MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT

ACCOUNTING 101 – PRACTICAL ACCOUNTING

 

 

FACULTY  INFORMATION

Professor Christina Hata

Office: Room 4810, Oceanside Campus

Tel: (760) 757-2121 ext. 6399

Fax: (760) 795-6770

Email: chata@miracosta.edu

 

 

TEXT AND STUDY GUIDE

1.                  College Accounting – Heintz & Parry, Southwestern Publisher, 19th edition, Chap 1-15,

ISBN: 0-324-38249-9, E-Book: 0-324-65268-2

2.                  Practice Set – Balloon Adventures, Houghton & Mifflin Publisher,

ISBN 0-618-52367-7

 

DAYS AND TIME       Tuesday/Thursday 4:30PM – 6:20PM

                                    Office Hours: Tuesdays/Wednesdays: 12:30 – 1:00 PM, Thursdays: 3:00 - 4:00PM

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to introduce students to the field of accounting.  The following topics will be addressed over the course of the semester: recordkeeping for sole proprietorships in service and trade businesses, including worksheets, adjusting and closing journal entries, payroll, cash reconciliation, and preparation of financial statements.  Practical problems are stressed, and students will be required to complete an accounting practice set for a company. Formerly BUS 101

 

COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to do the following:

 

1.                  Judge the meaning of financial statements and the means by which they are constructed.

2.                  Explain the procedures of the accounting cycle.

3.                  Complete an accounting simulation both manually and using a computer.

4.                  Demonstrate an understanding of annual reports through analyzing the Annual Report of a major corporation using complete sentences, spelling accounting terms correctly and writing with reasonable clarity.

5.                  Discuss opportunities and professional career ladders in the accounting field.

 

COURSE PHILOSOPHY

Together the students and instructor in this course will be creating a learning community.  All members of this community are responsible for ensuring that learning takes place.  Thus, preparation and contribution to discussion are very important.  Students are expected to complete the assigned reading and preparatory assignments, contribute meaningfully and substantively in class, and complete and submit all assignments by their due dates.  The nature of the learning activities includes lecture, in-class discussion, homework, practice set problems, small group activities, and short writing assignments at the end of each session.

 

ACTIVITIES/ ASSIGNMENTS

Regularly completing your homework will significantly aid in your study of accounting.  Learning accounting is like learning a new language – it takes practice.  You should be prepared to present your homework solutions as a part of class discussions. To this end, absences will adversely affect your participation grade. 

 

The assignment schedule is tentative and subject to change.  Students are responsible for any schedule/assignment changes announced in class.

 

 

Attendance points will be determined as follows:  You will be awarded 100 points based on your percentage of attendance. There are 31 class meetings, which I exclude the first meeting due to late enrollment and the last two for grade processing. Then, you will be given two dropped class meetings. This leaves us with 28 class meetings. Here is an example:  You attend 26 out of the 31 class meetings; because 5 are dropped your attendance grade will be 26/28 = 93%.

 

IN-CLASS WORK/ PARTICIPATION

At the end of each class meeting you will have three questions to answer as in-class homework.  Your response is due before you leave class.

1.      What did I learn about accounting today?

2.      How can I apply what I learned to my job or my life?

3.      What new questions do you have as a result of the lecture and/or readings?

 

LATE WORK ACCEPTANCE POLICY:

Late work is not accepted.  If you cannot attend class please make accommodations to turn in your homework to me via email, fax, through a classmate, dropped in my box at the administration office, or some other method.  I absolutely understand that sometimes things happen to inhibit your ability to make it to class (work, personal matters, etc).  However, this course is a business course and is designed in part to prepare you for the business world, where deadlines simply cannot be missed!

 

EXAMINATIONS

There will be four examinations with each worth 100 points.  Your lowest exam grade will be dropped (except for Final).  If you miss an exam, this will be your dropped grade.  If two exams are missed, the second missed exam will be given a zero as there will be no make-up exams (no exceptions).  The final must be taken to complete the class. If attendance or homework is lowest grade, this can be your dropped grade. Final exam and the practice set cannot be a dropped grade.

 

PRACTICE SET

Students will be required to complete the Balloon Adventures accounting practice set.  A practice set is a comprehensive accounting problem designed to give the student practical experience in maintaining a set of accounting records.  Successful completion of the practice set is worth 100 points.  Balloon Adventures can be purchased at the bookstore.  We will begin working on Balloon Adventures after chapter 09.  It is due on May 06, 2008.

 

COURSE EVALUATION

Exam 1                                                            100 points                  

Exam 2                                                            100 points      

Exam 3                                                            100 points

Exam 4                                                            100 points

Final Exam                                                      100 points

Class Attendance Quizzes                             100 points

Participation                                                    100 points

Homework                                                       220 points

Internal Controls Project                                 50 points       

Financial Reporting Project                            75 points

Practice Set                                                    200 points

                                                                        1245 total points possible

 

GRADING SCALE

Grade

Percentage of total points possible

A

90 – 100

B

80 – 89

C

70 – 79

D

60 – 69

F

0 – 59

 

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Verified Disability:                           

A student with a verified disability may be entitled to appropriate academic accommodations. Please contact me and/or the Disabled Students Program & Services Office at (760) 795-6658, or the office of the ADA Coordinator at (760) 795-6866.

