TRINITY VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

e-COURSE SYLLABUS

 

COURSE#:  ACC2402.0005    Managerial Accounting

SESSION / YEAR:  Spring, 2007

 

PROFESSOR INFORMATION

 

Name:  Jerry W. Rogers

Phone Number: (903) 675-6339   ext. 339

Faculty Fax# (903) 675-6263

Email Address:  JRogers@TVCC.Edu     

 

COURSE INFORMATION:

 

Course# and Title: Acc2402.0005     Managerial Accounting

Beginning Date of Session:  Tuesday, January 16, 2007*

Ending Date of Session:  Monday, May 8, 2007*

*Official dates according to TVCC Calendar – See documents specific to this course for specific dates for this course.

 

Accounting classes require a lot of work and discipline to stay on task and meet the due dates with assignments and tests (reviews) whether taken in a regular classroom environment or via distance education.  If you do not have the personal discipline, or feel that you cannot learn that discipline in short order, then you should not register for this course.  More people either drop or fail this course because they don’t have the personal discipline to prepare the assignments in a timely manner than those who drop or fail because they cannot do the assignments.

 

This syllabus contains links that will be active from this document as of Tuesday, January 16, 2007.

 

TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED MATERIALS

 

Title:  FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING

Author:  Needles, Powers, and Crosson

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Year Published:  2005

Edition:  Seventh

ISBN:  0618-654054

 

The above referenced ISBN number is a special number for a package of materials that have been put together specifically for this course and contains these items:  (1) the textbook FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING by Needles, Peters, and Crosson, Seventh Edition; (2) Windows General Ledger Software on the Student CD-ROM; (3) HMAccounting Tutor; and (4) Electronic Working Papers CD-ROM.  (The ISBN Number for the textbook alone is 0-618-39362-5.  The ISBN number for the Electronic Working Papers CD alone is 061840208X.  Both are available directly from the publisher.)

 

Textbooks and required materials for the course may be purchased by mail, fax, phone, or in person through the bookstore located on the Athens, Texas, Campus of Trinity Valley Community College.  If the required materials are purchased through any other TVCC bookstore, the materials will have to be delivered to that bookstore from the Athens bookstore.  Care should be exercised in acquiring the textbook materials.  Make sure the bookstore person knows you are taking the course by distance education because a different textbook is used in the regular classroom classes on the various TVCC campuses.

 

The bookstore may be contacted by mail by writing to the following address:

 

Trinity Valley Community College

Attention:  Bookstore

100 Cardinal Drive

Athens, Texas  75751

 

The bookstore may be contacted by fax by using the following number:

 

903-675-6316

 

The bookstore may be contacted by phone by using the following number:

 

903-675-6223

 

If contact is made with the bookstore by email, fax, or phone, the student must have a credit card number that may be used to purchase the course required materials.  If a credit card is not available, the student may still contact the bookstore to determine the price of the course required materials and then payment may be made by mail.

 

While students are not prohibited from purchasing textbooks or course materials from other sources, care should be taken to secure the exact resources required.  Should a student decide to acquire course materials from sources other than the TVCC Bookstore, the student should acquire at a minimum the textbook (ISBN # 0-618-39362-5) and the Electronic Working Paper CD (ISBN number 061840208X from the publisher).  The textbook package through the bookstore contains two additional CD’s, one of which is free with the textbook if requested, and the other is a tutorial CD which some students find beneficial. 

 

Failure to acquire the textbook in time for the submission of the first assignments due is not an excuse for the assignments being late.  Make arrangements early for the textbook.  Fall enrollments in this course are typically large and the bookstore sometimes runs out of textbooks.  No other items from the textbook publisher such as working papers or study guides are required. 

 

In addition to the referenced textbook, the student should also have a late version of Microsoft Office® which contains Microsoft Word® and Microsoft Excel®.  For the assignments requiring a word processor, a student may use a late version of WordPerfect®.    Attachments from the instructor to the students will be in Microsoft Word® so the student must be certain that his/her version of WordPerfect® will open and read Word® documents.  However, the student must have Microsoft Excel® in order to access the templates on the Electronic Working Papers CD. (It is also advisable that the students have a good friend and/or an employer who has/have computers equipped with these software packages that will be available to the student in the event the student’s computer should crash.)

