COURS E INFORMATION

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course Title: Managerial Finance

Name: Susanna Spaulding

Course Code: MAN-225-DS 11

Office Location: Timberline Campus in Leadville,

New Discovery Academic Building, Room 232

Synonym Number: 84221

Credits: 3
Semester: Fall 2014
Prerequisite: College-level Reading
Format: Web

Office Hours: Tuesday, 10:00 am - Noon and

Wednesday, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm or By
Appointment
Mailing Address: Colorado Mountain College, 901
South Highway 24, Leadville CO 80461

Class Location: Online through Canvas

Phones: 719-486-4209 (Office); 719-539-5574

(Cell)

Start Date: 8/25/ 14

Fax: 719-486-3212 (Timberline Campus)

No-S how Date: 9/3/14

Email: sspaulding@coloradomtn. edu

Note: Students on financial aid who fail to complet e

introductory assignment(s) described on page 2 by
September 3, 2014 will be reported as a no-show
and, as a res ult, will be dropped from this course.
The resultant loss in credit hours may cause a
reduction and/or cancellation of your financial aid
award. After being dropped, neither financial aid
awards nor class reinstatement can occur wit hout
significant documented extenuating circumstances.
If you have questions or concerns about this policy,
contact the financial aid specialist on your campus:
www.coloradomtn.edu/web/departments/financial_
aid

Response Time: The best methods to contact me

are (a) Canvas messaging through the Inbox or (b)
CMC email. I will respond to your electronic
inquiries within 24 hours.

Meeting Times and Days: Asynchronous

Faculty Website: You may use this link to learn

more about my background, interests, and teaching
experience: P rofessor-Entrepreneurship

Refund Date: 9/10/14

Cens us Date: 9/15/ 14 This class could be
cancelled one week prior to the census date if a
sufficient number of students are not enrolled by
this date.
Withdraw Date: 11/16/14
End Dat e: 12/12/ 14
COURS E ACCESS
Canvas by Instructure is the online learning management system (LMS) used by Colorado Mountain
College. You access Canvas via your web browser such as Mozilla/Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google
Chrome, or Opera. Students, faculty, and staff members use the CMC Canvas site to access course
announcements, documents, research links and library resources, to receive and deliver complet ed
assignments, to take tests, and to communicate with each other via email, discussion boards and chat.
For instructions on How to Access your Canvas Account, Canvas How To, and who to contact for all your
Canvas questions and support needs, please visit: www.coloradomtn.edu/web/departments/faq -forstudents.

The instructor may alter any, or all, of this syllabus during the semester as the learning environment requires.
Students will be notified of changes in the Canvas course shell.

