
60
56
D
55
51
D-
50
46
E (fail)
45
below
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