COURSE SYLLABUS
Raritan Valley Community College
Department of Business & Public Service
Accounting Using Microcomputers (ACCT 225)
Spring Semester, 2012-13
Section: / 51XLocation: / Rm. H228
Class Day: / Monday
Class Time: / 5:30P – 9:20P
Instructor: W. Michael Fagan
Office: H323
Office Hours: Mondays 10:30A – 11:30A
Mondays 4P – 5P
Wednesdays 1P – 2P
Thursdays 12N – 1P
Thursdays 4P – 5P
Office Number: 908-526-1200, x8435
908-218-8878 (Business office)
Email:
The syllabus is subject to change on prior notice of the instructor.
Course Description:
Prerequisite: ACCT 101 - Financial Accounting. Familiarity with the use of a personal computer required.
This course introduces the student to the computer, Windows, and QuickBooks. QuickBooks employs an approach of recording transactions based on filling in business forms rather than using the traditional journal formats learned in Financial Accounting. Accounting concepts are reinforced throughout the course.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
1. Record cash, credit card, and credit Sales transactions for both a service business and a merchandiser.
2. Record customer payments and apply sales discounts for both a service business and a merchandiser.
3. Produce purchase orders and manage inventory for a merchandiser.
4. Record vendor bills and generate payments via check or credit card for both a service business and a
merchandiser.
5. Generate adjusting entries for both a service business and a merchandiser.
6. Construct an employee template.
7. Generate reports and financial statements for both a service business and a merchandiser.
8. Generate a new company in QuickBooks and transfer the appropriate information from a manual
accounting system for both a service business and a merchandiser.
Class Materials (required):
Text: "QuickBooks 2012: A Complete Course"; Janet Horne; Prentice-Hall
You must use the 2012 edition of the text – the QuickBooks software changes from year to year, and so does the textbook. Older versions of the software may not have the same capabilities that are discussed in the book (and demonstrated in the lab assignments) and therefore should not be used.
Also, the 2012 text available at the Golden Lion Bookstore comes packaged when new with a limited time version (140 days) of the QuickBooks 2012 Premier software, which facilitates your ability to do this class on-line. The ISBN above is for the bundle available at the college bookstore.
However, if you bought a used copy of the text without the software disc, you can come to the college to do labs. There are open labs in S130 and W212 on main campus (check the door of the labs for hours of operation) where the QuickBooks software is installed. You must use the QuickBooks 2012 software to complete the lab assignments.
Media: Flash drive to use in the classroom.
Folders: To hand in hard copies of assignments. Quantity: 5. Folders must have pockets or can be sealed closed to prevent papers from falling out.
Course Routine:
Each class will consist of discussion, demonstration and hands-on experience using the QuickBooks software. Approximately an hour of each class’ time will be devoted to open lab, so that you can work on your labs while I am there to provide technical assistance or answer questions.
At the end of each chapter, the End of chapter questions (not graded) will be reviewed in the next class.
Additionally, there are five labs for you to do that demonstrate your skills in using the QuickBooks software. These labs occur at the end of Chapters 2, 4, 7, 8 and 9. The lab after Chapter 2 is so that you can see how to do a lab, turn it in, and get feedback from me on what my expectations are. After this “practice lab”, there are comprehensive labs at the end of Chapters 4 and 7 that cover all the concepts included in the previous three chapters, one at the end of Chapter 8 that covers payroll, and the last one at the end of Chapter 9 gives you a chance to create a company from scratch in QuickBooks.
It is best to study the chapter before the session in which it is discussed. Please make sure you ask questions if you are confused about any concepts in the chapter, whether discussed in class or not.
Grades:
The evaluation weighting for the final grade will be as follows:
Quiz 0 5%
Exams 1, 2, & 3 30%
Participation 10%
Practice lab 10%
Comprehensive Labs 1 & 2 30%
Chapter 8 & 9 Labs 15%
100%
When the course is complete, grades will be assigned on the following basis:
Grade % range
A 90 – 100
B+ 85 – 89.9
B 80 – 84.9
C+ 75 – 79.9
C 70 – 74.9
D 60 – 69.9
F 0 – 59.9
Exams are a combination of 25 true/false, multiple choice, and fill-in-the-blank questions, and are given during the last 30 minutes of class the night they are scheduled.
If you must miss an exam during the semester (with a valid excuse), the points will be added to the final exam. There will be no makeup exams. If you believe you have a valid reason for missing an exam, you must discuss it with me before the exam – if you fail to do so, you will receive a 0 for the exam, and the points will not be added to the final.
Exam #3 (given during finals week) will not be comprehensive, but instead will include the material covered since Exam #2. Exams are closed book/closed notes. Use of cell phones or any other electronic devices during exams is not permitted.
Labs are due at the beginning of class. If they are turned in late (even during the same class), the following deductions will take place:
· 10% reduction Handed in after 6P, during the class it is due
· 20% reduction Handed in after class it is due, but by 6P next school day
· 50% reduction Handed in by 6P next class
· 80% reduction Handed in by 6P two class meetings late
Labs will not be accepted after 6P the second class following its due date (exception: no work will be accepted after 6P the day of the final exam). Also, Labs will not be accepted once the rest of the class’ submissions have been graded and handed back. Labs are not excused due to absence, unless that absence is discussed in advance with me.