There are two websites with video instructions on how to use Canvas. The first is CMCs student
orientation page at www.mycmcsuccess.com/. Clicking on the Online Learning section will take you to
an overview of Online Learning and an introduction to Canvas. There is also an informative Canvas
Student Orientation at https://training.instructure.com/courses/347469/. Viewing all the videos on the
Canvas site will take approximately 35 minutes.
COURS E ORIENTATION
Each student in this course will receive a welcome letter from the instructor via email to the email
addresses the student provides on the course registration form. The message explains the online format
of this course, which is taught entirely over the Int ernet using Canvas in place of a traditional classroom
environment. The cours e material that supplements the textbook can be read from your computer screen
or can be printed out and read later. (When you go to page 3 of this syllabus, you will find information you
need to obtain the textbook materials for this course.)
If you have taken online courses before, you know that the instructional format is just as rigorous as any
on-campus course, sometimes more so because this method places more responsibility for learning on
you, the student. Although you are not in a physical classroom every week, you do have access to these
essential learning elements via your computer. Therefore, you should refer regularly to the Canvas site
where this syllabus and the schedule of learning activities are posted. Here you will find the desc ription
and due dates of all assignments. In addition, you can expect the instructor to provide timely ans wers to
your questions and frequent feedback on your work.
You may also contact the CMC campus near you to talk with an academic counselor or regist ration
technician about taking a course in the Web format. If you have additional concerns, you may contact the
instructor via email or office telephone.
INTRODUCTORY ASSIGNMENTS
During the first week, you will introduce yourself in Canvas using the first discussion thread and you will
submit the first assignment (Chapter One Exercises) through Canvas in Assignments. You will find a copy
of Chapter One in Modules. (For the remaining assignments, you must purchas e or rent the textbook or
purchase eChapters 2 through 7 and 12.) In Assignments, you will find the template in a Word format that
you should use to complete the assignment. I will provide individual feedback within five days and allow
you to redo this work for more points, if you request this option.
COURS E DES CRIPTION
Examines the concepts and techniques used to analyze financial accounting information for managerial
planning, decision-making and cont rol. The focus of the course is on decision-making relating to the
areas of budgets, forecasts, cost volume production, ROI, and financial statements.
STUDENT LEARNING OUT COMES, COMPETENCIES & SKILLS
A. Understand the conc epts of financial analysis and forecasting as it relates to management decisionmaking.
B. Read and explain financial statements.
C. Use financial statements for planning and monitoring financial decisions.
D. Understand the conc epts of short-term and long-term financial planning.
E. Construct various types of budgets.
F. Explain risk and return.
G. Calculat e ROI
H. Understand the time value of money and its relationship to interest.
I. Understand the workings of the financial markets and how business interacts with the mark ets.
Please see http://coloradomtn. edu/ departments/assessment/signature_outcomes/ for CMCs Signature
Learning Outcomes.

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INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATI ONAL ASS ESSMENT (IDEA) OBJECTIVES

Below are the four (4) Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) objectives I have
chosen for this course:
A. Essential: Gaining factual knowledge; such as terminology, classifications, methods, trends (#21 on
IDEA Student Survey Form)
B. Essential: Learning fundam ental principles, generalizations, and theories (#22 on IDEA Student
Survey Form)
C. Important: Learning to apply course material to improve thinking, problems solving, and decisions
(#23 on IDEA Student Survey Form)
D. Important: Developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in
the field most closely related to this course (#24 on IDEA Student Survey Form)
Note: After mid-semester, CMC will ask you to complete an IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction. This
rating system judges the effectiveness of my instruction based your assessment of how you progressed
on these objectives.
REQUIRED COURS E MATERI ALS
Textbook:
th

Entrepreneurial Finance (2012, 4 ed.) by J. Chris Leach and Ronald W. Melicher, South-Western
Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-538-47815-1.
Note: During the semester, we will cover the cont ent in Chapters 1-7 and Chapter 12 of the textbook .
Since Chapter 1 is available through the Canvas online learning site for this course, you will need to
obtain Chapters 2 through 7 and Chapter 12. See information about how to order individual chapters in a
section below titled Ordering the Textbook.
The textbook authors are professors at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado a nd
are active in the internationally recognized CUs Deming Center for Ent repreneurship. The purpose of
their textbook is to adapt traditional financial analysis to the realm of entrepreneurship.
As stated in the preface of Entrepreneurial Finance, a successful ent repreneur must manage ... financial
resources, communicate effectively with investors and partners, and create the harvest value expected by
investors (p. x vii).
This textbook offers guidance on how and where to find financing to develop and launch the venture. In
addition, it provides knowledge and tools for the entrepreneur to use when interacting with financial
institutions, venture capitalists, and regulatory agencies.
Ordering Book s:
In this course, we will concentrate on the first half of the textbook (that is, chapters 1 through 7 with the
addition of Chapter 12) using the chapter exercises and mini-cas es as focal points for integrating the
entrepreneurial financing perspective. Chapter 1 is available on the Canvas website and you may
purchase these Chapters 2-6 as eChapters through the publishers website at Cengage.
Now you can purchase chapters 2 through 6 as eChapters through the online shopping cart. You can also
rent the full textbook if you prefer but remember that the semester lasts four months. In this course, we
will also use Internet activities to complement the textbook and develop our interactive discussions on
Canvas. In addition, we will use Excel spreadsheet applications to solve certain end -of-chapter problems
related to financial analysis. You will find the required Excel spreads heets in Assignments on Canvas.
If you choose to purchase the complete textbook, Colorado Mountain College has partner ed wit h Follett
Virtual Bookstores to operate textbook services. You will find the official textbook list at
Page 3 of 9