 

COURSE PREREQUISITES: 

 

Accounting 2401, Financial Accounting, or its equivalent.  Oftentimes, the equivalent will referred to as Principles of Accounting I.   

 

COURSE POLICIES:

 

Specific assignments with due dates will be provided electronically when the class begins.  The assignments will be due on or before the identified due date, and will not be accepted late for credit.  The instructor will acknowledge receiving the assignments.  Any submission not acknowledged within 3 days of sending should be followed up by emailing the instructor either through the email system for WebCT or through the regular email system of Trinity Valley Community College at jrogers@tvcc.edu.  Feedback and grades on all assignments submitted on or before the due date will be supplied to students within two or three days after the due date.  Those assignments received after the due date will not receive credit, but feedback will be provided if requested.

 

The most important thing in any accounting class is EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT.  A student can not expect to wait until a few hours, or even a day or two, before an assignment is due and then expect to be able to satisfactorily complete the assignment.  Many years of experience teaching accounting have proven to the instructor that it can’t be done!  You may be the exception, but don’t bet your grade on it!!!

 

 

 

Incomplete Grades

 

An “I” (incomplete grade) is given at the discretion of the professor and may be given only when an emergency or illness prevents the student from completing course requirements.  It will not be given because a student fails to complete the requirement for the course during the semester.  Replacement of an “I” by a grade shall be determined by the rules and policies of the enrolling institution in the case of Virtual College of Texas students.  Some colleges do not allow an “I”, or its equivalent, to be given, but instead require that a letter grade be awarded.

 

For students enrolled through Trinity Valley Community College, the following policy is in effect.  Should an “I” be granted, the student has until the end of the next long semester (Fall, 2007) to complete the conditions of the incomplete.  Upon completion of the requirements necessary to remove the “I”, the instructor will submit the proper documentation to the Registrar’s office with a request that the grade of “I” be changed to the grade made.  An “I” which is not properly removed within the next long semester following the session enrolled will become an “F” grade.  Should this instructor give an “I”, a shorter time period than the end of the next long semester will probably be given.  If the student does not agree to the shorter time period, the “I” will not be given.

 

Student’s Responsibilities

 

This syllabus contains information, policies and procedures for a specific course.  By enrolling, the student agrees to read, understand and abide by the policies, rules, regulations, and ethical standards of Trinity Valley Community College as contained in the current college catalog and/or schedule of classes.

 

 

COURSE COMPETENCIES:

 

Upon completion of the course, the student will have demonstrated a mastery of the objectives given in the textbook for each chapter covered.  These objectives are given at the beginning of each chapter of study, and then summarized at the end of the chapter.  These objectives are also part of this syllabus and follow.  Mastery of these objectives shall be demonstrated by successfully completing various assignments covering these objectives.  The assignments include questions to be answered and submitted to the instructor; exercises and problems to be worked and submitted to the instructor; and completion of lengthy reviews over materials designed to test the student’s mastery of the materials covered by the objectives.

 

Chapter 1 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 15, the student will be able to:

 

…distinguish managerial accounting from financial accounting and explain the role of management accounting in the management process.

…describe the value chain and its usefulness in analyzing a business.

 

…identify the management tools used for continuous improvement and describe how they work to meet the demands of global competition and how management accounting supports them.

 

…explain the balanced scorecard and its relationship to performance measures.

 

…prepare an analysis of nonfinancial data.

 

…identify the standards of ethical conduct for management accountants.

 

 

Chapter 16 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 16, the student will be able to:

 

…describe how managers use information about costs in the management cycle.

 

…explain how managers classify costs and how they use these cost classifications.

 

…define and given examples of three elements of product cost and compute the unit cost of a product.

 

…describe the flow of costs through a manufacturer’s inventory accounts.

 

…compare how service, retail, and manufacturing organizations report costs on their financial statements and how they account for inventories.

 

…define cost allocation and explain how cost objects, cost pools, and cost drivers are used to assign manufacturing overhead costs.

 

…calculate product unit cost using the traditional method of allocating manufacturing overhead costs.

 

…calculate product unit cost using activity-based costing to assign manufacturing overhead costs.

 

…apply cost concepts to a service organization.

 

Chapter 17 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 17, the student will be able to:

 

…discuss the role information about costs plays in the management cycle and explain why unit cost is important.

