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Syllabus for BUS-161-OL

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

With a growing need for record keeping, establishing budgets, and understanding finance, taxation, and investment opportunities, mathematics has become a greater part of our daily lives. Business Mathematics attempts to apply mathematics to daily business experiences.

Success in business relies more than ever upon the ability of managers to keep careful records, establish budgets, and understand finance, taxation, and investment opportunities. This course will help you use mathematics to your advantage in your daily business practices.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing Business Mathematics, you should be able to explain and apply the following concepts:

  • Fractions, decimals, and percents
  • Basic equations and formulas
  • Balancing a checkbook and filling out a simple tax return
  • Business insurance and personal insurance
  • Business discounts, pricing, and inventory control
  • Simple interest, compound interest, notes, and bank discounts
  • Credit and credit purchases
  • Annuities, amortization, and depreciation
  • Financial statements, cash flow, and ratios
  • Stocks and bonds
  • Some basic ideas of statistics

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COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to complete the work of the course. These materials are available from the textbook supplier, MBS Direct.


Textbook

  • Business Mathematics, 11th ed., by Charles D. Miller, Stanley A. Salzman, and Gary Clendenen (Boston, MA: Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2009).

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COURSE STRUCTURE

Business Mathematics is a three-credit online course. Study assignments include reading chapters in the textbook. You are also required to submit seven written assignments, participate in four graded online class discussions, and take a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored online final examination.

For the course's assignment modules (study assignments, online discussions, and written assignments), go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.

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ONLINE PARTICIPATION

Introduction to Business has four (4) graded online discussions, each focusing on a different subject. There is also an ungraded but required discussion in Module 1 titled "Introductions." All class discussions take place on the class Discussion Board.

Communication among fellow students and with the mentor is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation 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. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

For additional information on online discussions, see Online Discussions in the Online Student Handbook.

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WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Business Mathematics requires that you complete and submit seven (7) written assignments. They are built around associated textbook chapters assigned in your reading schedule. Each written assignment consists of problems contained in your textbook. The page numbers on which these problems can be found are listed in the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.

You will be assigned and are to submit even-numbered problems only. The odd-numbered problems in your textbook have answers at the back of the text; they can be used as a self-test to see whether you understand how to do a particular type of problem.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site, and read through the written assignment questions before you begin each module.

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled. Assignments must be prepared electronically, preferably with whatever equation editor comes with your word processing software.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

When preparing your answers, please identify each item clearly by chapter number, page number, and item number.

To receive full credit for your answers, you must show all work as well as your final answer.

When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor by means of the

>>View/Complete Assignment

link provided at the bottom of the respective assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and attach your assignment file. Click to turn in the assignment.

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EXAMINATIONS

Business Mathematics requires you to take two examinations: a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored, online final examination. Consult the course Calendar for the scheduling of these exams.

Each exam consists of mathematical problems for you to solve. Both are open-book exams but not open notes. In this regard you are permitted to bring only a calculator and the authorized textbook to the exam. The textbook must be an original bound hard copy; electronic textbooks (or printouts) are not allowed. You are also not allowed to bring any loose pages or notes, either typed or printed, or to consult a solutions manual or any other reference sources or sources of information.


Midterm Examination
The midterm exam is an open-book, proctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material assigned in Modules 1-4. It consists of mathematical problems for you to solve. You are permitted to bring a calculator.

You may take the midterm examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation during the first week of the semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)

If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.

For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook.


Final Examination
The final is an open-book, unproctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material in Modules 5 through 7. It consists of mathematical problems for you to solve. You are permitted to bring a calculator.

The final exam is taken online in Blackboard. An exam link will be activated and made available to you in the Tests & Quizzes area of the course site at the start of final exam week. You may take the exam at any time during that week, but no later than midnight Saturday (eastern time). If you are on a course extension, you will need to arrange with your mentor a time to reschedule the final exam.


Sample Examination
You will find a sample online examination in the Tests & Quizzes area of this course site. Use this sample exam to familiarize yourself with the online testing setting and format before you take your online exam. Keep in mind the following potential differences between the sample exam and your online exam:

  • The content of your exam will match the content of your course; the sample exam has some generic questions on art history, world history, and environmental science.
  • Your exam is likely to include only one type or at most several types of questions (such as multiple choice or essays). The sample exam includes all the types that you might encounter in an online assessment at Thomas Edison State College.
  • You will be able to enter and take your final exam just once—once you have entered the exam you must complete it. The sample exam may be taken as often as you like.
  • There will be a penalty for exceeding the time limit in your actual exams (see the "Statement about Cheating" below), whereas there is no corresponding penalty with this sample exam.


Statement about Cheating
The final examination in this course is an unproctored exam. That means you will not be supervised while taking the test. You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

  • Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.
  • Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
  • Plagiarizing answers.
  • Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.
  • Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.
  • Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

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.

Please also note that the exam is time-limited. That means you only have the allotted time in which to complete the exam. If you exceed the time limit on the exam, you will be penalized by having two points deducted for every minute that you exceed the time limit. This may also result in your failing the course.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Written Assignments (7) 40 percent
Online Discussions (4) 10 percent
Midterm Examination 30 percent
Final Examination 20 percent


Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and the course examinations are based on the following numerical grades:


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 D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, projects, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.

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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

  1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.


  2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams and arrange for proctors, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.


  3. Arrange to take your proctored midterm examination by following the instructions in the Online Student Handbook. Then complete the "Proctor Request Form" and submit it to the Office of Test Administration (OTA). You must make arrangements to take your midterm examination and send in your "Proctor Request Form" to OTA before the end of the first week of the current semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)


  4. Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.


  5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning, or specifically with the Blackboard platform, be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success:

  1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking your examinations. For details on each assignment module and a complete listing of learning activities, go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.


  2. You should first look over the table of contents in the textbook to get some idea of what will be covered in the course.


  3. For your written assignments, you should submit only the even-numbered problems that are assigned in the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.

    However, it is highly recommended that, for practice, you work out as many of the odd-numbered problems as possible. Note: The odd-numbered problems in the textbook have the answers at the back of the text. It is preferred that you work them out first before checking the answers.


  4. Check the Announcements page and class Discussion Board regularly for new course information.

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Syllabus Index

This document contains the following main sections:

Course Description

Course Objectives

Course Materials

Course Structure

Online Participation

Written Assignments

Examinations

Grading and Evaluation

Strategies for Success


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