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Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: FINANCE

Course Title:	Finance - BU450
Department:	Business Administration—Bachelor's
Instructor:	Kenneth "Micheal" Townsend, MBA, BS, AA E-Mail Vita
Prerequisites:	None

Course Objectives:
BU450 is designed to provide the student with an introduction to the field of finance. Non-finance majors will gain an appreciation of the role of financial markets and institutions as well as an introduction to the responsibilities and methods of analysis utilized by the corporate financial manager. The course is a broad survey of finance for all business students which emphasizes fundamental valuation concepts and their applications. The primary objective of this course is to familiarize the student with fundamental concepts of financial management, including the objectives, tasks and decisions made by financial managers. Fundamental concepts covered include, but are not restricted to, asset valuation, market efficiency, discounted cash flows, risk and return analysis, bond and stock valuation, cost of capital, valuing and choosing between competing projects and restructuring. The course devotes a substantial amount of time to discuss examples that illustrate concepts as well the practical applications of the concepts.

Required Textbook:    Online Bookstore
The textbook for this class is Essentials of Corporate Finance, Fourth Edition, by Ross, S.A., Westerfield, R.W., & Jordan, B. D. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003/2004. ISBN: 0072510765 (Amazon or Barnes and Noble or at local university bookstores.)
Mcgraw-Hill

Other Requirements:
1.) There will be two exams (one-midterm and one final). The format of the tests will be multiple choice and/or some other type of questions and will cover the material that has been presented in the text and lectures up to that point. Specifics of exam length and coverage will be dealt with prior to exam dates. The exams will be completed no later than the last day of the week on week four and eight respectively. The exams will not be allowed to be taken earlier than the beginning of that week as well unless authorization is given by the instructor for that student for extenuating circumstances.

a.) Exam one will cover chapter 1 and end with chapter 9.
b.) Exam two will cover chapter 10 to chapter 18.

Hint: Exams will be taken online and graded by computer unless they are essays. The best way to prepare for exams is to read all assignments and to prepare for all assignments ahead of time. The easiest way to make a poor grade on an exam is to get behind and stay behind early.

2.) There will be several written assignments as well for this class. The material that shall be covered will come directly from readings in the text. The readings will be of specified length and should be properly documented. This class will take eight weeks to complete. At the end of week one, two, three, five, six, and seven, there will be a written assignment due. At the end of the fourth and eighth week, there will be no written assignment due because of exams. Late assignments will be penalized two points a day for the first five days and one letter grade for each day after that. Any questions concerning this policy need to be directly aimed at your instructor to avoid confusion.

3.) Each of the written assignments with the exception of the last one should be approximately five to six pages in length (no less) double spaced and cover the material as presented in the text book. The assignments are outlined below. They are due no later than the week they are given and no earlier than the week they are given as well. Grammar is very important as well as structure. By this point in your college career, none of us should have a lot of problem with this. Deductions may be taken for poor grammar, syntax, structure, as well as, principle gaps. Please make sure that all assignments are presentable in a business situation. Make believe that I am the president of your company and the reports are meant to be used in our business.

Written Assignments:
a.) Written assignment number one--Chapters 1 and 2--"Explain the reason for the modern manager to understand basic finance principles." Where applicable add pertinent information from the text, your work situation, or other sources. Documentation must be consistent. Every outside source should be documented and plagiarism will not be tolerated on any assignment. Whatever type of format used is fine for this and other assignments, but always be consistent. If you use, APA for one part, use it for all parts and all assignments.

b.) Written assignment number two--Chapters 3 thru 5—These are very important chapters as far as the course is concerned. The specifics include working with financial statements, the value of money, and cash flow valuation. Choose a topic from each of these important issues and write about it for this assignment. Pay very close attention to documentation.

c.) Written assignment number three--Chapters 6 thru 9. Discuss the following topics: bonds and types of bonds, inflation and interest rates, stock value, types of stock, stock markets, the payback rule, and IRR. Make sure you hit the important topics and also that you use proper documentation when applicable.

d.) Written assignment number four--Chapters 10 thru 11. Discuss at least two topics noted in this lesson and writing about them. Use proper documentation as needed.

e.) Written assignment number five--Chapters 12 thru 14. Discuss the following topics: cost of capital, cost of equity, preferred stock, financial leverage, capital structure, optimizing capital structure, dividend policy, and stock splits. . Where there is overlap, note it. Make sure you include proper documentation as needed.

f.) Written assignment number six--Chapters 15 thru 18. For this lesson, the assignment counts more. Choose a topic or topics and an important aspect of finance for scrutiny from this week’s readings. Do this in an in depth manner. This assignment should be longer have more sources than the other five. This assignment should have no less than six sources at previously noted in this class.

Instructor Availability:
I am available periodically at the e-mail address above. Please e-mail any questions. That is the reason that I am here. I will try to do everything I can to help you as much as possible. Please do not wait until the end of class to get help. It will be too late. Anytime your grade falls below C, I will try to contact you about it. If I do not, or fail to get a hold of you, please contact me through e-mail.

Attendance Requirements and Submission Deadlines:
You must submit all assignments on time as listed above. Other interactions are encouraged, but not necessary. Late assignments will result in point deductions as noted above. Late exams will only be allowed to be remade if the student has an excuse that was excused before the exam. Warnings are given about exams prior to the beginning of the course. It is in the best interest of anyone wanting to "miss" an exam to get an excuse from myself or to take the exam just prior to the due date to ensure no problems. Interactions will be made with instructor via message boards and e-mail. I am not planning any chatting one on one with myself or the class, but you are welcome to do so among yourselves. If you do need me for "chatting", please e-mail me and we will set something up. I need as much warning as possible. This is not my only class. Questions need to be completed prior to these sessions so be ready. The only requirements for attendance are the assignment deadlines given above.

Grades and Distribution (points):
First five written assignments: 60 points each
Midterm exam: 100 total points
Final exam: 100 total points
Final written assignment: 100 total points
Total points available: 600 total points for the class

Grading Scale:

A	Excellent	90-100	540-600
B	Above average	80-89	480-539
C	Average	70-79	420-479
D	Below average	60-69	360-419
F	Failing grade	59 or below	0-359

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