10% of the grade is based on the instructor’s subjective evaluation of the student’s involvement in the course, and will consider attendance/late arrivals, questions/comments during classes, and degree of involvement in the classroom work.
Dates of Note:
First class 01/28/13
Quiz 0 02/04/13 Covers the syllabus
Exam 1 03/04/13 approx. Ch. 1 – 2
Spring Break 03/11/13
Exam 2 04/15/13 approx. Ch. 3 - 5
Exam 3 05/13/13 approx. Ch. 6 - 9
Extra Credit:
The only extra credit opportunity available in this course is if you participate in one of the following college programs:
· Service Learning
· RVCC Internship
If you are participating in Service Learning or an RVCC internship, once you have provided documentation from the coordinator of either program (Lori Moog for Service Learning; or Denise Seavers for the RVCC Internships), then you will receive 5% extra credit in calculating your final grade.
No other extra credit opportunities will be provided.
Reasonable Accommodation:
Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course MUST provide documentation of accommodations from the RVCC office of Disability Services, C143. No accommodations will be made without this documentation. Recording of the class via any electronic device is prohibited unless specified in an accommodation letter from the Disability Advisor.
Attendance and Withdrawal:
All students are expected to attend all classes. Regular attendance is essential for success in the course. If you miss more than one-fifth of the class meetings, you could be asked to withdraw from the course. In all cases, the responsibility for withdrawing from the course is the individual student's. Failure to withdraw may result in an "F" grade for the course. Those who simply stop attending the class may receive an "F" grade for the course.
Getting Help:
If you experience difficulties at anytime during the course, there are many ways of getting help.
a. Your textbook and the QuickBooks software. Every task you are asked to complete in the labs is demonstrated in the textbook – if you are having difficulty in remembering how to do something required in a lab, check the chapter material thoroughly. Additionally, there is an extensive help function in the QuickBooks software.
b. Office Hours. The purpose of these office hours is to provide time for me to help and interact with all of you. If the office hours are not convenient for you, see me to set up an appointment. For those who are not located in the vicinity of RVCC, there are on-line office hours.
c. Academic Support Center. For those within the vicinity of the college, RVCC provides its students with accounting tutors, free of charge, in the Academic Support Center. Tutoring at the Academic Support Center generally begins in the second week of classes. When you go to the Academic Support Center, make sure you sign in at the front counter. Tutors will be at the front counter and also working at the tables. The telephone number for the Academic Support Center is 908-526-1200 Ext. 8393.
d. A study group. Students can form study groups to motivate themselves and each other. However, do remember that all work submitted for grading must be the individual’s own work. Submitting the same homework answer or lab that is the result of collaboration is a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy.
e. Workshops. For those within the vicinity of the college, the RVCC Counseling Center offers workshops on many topics and concerns, including test-taking skills, math anxiety, time management, stress management. The schedules and locations of these workshops can be obtained from the Counseling Center.
Academic Integrity Policy:
Academic freedom is a fundamental right in any institution of higher learning. Honesty and integrity are the foundations of ethical conduct and civility and are necessary preconditions of this freedom. Consequently, the maintenance of academic integrity is the obligation of every member of the Raritan Valley community, and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses.
Student Academic Code of Conduct
Raritan Valley Community College requires independent, honest work on the part of its students, and students are expected to conduct themselves with scholarly integrity. Academic integrity can be breached by students in one or more of (but not limited to) the following ways (from the RVCC Student Handbook):
1) Copying graded homework assignments from another student.
2) Working together on an assignment without being authorized by the faculty member to do so.
3) Looking at another student's paper during an exam.
4) Copying another student's computer program or class project and submitting it as one's own.
5) Stealing or borrowing all or part of an exam's questions or answers.
6) Entering a computer file without authorization.
7) Giving someone answers to exam question while the exam is being given.
8) Giving or selling a term paper, report, drawing, or computer program to another student for submission to the faculty member.
9) Deceiving a faculty member to improve one's grade.
10) Falsifying data or a source of information.
11) Use of any technology to gain access to test answers, test questions or prohibited materials such as notes, online data bases and web sites during a test.
12) Submitting work for a grade that was executed in another class or previous semester without the instructor's permission.
Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
1) Copying answers from a textbook to submit for a grade.
2) Quoting text or other works without citation when requested by the faculty member to present one's own work.
3) Submitting a paper or essay obtained from a term paper service or taken from the Internet.
4) Submitting a paper or report written by another student, a spouse, or a colleague as one's own.
5) Submitting another student's project, essay, research paper, or computer program as one's own.
6) Submitting a paper wholly or in substantial part using the exact phrasing of source material.
7) Submitting a paper closely paraphrased from source material, where the original source material is simply edited with perhaps minor word changes occurring.
8) Submitting a paper closely paraphrased from source material, splicing together sentences from scattered segments of the original.
The following penalties for confirmed cheating and plagiarism apply:
· First offense: The faculty member will have the authority to issue a failure on the paper, exam, assignment, or course on which cheating or plagiarism was established. In general, plagiarism that the faculty member considers to be serious and proven shall result in failure for the course.
· Subsequent offenses(s): As with the first offense, the faculty member will have the authority to issue a failure on the paper, exam, assignment, or course on which cheating or plagiarism was established and must report the violation. Upon confirmation of the student's subsequent offense by the Dean of Academic and Student Services, the student will be subject to suspension from the college.