Texas Tech University BA 2140 Spring 2024 Instructor Dr. Jacob Haislip Office – E363 Office Hours – By appointment, but Mondays and Wednesdays are generally open. Office hours may be held in person or through Microsoft Teams Contact Jacob.haislip@ttu.edu Class time / Location This course is fully online, January 10, 2024 – May 2, 2024 COURSE OVERVIEW Required Materials and Fees 1. Access to Pearson’s MyLab IT. Please access this through Blackboard. MyLab IT access will contain a copy of the textbook as well as all of the coursework. The majority of course grades will come from MyLab IT and it is impossible to earn a passing grade in this course without completing the lab assignments. 2. Microsoft Excel installed on the computer you will use to access the course. The training exercises and practice exams are done through a web-based simulation program in Pearson, but the capstone projects are done using downloaded Excel files. Please note, the online-only version of Microsoft Office 365 will not work for these assignments, you must have the downloaded version of Excel. If you do not currently have Microsoft Excel, you may obtain a free copy through your eRaider account. Recommended Materials Please check the Rawls College of Business Laptop Requirements by visiting the link provided below. Most of the work assigned in the class is available through a web browser and is accessible using the latest version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Since this class is entirely online, desktop computers are also acceptable if you have one available at home. A stable internet connection is needed to get through the simulation assignments. Rawls College of Business Laptop Requirements Technical Troubleshooting This is a technology-based class and will require some minimal technical troubleshooting from you throughout the course. Please send me an email if you are experiencing technical issues and I will do what I can to assist you. Emails sent at the last minute prior to deadlines may not be answered in time. Course Objectives In this course, you should: Gain proficiency in Microsoft Office Excel. Course Format This course is fully (100%) online and is presented in an asynchronous format, meaning we will not have scheduled class times and you will not be required to attend online class sessions. All assignments are available and accessible in MyLab IT from the first day of class, so you are free to work through the course content as quickly as you would like. Many students have more free time available at the beginning of the semester, so using this time wisely is in your best interest. Grades will not be affected for “late” work. However, everything must be submitted by May 2nd. Grades will be determined by completion of the Training Simulations, Quizzes, and Projects through MyLab IT. Additional details are available below under “Grading Specifics.” Contact If you have a question related to the structure of the course or grading, the best way to contact me is by email (Jacob.haislip@ttu.edu) or by scheduling an appointment. If you have a question related to Excel or how to complete steps on the Pearson assignments, the first place to pose the question should be within the Microsoft Teams chat, where your question can be addressed by me or a fellow student. I usually respond within an hour during business hours, but I will definitely take no longer than 24 hours. Textbook The textbook for this course is available digitally through MyLab IT and does not cost anything above and beyond the lab access fee. You are not required to access this textbook as part of the course, it is simply there for you as an additional resource as you work through the training. Assignments and Projects All assigned training modules and projects are required as part of your grade for this course. The goal of these assignments is to familiarize you with the content of the certification exam at the end of the semester. There are videos available through MyLab IT. Available Point Distribution Capstone Projects 25% Pearson Assignments Training Modules Quizzes 25% 45% Other Class Participation 5% Total 100% Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A Greater than or equal to 90% B Greater than or equal to 80% C Greater than or equal to 70% D Greater than or equal to 60% F Less than 60% Grading Specifics Training Activities (Modules) – You will start each section of the class by working through the designated training modules. There are seven training modules total. You will have five (5) attempts per question (there are generally around 30 questions in each module) and an unlimited number of attempts to complete the training module. Participation – The participation grade will be based on completing all the assignments and participation within the Microsoft Teams chat. 3% will be granted for total completion of all assignments. The remaining 2% can be earned by interacting (posting, answering questions, or otherwise indicating that you are joining a conversation) at least 5 times within the Microsoft Teams platform. Quizzes (Modules) – The quizzes associated with each of the seven modules are worth a total of 45%. For the quizzes, each question will give you 5 attempts