Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Contact Information
Using Excel for Business Decisions (EBD 1ST) ISBN# 978-0-912503-76-9
Online Bookstore for direct purchase: https://armonddalton.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/using-excel-business-decisions-1st-edition
My Thoughts….
Excel proficiency is a marketable skill in many disciplines. Routinely (nearly twice a semester), the business area is contacted by an area company or nonprofit seeking help with Excel. Additionally, employers and alumni are telling us that our graduates need to be proficient in Excel to an intermediate level, not just the basics. Excel skills are required for 82% of mid-level positions and being certified in Excel can increase earnings by about 12% (goskills.com, 2018). Careers requiring Excel can include (not an exhaustive list): accountants, auditors, IT staff, administrative assistants, agri-business, biologists, social workers, managers, financial analysts, teachers, loan officers, project managers, and sales professionals. According to a recent article in Forbes based on a survey of nearly 64,000 managers, “60% of managers claim the new graduates taking jobs within their organizations do not have the critical thinking and problem-solving skills” (Forbes, June 2020). Additionally, it was found that 39% of managers indicated that recent new hires needed more skills in data analysis. Excel proficiency can provide some tangible evidence of being skilled in problem solving and critical thinking
Proficiency in Excel goes beyond just making a table or a graph. Some of the key skills desired by employers (LinkedIn.com, 2018) include:
- advanced skills in functions
- sorting and grouping of statistics
- data validation
- familiarity with macros and VBA (visual basic for applications)
- protecting sheets and locking cells
- data formatting
- advanced data analysis
- pivot tables
Learning Goals
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Plan, create, design, and manage Excel worksheets
- Create and utilize formulas and functions
- Determine appropriate chart style to represent data
- Plan, create, design, and manage charts/graphs
- Create and manage pivot tables
Tentative Schedule
Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given.
WEEK | DATE | CHAPTER |
1 | Oct 20 | Introductions, review of syllabus, get logged into the system |
Oct 22 | Chapter 1 | |
2 | Oct 27 | Finish Chapter 1, peer eval in class |
Oct 29 | Chapter 2 | |
3 | Nov 3 | Chapters 1-2 HW due by 5:00 pm; Chapter 3 |
| Nov 5 | Chapter 4, peer eval in class |
4 | Nov 10 | Chapter 3-4 HW due by 5:00 pm; Chapter 5 |
| Nov 12 | Chapter 6, peer eval in class |
5 | Nov 17 | Chapter 5-6 HW due by 5:00 pm; Chapter 7 |
| Nov 19 | Chapter 8, peer eval in class |
6 | Nov 24 | Chapter 7-8 HW due by 5:00 pm; Chapter 9 |
| Nov 26 | NO CLASS – Thanksgiving Holiday |
7 | Dec 1 | Chapter 10, peer eval in class |
| Dec 3 | Chapter 9-10 HW due by 5:00 pm |
8 | Dec 8 | Final project overview |
| Dec 15 | Final project and all outstanding assignments DUE 5:00 pm |
Extra Credit
There will be NO extra credit offered in this class.
*****
Assignments
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments are an individual effort. We will work through the chapter project together as a class. Then you will have a HW assignment due for the chapter using a data file I will provide to you. There will be some time allotted in class to work on your HW assignments. On the designated Peer Eval days, the goal is to collaborate with a classmate on the HW or in class assignments.
Grading
Chapter in class projects 250 points
- 1 per chapter
- Max 25 points per project
Chapter HW projects 500 points
- 1 per chapter
- Max 50 points per project
Attendance/Peer Eval 200 points
- Max 200 points
Final Project 150 points
-------------
TOTAL 1100 points
The grading scale will be as follows:
90%-100% A
86% - 89% B+
80% - 85% B
76% - 79% C+
70% - 75% C
66% - 69% D+
60% - 65% D
below 60% F
Instructor Course Policies
Attendance is MANDATORY. A significant portion of your grade in this course is participation and peer evaluation. You will start with 200 attendance/peer eval points. For each class you miss, you will lose 5 points. IF you miss class when we are doing the peer evaluations in class, you will lose 10 points.
Should you have to miss class, please inform me BEFORE if you know you will be missing a class. You will not be able to make up work after the missed absence. All work must be submitted prior to the absence. If you are an athlete, it is your responsibility to keep up with the work and communicate with me regarding your obligations. I understand that at times emergencies prevent you from attending class. These instances will be handled on a case-by-case basis. See the current student handbook for the college’s attendance policy, especially as it pertains to absences.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity in all work for this course. Plagiarism and/or cheating of any form will NOT be tolerated. Dishonesty in any work may result in a grade of F for the course. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty that may result in the same penalty. In cases of mitigating circumstances, the instructor may assign a lesser penalty.
The use of AI is strictly prohibited in this class. If you use AI to complete any part of any assignment, you will receive a zero for the assignment. Again, dishonesty in any work in this course may also result in a failing grade for the term.
Learning Environment
I am expecting that each student will display mutual respect for the professor and other classmates at all times. When you are in the class, you are on my time. As such, coming to class late, disrupting the class, packing up your belongings prior to the end of class, etc. is considered disrespectful and very irritating to me.
The learning environment is structured such that you are responsible for your own learning. I expect that when in class you will be prepared, participate, and be an engaged learner. This includes, but is not limited to taking notes, asking questions, responding during discussions, and contributing to the overall learning of the class members.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |