- Finkler, S. A., Purtell, R. M., Calabrese, T. D., & Smith, D. L. (2013). Financial management for public, health, and not-for-profit organizations (4th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
ISBN-13: 978-0132805667
Syllabus for MSP-678
FINANCE AND BUDGETING FOR NONPROFITS
Finance and Budgeting for Nonprofits is designed to provide finance and budgeting skills to nonprofit leaders and managers, enabling them to make critical decisions related to the financial health of their organizations. Participants will become familiar with processes related to development and management of the budgeting process, governmental requirements and oversight, and ethical concerns facing nonprofit leaders. The course also examines specific legal and policy issues affecting nonprofits and the role of competent financial oversight in guiding organizations through uncertain financial climates.
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 from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
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Finance and Budgeting for Nonprofits is a three-credit online course, consisting of six modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below, along with the course objectives and topics they cover..
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments (reaction papers and application exercises), and complete a final project. See below for details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
Each module in the course includes an online class discussion forum. All forums take place asynchronously. Post your robust reflections on the assigned questions and interact with your peers through discussion and dialogue to build a hospitable online learning community.
Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Forum interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.
Please participate in online forums as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to your readings and other study materials. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic. (Click link for an evaluation rubric.)
You are required to complete five reaction papers, one each in Modules 1–5. All reaction papers should be 2–3 pages (about 500–750 words), typed double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins. Papers should be written according to APA guidelines, including in-text citations and reference lists. Please see the individual modules for further details about each paper.
You are required to complete four application exercises, one each in Modules 1, 2, 3, and 5. The application exercises draw on end-of-chapter problems from the Finkler textbook. Some of the problems will require the use of a supplied Excel template. Utilizing concepts from the readings in the text, answer each of the questions completely. Unlike the reaction papers, it is not necessary to strictly adhere to APA standards in your responses. There is no minimum page requirement for the application assignments, but it is important to make certain that your responses are thorough.
The final project requires you to use your prior learning in this course to analyze financial statements and assess the financial health of an organization. Some or your answers will require the use of a supplied Excel template. Your final work product should include a 5–7 page, APA formatted document that contains the results of your analysis of the audited financial statements and ratio questions, as well as the completed Excel template. Refer to Module 6 for more specifics on this assignment.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | B | = | 83–87 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–82 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | F | = | Below 73 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.
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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