Download BU 110 Personal Financial Planning SMC First Class Course

BU 110 Personal Financial Planning
SMC First Class Course Syllabus (Tentative)
Thomas F. Van Dzura
One Winooski Park, Box 38
Colchester, VT 05439
JEM 149H
802-654-2314
[email protected]
Weekly Schedule
This proposed online version is designed exclusively for the new SMC First Class program. Set in an
online classroom environment that promotes regular engagement, personal connections, and a strong
sense of Saint Michael’s College community between students (and instructor), the course will span 10
weeks, from February 19th-April 17th, 2017. The precise logistics of the weekly schedule and course
design are still in developmental phase, but shall be established/finalized by November/December 2016.
Course Prerequisites: none
Required Course Materials
Computer This is predominantly an online course. We will be using the eText, LearnSmart, quiz, and
exam features of the McGraw-Hill Connect online system, as well as the College’s Canvas online
classroom platform.
Textbook Access to the required online textbook will be provided by SMC.
Kapoor, J., Dlabay, L., Hughes, R.J., & Hart, M. Focus on Personal Finance (5th ed). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN-13: 978-0077861742.
Calculator You will need a calculator to work “in-class”, assigned, practice, quiz, and exam problems.
Your calculator only needs to have standard algebra functions. If you do not have a calculator, notify me
immediately and SMC will provide you with one. Please note: cell phones may not be used as calculators
for completing exam problems.
Canvas Saint Michael's College uses Canvas as a learning course management tool, and you should
check our BU 110 Canvas site regularly. The syllabus, portal link to the McGraw-Hill online textbook,
project assignments, and non-Connect homework assignments will be posted in Canvas. Also, Canvas
email and notifications/announcements can be used as communication tools. If you need help setting up
Canvas notifications, please contact the SMC Help Desk.
Course Description
For most students, the start of their collegiate career also signifies the beginning of their financial
independence. This transition can certainly be a time of excitement, intense questioning, and often
worry. Students may wonder, for instance, what are my career or employment aspirations? How do I
build a budget? When is it time to start saving for the future? How do I save? Should I rent or own
my first home upon graduation? What kind of car can I afford? What is retirement planning and
should I start it now? What insurance coverages and plans are essential and how to I acquire them?
Affirming this universal life-stage contemplation, a national survey and research conducted by Ohio
State University in 2015 found that 70% of college students were concerned about their personal
finances.
Set in an online/hybrid classroom environment that promotes regular engagement, personal
connections, and a strong sense of Saint Michael’s College community between students (and
instructor), this course serves to help students engage, comprehend, and successfully address the key
questions noted above. This course covers key principles, processes, and techniques related to
managing one’s own personal finances. The goal is for students to make more informed personal
finance decisions and be wiser money managers, and consumers of financial services and products.
Specific topics include personal financial statements and budgets, basics of federal income taxes, time
value of money, financial institutions and services, consumer credit, purchasing strategies, selecting
housing (rent vs buy), insurance (renters, automobile, health, disability), and fundamentals of
retirement planning.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
§
Describe the financial planning process, provide examples of activities associated with each step of
the process, and explain how sound financial decision-making will improve a person’s standard of
living.
§
Interpret personal financial statements and prepare a financial plan (budget) for a given level of
income.
§
Apply time value of money principles to both purchase and investment (retirement) decisions.
§
Describe the various types of retail financial institutions and list the cash management and savings
products and services each provides.
§
Identify the major federal income tax laws that affect all taxpayers.
§
Describe the various types and sources of consumer credit, determine the effective cost of borrowing,
and provide examples of consumer protection laws.
§
Describe the various types of consumer products and the most commonly used purchasing strategies.
§
Compare the financial implications of renting an apartment versus buying a house.
§
Explain the purpose of insurance and describe the primary features of renters, automobile, health, and
disability insurance.
§
Describe the characteristics of investment (retirement) securities (corporate bonds, common stocks,
mutual funds), the rights they convey to investors, and the risks associated with owning them.
§
Explain the purpose of retirement planning, illustrate the relationship between risk and return, and
describe how diversification improves the performance of an investment portfolio.
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Course Implementing Activities
§
Assigned readings present the personal finance principles, processes, and techniques.
§
Class online discussions expand on the personal finance principles and processes presented in the
readings and are designed to enhance students' oral communication skills.
§
Project tasks allow students to apply the personal finance techniques presented in the readings and
class online discussions and are designed to enhance students' written communication skills.
Grading Policy
Course grades will be determined according to the following:
LearnSmart Reading Assignments
Connect Quizzes
Connect Exams
Project(s): individual and/or group
Attendance and Participation
§
§
20%
5%
35%
30%
10%
Individual extra credit assignments will not be given.
Letter grades are determined as follows:
A 93%
A- 90%
B+ 87%
B 83%
B- 80%
C+ 77%
C 73%
C- 70%
D+ 65%
D 60%
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Academic Integrity
Sharing of ideas with others in and out of class is expected. However, original quizzes, exams, and
project tasks are expected. Copying another student's work or from sources such as the web, journal
articles, and books is considered cheating, will result in a score of 0 (zero) for the specific work, and may
result in a course grade of F. The Saint Michael’s College Academic Integrity Policy can be found in the
online undergraduate catalog (Academic Policies and Regulations: Academic Integrity) and the Student
Handbook and Code of Conduct. If you have a question about what constitutes plagiarism or cheating,
you should seek clarification from me.
BU 110 Personal Financial Planning
SMC First Class Course Schedule
The course schedule is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class and/or emailed to you.
Project tasks due dates and times will be posted in Canvas.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
SmartBook Chapter 1. Personal Financial Planning in Action
Chapter 4. Financial Services: Savings Plans and Payment Accounts
Quiz 1
Chapter 1 and Chapter 4
SmartBook Chapter 5. Consumer Credit: Advantages, Disadvantages, Sources, and Costs
Chapter 6. Consumer Purchasing Strategies
Quiz 2
Chapter 5 and Chapter 6
SmartBook Chapter 2. Money Management Skills
Quiz 3
Chapter 2 and Chapter 3
Exam 1
Chapters 1, 2, 4-6
SmartBook Chapter 3. Taxes in Your Financial Plan
Quiz 4
Chapter 3
SmartBook Chapter 7. Selecting and Financing Housing (not buying a house)
Quiz 5
Chapter 7
SmartBook Chapter 8. Home (renter) and Automobile Insurance
Quiz 6
Chapter 8
SmartBook Chapter 9. Health and Disability Income Insurance
Quiz 7
Chapter 9
Exam 2
Chapters 3, 7-9
SmartBook Chapter 11. Investing Basics and Evaluating Bonds
Chapter 14. Starting Early: Retirement Planning
Quiz 8
Chapter 11 and Chapter 14
SmartBook Chapter 12. Investing in Stocks
Quiz 9
Chapter 12
SmartBook Chapter 13. Investing in Mutual Funds
Exam 3
Chapters 11-14
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