Foundations of Finance Course Syllabus--Huffman

 

Links to:         Professor Information

Section information/exam dates        Oshkosh 101              Kimberly Clark 181                           Green Bay 221

                        Course Schedule (chapter order)

                        Suggested End of Chapter questions and problems

                        Learning Objectives by chapter

                       

Course Goals and Objectives:

The goal of this course is for each student to develop a working knowledge of the concepts, problems, tools, and applications of corporate financial decision making.  The course provides a fundamental understanding of the allocation of funds and the raising of funds by a business enterprise.  Students are introduced to the concepts of financial management, valuation, financial markets and investments.  Students will also gain awareness of the impact of the evolving global economy on financial management.   The course will lead to an understanding of the importance of the integrating financial management within all areas of the business organization.

Students will be able to:

  • Explain and apply basic concepts of finance,
  • Locate, obtain and organize information from a variety of sources,
  • Analyze and interpret financial data and utilize this data and other data to make decisions using problem solving techniques and creative and critical thinking skills.

The specific learning objectives (developed by Professor Schellenger) are attached to the syllabus.  The exams and other assessment instruments are designed to evaluate student’s ability to meet these objectives.


Required Materials:

(1)     Text: Brigham, Eugene and Joel Houston. Concise 5th Edition, Fundamentals of Financial Management Concise (Mason, Ohio:  Thomson/South-Western, 2007). ISBN: 0324319835  ISBN 0-324-42288-1.  The text also has web site:  http://www.swlearning.com/finance/brigham/chooseyourbook_main.html and select our text.  In the Chapter Resources section there are chapter summaries and online quizzes which contain 10 practice questions per chapter.  Power Point slides are also available on the text's web site.

(2)     Handout Materials and Materials found on web site: supplemental articles and readings will be distributed in class, via e-mail or from the D2L web site during the semester.  Students are required to check their e-mail prior to coming to class and to verify that the e-mail address in D2L is correct.

(3)     Financial Calculator:  I will only allow the use of ONLY the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional to be used on quizzes or exams.

 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

Attendance Policy.  If you know you are going to be absent from class, you should send me an e-mail prior to class.  It is your responsibility to obtain missed notes and/or handouts from other students.

Course Requirements:  All course requirements should contain your name student id, course and section/time.  All work should be your own; unless group work is allowed by instructor.

Lectures/Class Activities:  Students are expected to be attentive and to participate in questions asked by instructor.  Group/Team discussions should focus on the instructor question or instructions.

Grading Criteria:

  • 25% Exam 1
  • 25% Exam 2
  • 25% Exam 3
  • 15% Quizzes/Assignments Problems (in class and online)
  • 10%  Contribution

Allocation of Letter Grades:


Allocation of Letter Grades

A

scores of 93 % or higher

 

C

scores from 70% to 78%

AB

scores from 89% to 92%

 

 

 

B

scores from 83% to 88%

 

 

 

BC

scores from 79% to 82%

 

F

scores less than 70%

 


Grading Policy

If you do not agree with a grade that you receive, you have two-weeks from the posting of the grade to contest it. For the final course grade, you have two-weeks from the postmarked date on your semester grades to contest. After three-weeks, I will not be willing to spend time with you discussing your grade (unless you have a documented reason for not having a conference within the allotted period). I will post your grades on my office door during the semester. It is your responsibility to verify that the grades are correctly recorded.

Course Specifics

1. Examinations:  three exams are given during this course. Requests to take the exam early because of a legitimate conflict should be made at least five week days prior to the scheduled exam date. The exams will consist primarily of objective questions; however, they may also contain short answer or detail problem(s).


 2. Quizzes: Several short quizzes will be given during the semester. Quizzes are designed to prepare students for the exam and to keep students up-to-date with material being covered in class. Students may be required to turn in an assigned homework problem to count as a quiz grade. There will be NO make-up quizzes for students not in class. Always bring your textbook, calculator, class notes, and a LEAD PENCIL to class. Quizzes may or may not be announced in classes prior to the quizzes.  Some quizzes may be taken using the internet.   I have also provided old quizzes with solutions in the contents section of D2L for you to use as study aids.


3.  Pre-lecture quizzes:  For each chapter assigned from the text there is a short objective quiz (or in some cases quizzes) available on the course's D2L web site. These quizzes should be completed prior to the lecture for that chapter. You will be able to review these quizzes for the exams.  The scores from the pre-lecture quizzes will be part of your quiz grade.


4. End of Chapter questions/problems/homework/assignments:   The purpose of these exercises is to familiarize students course material and practice doing problems prior to the exam.  Most of the exercises are not collected or graded.  The suggested end of the chapter exercises review material covered in the chapter.   The suggested questions and problems can be found by clicking on the words:  End of chapter questions and problems to review.  In D2L in the contents section I have provided the text’s solution to the assigned problems.  I suggest you do the problems first then check your answers.


5. Contribution to the course and Instructor's Professional Evaluation:  More than just attending class is required for this portion of your grade.  Students are required to be prepared and alert during all class meetings.  A lack of effort on the pretest or any other course requirement will be reflected in the contribution grade. During the semester students may be required to turn-in a self evaluation and/or a peer evaluation.  The contribution grade is the professor's subjective evaluation of how well a student knows course material and how the student used that knowledge to improve the learning environment of all students.  That is, did student's participation in the course contribute to the overall learning of all students.

Students can make a contribution to the course in a number of different ways including:

  • asking relevant questions about a course topic (e.g., how  topic relates to a current event),
  • volunteering to answer questions from the professor addressed to the class,
  • correctly answering a question from the professor addressed to the student,
  • answering questions from other students addressed to the professor,
  • asking a relevant question about a course topic by e-mail or during professor's office hours,
  • providing professor with current article on a course topic, and
  • participation in small group discussions

6. Review of quizzes and exams: Some of the testing instruments will not be reviewed in class or returned. However, your exam or quizzes will be available for review in my office. I assume that I have your permission to post your grades by a code of your choosing.


7. Contact with me: As we proceed through the course, you may have difficulty and/or questions with some of the assigned course material. If you do not understand the material after it has been covered in class I encourage you to contact me during my office hours (or by appointment). E-mail will assure that I receive the message. Just send your message to my university account; i.e., huffman@uwosh.edu (please include course number in the subject line).


8. Academic Integrity

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is committed to a standard of academic integrity for all students. The system guidelines state: "Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others’ academic endeavors." (s. UWS 14.01, Wisconsin Administrative Code). Students are subject to disciplinary action for academic misconduct, which is defined in s. UWS 14.03, Wisconsin Administrative Code.

A summary of student disciplinary procedures at UW Oshkosh can be found at:  http://www.english.uwosh.edu/discipline.html


9. Announcements

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES
I also encourage you to consider enrolling in the International Business Study Tour (28-494) or other international program.  Additional information can be found at the UW Oshkosh Office of International Education.  Please visit their new web site at http://www.uwosh.edu/oie/oie.html  .