 

…distinguish between the two basic types of product costing systems and identify the information each provides.

 

…explain the cost flow in a manufacturer’s job order costing system.

 

…prepare a job order cost card and compute a job order’s product unit cost.

 

…apply job order costing to a service organization.

 

…distinguish between job order costing and project costing.

 

Chapter 18 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 18, the student will be able to:

 

…discuss the process costing system, identify the reasons for its use, and discuss its role in the management cycle.

 

…relate the patterns of product flows to the cost flow methods in a process costing environment.

 

…explain the role of the Work in Process Inventory accounts in a process costing system.

 

…define equivalent production and compute equivalent units.

 

…prepare a process cost report using the FIFO costing method.

 

…prepare a process cost report using the average costing method.

 

…evaluate operating performance using information about product costs.

 

Chapter 19 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 19, the student will be able to:

 

…explain the role of activity-based systems in the management cycle.

 

…define activity-based management (ABM) and discuss its relationship to the supply chain and the value chain.

 

…distinguish between value-adding and nonvalue-adding activities, and describe process value analysis.

 

…define activity-based costing and explain how a cost hierarchy and a bill of activities are used.

…define a just-in-time (JIT) operating philosophy and identify the elements of a JIT operating environment.

 

…identify the changes in product costing that result when a firm adopts a JIT operating environment.

 

…define and apply backflush costing, and compare the cost flows in traditional and backflush costing.

 

…compare ABM and JIT as activity-based systems.

 

Chapter 20 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 20, the student will be able to:

 

…define cost behavior and explain how managers use this concept in the management cycle.

 

…identify variable, fixed, and mixed costs, and separate mixed costs into their variable and fixed components.

 

…define cost-volume-profit (C-V-P) analysis and discuss how manages use it as a tool for planning and control.

 

…define breakeven point and use contribution margin to determine a company’s breakeven point for multiple products.

 

…use C-V-P analysis to project the profitability of products and services.

 

Chapter 21 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 21, the student will be able to:

 

…define budgeting and explain its role in the management cycle.

 

…identify the elements of a master budget in different types of organizations and the guidelines for preparing budgets.

 

…prepare the operating budgets that support the financial budgets.

 

…prepare a budgeted income statement, a cash budget, and a budgeted balance sheet.

 

…describe management’s role in budget implementation.

 

Chapter 22 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 22, the student will be able to:

 

…define standard costs and describe how managers use standard costs in the management cycle.

 

…explain how standard costs are developed and compute a standard unit cost.

 

…prepare a flexible budget and describe how variance analysis is used to control costs.

 

…compute and analyze direct materials variances.

 

…compute and analyze direct labor variances.

 

…compute and analyze manufacturing overhead variances.

 

…explain how variances are used to evaluate managers’ performance.

 

Chapter 23 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 23, the student will be able to:

 

…describe how the balanced scorecard aligns performance with organizational goals, and explain the role of the balanced scorecard in the management cycle.

 

…discuss performance measurement, and state the issues that affect management’s ability to measure performance.

 

…define responsibility accounting, and describe the role that responsibility centers play in performance management and evaluation.

 

…prepare performance reports for cost centers using flexible budgets and for profit centers using variable budgets.

 

…prepare performance reports for investment centers using traditional measures of return on investment and residual income and the newer measure of economic value added.

 

…explain how properly linked performance incentives and measures add value for all stakeholders in performance management and evaluation.

 

Chapter 24 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 24, the student will be able to:

 

…explain how managers make short-fun decisions during the management cycle.

 

…define incremental analysis and describe how it applies to short-term analysis.

 

…perform incremental analysis for outsourcing decisions.

 

…perform incremental analysis for special order decisions.

 

…perform incremental analysis for segment profitability decisions.

 

…perform incremental analysis for sales mix decisions involving constrained resources.

 

…perform incremental analysis for sell or process-further decisions.

 

Chapter 25 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 25, the student will be able to:

 

…identify the objectives and rules used to establish prices of goods and services, and relate pricing issues to the management cycle.

 

…describe economic pricing concepts including the auction-based pricing method used on the internet.

 

…use cost-based pricing methods to develop prices.

 

…describe target costing and use that concept to analyze pricing decisions and evaluate a new product opportunity.

 

…describe how transfer pricing is used for transferring goods and services and evaluating performance within a division or segment.

