• An overview of the basic concepts and principles of financial mathematics, with particular emphasis on risk, rates of return, valuation and financial analysis.

• The opportunity to practice problem solving skills to solve common financial problems. Since this course is required of all MBA students, and not just finance majors, a great deal of material will be covered. Mastering the assigned homework problems is very important in focusing your attention on the important material.  

Grades will be composed of three parts: participation, midterm performance, and final exam performance.

First, participation will be measured by posting questions and responses in the discussion board system for that week's material. Each week begins Thursday at 12:01 a.m. (starting and ends on the following Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.. You must sign into the discussion board system and post new information or replies to others during three different days each week (between Thursday and Wednesday). The grading scale for the discussion board participation is based on participation, measured by postings and replies to other students postings. Each week is treated separately. The participation grading scale is all or nothing meaning that you must post your answer and reply to at least two other persons during that week, signing in on three different days, to get full credit for that week. If your postings do not qualify for a particular week, your participation grade for that week is zero. If your postings qualify for all seven weeks, your participation grade will be 100%. If your postings qualify for no weeks, your participation grade will be 30% (minimal participation).

Second, I will give weekly portions of an extended midterm. Each portion of the midterm consists of questions from the assigned material for that week. We will have seven sections of new material. Each student will have a unique midterm and it will be time-limited. Please don't sign into the testing system on Tuesday or Wednesday until you are ready to take the midterm. You are not allowed to collaborate on the midterm, but it is an open-note, open- book midterm that will take less than 40 minutes per week per section of material.

Third, the final exam will be held on campus, Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in CURY 210 or Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 10:00a.m. in BUSI 230, or at a proctored location to be arranged by you, notifying the professor at least two weeks before the final exam date. The final will last for two hours. The grading scale is the percentage correct of the questions on the final. It is a closed-book, closed-note, comprehensive exam.  

Assignment (1) Post at least one weekly discussion board initial post and at least two replies on the discussion board (via Blackboard Vista), posting a message on at least three separate days during the week

Assignment (2) Take the open-book, open-note extended midterm (via Blackboard Vista to the McGraw-Hill homework/quiz web site) each Tuesday through Wednesday.

Assignment (3) Take the closed-book, closed-note final exam (on campus or other proctored location). 

Each week, you will need to participate in the discussion for that week on three separate days, beginning Thursdays and ending Wednesdays. Each week, you will need to post at least once and reply to other messages at least twice. Each week, you will have a short quiz on Tuesday through Wednesday (end of the week). This is delivered from the McGraw-Hill web site (publisher of the textbook).

The closed-book, closed-note final exam will be held on the Denton campus on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in CURY 210 or on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 10 a.m. in BUSI 230. You may schedule alternative proctored locations for the final exam two weeks in advance (let me know the details on or before October 2, 2010.