1. FIN 311 – 10 (CRN# 11535)
Principles of Finance
Syllabus
COURSE INFORMATION:
Fall 2015 Office Hours:
Course Credit Hours: 3 By appointment
Meeting Time: Wed 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Classroom: WB 611
Instructor: Andrew Paul Acosta
Telephone: (888) 316-8499
Email: aacosta@roosevelt.edu
TEXT:
Hirt, G., Block, S., and Danielsen, B. (2014). Foundations of Financial Management. McGraw-
Hill Education, ISBN 978-0-077861612, 15th edition.
OPTIONAL:
Financial calculator. Most examples will be from a HP 12C, but a Texas Instruments BA II Plus
or an equivalent is fine.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
FIN 311 – PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE
Time value of money, capital budgeting, methods of external finance, working capital
management, financial statement analysis, cash budgeting, and other finance topics.
PREREQUISITES:
ACCT 210 (with a min grade of C-) and ACCT 211 (with a min grade of C-) and ECON 101
(with a min grade of C-) and ECON 102 (with a min grade of C-) and MATH 116 (with a min
grade of C-) or MATH 121 (with a min grade of C-).
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course introduces students to the time value of money. We will develop some of its
applications to corporate investment planning, valuation of projects and securities, and to
retirement planning. Many examples will require the use of Microsoft Excel to calculate a
solution, especially with the discussion of capital structure (the difference made by the firm’s
choice of financing).
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The university’s three overall learning goals for both undergraduate and graduate students are:
ü Goal: Effective communication.
ü Goal: Knowledge of disciplined-focused content.
ü Goal: Awareness of social justice and engagement in civic life.

2. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Student success results from an understanding of assigned reading materials, lectures, class
exercises and discussions. Class attendance and participation, as well as the timely completion
of all assignments/projects, are required components in this process.
COURSE FORMAT:
This course will include lectures, homework, quizzes, exams, and class participation. Students are
expected to be well prepared for each class meeting and be able to provide insightful opinions into
the discussions. Most of the content will be available on Blackboard for download.
GRADING CRITERIA:
In-Class Participation............................................................................................................... 10%
Quizzes.................................................................................................................................... 10%
Final Paper .............................................................................................................................. 20%
Midterm Exam.......................................................................................................................... 20%
Final Exam .............................................................................................................................. 40%
TOTAL................................................................................................................................... 100%
GRADING SCALE:
93.0% - 100.0% A 73.0% - 76.9% C
90.0% - 92.9% A- 70.0% - 72.9% C-
87.0% - 89.9% B+ 67.0% - 69.9% D+
83.0% - 86.9% B 63.0% - 66.9% D
80.0% - 82.9% B- 60.0% - 62.9% D-
77.0% - 79.9% C+ 59.9% & BELOW F
BLACKBOARD WEBSITE:
You are required to log into Blackboard on a regular basis because it is the forum that serves as
the primary means of communication with the class. All handout reading, quizzes, and exams
are distributed and scored through Blackboard. You will submit your finance paper through a
process called Turnitin, which measures the paper’s level of originality as a measure against
plagiarism. It also makes observations on grammar, style, syntax, mechanics, and spelling. At
least one online discussion will be created on Blackboard, for which you are required to
participate for full credit in the in-class participation score. It is strongly advised that you
proofread your written work and comply with editorial standards.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Because the classroom experience is an essential part of the course work, students are
expected to attend every class. However, should a student miss a class, they are solely
responsible to demonstrate a grasp and understanding of the concepts covered in the missed
session in all subsequent classes. If a class is missed, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain
notes and assignments from another student. Coming to class late is a distraction to both the
students and to the instructor.
IN-CLASS PARTICIPATION POLICY: (10% of Final Grade)
Students will earn full participation credit through their continual punctuality, attentiveness,
coming to class prepared with the assigned text, completed homework, and appropriate
handouts. Please minimize talking between students during class. Students will be expected to
participate in the class when the assignments are being discussed. Since course content is
distributed via the Blackboard website, you are expected to log in at least once per week and
participate in all online discussion forums by asking or answering questions posed in the forum.
If you have a cell phone or pager in class, be sure that it is turned off or on silent mode. Ringing
or vibrating phones and pagers are a major distraction in class. This may result in a lower
grade.

3. QUIZZES: (10% of Final Grade)
There will be quizzes throughout the semester and are based on information covered in the
class lectures and discussions, as well as in the assigned reading material. Quizzes will be
available online via Blackboard.
FINANCE PAPER: (20% of Final Grade)
Imagine you are a financial planner. You have clients who are just beginning to think about
planning for retirement. They are both thirty-five years old and have $70,000 in a company
retirement plan which they can roll over into their own plan. They want to retire at 67 but are
wondering what effect retiring a year or two earlier or later will have on their retirement. Their
combined income is $130,000 per year, and they want to finance the same income in
retirement. When they retire they can purchase a two-life annuity with an expected second
death at age 87.
They have not taken any finance courses, and their last mathematics course was many years
ago. They will not understand equations, formulas, or finance jargon. Large tables will make
their eyes glaze over. You must explain your recommendations to them in simple, ordinary
language. Prepare a plan with some alternative rates of return and retirement dates and explain
what annual contributions they must make to the plan to make their retirement what they want.
Make your own assumptions about social security by the time they retire.
The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus if necessary.

