Syllabus for BUS-210
QUANTITATIVE SKILLS FOR BUSINESS
Quantitative Skills for Business applies a reasoning and analytic approach to the theories, tools, and models associated with numerical decision making. Applying an application-driven modality for learning, the course presents empirically-oriented, data-driven scenarios. Scrutinizing these cases assists students in honing both their professional and consumer decision-making skill sets. Topics include formulating and presenting management information, statistical analysis, quality control and quality management, decision making under uncertainty, project management, and financial decision making. This course is also designed to measure your competency in quantitative reasoning/literacy, one of the institutional learning outcomes.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO1 Explain the value of mathematical reasoning and analysis for maximizing both managerial and personal resources.
CO2 Compare the merits and limitations of commonly used quantitative techniques.
CO3 Evaluate a business situation to identify a quantifiable problem, distinguish relative issues, and develop an action plan for a solution.
CO4 Employ quantitative analyses that support sound decision making.
CO5 Articulate quantitative results in written and graphic formats.
You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.
Throughout the course there are required supplemental readings relative to the topics under study. These resources can be found directly within the modules. All reading assignments should be completed prior to attempting module activities.
Beyond a word processor, this course requires a current (not latest) version of Microsoft Excel. Excel is necessary for mathematical manipulation as well as the production of charts and graphs.
Quantitative Skills for Business 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.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to self-practice and review drill and practice exercises, participate in online discussion forums, complete module projects, and take three proctored examinations. See below for details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
To master the necessary mathematics of the quantitative analyses in this module, you must initially command the basic calculation methods and steps, as well as the procedures that produce correct results. Therefore, before attempting any of the module assignments, do not skip or neglect the drill and practice exercises found within each chapter of the textbook. The book provides pink-highlighted Progress Checks whenever there is a need to practice a mathematical technique.
There is no submission or grade associated with drill and practice activities. However, many of the exam questions are closely related to or based on these Progress Check exercises and Worked Example scenarios. You may self-check your work using the solutions at the end of the textbook.
You are required to participate in nine graded discussion forums. There is also one ungraded but required Introductions Forum in Module 1.
Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. The purpose of the discussion forums is to help make the connection between the course concepts and the goals of the course. Your initial posting should be 200 to 300 words. Before posting, revise your composition to ensure that it is written in the objective third person and is free of grammar and structure errors. As this activity is a dialog exercise, engage peers by responding in a way that professionally supports or challenges the discourse. Once past the due date of the forum, your contributions are welcome yet they do not make their way into the grading process.
Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder of the course website is the online discussion forum rubric used to aid in the grading of all online discussion assignments.
You are required to complete six module projects. The module projects are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. Some of them are based on real data or case scenarios that require you to use Excel to create charts and graphs for data analysis and interpretation.
For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exams, refer to the study guides available in the Examinations section of the course website.
You are required to take three proctored online examinations. All exams require that you use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course website. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.
Three equally-weighted examinations are scheduled at the end of Modules 2, 4, and 6. Each exam consists of multiple-choice questions and short-answer problems. Before taking an exam, review all relevant Drill and Practice exercises. In addition, the textbook provides a detailed Worked Example for each chapter. The Worked Example brings together the mathematical and analytical concepts of the learning unit. Reviewing the example allows you to understand the concepts learned within a cohesive business context.
Examination 1
The proctored Examination 1 consists of multiple-choice questions and short-answer problems and covers all material assigned in Modules 1 and 2. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam.
Examination 2
The proctored Examination 2 consists of multiple-choice questions and short-answer problems and covers all material assigned in Modules 3 and 4. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam.
Examination 3
The proctored Examination 3 consists of multiple-choice questions and short-answer problems and covers all material assigned in Modules 5 and 6. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam.
Note: You are permitted to use a calculator (scientific, graphing, or financial) but may not use a calculator on a phone, PDA, or any similar device. You are also permitted to use scratch paper.
You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
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 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.
For more, see:
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