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REQUIRED TEXT:
Managerial Accounting by Garrison/Noreen, Eleventh Edition, Required
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17

PREREQUISITE: Successful completion of ACCT 233

OVERVIEW:
Business people collect and communicate information and must be proficient in speaking and writing. In addition, future employers of today's students are calling for a greater emphasis on interpersonal skills, which include the ability to work effectively in groups with diverse members. Thus, communication skills, and group skills will be encouraged. Students are encouraged to work in small groups to arrive at understanding, meaning, or solutions to problems.
 

Following a few guidelines will help make groups effective learning aids.

• Everyone must contribute -- no sandbaggers or dominators allowed.

• You are responsible for one another -- help each other out. One person may shine in one area and someone else in a different area. Teaching others probably is the best way to learn anything, so teach each other.

• You can criticize an idea, but not the person. Disagreements with specific answers or opinions are fine, but disparaging the person is not.

• The purpose of group work is not to finish first, but to allow everyone to acquire mastery of the concepts.

If you want to be successful in the business world today, you must possess the ability to think critically and to develop well-reasoned solutions. Thus, while many exercises in this class will have a "correct" answer, understanding and learning to use the right process is at lease as important as getting the correct solution. Group interaction will help you hone your skills for identifying problems, alternative solutions or process and correctly applying the process to get the correct solution.

Working in groups can make your learning a more active process, which I think is critical to effective learning.

OBJECTIVES
Course content objectives
Upon successful completion of ACCT 234, you should understand the purpose of managerial accounting and the uses and limitations of accounting information.

Performance objectives
Upon successful completion of ACCT 234, you should possess enhanced analytical, problem solving and communication skills necessary for success in the world of business.

Mission objectives
In its pursuit of AACSB accreditation, the College of Business is engaged in a continuous improvement process. The college’s mission statement states, "The academic programs of the college develop student competencies in: (1) oral communications, (2) effective writing, (3) critical thinking, (4) quantitative reasoning, and (5) effective utilization of information and technology for business decisions." This class will emphasize critical thinking, quantitative reasoning and effective utilization of information and technology for business decisions. These competencies will be emphasized through homework assignments and exams. The numbers following each competency below are based on a 5 point scale, with 5 indicating maximum emphasis. These numbers indicate the degree of emphasis I plan to place on each of the afore mentioned objectives.

• Oral communications: (1) Students are expected to come to full class and individual group chats prepared to discuss the assigned readings, homework exercises, problems or group activities as appropriate, and to demonstrate the foregoing performance skills---acquisition, comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation. There are no formal presentations.

• Effective writing: (2) Students will submit written analyses of some homework assignments.

• Critical thinking: (4) Students are expected to prepare thoughtful responses to homework assignments.

• Quantitative reasoning: (4) Students are expected to learn the processes, calculations, applications and explanations of the various models necessary for effective use of accounting information. Many of the homework assignments are designed specifically to enhance competency in this area. Also, students will be expected to demonstrate quantitative reasoning skills through differentiating between relevant and irrelevant information on quizzes, exams and group activities.

• Effective utilization of information and technology for business decisions: (4) Many of the homework assignments require utilization of information to make decisions.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND GRADING POLICIES
Total points available are:

I will drop your lowest 3 homework assignment scores and your lowest 2 quiz scores. The objective is to allow you to miss these items without significantly affecting your course grade. This policy is intended to account for the likelihood that life events will interfere with your course work at times.

Grading will be based on the following:

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES
Students with disabilities, whether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Disability Support Services as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Please meet with DSS staff to verify your eligibility for any classroom accommodations and for academic assistance related to your disability. Disability Support Services is located in the Academic Support Center.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call DSS at 657-2283.

EXTRA CREDIT ACTIVITY
You will be given the option of doing three extra credit activities during the semester. They will be worth 10 points each. Points you earn on these activities will be added to your total points, but will not increase the total points available for the course, thus, even if you only earn 1 point on the extra credit items, it will help you. Extra credit work will never count negatively in determining your final course grade. I encourage everyone to take advantage of all the extra credit opportunities. See the course schedule for the due dates for the extra credit problems.

HOMEWORK POLICY:
Homework must be turned in via the dropboxes by 11:00 pm on the date indicated in the homework schedule. You can earn up to 5 points for each of the homework assignments. Points will be assigned based upon whether the problem is complete and whether a reasonable attempt was made to complete the problem correctly. In addition, failure to submit more than three day’s worth of homework assignments may result in the lowering of your grade by one grade level. Late assignments count as 1/2 assignment not submitted.

Odd things happen in cyberspace—emails get lost, servers disconnect temporarily, and logins sometimes are impossible. Do not wait until the last minute to do your work. Allow time to meet deadlines. Be sure to reply and check for replies on emails sent and received, as appropriate. You are responsible for getting the work to me on time.

I will check my email and voicemail Monday through Friday and most weekends. I can often respond within a few hours, and I will endeavor always to respond within 24-48 hours.

QUIZZES:
Quizzes will be available for two days beginning on the first day indicated on the course syllabus. Time allowed for quizzes ranges from about 20 to 50 minutes. This usually is much more time than you should need, and much more time than you will have on the exams. I decided to try this approach at students’ request. The idea is that the quizzes are not primarily an evaluation tool but rather a learning tool. (You should guard against getting into the habit of looking up everything, because you definitely will not have time on the exams to look up very much. On the exams you will need to know the material well enough to work steadily through the questions, referring to the text only sparingly.) Once you have accessed the quiz, you must complete it, as you may only take it one time. No make-ups will be given for missed quizzes, however I will drop the lowest 2 quiz scores. Also, be careful not to get ‘timed out" by the Internet. (See explanation below in the EXAMS section.) Finally, if you have not completed the quiz when the allotted time has expired, the quiz will terminate automatically and your answers will be submitted automatically.