4. Class Schedule
CLASS ONE August 26, 2015
Chapter Topic
1, 2 Introduction, Review of Accounting
CLASS TWO September 2, 2015
Chapter Topic
3, 4 Financial Analysis, Financial Forecasting
CLASS THREE September 9, 2015
Chapter Topic
5 Operating and Financial Leverage
CLASS FOUR September 16, 2015
Chapter Topic
6, 7 Working Capital and the Financing Decision, Current Asset Management
CLASS FIVE September 23, 2015
Chapter Topic
8 Sources of Short-Term Financing
CLASS SIX September 30, 2015
Chapter Topic
9 Time Value of Money
CLASS SEVEN October 7, 2015
Chapter Topic
10 Valuation and Rates of Return
CLASS EIGHT October 14, 2015
MIDTERM EXAM
CLASS NINE October 21, 2015
Chapter Topic
11, 12 Cost of Capital, The Capital Budgeting Decision
CLASS TEN October 28, 2015
Chapter Topic
13 Risk and Capital Budgeting
CLASS ELEVEN November 4, 2015
Chapter Topic
14 Capital Markets
CLASS TWELVE November 11, 2015
Chapter Topic
15 Investment Banking

5. CLASS THIRTEEN November 18, 2015
Chapter Topic
16 Long-Term Debt and Lease Financing
CLASS FOURTEEN November 25, 2015
Chapter Topic
17 Common and Preferred Stock Financing
CLASS FIFTEEN December 2, 2015
Final Exam Preparation and Discussion
CLASS SIXTEEN December 9, 2015
FINAL EXAM
The Topical Outline is subject to change.
Students will be informed in class of Changes to this Outline.

6. Policies
Academic dishonesty: The university’s policies on issues such as plagiarism,
recycling, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty can be found in the student
handbook, which is available as a link here:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/CurrentStudents.aspx . Additional guidelines for avoiding
plagiarism are available here:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/Provost/Faculty/AcademicIntegrity.aspx
Disability: Roosevelt University complies fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Details
about ADA and Roosevelt’s policies and practices are found in the following link:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/StudentSuccess/Disability/Discrimination.aspx If you have a condition
or disability that requires reasonable accommodation, please alert your instructor or the
Academic Success Center as soon as possible, certainly before any assignment or classroom
activity that requires accommodation. The Academic Success Center is located in AUD 128
in Chicago, and the phone number is 312-341-3818. In Schaumburg, the office is in room
125, and the phone number is 847-619-7978. Email Nancy Litke at nlitke@roosevelt.edu or
Danielle Smith at dsmith51@roosevelt.edu .
Withdrawal date: The final date for an official withdrawal from this class (meaning a
“W” would appear on your transcript) is Tuesday, Oct. 27. After that, if you want to
withdraw, you’ll need to petition the registrar. Petitions are granted only for non-
academic reasons after the deadline. If you receive financial aid, it’s best to check with
your counselor to assure that aid isn’t affected by withdrawing from a class. The
complete withdrawal policy is here:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/Registrar/Registration/Drop.aspx
Religious holidays: Please let your instructor know as soon as possible if you will miss class
because you are observing a religious holiday. Roosevelt University policy requires written
notification to me within the first two weeks of the term. Any work you miss because of a
religious holiday can be made up. You can see the full policy here:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/Policies/ReligiousHolidays.aspx
Student Code of Conduct: Students enrolled in the university are expected to conduct
themselves in a manner compatible with the university’s function as an educational institution.
http://www.roosevelt.edu/StudentSuccess/Conduct.aspx
Resources
Academic Success Center: Disability Services, Peer Mentor Program, Tutoring
Chicago campus: room 128 of the Auditorium Building, (312) 341-3818.
Schaumburg campus: room 125, 847-619-7978. Email Nancy Litke at nlitke@roosevelt.edu
or Danielle Smith at dsmith51@roosevelt.edu .
Advising: Most undergrads; CCPA, Education, Honors and Hospitality Management
students are advised in their programs.
Chicago campus: room 1M10 Wabash Building, (312) 341-4340.
Schaumburg campus: SCH 125; (847) 619-7930

7. Blackboard Support, Training and Quick Guides: The Blackboard course management
system is supported by the RUOnline staff and by the Roosevelt University Help Desk.
Quick guides: http://www.roosevelt.edu/RUOnline/Students/BbTutorials.aspx
Training: http://www.roosevelt.edu/RUOnline/Students/BbTraining.aspx
Help desk: http://roosevelt.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=15161
RUOnline: http://www.roosevelt.edu/RUOnline/ContactUs.aspx
Campus Safety:
Auditorium Building: (312) 341-2020
Gage Building: (312) 341-3111
Schaumburg campus: (847) 619-8989
Computer labs: A list of open labs is located here:
http://www.roosevelt.edu/ITS/labs.aspx
Counseling Center: Individual counseling, as well as group and couples counseling.
Chicago campus: room 470 Auditorium Building, (312) 341-3548
Schaumburg campus: room 114, (312) 341-3548
Financial Aid: Chicago campus: Mezzanine, Wabash Building, (866) 421-0935;
FAO@roosevelt.edu Schaumburg campus: room 125, (866) 421-0935;
FAO@roosevelt.edu
Library: Find everything you need to know at http://www.roosevelt.edu/Library.aspx
about the Auditorium Building library, the Schaumburg library and the Performing Arts
library.
Registrar: Registration, drop/add, withdrawal, transcripts, credit evaluation, graduation.
Chicago campus: Mezzanine floor, Wabash Building, (312) 341-3535;
registrar@roosevelt.edu
Schaumburg campus: room 125, (847) 619-7950; registrar@roosevelt.edu
RUWiFi: To access the university’s wireless network, either email
helpdesk@roosevelt.edu or call (312) 341-4357 for the connection key.
Writing Center: Tutors work with students on their writing, in person and online.
Chicago campus: room 442 Auditorium Building; (312) 341-2206;
writingcenter@roosevelt.edu