THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Marshall School of Business BUAD 306 Business Finance Fall 2007 Office Hours H 9 30am 12 30 Class 8 9 50am MW JKP 110 Mick Swartz Office ACC 301b Phone 213 740 6527 e mail mick swartz marshall usc edu web http www rcf usc edu lswartz Introduction This course is designed to provide an introductory framework for understanding the choices made in financial markets by investors and corporations Lectures will provide an overview of important concepts in finance practical applications and the skills required to solve quantitative problems in finance By the end of the course you should be familiar with the vocabulary theory and computational skill set used by finance professionals The required materials for the course are i Ross Westerfield and Jordan Fundamentals of Corporate Finance 8th Alternate edition ii Ready notes for use with Fundamentals of Corporate Finance 7th edition These should be packaged together and available in the USC bookstore Blackboard The primary means of communication for BUAD 306 will be the Blackboard system https totale usc edu All grades will be distributed through that system and you are responsible for registering your email address with Blackboard so that you can receive your grades and other course announcements Grading Your letter grade in this class will be based on 3 homework assignments 2 midterm exams a final exam and class attendance participation grade Each section that I teach will be curved individually The percentage that each component contributes to your final grade is Homework assignments 5 2 midterm exams 60 30 each Final exam 30 Class attendance participation 5 The 5 homework credit will be based on 3 homeworks You must do your homework in your own handwriting no printed copies will be accepted no exceptions Homework assignments will be listed on blackboard and your homework must be turned in on the due date There are short quizzes posted in Blackboard for each chapter Each quiz consists of 10 multiple choice questions which will help you test your familiarity with the chapter material and help you prepare for the exams which are all multiple choice These quizzes will not be graded and are for your educational purposes only All exams are completely closed book no exceptions You must take all exams with the section in which you are registered and at the time and on the day indicated on the class schedule You will be provided with a formula sheet that contains any relevant equations and potentially some irrelevant ones and expected to know how to use the appropriate formulae All exams will be multiple choice and graded using scantron sheets You must bring your own scantron sheets to the exams You will need 3 scantron sheets for this class 2 midterms and a final The correct scantron sheet is F 288 PAR L No partial credit will be awarded on any multiple choice questions It is your responsibility to properly erase answers you have previously selected if you change your mind about an answer during the exam Scantrons that are mis graded because of poor erasure will not be re graded The original Scantron sheets will not be returned to you but a sheet of paper detailing your answers and the correct answers will be handed out in class following each midterm exam Any re grade requests must be forwarded in writing to me within one week of the distribution of the correct answers You must be present for the midterm exams on September 28th and November 2nd and for the final exam during the normal end of semester exam period no make up exams If you are unable to take the exams during these times then you should not take the course You must own a financial calculator to complete this class and must bring it to classes and exams I will provide instruction on the common use of financial calculators as the class progresses I will be using the TI BAII Plus for all in class demonstrations of the use of a financial calculators but other models HP models and models by other brands work in a similar way 2 Academic Dishonesty The use of unauthorized material communication with fellow students during an examination attempting to benefit from the work of another student and similar behavior that defeats the intent of an examination or other class work is unacceptable to the University It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and inadvertent behavior resulting from the nervous tensions accompanying examinations Where a clear violation has occurred however I may disqualify the student s work as unacceptable and assign a zero grade on the assessment Students caught cheating will most likely fail the class Sunglasses and hats may not be worn during exams except for verifiable medical reasons and you may not leave the classroom to use the bathroom during exams Help I am available to answer your questions and concerns by e mail phone and during the office hours indicated below My office hours will be held in ACC 301b My office hours areThursdays 9 30am 12 30pm I will add additional office hours in the weeks of midterm and final exams Office hours and locations will be announced and potentially changed check Blackboard as the semester progresses Outside of office hours my preferred method of communication is via email or phone My email address is mick swartz marshall usc edu The Blackboard system has a discussion board which you may find to be a useful forum for asking questions related to this class In the past this has been the most useful tool for students to ask questions and get answers from me especially because other students with the same question can also see the answer I will at least initially allow anonymous postings to this board to foster the appropriate environment for students to feel comfortable asking questions However the anonymous posting feature of the board has been used in the past as a means of attacking teaching staff in a personal and insulting manner This abuse will not be tolerated and if I see evidence of that happening in this class I will turn the anonymous posting feature off and track the anonymous abuser s by IP address and initiate sanctions 3 Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs DSP each semester A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP Please ensure that the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible and at least two