Syllabus for ACC-421
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION
Description | Objectives | Materials | Structure | Assessment | Grading | Strategies
Federal Income Taxation is a one-semester course designed to help you learn the basics of federal income taxation of individuals. The course covers the basic tax calculations, filing status, gross income inclusions and exclusions, gain and loss recognition, business and personal deductions, tax credits, and filing requirements. It also looks briefly at the taxation of partnerships, as well as that of corporations and special "S corporations."
By successfully completing the learning activities of the course, including careful study of the textbook, use of chapter self-tests, and problem solving, you should be able to:
You will need the following textbook to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Federal Income Taxation is a three-credit online course, consisting of six (6) modules. Modules include study materials and activities. Module titles are listed below.
Module activities comprise written assignments and graded online discussions. You are also required to take a midterm examination and complete a final project. See the section "Assessment Methods" for further details.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to complete six (6) written assignments, participate in six (6) online discussion forums in addition to an ungraded introductions forum, take a proctored online midterm examination, and complete a final project. See below for more details.
Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Written Assignments
You are required to complete six (6) written assignments (worth 38 percent of your course grade). The written assignments help to solidify and summarize the tax laws for you and consist of discussion questions and problems from the end of each assigned chapter in the textbook. Be sure to show all computations.
Go to the Submit Assignments area of the course Web site to submit all written assignments.
For additional help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information section of the course Web site.
Online Discussion Forums
In addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum in module 1, Federal Income Taxation requires you to participate in six graded class discussions (worth 12 percent of your course grade). Like the written assignments, online discussions draw on end-of-chapter discussion questions and problems from the textbook.
Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to the assigned problems and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.
You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., the correctness of your answer and your understanding of the tax code) and on your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.
Deadlines for posting discussion threads on the class Discussion Board are given in the course Calendar.
For posting guidelines and additional help with discussion board assignments, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information section of the course Web site.
Midterm Examination
Federal Income Taxation requires you to take a proctored midterm examination (worth 30 percent of your course grade). You must take the exam online using the College's Online Proctor Service. Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) 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.
The proctored midterm examination is open book, which means you may bring texts and notes and use a calculator. It covers all material assigned in modules 1–3 of the course. The exam is three hours long and consists of true-and-false questions, multiple-choice questions, and problems similar to those on the written assignments.
Online exams are administered in the Tests & Quizzes area of the course Web site. Consult the course Calendar for the official dates of midterm exam week.
Final Project
In lieu of a final examination, you are required to complete a final project (worth 20 percent of your course grade). The final project consists of a tax return along with two end-of-chapter problems assigned from the text.
Instructions for completing and submitting the final project will be made available to you in the penultimate week of the course in the Final Project area of the course Web site. Please consult the course Calendar for the project's due date.
Go to the Submit Assignments area of the course Web site to submit the final project.
For additional help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information section of the course Web site.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
|
Written assignments (6) |
38 percent |
|---|---|
|
Online discussions (6) |
12 percent |
| Midterm exam | 30 percent |
| Final project |
20 percent |
All assignments 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 |
| A– | = | 90–92 |
| B+ | = | 88–89 |
| B | = | 83–87 |
| B– | = | 80–82 |
| C+ | = | 78–79 |
| C | = | 73–77 |
| C– | = | 70–72 |
| D | = | 60–69 |
| F | = | Below 60 |
First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success: