To: Incoming MBA Students, Baltimore Evening Program
From: Dr. Shreevardhan Lele, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs (MBA Programs)
Re: Pre-Skills Courses
Date: June 10, 2016
Welcome to the Robert H. Smith School of Business MBA Program. You are taking the first steps in what will be a life-changing adventure.
The adventure comes with a challenge though. The first year of the program can be difficult, especially if your quantitative skills have become rusty.
To help you ease the transition back to school, the Smith School faculty have selected three online “pre-skills” courses from Harvard Business School Publishing: Financial Accounting, Spreadsheet Modeling and Finance. The material covered in these online pre-skills courses is used in three Smith School core courses in the first year: BUSI 610 Financial Accounting in the Fall B term, BUSI630 Data, Models and Decisions in the Winter/Spring and BUSI 640 Financial Management in the Spring. Your performance in each pre-skills course will contribute in part to your grade in the corresponding Smith School core course.
The pre-skills courses share a common objective, which is to equip you with basic quantitative concepts, so that the subsequent Smith School courses can be conducted at a “higher level” (focusing on managerial implications instead of getting stuck in the quantitative details). Some of the topics covered in the pre-skills courses will be re-visited in the Smith School courses; your prior familiarity with these topics will be crucial in eventually developing mastery in these areas.
Below you will find registration instructions for the Financial Accounting online pre-skills course. Please note that this online course must be completed (as explained in the accompanying letter from the BUSI 610 Faculty Coordinator) by your first day of BUSI 610 Financial Accounting.
Instructions for the Spreadsheet Modeling and Finance online course will be provided in the Fall in preparation for the Winter/Spring 2017 semester.
I hope you have a wonderful summer. I look forward to meeting you at Orientation in August.
**Please review the Letter from the BUSI 610 Faculty Coordinator Regarding Pre-Skills which indicates how the pre-skills will be used in class, the grading method, and the estimated time to complete the course.**
Required Course: BUSI 610: Financial Accounting - Intro section (#6002) $45.00
Course descriptions at: http://hbsp.harvard.edu/list/online-courses
Login Information
- Turn off all pop-up blockers
- Click on the following link for your cohort's discounted course
- Select “Register Now” under Authorized Student Access Required
- Fill out the required information, and select “Register”
- Login using your newly created credentials
- Under Coursepack View, click on “Purchase Materials”
- Select “Next” when you see the coursepack in your cart, and you will be prompted for payment information
Payment: Individually by student directly to HBSP. You are receiving the above prices at a discounted rate.
Technical Specifications
The following link is designed to check whether your current browser settings and plugins meet minimum requirements to run the Online Courses: http://forio.com/hbp-support/#check/courses/faoc(link is external)
HBS courses are internet-based and cannot be accessed off-line; different computers can be used to for access, as long as each computer satisfies the following requirements:
- Device -- Computer with minimum 1024x768 screen resolution. Some Online Courses can also be accessed via iPads.
- Internet -- High speed internet connection (DSL / cable modem quality)
- Operating System -- Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 / Mac OS 10.x
- Web Browser -- Firefox 3.6+ / Safari 4+ / Chrome web browsers with JavaScript and cookies enabled; Internet Explorer is not recommended for students using Online Courses or Tutorials--please use one of the other supported browsers instead.
Technical Support
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Phone: (800) 810-8858 (+1 617-783-7700 outside U.S. and Canada)
Fax: (+1)(617) 783-7666
E-mail: techhelp@hbsp.harvard.edu