FIN 4950 Spring 2027 Syllabus

Note: The content on this page is subject to change before class starts.

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Assessments

Your final grade will be based primarily on three types of assessments: quizzes, exams, and projects.

Quizzes: 30%

After each video lesson, you will complete a quiz based on that lesson. Each quiz will include 10 multiple-choice, multi-correct questions. All quiz questions will come from the lecture videos, and readings will not be tested on the quizzes.

There will be 10 quizzes during the semester. Each quiz will be worth 3% of your final grade, for a total of 30%.

Exams: 20%

There will be 2 exams in this course. The exams will follow a similar format to the quizzes, using multiple-choice, multi-correct questions. However, unlike the quizzes, exams may include material from both the lecture videos and assigned readings.

Each exam will be worth 10% of your final grade, for a total of 20%.

Projects: 50%

There will be 8 projects throughout the course.

Some projects may be easier or more difficult than others depending on where we are in the semester, but each project will carry the same weight. Each project will be worth 6.25% of your final grade, for a total of 50%.

Optional Course Surveys: Bonus Credit

You will also have 4 optional surveys throughout the course. These surveys are meant to help improve the course materials, lecture videos, assignments, and overall learning experience.

Each survey will provide 1% bonus credit, for up to 4% total bonus credit. Completing the surveys is a simple way to earn extra points while also helping improve the course.

For example, if your required course grade from quizzes, exams, and projects is 90, completing all four surveys would add a 4% bonus, raising your final grade to:

90 x 1.04 = 93.6

Grade Breakdown

Tentative Spring 2027 Weekly Schedule

Below is the tentative course calendar. Assignment due dates are set for Mondays at 8:00 AM Mountain Standard Time (MST), unless otherwise noted.

Readings will come from the required course textbooks and any additional materials provided in Canvas.

Course Policies

Official Course Communication

Canvas will be the official communication platform for this course. Course announcements, assignment instructions, grades, feedback, and important updates will be posted through Canvas. You are responsible for checking Canvas regularly so that you do not miss important course information.

Office Hours

I will hold weekly office hours. You are welcome to visit my office during scheduled office hours or meet with me through Google Meet. Meetings outside regular office hours are also welcome, but they must be scheduled by appointment in advance.

Late Work

Late work will not be accepted without an approved emergency extension before the due date.

I understand that unexpected situations can happen. If a personal emergency, health emergency, family emergency, or another unforeseeable life event prevents you from completing an assignment on time, please contact me privately through Canvas as soon as possible and explain the situation.

Depending on the circumstances, we will discuss the best way to proceed. If the emergency affects only a small portion of the course, I may be able to accept late work as a one-time exception. If the emergency is expected to affect a significant amount of your coursework, we may discuss whether withdrawing and taking the course later would be a better option. If the emergency occurs after you have completed a substantial portion of the course, generally at least 70% of the required coursework, an Incomplete grade may be considered so that you can finish the remaining work after the semester.

Depending on the nature and significance of the request, documentation from the Dean of Students Office may be required before late work can be accepted or an Incomplete grade can be approved.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is expected in this course. You are responsible for submitting your own work and for following Southeastern Louisiana University’s Student Code of Conduct. The Code identifies “Acts of Dishonesty” as any form of fraudulent behavior or violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, including cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. See Southeastern Louisiana University’s Student Code of Conduct/Know the Code Campaign.

For this course, the following academic honesty policies apply:

• In written work, you should clearly cite any outside sources you use. This includes books, articles, websites, datasets, online examples, and other course materials.
• Any figure, chart, table, or image that is not fully your own must be cited. If you modify an existing figure, you still need to cite the original source. It should be clear which parts of the work are yours and which parts come from another source.
• You may not copy written explanations, project reports, quiz answers, exam answers, code, notebooks, or analysis from another student, whether current or former.
• You may not copy code from online repositories, previous students, solution websites, or any other outside source and submit it as your own. Every submitted project should reflect your own work and understanding.
• You may use coding agents and AI tools when allowed by the assignment instructions, but you must use them responsibly. They should support your learning, not replace your work. If an assignment requires disclosure, you must explain what tool you used and how you used it.
• During quizzes and exams, you may not consult outside materials, communicate with anyone other than the instructor or approved course staff, or use any method that gives you an unfair advantage.

Violations of academic honesty may result in a grade penalty for the assignment, quiz, exam, or project, and may also be referred through the University’s student conduct process. Southeastern’s Student Code of Conduct states that students are responsible for reading and abiding by its provisions. See Southeastern Louisiana University’s Student Code of Conduct/Know the Code Campaign.

Official source: Southeastern Louisiana University Student Code of Conduct