Posted on January 28th, 2008

Category: Personal

If you read my former software engineer post, you will know that I have switched majors at the college. I am no longer going for a Software Engineering degree, but rather I am going for a degree in Finance.

So what are the classes I am taking this semester?

ACCTG 211 (4 Credits) Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making

Professor: Cary F. Chludzinski

Course Objective: To introduce students to the discipline of accounting through an introduction to two of accounting’s sub-disciplines, financial and managerial accounting. The more specific purpose is to provide students a basic understanding of the role of financial and managerial accounting information in the decisions of capital market participants external to a business enterprise (e.g., stockholders, banks, financial analysts, prospective stockholders), and in the decisions of those who manage business enterprises.

Upon completion of this course I will be able to:

1. To understand the Basics of record keeping and preparation of financial statements.
2. Understand the use of managerial accounting information in decision making.
3. Read corporate annual reports.
4. Understand the relevance of accounting information to my day to day life.
5. Understand the basic purpose, usefulness, and limitations of financial and managerial accounting information.
6. Solve accounting problems using Excel spreadsheet software.

Course Time

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 11:00am until 12:15 pm.

B A 243 (4 Credits) Business Administration (The Legal, Social, and Ethical Environment of Business

Professor: Dr. Philip K. Iobst

Course Objective: To Explore the Ethical, political, social, legal and regulatory, technological, and demographic diversity environment of business.

Some of things I will learn from this Course:

1. About the Dynamic Business Environment
2. Critics of Business
3. Business Ethics / Making Ethical Decisions
4. Corporate Social Responsibility
5. Business in Politics
6. Federal Regulation of Business
7. Consumerism
8. Multinational Corps. And Free Trade
9. Globalization
10. and more!

Course Time

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 pm till 1:30 pm

Wednesday 10 am till 11:45am.

ECON 002 (3 Credits) – Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy

Professor: Dr. James A. Kurre

Course Objective: Most fundamentally, Economics is about decision-making. There are always costs and benefits to every decision, whether it be to purchase the Porsche or Metro, to raise or lower the minimum wage, or to continue reading this blog post, or go do something else. Econ 002 will introduce economic principles at a micro level, the level of the individual household and business firm.

Upon completion of this course I will be able to:

1. Make better decisions by weighing the marginal costs and marginal benefits of various alternatives.
2. Use the concept of opportunity cost to help me use my time more wisely.
3. Explain how two countries or two people can both benefit from specialization and trade, even if one is better at everything than the other.
4. Use supply and demand analysis to explain why the price of a good or service changed.
5. Predict changes in price as a result of changes in other factors such as a cost increase or a change in tastes.
6. Explain how a free-market economy tends to result in efficiency, because of incentives it incorporates.
7. Recognize economic bs when I hear it, and be able to explain the flaws in such arguments.
8. Apply the concept of diminishing marginal utility to my own consumption decisions, and be able to make wiser choices with my income.
9. And much more!

Course Time

Tuesday and Thursdays from 1:00 to 2:15.

KINES 017 (1.5 Credits) – Ballroom Dancing

Professor: Carol Gilbo

Course Objective: A course designed to provide students with basic dance skills and an understanding and appreciation of ballroom dance.

Course Takeaway:

Well, it is an easy course, a requirement I have to fulfill towards my degree, 3 credits of Health and fitness. I hope to be able to familiarize myself with ballroom dancing techniques, and be able to learn how to dance.

Course Time

Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 9:50am

SCM 200 (4 Credits) – Introduction to statistics for Business Decisions

Professor: Bob Patterson

Course Objective:

This course introduces students to basic statistical techniques and analysis that are commonly used in business decisions. These techniques are used to improve decision making and improve the value of information that is available. The focus of the course will be on improving the analytical skills of the student through use of the tools and techniques presented. In addition, emphasis will be placed on the interpretation of results and the limitations of statistical techniques in improving decisions.

Some of things I will learn about in this Course:

1. Descriptive Statistics
2. Probability
3. Discrete Distributions
4. Continuous Distributions
5. Sampling and Sampling Distributions
6. Statistical Inference: Estimation for single populations
7. Statistical Inference: Hypothesis Testing for Single populations
8. Regression Analysis.
9. Statistical Quality Control.
10. and more!

Conclusion:

After one week of the classes, so far I have been enjoying them. It is a completely new thing for me, since I used to be in engineering, geared towards software.