 

 

Chapter 26 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 26, the student will be able to:

 

…define capital investment analysis and describe its relation to the management cycle.

 

…state the purpose of the minimum rate of return and identify the methods used to arrive at that rate.

 

…identify the types of projected costs and revenues used to valuate alternatives for capital investment.

 

…apply the concept of the time value of money.

 

…analyze capital investment proposals using the net present value method.

 

…analyze capital investment proposals using the payback period method and the accounting rate-of-return method.

 

Chapter 27 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 27, the student will be able to:

 

…describe a management information system and explain how it enhances the management cycle.

 

…define total quality management (TQM) and identify financial and nonfinancial measures of quality.

 

…use measures of quality to evaluate operating performance.

 

…discuss the evolving concept of quality.

 

…recognize the awards and organizations that promote quality.

 

Chapter 28 Learning Objectives

 

At the completion of study of Chapter 28, the student will be able to:

 

…describe and discuss financial performance evaluation by internal and external users.

 

…describe and discuss the standards for financial performance evaluation.

 

…identify the sources of information for financial performance evaluation.

 

…apply horizontal analysis, trend analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis to financial statements.

 

…apply ratio analysis to financial statements in a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s financial performance.

 

How to Drop This Course

 

To drop this course, the drop process must be begun in the proper department of the enrolling institution and follow the instructions supplied by the personnel there.

 

 

HOW TO ACCESS YOUR COURSE:

 

This course shall be available on-line on Tuesday, January 16, 2007.  It may be accessed by going to:  http://courses.tvcc.edu/.   A screen will open which asks the student to log in and asks for the student’s WebCT I. D. and Password.  The WebCT I. D. is the student’s last name followed by the first initial of the first name as enrolled, and this followed by the last four digits of the student’s  social security number. All of these are small case letters and there are no spaces in it. If I were a student in this class, my WebCT I. D. would be rogersj4321 (bold for highlight purposes only). After entering the WebCT I. D., then go to Password.  The student’s Password is the last four digits of the student’s social security number.  My Password would be 4321. This will get to a screen that identifies the various distance learning courses that are being taken through Trinity Valley Community College.  Click on the one for accounting, and this will take you to the Homepage for this course.  

 

Please note this:  Access to the course will be on Tuesday, January 16, 2007.  However, this course will not begin until Monday, January 22, 2007, even though Trinity Valley Community College officially begins earlier.  This is because the various colleges that participate in the Virtual College of Texas have different start and ending dates, and all colleges should be started by January 22, 2007.  What this means is that each student will have a week to explore the course before it actually begins and production on assignments begins. 

 

One thing you should definitely explore this first week is the process for communicating with the instructor.  The instructor will be available this week and will respond to all emails.  Another thing that should be explored this first week is the publisher’s web site to learn how to get to the on-line tests and to the other supplemental materials available from the publisher.  The publisher’s web site may be accessed by going to: 

 

http://college.hmco.com/accounting/needles/fin_man_acc/2005e/students/ace/index.html.

 

On the “fin_man_acc/” portion of the URL, note that there are underscores between each of these abbreviations that do not show up well because of the underling of the URL.

 

Also, during this first week, the student should learn how to save and then open the templates that will be used for working exercises and problems.  A document entitled “Saving A Template Made Easy” is available which illustrates a method of saving the templates to external storage devices while saving the formatting.  The document is accessible from the WebCT Homepage and from the Links Module.         

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Historically, the first two courses in accounting (Principles of Accounting I, or its equivalent, and this course) have been taught as if all students taking the courses were taking them to become accountants, thus the emphasis was on producing financial and managerial data.  More recently, the emphasis has shifted from teaching students to be producers of such data to being users of such data.  To be an effective user, one must know the sources of the data on the various statements. It is in line with this more recent emphasis that this course is taught.  This course will cover the basics of report preparation.  The course will also place emphasis on using such information in decision making.

 

The most important elements in the successful completion of any accounting course are EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT. Accounting takes time.  Time must be made for doing accounting.  Then that time must be efficiently and effectively utilized. 

