"Finance Online Course: Introductory Section" from Harvard Business School Publishing
Purchasing Instructions
Message from Dr. Faulkender for BUSI640
BUSI 640 is an introductory course in corporate financial management. The course outlines the financial concepts and techniques used to evaluate corporate decisions. The topics include the time value of money, valuation of common securities, and discounted cash flow. The objectives are to introduce the language and structure of finance and to develop the ability to analyze financial decisions.
In my experience, finance is one of those topics that most people master through repetition. We have a limited amount of time together during the semester and the course covers a significant amount of material. While I do not expect you to have previously taken a finance course, the more that you have been exposed to finance prior to the course, the more you will get out of it. To better facilitate a basic awareness of finance before the course begins, I am asking you to complete the online pre-skills course from Harvard Business School Publishing entitled “Finance Online Course: Introductory Section”. It is product number 6000-HTM-ENG (There is a second course available that has greater coverage but students are only required to complete the Introductory Section).
Finally, I would also recommend that you make reading the financial press part of your daily routine. This could include the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, or watching networks such as CNBC or Bloomberg. If you are familiar with the financial issues reported upon in the press, it will enhance your understanding of the materials we examine in this course and the curriculum in general.
For more information: BUSI640 Letter from Dr. Faulkender Regarding Pre-Skills
Grading
10% of grade in BUSI640 will come from whether or not students have obtained a score of at least 65% on Final Exam 1 by the first class meeting.
Note: The website considers 75% to be passing; you are only required to obtain a score of 65%. DO NOT take Post-Test 2 without specific instructions to do so.
Due Date
First Class Meeting for BUSI640
Time Requirement
Estimated to take 8 to 10 hours, depending on experience.
Students are urged to register and begin studying the course material as soon as possible. Past experience indicates that many students significantly underestimate the time and effort needed to complete these courses. If they have never been exposed to finance before, the course could take as long as 20 to 30 hours.
Pretest
If students have significant experience with the course material, it may be possible to successfully take the Final Exam without going through the various lessons in detail. Since students have only once chance to take the Final Exam, you should test your mastery by first taking the Pretest. Take the Pretest only is you have signifcant prior experience with the course material. If you score 75% or more on the pretest, you can consider taking the Final Exam without going through the various lessons in detail.
Academic Integrity
Students take the online course under the University of Maryland’s Code of Academic Integrity. Any violation of this code, such as receiving help from another individual in taking a Test, will result in an automatic “XF” on the transcript with the notation “failure due to academic dishonesty”.
Purchasing Instructions: HBSP’s "Finance Online Course: Introductory Section"
HBSP Product Number: 6000-HTM-ENG
Login Information:
- Turn off all pop-up blockers
- Click the link for the cohort's course section
- BALTIMORE (BA01): https://hbsp.harvard.edu/
import/893265
- Click "Register Now" if applicable, or “Login Now” with an existing account
- Under Coursepack View, click "Purchase Coursepack"
- Prompted for payment information and click "Next"
Payment: Individually by student directly to HBSP. Students receive the Smith discounted price of $35.00.
Technical Requirements:
HBS courses are internet-based and cannot be accessed off-line. Different computers to access the course may be used as long as each computer satisfies the following requirements:
- Computer with minimum 1024x768 screen resolution
- High speed internet connection (DSL / cable modem quality)
- Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 / Macintosh OS 10.x
- Firefox 3.6+ / Safari 4+ / Chrome web browsers with JavaScript and cookies enabled. (Note: Internet Explorer is not recommended for students using Online Courses or Tutorials. Please use one of the other supported browsers instead.)
- Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007, or 2013 is required for the Spreadsheet Modeling Online Course.
Students can confirm technical requirements for the Finance Online course at http://forio.com/hbp-support/#
Technical Difficulty? Please contact the Harvard Business School Publishing Technical Support Group:
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
U.S./Canada: (800) 810-8858
International: +1 617-783-7600
Email: techhelp@hbsp.harvard.edu
HBSP tech support business hours are: Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm ET.