www.coloradomtn.bkstr.com. Students wishing to use their Financial Aid to purchase their textbooks from
the CMC Online Bookstore (Follett) may be set up wit h a CMC Flex Pay account. Contact your local CMC
Accounts Manager for instructions and your specific username and password information. If you are not
close to a CMC site, contact CMC Online Learning at 970-947-8341 or virtual@coloradomtn. edu.
Students can sell back books anytime online or in -person at Follett's CMC buyback events. Join the
online stores email list at www.coloradomtn.bkstr.com/email for more information on future buyback
dates/times and to receive other important messages from Follett.
If you have online bookstore questions, email coloradomtn@fvb. follett.com or call 800-621-4088.
Computer Access:
Online courses require frequent computer use and access to the Int ernet. It is highly recommended that
students have a personal computer for use in online courses. If you need to use a computer at your local
Colorado Mountain College location, you will be able to do so during open lab hours. Please check with
your local site for times. However, labs will not be available for Collaborate web conferencing sessions, if
included as part of your course, due to the verbal interaction involved.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION & EVALUATION
Course Design:
This course provides an introduction to the principles of managerial finance and foc uses on the
application of these principles in an entrepreneurial environment. The ability to collect, analyze, and
present financial information is critical to the success of an entrepreneur. The areas of study incl ude
financial analysis and forec asting, operating and financial leverage, working capital and financing
decisions, current asset management, sources of financing and financial markets, risk and return, time
value of money, cost of capital, and financing decisions.
The course illustrates the interconnectedness of economics, organizational behavior, and accounting
theory and practice. Since this is an overview course, we will cover the first seven chapters of the
textbook. In completing the assignments (exercises, problems, and mini case write -ups) and online
discussions, you will demonstrate a proficiency in applying basic managerial finance concepts in real
world contexts. Knowledge of basic accounting principles and sk ills in Excel spreadsheet applications will
be useful.
During the fifteen week semester, we will spend two weeks on each of the first seven chapters of the
assigned textbook (See textbook information on page 3.) and one week on Chapter 12. Each week, you
will prepare (a) end-of-chapters problems or a mini case and (b) a constructive posting to the discussion
board. You may spend the last week completing the capstone project. You will find detailed descriptions
of each graded activity on Canvas, CMCs online learning management sys tem.
Perform ance Task s:
You should read the assigned chapter before completing the related assignment and posting to the
discussion board. You will use formatted templates (Word or Excel) for the problems and mini cases.
For this 15-week course, you will prepare three types of learning activities:
1.

Produce short and concise assessments, critiques, and summaries of entrepreneurial finance
principles, concepts, and theories
Performance Task : Read from the textbook assigned chapter and prepare selected end-of-chapter
exercises and problems.

2.

Produce written formaliz ed doc uments showing how managerial/ entrepreneurial concepts and
principles are applied to decision-making in a work environment.

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Performance Task : Analyze mini cases at the end of each assigned chapter and prepare written
report.
3.

Participate in, and contribute to, online discussions and activities.

Performance Task : Participate constructively in weekly Canvas discussions.

4.