 

Learning accounting is much like building a house: a good foundation must first be laid, and then the rest of the house is built on this foundation.  In building the house, certain things must be done before other things.  After the good foundation is laid, the studs must be raised before the ceiling joists can be put in place.  The ceiling joists must be in place before the rafters can be put in place.  The rafters must be in place before the roof decking can be put in place.  And so it goes.  The order of completion is important; one thing builds on another.  And so it is with accounting.  A good foundation in the basic concepts of accounting is important.  You should have gotten that good foundation in your first accounting course.  This course will add to that foundation. 

 

Concepts are presented in a predetermined order.  It is learning the concepts at each step, and then building on them at the next step, that gets the job done in accounting.  The work in accounting can not be postponed until shortly before an assignment is due and then expect to be completed satisfactorily. 

 

The following paragraphs should be referred to regularly as the student studies each of the chapters of the course.  These paragraphs contain an approach that the instructor has found to be effective for other accounting students in the 20 plus years that the instructor has taught accounting at the college level.

 

In doing accounting, one should first read the chapter objectives.  These objectives, located at the beginning of each chapter, identify to the student what the student should learn from the chapter. The objectives will be developed in the chapter.  At the end of each chapter, these objectives are summarized.  You might look at these summaries first to get an idea of what the objectives are about, and what you are expected to learn from the chapter.

 

After looking at the objectives, and the summaries of the objectives, the student should next look to the Study Guide posted by the instructor.  Within the Study Guide, the instructor has summarized the materials from each of the chapters, explaining some of the materials that often cause trouble for students, and pointing out important materials.

 

With the objectives in mind and knowing what the instructor has had to say about the chapter, the student should then read the chapter to get an idea as to the total content and see how all the various materials presented tie together. This first reading should be to get an overview of the materials from the chapter.  Attention should not be paid to minute details.  At this point, the student just wants to get an over-view of the materials of the chapter.

 

After having read the chapter the first time, the student should go back and read the chapter a second time.  This time, read more slowly, taking time to reflect on the materials presented.  If example problems are presented, the student should work these problems to see how they apply to what has been read. As the chapter is being read this second time, the chapter objectives should be kept in mind.  After reading the chapter for the second time, the student should review the materials presented in the HMAccounting Tutor.  After reviewing the materials in the HMAccounting Tutor, the student should go to the publisher’s web site and take the ACE test for the chapter.   After this second chapter reading, review of the HMAccounting Tutor, and completing the ACE test, the student should be ready to prepare the various assignments for the chapter.

 

 

The following is a listing of the various units that will be covered in the course, along with the items that will be due for that unit.  Specific assignments of questions to be answered and exercises and problems to be completed, and the calendar due date of each will be provided the first day of class and will take priority over the schedule below.  All questions and exercises and problems are from the course textbook.  There are no assignments from outside the textbook.

 

The choices of questions to be answered have been made to draw attention to specific concepts the instructor considers important and/or difficult to understand.  The choices of exercises and problems to be worked have been made to enhance the understanding of the chapter objectives. It is anticipated that the due dates for all questions will be at 6 P.M., Athens, Texas, time on Monday of the indicated week.  It is anticipated that the due dates for all exercises and problems will be 6 P.M., Athens, Texas, time on Friday before reviews are sent.  It is anticipated that the due date for all review answer sheets will be 6 P.M., Athens, Texas time on Monday of the indicated week.

 

1:                     Chapters 15 & 16 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 15 & 16 will be due during the week.

                       

2:                     Chapters 17 & 18 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 17 & 18 will be due during the week.

                       

3:                     A review covering Chapters 15 – 18 will be administered during the                 week.

                        Completed Exercises and Problems from Chapters 15 – 18 will be                              due during the week.

 

4:                     Chapters 19 & 20 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 19 & 20 will be due during the week.

                       

5:                     Chapters 21 & 22 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 21 & 22 will be due during the week.

                       

6:                     Chapters 23 & 24 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 23 & 24 will be due during the week.

                       

7:                     A review covering chapters 19 – 24 will be administered during the                              week.

                        Completed Exercises and Problems from Chapters 19 – 24 will be                              due during the week.

 

8:                     Chapters 25 & 26 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 25 & 26 will be due during the week.

                       

9:                     Chapters 27 & 28 will be covered.

                        Questions from Chapters 27 & 28 will be due during the week.

                       

10:                   Prepare for Chapters 25 – 28 Review

 

11:                   A review covering Chapters 25 – 28 will be administered during the                             week.

