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FIN 269 FAQ (frequently asked questions)

This page is preliminary.  If you have another question, e-mail me: Rgriffith@sfasu.edu.
For answers to questions about online courses in general, see the ICampus FAQ.
See also the Checklist for online courses.

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Questions about enrolling for the course.
Questions about course mechanics.
Questions about course content.

Questions about enrolling for the course.

What are the prerequisites for Personal Finance?
There are no prerequisites for the course. However, I do not advise freshmen to take it online.

How do I register for the course?
Go through the normal registration process and choose "FIN 269 500". 
See the Online Course checklist page and the Distance Education Student Support and Student Support links  pages for additional information on taking online courses.  See WebCT instructions and  It All Starts Here for information on taking web courses through the WebCT course system. Please also fill out the course information form and send it to me.

What if I am not an SFA student?
See the SFA admissions page (or call 1-936-468-1285 or 1-800-731-2902) for information on enrolling to take the course. If you want to receive college credit, you must be admitted as a student.  You can then transfer the credit to your other institution.  Email admissions for more information.
If you want to take the course for your own use without receiving college credit, you can audit the course without being admitted as a student. 
The cost of taking the course (for credit or audit) will be about $500 for Texas residents or about $600 for residents of Arkansas or Louisiana (May be increased for the fall).  You will be given the exact amount when you register. In some cases, fees will be waived.  See exceptions in the bulletin.

Can finance majors take Personal Finance?
Yes, the course is open to any major. Finance majors will benefit from personally useful material they won't get in other finance courses. However, they need to understand that this course does not count toward their finance major, but as an elective.

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Questions about course mechanics.

How do I get a textbook?
The text for the course, as noted on the syllabus, is Personal Finance by Garman & Forgue, 7th Edition
(There is a version of the text with software included - it is not required.)

Here's information from OIT about texts for online courses:
"A student may certainly get their textbook from the bookstore on campus, or
if they find a better deal somewhere else...power to them! If they live far
away and want to purchase their book from the SFA bookstore, all they need
to do is call the bookstore at (936) 468-2108 or call my number (888-357-3278)
and I'll transfer them. They may also email the bookstore at
http://www.sfasu.edu/ucbooks/ :)
Q. How will I order my textbooks?
A. You may order your textbooks through the SFA University Bookstore or
through other bookstores located on the Web. To find helpful sites for
purchasing your textbooks, do a search for "college textbooks". There are
several great sites offering college textbooks."

Course Format
The format for this course includes scheduled assignments and deadlines for reading assignments and problems (see below and  the assignments page for more detail), text reading assignments and projects, online readings, and participation using the email discussion list.  No oncampus meetings are required - exams may be taken at the scheduled oncampus time or proctored (see below). 

How will exams be handled?
There will be three exams, including the final. Each will be given on campus on a pre-announced evening.  If you have a conflict with the scheduled time, you may take the exam at the depratmental office earlier in the day.  If you are not within easy driving distance of the campus, you may arrange (e.g. with a local school where you are) for a proctored exam.  Contact me at Rgriffith@sfasu.edu at least a week before the exam to work out the details and get the forms sent to the proctor.

Other arrangements for a proctored exam: if you are working in an internship you could ask your supervisor or manager at your work place to be your proctor. Other options could include the public library close to you or the testing center at a university or junior college (some of these may charge for proctoring the exam).  If it's a setting where you could access the web, I could put the exam there. Otherwise our office faxes the test to your proctor. The proctor faxes your answers back and mails the original to me. If you want the test returned after it is graded, send the return envelope when the proctor mails the test to me.

Is the final exam comprehensive?
I call the second and third exams "semi-comprehensive" since they use some of the earlier material, but they are not true comprehensive exams. Examples are available at:
calli search
enter my name in the search field, click on search reserves, choose the exam you want, and specify text form.
(I urge people to rely on the objectives as a primary study guide and look on the sample exam as just showing  the form to expect. The short answer questions come directly from the objectives, the multiple choice mostly do.)

Will there be written assignments?
Yes - there will be 12-15 problems assigned during the semester. For convenience all problems are scored on a basis of 10 points possible unless otherwise noted. At least one problem later in the semester will count double.  The lowest problem score is dropped in figuring your problem average.

If problem A is our lowest score, then will it be dropped from our average?
Yes.

How will I turn in the problems?
You send them by email to rgriffith@sfasu.edu, with the problem in the text of the email or attached as a Word 97 document (RTF or Excel 97 attachments are OK too).  Watch for instructions on sending problems to another email address also.   Please follow a standard of putting the name of the problem in the subject field - "goals problem" "financial statement problem" etc.  If you send it as an attachment, be sure your name is in the attached file.

How do I know when assignments are due?
Check the assignments page regularly.  It lists both reading assignments and problems by due date.  It has links to the problems.   Any time on the due date is counted as ontime.

Is there a set due date for Problem A?
There are due dates for some parts. Others are related to where we are in assignments (e.g. making up multiple choicequestions), others (e.g. cartoons) anytime. You want to get at least 10 points total because it counts as a regular problem.

What about late problems?
I will take problems late (with a penalty) if you get them to me before they are graded and I post comments. It's better to get part credit instead of a 0, besides the benefit of trying to work the problem.

What are virtual office hours?
These are times when I will check email every few minutes so as to provide a quick reply to any question you send during that time.  If you send an email at some other time, you would expect an answer no later than the end of the next virtual office hours.

Will discussions on the email list be started by you the teacher or is this a student driven discussion list?
Ideally both. I will post questions like I would ask in class. Students can ask questions they think will be of general interest, share useful links they've found, etc.  See email discussion list for instructions on signing up for the email list if you haven't already.  Participation in the email list counts toward your problem score.

Must I use my Titan email address for the email discussion list?
No - you may use any email address as long as it is one you check every day. For receiving official university notices, SFA has a mandatory email policy:  you can enable your SFA email account here if you have not already done so.  You can only send messages to the list from the email address at which you subscribed.

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Questions about course content.

None yet.  What would you like to know? e-mail me: Rgriffith@sfasu.edu

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