Prepare a report that presents simple factual information, clarifies complex information and data, and
analyzes/synthesizes key facts and recommendations.
Performance Task : Prepare a capstone project.
Note: This capstone project encourages you to conduct primary research by going in the field and
interview a person knowledgeable about the methods real life ent repreneurs use to finance the
startup and growth of their new ventures. For the interview, you may choose a person familiar with
government and private sources of new venture funding in your geographic area. The person might
be a loan officer of a local bank, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a counselor from the Colorado
Small Business Development Center (SB DC) Network, or a business lender from the local Council of
Governments (COG). You may also choose to interview an entrepreneur who has acquired startup
funds for formal (venture capital or commercial lending) or informal sources (bootstrapping). In a
separate doc ument on Canvas, you will find the guidelines for conducting the interview and writing up
your interview notes and research as a business report.
The point values for these graded activities are shown in the following table.

Performance Tasks
7 Sets of Chapter Problems: Maximum of 30 points each for assignment
posted every other week by due date to Canvas Assignments
7 Mini Case Write-ups: Maximum of 30 points each for assignment posted
every other week to Canvas Assignments
14 Postings to Online Discussion and Responses to Colleagues Postings: 15
points for eac h weekly posting on Canvas Discussion
Capstone Project

Points
210
210
210
70

Total Points for Course

700

Note: Please post your assignments and discussions by the due date on Canvas. I will provide
constructive feedback within 48 hours for assignments that you post by Sunday midnight at the end of
the week that the topic is covered. Let me know if you need additional time to complete your work.
Grading Scale:
Points

Percent

Letter Grade

651-700

93-100%

630-650

90-92%

A-

609-629

87-89%

B+

581-608

83-86%

560-580

80-82%

B-

539-559

77-79%

C+

511-538

73-76%

490-510

70-72%

C-

469-489

67-69%

D+

441-468

63-66%

420-440

60-62%

D-

Less than 420

Less than 60%

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Course Schedule:
The learning schedule below reflects the topics that we will cover each week. You should read the
assigned chapters in textbook before completing the relevant written assignment and before posting to
the discussion thread on canvas. The flow of topics in the 15 weeks of the semester is shown below:
Wk

Week of

Aug 25

Sep 1

Sep 8

Sep 15

Sep 22

Sep 29

Oct 6

Oct 13

Oct 20

10

Oct 27

11

Nov 3

12

Nov 10

13

Nov 17
Nov 24

14

15

Dec 1

Dec 8

Topic
Part 1: Background and Environment
Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview
Assignment 1: Chapter 1 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 1 (continued): Introduction and Overview
Assignment 2: Chapter 1 Mini Case - Interact Systems,
Inc.
Chapter 2: From the Idea to the Business Plan
Assignment 3: Chapter 2 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 2 (continued): From the Idea to the Business Plan
Assignment 4: Chapter 2 Mini Case - LearnRite.com
Corp.
Part 2: Organizing and Operating the Venture
Chapter 3: Organizing and Financing a New Venture
Assignment 5: Chapter 3 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 3 (contd.): Organizing and Financing a New
Venture
Assignment 6: Chapter 3 Mini Case - Interact Systems,
Inc.
Chapter 4: Measuring Financial Performance
Assignment 7: Chapter 4 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 4 (continues): Measuring Financial Performance
Assignment 8: Chapter 4 Mini Case - Jen and Larrys
Chapter 5: Evaluating Financial Performance
Assignment 9: Chapter 5 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 5( continued): Evaluating Financial Performance
Assignment 10: Chapter 5 Mini Case - Scandi Home
Part 3: Planning for the Future
Chapter 6: Financial Planning
Assignment 11: Chapter 6 Exercises/Problems
Chapter 6 (continued): Financial Planning
Assignment 12: Chapter 6 Mini Case - Pharma Biotech
Chapter 7: Types and Costs of Financial Capital
Assignment 13: Chapter 7 Exercises/Problems
Thanksgiving Break

Assignment/Discussion Due

Wednesday, September 3
Sunday, September 7
Sunday, September 14
Sunday, September 21

Sunday, September 28
Sunday, October 5

Sunday, October 12
Sunday, October 19
Sunday, October 26
Sunday, November 2

Sunday, November 9
Sunday, November 16
Sunday, November 23

Chapter 12: Other Financing Alternatives

Website: Colorado Office of Economic Development
Assignment 14: Chapter 12 Mini Case - Jen & Larrys