                        Completed Exercises and Problems from Chapters 25 – 28 will be                              due during the week.

 

FORMAT AND SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS

 

Assignments are to be submitted as attachments to email.  Specific directions and guidelines for submission of assignments are located on-line in the “Communications” section of the e-course.

 

 

GRADING CRITERIA

 

The semester grade awarded shall be determined using the following point system. 

 

            Unit I Review Covering Chapters 1 – 4 ……………….    100 points

            Unit II Review Covering Chapters 5 – 10………………   100 points

            Unit III Review Covering Chapters 11 – 14……………    100 points

            Questions Covering Chapters 1 – 14………………         100 points

            Exercises and Problems Covering Chapters 1 – 14...     100 points

           Total Points Possible…………………………       500 points

 

 

            Total Points Necessary                    To Receive This Grade

            At Least 447.5 …..…………………..          A

            At Least 397.5, but less than 447.5…..      B

            At Least 347.5, but less than 397.5…..      C

            At Least 297.5, but less than 347.5…..      D

                        Less than 297.5…….…………..     F

 

This grade schedule is consistent with the grading policy of Trinity Valley Community College.  The instructor reserves the right to adjust grades consistent with the grading policies of Trinity Valley Community College.  In no event will a student be awarded a grade that is lower than identified in the above point system.  A higher grade may be awarded if circumstances warrant. 

 

 

 

GRADE NOTIFICATION AND INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK

 

A successful distance learning experience requires a flow of communication between instructor and student throughout the session. Instructor comments are considered essential to the learning process.  Each assignment submitted will be acknowledged by the instructor.  They will be reviewed and/or graded and recorded, and the student will be notified in a timely manner of the results.  Answer keys to the Reviews, answers to the Questions, and solutions to the Exercises and Problems will be provided to the student in a timely manner.  The student is expected to review these materials and compare these answers with the answers that the student has submitted.

 

Periodic private Updated Status Reports will be sent to students.  These reports will show as of a specific date all credits that have been accumulated by that student.  The Report will show scores made on reviews and whether the various assignments have been accepted or rejected for credit. The student will be given 24 hours from the time the Updated Status Report is sent to challenge any items on the Report.  After 24 hours, the Report will be considered correct, and no items presented in the given report may be subsequently challenged.

 

At the completion of the course and before the WebCT program is shut down and grades are sent to the enrolling institutions, the instructor will send a final Updated Status Report showing all credits received and the anticipated semester grade for the class. Each student will be given an opportunity to challenge the data recorded since the last Updated Status Report, as well as the final grade awarded, and if the student is successful, the appropriate data shall be changed accordingly.  After all students have been given the opportunity to review his/her Status Report, a final Updated Status Report will be sent to each student showing the semester grade reported to the appropriate enrolling institution.

 

Final grades will be mailed or distributed by the enrolling institution according to their grade notification policy.  Grades of Internet students are mailed approximately one week after the last day of the session to the student’s address of record.  Trinity Valley Community College’s staff will not post or release grades over the phone.  This instructor will not leave a message with comments or grades in any type of media that is not secure.  All media are considered not secure by this instructor except the WebCT system.  If a student requests that any type notification be left on any media other that the WebCT system, a statement from the student that the media is secure must accompany the request.  Updated Status Reports will be issued to the administration of the enrolling institutions of VCT students upon proper requests by such institutions.  

 

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY/PLAGIARISM

 

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s information as though it were your own.  If you use another person’s words, ideas or information or if you use material from a source – whether a book, magazine, newspaper, business publication, broadcast, speech, or electronic media – you must acknowledge the source.  Failure to do so violates Trinity Valley Community College’s ethics policy.  In answering the Question portions of the assignments, it is understood that the answers will be coming from the textbook, so no acknowledgments will be necessary.  However, if sources other than the class textbook are used, the source or sources must be acknowledged.

 

 RESEARCH RESOURCES

 

Many accounting textbooks exist, along with hundreds of other books that may be used as references for accounting.  Each of these will cover the same basic materials.  However, they generally will do so in a manner that is different from the way the class textbook does it. It is for this reason that the instructor strongly advises against seeking help outside the class textbook.  As the student progresses in more advanced accounting courses, the student will be well advised to seek multiple approaches; not so in this class.