and you will have 3 attempts to complete each quiz. Capstone Projects – You will be required to complete two Capstone Projects. Each project will be worth 12.5%. You will have 2 attempts for each project. Blackboard Announcements about news items, assignments, notes, etc. will be posted on the TTU Blackboard. Additionally, grades will be updated approximately every 48-72 hours so you can track where you stand in the class. You are expected to check Blackboard on a regular basis for additional postings. You will receive frequent emails from me throughout the fall semester. These emails will contain important information about deadlines or assignments and should not be ignored. The email will come directly from the Blackboard announcements system (from do-not-reply@blackboard.com or Jacob.haislip@ttu.edu). Please review these emails as soon as possible and reply if requested. Class Schedule An updated class schedule will be available on Blackboard and will only change if deemed necessary. Such changes will always be to the students’ benefit and the schedule will help you keep an eye out for big deadlines. Recommendations for Student Success You will be expected to log into the Blackboard course at least weekly to be aware of possible announcements/reminders and to pace your progress in the course. I will do my best to send out reminders of impending assignment deadlines, but you are ultimately responsible to complete all coursework in a timely manner. TTU recommends students plan to spend two hours of outside study for every one hour of inclass time. This guideline is illustrated for a full-time TTU student at College is your full time job!. For a one-credit-hour course, that means a total time investment of three hours per week. Expectations for time investment are no less rigorous for online courses at TTU. Online course activities promote learning and the creation of a learning community, so they are encouraged and expected. Student Support Services Blackboard: Blackboard 24-hour Student Technical Support is available to assist with any Blackboard questions, via phone at (844) 897-0537. For self-help with Blackboard, visit Blackboard Help for Students. When the Blackboard server needs downtime for maintenance, the Blackboard administrator will post an announcement on TTU’s Blackboard site, informing the time and date. If the server experiences unforeseen problems I will send an update to provide further instructions. eRaider and General Technical Problems: TTU IT Help Central is available to assist with eRaider sign-in problems, browser errors, and other technical difficulties you may encounter. For technical assistance, please contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-HELP, email them at ithelpcentral@ttu.edu, or visit the IT Help Central website. Pearson MyLab IT Technical Support: Pearson assistance is available through the Pearson Support page and through the Contact Pearson page. Computer Crash: Not having a working computer or a crashed computer during the semester will not be considered an acceptable reason for not completing course activities at a scheduled time. Therefore, you should identify a second computer before the semester begins that you can use if your personal computer crashes. Lost/Corrupt/Disappeared Files: You must save a copy of every downloadable project (Capstones) on an external disk or personal computer. In the event of any kind of failure (e.g., Pearson server crash or virus infection, student’s own computer crashes, loss of files in cyberspace, WIFI random disconnection, etc.) or any other problems, I will request you resubmit the files. In other words, if you submit a document, and I either do not receive it (gets lost in cyberspace) or it is corrupted when I open it, it is incumbent upon you to resubmit it, corrected, with little or no “downtime” in regard to the timeline for submission. Academic Support This class is intended to train you for the certification exam and may, at times, be challenging. If you are struggling or need help, please reach out to me. I try to keep a flexible schedule outside of my classroom time so I am able to meet with students one-on-one through Microsoft Teams. Please do not wait until late in the semester to ask for help. I hope you’ll find a quick chat with me can reduce the stress you’re facing in the class. Other resources you may find helpful include: TTU SOAR provides services for academic success, including tutoring, study tips and academic planning. To inquire about their services, call them at 806-742-3664, email them at soar@ttu.edu or visit the TTU SOAR website. The Rawls College of Business also provides multiple support services to help Rawls students succeed, including the Georgie G. Snyder Center for Business Communication. Visit the Current Students Support webpage to explore the services available to you. Other Information Texas Tech Policies Concerning Academic Honesty, Special Accommodations for Students with Disabilities, and Student Absences for Observance of Religious Holy Days may be found here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/tlpdc/RequiredSyllabusStatements.php https://www.depts.ttu.edu/tlpdc/RecommendedSyllabusStatements.php