Sunday, December 7

Government and Private Sources of New Venture Funding

Capstone Project

Friday, December 12

Due Dates for Capstone Project:

December 1: Select a person to int erview for the capstone project and prepare interview questions.
December 8: Complete interview and write-up notes and res earc h as a business report.
December 12: Submit capstone project.
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GRADI NG SYS TEM & OPTIONS

Grades will be posted to https://webadvisor.coloradomtn. edu/ (WebAdvisor) by Thursday following the
last day of classes at the end of eac h semester. Additional information is available at:
http://catalog.coloradomtn. edu/content.php?cat oid=3&navoid= 620#Grading_System_and_Options_ .
COURS E EXPECTATIONS
The general expectations for this course apply to the instructor and to the student.

The instructor agrees to provide clear instructions for all assignments; provide relevant feedback
within a seven day period; respond to electronic inquiries within a 48 hour timeframe; provide
options for assignment topics; and apply a fair and consistent method for assessment.

The student agrees to be familiar with the course requirements outlined in the syllabus and on
Canvas; abide by the student code of conduct; check Canvas weekly and adhere to due dates for
assignments; communicate with the instructor in a timely manner to explain learning needs and
ask for clarification of assignments; and complete assignments as thoroughly as possible and use
instructor feedback to improve.

You should also refer to the section on Course Guidelines and Etiquette below.
COURS E POLI CIES
Academic Misconduct Policy:
A student judged to have engaged in ac ademic misconduct as defined in the Academic Policies and
Requirements section of the Colorado Mount ain College Student Handbook will, at a minimum, receive a
zero for the work in question. The student may also be removed from the class, resulting in a failing
grade. All student cours e material may be submitted to Turnitin (or another anti-plagiarism program) at
the instructors discretion. Academic Expectations, the Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Process
and more information about academic misconduct can be found in the Student Handbook, online version
at: http://catalog.coloradomtn.edu/content.php?catoid= 5&navoid=697
Attendance Policy:
Students are expected to participat e in weekly discussions that focus on that weeks finance topic.
Drop/Withdraw Policy:
The last date to drop/ withdraw from this course is November 16, 2014. Students wishing to withdraw from
this course must initiate the course withdrawal/drop process at the site Registration Office. If you do not
wish to withdraw and you have complet ed at least 75% of the course work (which would be a grade of
C), you may request an Incomplete (I) grade. You must then compl ete the required assignments by the
end of the spring 2014 semester or you will receive the grade you earned to date.
COURS E GUIDELI NES AND ETIQUETTE

Active learning: This course is centered on active and experiential learning. I will us e the Canvas
discussions to assess how you are applying the new managerial finance concepts to real life
situations. I will invest time and energy to help you attain your goals for the course and I will use
techniques more like coaching to work wit h you to develop your skills and abilities. We are partners in
the learning environment.

Communication: I am accessible through email. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to
ask questions, clarify assignments, and obtain additional help. I check my email frequently and you
can expect a prompt reply.

Confidentialit y: Throughout the course and course-related activities, students may be exposed to
proprietary information from other students and/or entrepreneurs and financial managers from the
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business community. You are expected to treat all such information as confidential. You should agree
not to disclose this information to any third parties without specific written permission from students,
guest lecturers, interviewees, or faculty, as applicable. Furthermore, you should agree not to utilize
any such proprietary information for your own personal commercial advant age or for the commercial
advantage of any third party.

Attendance: Weekly participation in all Canvas discussion sessions is critical to the graded
participation component of the course and to learning in general, as we may discuss material not in
the book. In business, you learn by collaborating. Financial managers find opportunities, adapt,
change, and improve themselves by listening and learning from others. In your discussion postings,
please refer to assigned materials and/or cited resources and comment thoughtfully on others
postings.

Consideration for others: Please show consideration and respect for your colleagues and for
members of the community whom you contact as part of the capstone assignment.

