FI3300 First Day Memo to iCollege Students - Fall 2022

MEMORANDUM To: Students enrolled in FI 3300 iCollege Course From: Dr. Richard J. Fendler ( [email protected] ) Re: Course Overview and Assignments for First Week of Class PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CAREFULLY READ THIS ENIRE MEMO. I RECEIVE QUESTIONS EVERY SEMESTER THAT ARE CLEARLY EXPLAINED IN THIS MEMO. MANY OF THE MISTAKES THAT ARE MADE EVERY SEMESTER COULD BE EASILY AVOIDED VIA A CAREFUL READING OF THIS MEMO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE. According to the GSU Registrar, you are registered for my section of FI 3300 for the fall 2022 semester. Please be aware that this specific section of FI 3300 in an ONLINE course and ALL aspects of this course are taught online via iCollege. Contrary to the course bulletin and/or any other information that may have been previously distributed, there will NOT be a first day "live" meeting for this class. This letter essentially serves as a substitute for that meeting. It will provide you with a basic overview of the course and help you to get started. Overview: As noted in the fall 2022 course bulletin listing, this is a iCollege based online course. All aspects of the class (including all exams) will be conducted online. This may be your first "true" online course. If so, you have nothing to fear - iCollege is very user friendly, I am well experienced in teaching online courses, the textbook for FI 3300 is easy to read and follow, and the online version of this class has received excellent reviews from prior students. In fact, in many ways you may even find this to be a better method of learning than a traditional course. The course revolves around an iCollege homepage. The FI 3300 iCollege homepage contains a detailed daily calendar of events that includes suggested problem assignments, quiz and exam dates, video lecture posting dates, chat session times and dates, and so on. As the semester progresses, I will post weekly announcements, course files and solution keys on the class iCollege page.

⚫ Page 2 As for course structure, there will be 16 (nearly one per week) quizzes in the course, 3 online exams (see course calendar for a description of these exams and how they will be "conducted" ), four take-home problem sets, and an online final exam. How to Succeed in This Course: An online course is essentially a guided self-learning program. To learn the material so that you can achieve a good grade in this class, you MUST read the ENTIRE textbook and you MUST work ALL problems in the text as well as at the end of every chapter. Since this class is not a traditional lecture course, you cannot ' breeze ' through the course by listening to lectures. Video Lectures and THPS Q&A chat sessions are to assist and guide in the learning process; they are not where you go to learn. The textbook for FI 3300 for the fall 2022 semester is: Lectures in Corporate Finance (6th edition) Authors: Jayant Kale and Richard Fendler Publisher: Kendall Hunt ISBN: 978-1-4652-0147-8 See the course syllabus for information on how to obtain a copy of the book. • NOTE: I posted the first 2 chapters of the book on iCollege in the "Lectures in Corporate Finance (Chapters 1 and 2)" content module (these are the only chapters that the publish er will allow me to post). Online Learning Online education is an excellent way for diligent, focused, hardworking, and self-disciplined individuals to learn and complete degree requirements. Over the past 18 years I have taught over 4900 students in an online environment at using six different learning management systems. I actively conduct and publish academic research about effective online education, and I attend multiple teaching and learning workshops and seminars every year. My experience and research have shown me that, although online education is a convenient and flexible way to earn an education, it is not easy. Online learning requires hard work from all involved - both the student and the instructor. It is best to think of an online course as a highly organized, expertly guided, self-learning program. To learn the material and to achieve a good grade in this class, you MUST read all assigned materials, carefully view video lectures, attend (or view recordings of) any supplemental online chat/class sessions, and you MUST complete all assignments by (preferably, before) the due date. Since this class is not a traditional lecture course, you cannot 'breeze' through the course by listening to lectures. I am here to assist and guide you in the learning process; however, you cannot rely on me alone to learn and succeed. I share my thoughts about online learning with you because I believe it is very important that you understand the commitment necessary to succeed in a class like this before you start.

⚫ Page 3 Concerning Taking This Class in a Condensed FallSemester As a condensed fallsemester class, you will be doing 2 weeks of regular classwork every week (this is NOT a "watered down" version of the class). Your learning in this class will come from your careful reading of assigned textbook chapters, working all in-chapter and end-of-chapter problems in the text, completing all assignments, and your diligent viewing of provided videos. There is NO WAY to pass this class unless you devote the time necessary to learning and understanding all provided course materials. Getting Started It has been my experience that the most important aspect of an online course is to make certain that everyone understands how to use the technology before the course actually begins. Accordingly, during the first week of the class we will set up and work out the bugs in the system. The following is a step-by-step list of what I need for you to do: 1. AFTER 12:01 am Monday, August 22 , verify that the class is in your iCollege Course List. When you log onto iCollege , you should see a link to " CORPORATION FINANCE XLS Group BBA1. " a. If this course does not appear in your iCollege listing, send me an e-mail message noting so - in the Subject area write the words " FI 3300 Student - iCollege Log-in Problems ." Include your iCollege login ID in the body of the email (usually the first letter of your first name, your last name and a number - also the part before the @ symbol in your GSU email address). 2. AFTER 12:01 am Monday, August 22 , watch the " How This Class Works " VIDEO LECTURE (located in the VIDEO LECTURES content module on iCollege). Viewing this video is a VERY IMPORTANT PART of starting on the right foot in this class. 3. AFTER 12:01 am Monday, August 22 , view the PowerPoint slideshow posted on the iCollege class homepage entitled: "FI 3300 Online - FAQ PowerPoint Slideshow (Fall 2022 )." This slideshow provides an overview of the online course and it answers questions about the course that I received every semester. It REPLACES online class meetings for the first week of the semester. • I STRONGLY suggest that you view the VIDEO LECTURE and this PPT as soon as possible to determine whether taking this class in an online format is best for you. As noted in the PPT, online classes are extremely flexible and convenient, but they are not for everyone. Online learning requires you to be disciplined and diligent. You will learn most of the material for this class on your own by reading the textbook (the entire book) and doing many, many problems throughout the course. 4. I need to communicate with you via e-mail throughout the semester. I will usually use the iCollege announcement and bulletin board functions, but occasionally I will need to contact you via your GSU email address. In this event, I will send all messages via my