Important Dates and Drop Information:

·         September 6, 2008 (Saturday): Last day to ADD classes.

·         September 6, 2008 (Saturday); Last day to DROP classes with no grade and no “W”.

·         September 26, 2008 (Friday): Last day to file Petition for Degree/Certificate and to file for Credit/No Credit; Consider this option if you do not need a letter grade.

·         November 20, 2008 (Thursday): Last day to Drop class with “W” grade; Drops after that receive a letter grade (generally an “F”); If you discover this course is not for you, make sure to drop by this date.

  • Students are responsible to complete all necessary paperwork if they decide to withdraw from class. The Instructor must take strong steps to insure all students are “attending” and active. Therefore, the Instructor retains discretion to process a Withdrawal (Drop) for  students WITHOUT ADDITIONAL NOTICE for ANY of the following (unless discussed with Instructor and approved in advance):

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Each student is responsible for performing academic tasks in such a way that honesty is not in question.  Unless an exception is specifically defined by an instructor, students are expected to maintain the following standards of integrity:

·         All tests, term papers, oral and written assignments, recitations, and all other academic efforts are to be the work of the student presenting the material.

  • Any use of wording, ideas, or findings of other persons, writers, or researchers requires the explicit citation of the source; use of the exact wording requires a “quotation" format.

Plagiarism and Ethics Policy:

Each student agrees to the following statements of student behavior:

  • I agree that I, and only I, will be the one completing and submitting class materials (homework, quizzes, exams, written projects, etc.) in my name.
  • I agree that I will not directly copy or plagiarize material from books, publications, the Internet, other students’ work, or any other source. I am familiar with, and I agree not to violate, copyright laws. If small amounts of material from other sources are used as part of any class assignment, I agree to clearly indicate such and properly cite the source.
  • I agree that, unless approved by the instructor, I will not share answers to homework assignments, quizzes, exams, or any other course material with fellow classmates.
  • I acknowledge that failure to comply with any of the above statements may result in failure of an assignment, removal from the course, failure in the course, and discipline action deemed appropriate by the instructor in his sole discretion and/or policies and procedures set forth by the Board of Trustees of the MiraCosta Community College District, fully described in the College Catalog.

 

EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

All students are expected to be present, to be prepared, and to contribute actively to discussion in ways that enrich the quality of learning for all.  Reading and project/written assignments specified on the course calendar are to be completed prior to the designated class meetings.  Written assignments and projects are due on the dates shown; none will be accepted late.

 

We have a contract as joint participants in the course:  we are responsible for coming together as prepared professionals, with ownership of our time and a stake in ensuring that it is spent in ways that are valuable to us both individually and as a group. 

 

EXPECTATIONS OF FACULTY

To be prepared for every class; to return student papers promptly, with appropriate feedback; to be available during office hours and by appointment, to meet with students; to be frequently responsive to email messages; to hold high standards for all of us.  Faculty and students together are responsible for creating and sustaining a safe environment that facilitates learning, openness, personal growth, and mutual trust and respect. The faculty is committed to the success of each student.

 

TUTORING AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER

TASC offers free tutoring for this course (and others) at the HUB.  For more information call (760) 944-7748 ext. 7748 or just drop by the HUB. I urge you to take advantage of this valuable resource.

 

THE WRITING CENTER

The Writing Center offers assistance with any writing assignment (even accounting).  It has been my experience that writing skills are a critical component of success in the workplace.  Develop good skills now! You can drop in for a 15 minute consultation or make an appointment for one-on-one help.  Like the TASC, the Writing Center is located in the HUB. For more information call (760) 795-6682. These people are here to help you – take advantage!  

 

Chapter Assignment Schedule

Chapter

Exercises (Set A)

Problems (Set A)

Points

Due Date

1

1,2

 

20

 

2

1-7

9-12

20

 

3

2,3, 7-12

13,14

20

 

Exam #1

 

4

4-7

9

20

 

5

1-5, 7-10

14

20

 

6

1-3

6-8

20

 

Exam #2

 

7

4,5

9-11

20

 

8

1-6

9

20

 

9

3-6

8

20

 

Exam #3

 

10

2-6

10 (part 1 only)

20

 

11

1,2,4,5,6

10

20

 

15

 

 

20

 

Exam #4

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

 

Note for Exercises and Problems: At the end of each chapter in the text, there are two sets of exercises and problems, “A” set and “B” set.  All assigned exercises and problems for homework are from the text and are to be completed from the “A” set.  You may use the accounting forms in the Study Guide with Working Papers when doing the homework. 

 

Changes to this syllabus may be made at the discretion of faculty.

 

The assignment schedule is tentative and subject to change.  Students are responsible for any schedule/assignment changes announced in class.

 

Note for Online Coursework: Some hours of in-class instruction will be substituted with equivalent online activities.