EXAMS:
Exams must be taken on the days listed on the course syllabus. Be careful not to get "timed out" by the Internet while taking an exam. This can happen after 30 to 45 minutes. This happens because various areas on the Internet check for activity and disconnect users who do not have activity for a long period of time. Working on an exam within eCollege does not show up as "activity", but saving your answers does. Thus, be sure to save your answers every 25-30 minutes or so.

Remember, once you have accessed the exam, you must finish it, as you may only take it one time. You will have different amounts of time to complete each exam. I will let you know the available time shortly before each exam. When you complete the exam, you must submit your answers. If you have not completed the exam when the allotted time has expired, the exam will terminate automatically and your answers will be submitted automatically.

INCOMPLETES:
Incompletes will be given only for situations and circumstances that meet the definition of incompletes in the General Bulletin. A student must have been in attendance for at least three-fourths of the semester and have experienced an unforeseen circumstance that prevents him/her from completing the class.

HONOR SYSTEM:
All students enrolled in ACCT 234 are under the honor system. No form of cheating or plagiarism will be tolerated. Offenders will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures set forth in the college handbook.

GENERAL COMMENTS:
ACCT 234 requires quantitative skills including some Algebra. If it has been some time since you have been exposed to these skills, expect to spend additional time in that area. ACCT 234 may prove to be more challenging than ACCT 233. Your average homework assignment should require 2-3 hours to complete. Be sure to budget your time accordingly.

There is no substitute for HARD WORK or a DESIRE TO LEARN in studying accounting, but most of us could use our study time and our classroom periods more efficiently. There are some techniques that may enable you to show your ability on exams and receive better grades. See if you can use these suggestions to get maximum results for your study efforts.

• Studying accounting is not like reading fiction or even like studying history, mathematics, or economics;

• Each assignment in many accounting courses builds on previous assignments. If you do half-hearted work in Ch. 1, you may have difficulty in Ch. 2 and be lost in Ch. 3.

• Accounting books are condensed. Almost every sentence is important. Look over the chapter content and then read carefully.

• READ to understand "Why." Do not focus only on memorizing information.

• This is a technical subject, it is logical, and it requires reasoning;

• Strive to be able to say, "I understand why they do that." If you understand "why" in accounting, there is very little to memorize;

• Try to explain each new topic in your own words. Getting the new ideas into your own words is better than being able to quote the book;

• Be critical. Ask your teacher for the reasons behind accounting methods that you do not understand.

• REMEMBER "why" and "how".

• Do not just keep up--consolidate--review as you go; Go back to previous chapters and bring yourself up-to-date. See how this chapter builds on the last one.

• Never wait until examination time to review your accounting. The review-as-you-go plan produces better results. It does not take as long, and saves that last minute worry and sacrifice of other courses that goes with cramming.

• If there is something you do not understand, prepare specific questions to ask your instructor. PIN-POINT THE CONCEPT THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. (Some students keep a notebook of issues/concepts with which they have had difficulty.)

• Do not be in a hurry to put pencil to paper and begin working on a particular assignment. Take time to review what was covered in class and then to consider the requirements of a particular assignment. The majority of your time on the assignments in this class should be spent THINKING and ORGANIZING before writing.

• Scan the text of the problem in 5-10 seconds to get a general idea of the topic. Carefully read and analyze the requirements. Underline and circle key words in the requirements. Know what you are required to do before you read the text of the problem.

• Be neat, orderly and provide an audit trail for your work. Sloppy calculations, messy papers, and general carelessness result in many errors.

• Work your homework problems like they are test problems (push yourself, get everything you can).

• Keep up with your class.

• Check your problem against the solution when it becomes available. This is a critical step in an online accounting course.

• Find your mistakes.

• Be sure you understand the correct solution.

• Note the part of the problem with which you have difficulty and ask questions of your classmates or your instructor.

• You are permitted (even encouraged) to discuss the assignments with others. However, the final preparation of the assignment for submission to me MUST BE DONE BY YOU ALONE! Failure to do so constitutes academic dishonesty.

• Classes are never interesting unless you take part.

• Be prepared before you come on line.

• Be brave. Do not hesitate to ask questions. If you knew everything, you wouldn't need the class.

• Students who make failing grades also fail to keep up with the class material, fail to pay attention during class, fail to have their homework completed, and fail to ask the instructor for help. Stay out of these ruts.

• Be specific in your study; concentrate on the things which seem to be most important.

• Note items that the instructor emphasizes.

• Determine the topics from which most of the problems were assigned.

• Do not stop with just "getting the idea."

• Every exam has an element of speed. Have your "how's" and "why's" right at your fingertips. If you are slow, you probably need to study more.

• Students are not parrots. On a good exam you should be expected to give back something more than was in the textbook. A good exam should test your ability to reason and understand rather than your ability to memorize.

• When taking exams many points may be lost because you do not read the problem correctly or are not neat and orderly (have poor form or fail to write down calculations which leads to errors in addition or process).

• Examinations need not be a source of worry. It is seldom that conscientious effort is not rewarded.

• Don't rob yourself of sleep by cramming. You will lose more through loss of thinking efficiency than you will gain by cramming more details in your mind (details you may not be able to recall anyway because of lost thinking efficiency). If you have kept up, you don't need to do extensive last-minute cramming.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:
All written assignments are expected to be free of grammar and spelling errors. If you have a weakness in the grammar area, I strongly suggest you visit the writing lab and/or have another knowledgeable individual proofread and critique your paper BEFORE turning it in. There are no excuses for misspelled words. If your homework contains grammar errors and/or misspellings, you will lose valuable points.