Syllabus for MBP-009
PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE
Principles of Finance serves as an introduction to the field of finance and provides a foundation for moving into the field of International Finance and Financial Management.The course will concentrate on financial management as applied to the firm and how financial decisions add value of the firm. Virtually all management decisions have financial implications, and the impact of these decisions on the value of the firm is the basis by which management is judged. Superior management produces superior financial decisions that lead to growth and increased valuation of the firm.
This course considers specific financial decisions such as selecting among alternative investments (i.e., capital budgeting), the sources of the firm's finances (i.e., the optimal capital structure), the management of current assets and liabilities (i.e., working capital), and the tools of financial analysis. The course emphasizes analytical tools and their use in solving financial problems.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available as a custom text from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN-13: 978-1111820633
Principles of Financial Accounting consists of four modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, and 4
Course objectives covered in this module: 4, 5, 6, and 7
Course objectives covered in this module: 8 and 9
Course objectives covered in this module: 10
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and partake in review conference calls. See below for details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
This course requires you to participate in four graded discussion forums. There are also one ungraded but required introduction forum in Module 1.
Discussion Forums are for individual learning, peer-to-peer instruction, and interaction with the course mentor. You are encouraged to participate in online discussion a minimum of every other day. Using an alternating day engagement schedule enables you to monitor the evolution of topic discussions, ask clarifying questions, and contribute to content exploration. In addition, this approach provides time to reflect on your learning progress; review course materials, work and rework assignments, and check and confirm your understanding of course content and application. Also, it establishes a pace for class interaction.
You are expected to participate actively in online discussion forums. Your contributions enable and enhance individual and group learning. As an intensive course, its content must be learned and applied in specific periods of time. Therefore, it is recommended that you make an initial post to the discussion room no later than Thursday of each week. The rationale for posting before weekend is that if you have questions, your peers and mentor can address them early in the week, promote understanding, and enable continuous learning. Moreover, posting by Thursdays challenges you to complete the weekly readings, formulate questions, and respond to discussion questions. This practice helps to prevent waiting until the end of the week to engage course content and discussion, which can result in falling behind in the work and in turn feeling overwhelmed.
Remember: Don’t suffer in silence! The course design, discussion forum engagement, and access to course mentor are focused on creating a community-of-learners exploring, learning, and mastering course materials together. Through individual study, peer engagement, and facilitator guidance, you can advance through the preparatory courses and matriculate in the related graduate degree program.
You are encouraged to post an initial response and at least two comments on other posts per week and per discussion question.
Substantive Posts—Substantive posts are your response to the initial discussion questions in each discussion forum. The substantive post evidences your understanding of the theories, models, and applications of course topics under discussion. Typically, substantive posts are information rich and data-driven citing and/or incorporating content from course learning materials, as well as external sources including work experiences, professional journals, or newspapers. The substantive post acts as a topic foundation on which to build content insight toward application mastery.
Contributory Posts—Contributory post are comments to one (1) or more peer learners. These posts extend or expand the responses of others. They define, clarify, and broaden everyone’s understanding of work. Contributory posts build, challenge, and explore other’s perspectives and applications of course materials. Like substantive posts, contributory posts are information rich and data driven. They are insightful responses contributing to everyone’s understanding of and experience with the topics being discussed. However, these posts are not simple, nonreference-supported response statements such as “Yes, I agree with you!” Instead, they are opportunities to explore topics through course materials and deepen your understanding and application of a topic in a supportive peer learning environment.
Online Discussion Grading Rubric.
You are required to complete four written assignments consisting of end-of-chapter problems from the the course textbook.
In addition to weekly course discussions, the course facilitator provides a bi-weekly, 30-minute Topic Review Session. This interactive session reviews content, assignments, exercises, problems, and solutions. In addition, discussion questions and content questions are addressed. These review sessions will use Skype and/or teleconference calls. Your mentor will work with the class to propose a time that works best and accommodates the majority.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
The course is a noncredit course. The course grade is Credit (CR) / No Credit (NC). A weighted average of 60% or above on all course activities is necessary to pass the course and advance to the next preparatory course and into the MBA degree program.
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Originality Report Checking at Turnitin
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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