Academic integrity: Please be familiar with CMCs grading policy and academic standards. The use of
unauthorized material or similar behavior defeating the intent of class work or assignments is
unaccept able. Where a clear violation has occurred, the instructor may disqualify the students work
as unacceptable and assign a failing mark for the assignment.

TECHNOLOGY
Canvas:
During the semester, we will use Canvas to communicate. Through Canvas, you will submit your
assignments and post to the discussion threads and I will provide feedback. In addition, we will use the
Canvas Inbox for personal or group communications. You should check Canvas weekly to review
announcements or changes and updates to the course content and schedule.
Software:
Microsoft Office is the standard soft ware program for this course and is installed on computers available
in computer labs at CMC locations. If you do not have Microsoft Office, please contact me so that we can
determine if your software is compatible.
For example, you may use the free software from www.OpenOffice. org to create Microsoft compatible
documents. This program includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database
applications. However, the features of OpenOffice are limited and may distort the format of your
assignment when the instructor opens it using Mic rosoft Office.
Student Email:
All CMC students enrolled in a credit-based class (0.5 hour credit class or more) will be assigned a CMC
student email address through Google mail (Gmail). Please allow at least 48 hou rs after you register for
this account to be activated. For more information on your CMC student email account, please visit the
Student page of the My CMC Portal: mycmc.coloradomtn.edu.
SERVI CES/RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
SMARTHINKING O NLINE T UTORING
Help when you need it: 24 hours a day! Smarthinking is an online tutoring service provided by Colorado
Mountain College. Depending on the courses in which you are enrolled, you may find Smarthinking's
supplemental help an important part of your success.
Academic areas covered by their expert support include: Math, Introductory Anatomy & Physiology,
Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Statistics, Spanish, Writing, Computers and
Technology, and Reading. All students registered for a credit course will have a Smarthinking account
created. Your username will be your CMC WebA dvis or ID. For most students, this is your first initial
followed by last name. It is the same as the first portion of your CMC email address (the part before the
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@). Your password will be "cmc" plus the last six digits of your Social Security number (for ex ample
"cmc123456").
You may access your account at: http://servic es.smarthinking.com/. If you dont know your ID or are
unable to login, email dyarrow@coloradomtn.edu. While this service is provided at no charge, Colorado
Mountain College reserves the right to cap the number of free tutoring hours provided to a student.
Di sability Services:
If you have a disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act and feel you may need classroom accommodations based on the impact of your
disability, please contact the Disability Services Coordinator on your campus.
Aspen, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs (including Spring Valley), and Rifle: Dr. Anne Moll at 970 947-8256
Breckenridge and Dillon: to be announced. Please call the main campus number at 970 -453-6757.
Leadville and Chaffee County: to be announced. Please call the main campus number at 719-4862015.
Edwards: Sue OConnor at 970-569-2959
Steamboat Springs: Deb Farmer at 970-870-4450
Online Learning:
Information about Online Learning at CMC can be found at www.coloradomtn.edu/online_learning/
If you have general questions about online learning, pleas e contact CMCs Online Learning at 800-6218559, extension 8341 or virtual@coloradomtn. edu.
Virtual Library:
The Virtual Library has its doors open 24/7, providing access to thousands of online journals and
news papers, e-books and art images, downloadable videos and audiobooks, career res ources and
practice tests. You can access CMCs Virtual Library at http://library.coloradomtn.edu/ or use the CMC
Libraries link from the Canvas course menu to access the website. The link will pass authentication
credentials that will allow you to use online library collections. It will also take you directly to the libraries
home page.
Library Tutorials: The library offers a variety of online video tutorials that will help you with your research
projects at http://library.coloradomtn.edu/modules.
Ask a Librarian: If you need assistance with your research project, you can ask a librarian online. Select
AskAcademic chat box on the libraries home page and type in your question. This service is available
approximately 20 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also email reference@coloradomt n.edu or call
800-621-8559, extension 2926.

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