Course Description

The main purpose of this elementary course is to prepare 1st and 2nd year students for the next level of undergraduate courses in governmental and non-profit accounting and reporting and a preparatory course for financial management and government finance. Students are expected to develop an understanding of basic accounting concepts, assumptions, important Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and accounting cycle as understood and practiced in different types of organizations.

No prior accounting knowledge is required for this course.  We will learn the material by reading online texts, viewing videos, lectures with demonstrations, individual and group practice, polling questions and exams. 

This course builds on knowledge from prior sessions. So missing multiple session is detrimental to building your accounting foundation.

>Read prior to class. Answer the questions contained within the readings to determine "what are the most important parts".  This helps you know what to pay attention to during the lectures to follow.

>Attend class to respond to polling questions and complete in class activities.  This gives you immediate feedback on your progress towards the learning objectives and provides additional clarification based upon polling results. 

>Practice, practice, practice! Reading about accounting is NOT the same as "doing" accounting.  So prepare to get behind the wheel and drive!

 Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Explain problems using financial accounting terminology.
2. Record daily transactions for Business, Not-for-profit, and Governmental entities.
3. Illustrate the basic procedures for adjusting, closing entries, and summarizing the accounting records prior to the preparation of the financial statements.
4. Students will be able to construct financial statements using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) based upon financial transactions and analyze the results of operations

 Course Requirements 

Required Text and Materials

• McCaster, Antonette: Elements of Accounting for Business, Governmental & Not-for-profit organizations; 1st Edition, 2018. TopHat. ISBN: 978-1-77330-674-2 (accessed through Canvas -Tophat menu item).
  
• Spiceland/ Thomas / Herrmann: Financial Accounting; 6th Edition, . McGraw-Hill Connect. ISBN: 978-1-26414-030-5 (accessed through Canvas - McGraw-Hill Connect menu item).
• Microsoft Excel (free download using IUware)

Technical Requirements

You will need the following in order to participate in this course:

• Computer or tablet; 
• Reliable internet connection;
• Microphone;
• Access to Canvas & TopHat using a supported web browser.

Technical Support

• Tophat Support
  • email (support@tophat.com), the in-app support button, or by calling 1-888-663-5491
• McGraw-Hill Connect support
  • Phone: 1-800-331-5094; Live chat/email: https://mhedu.force.com/CXG/s/ContactUs
  • Mon-Thu: 24 Hours, Fri: 12 AM-9 PM, Sat: 10 AM-8 PM, Sun: 12 PM-12 AM (All Times Eastern USA)

 Course Assessments

Course Assessment:

Course Attendance/Time Commitment

• Course attendance is required. When a student knows in advance they will be absent, the students are expected to complete in class activities via canvas. Assignments can not be submitted after collected during class and reviewed. 
• If you miss more than 3 consecutive class sessions for medical or personal reasons, it may be best to consider withdrawing from the course until you are able to return and focus on your academic goals.
• Students are encouraged to attend virtual office hours when unable to attend office hours in person; which are scheduled by appointment via zoom. 
• Polling questions are designed to guide the lecture in real time.  Consequently, receiving credit for correctly answering a lecture polling question before or after the live class session is not an option. 
  • FOR IN PERSON CLASS LECTURES: A student can answer polling questions from outside the classroom during the time period the question is open. This option is an accommodation to students.  Regardless of the reason for the absence, not being present in class will cause you to miss the opportunity to engage with the instructor and/or fellow students during the learning process. 
• Late Withdrawal. NOTE: The auto-W deadline is NO LONGER THE LAST DAY OF CLASS (as it was during and post-Covid).  After the auto-W deadline, withdrawal will be significantly limited and you will need permission to withdraw and must meet requirements established by O’Neill.

• How much time should you be spending on this class:  If this is a standard 3-credit semester length class, you are expected to spend an average of 6 or more hours outside of class per week on reading, studying, assignments, etc.  If this is a 6- or 8-week 3-credit class, you are expected to spend at least 12 hours outside of class per week on these activities.

 Submitting Assignments

• Photos of homework assignments are NOT acceptable.
• It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all electronic submissions can be opened and viewed for grading. To do this, students should return to the assignment menu, after submitting, and click on the link of the submitted file to ensure that it displays exactly what they want graded. 
• Assignments in this course should be either completed during class, or submitted via Canvas/assignments as indicated by each assessment instructions.
• Students must submit all assignments prior to the due date/time and according to instructions to receive full credit.
  • Canvas/pages reflects the accurate due date/time for both Canvas and tophat assessments
  • The tophat due date is NOT the due date for completion.  It is the date that answers will be released and no further updates can be made. 
• Take home exam allowed resources:
  • Only approved sources should be utilized and material should not be discussed (in person or electronically) with anyone. The IU student code of ethics will apply to this course.
    • G: Uphold and maintain academic and professional honesty and integrity: II: Responsibilities: Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct: Indiana University (iu.edu)
    • Approved resources for Exams:
      • Tophat online text & lecture slides
      • Your previously completed assignments
      • Microsoft Excel/Calculator
      • Chart of Accounts
      • Rules of Debit/Credit
• Grades will be posted in Canvas within a reasonable time of the due date. Since Canvas keeps track of all of your grades, you should always be able to calculate your current grade in the course. If you need assistance, please contact me.
• Students should contact the instructor within 5 days of grade posting (except for the week of finals where it is shortened due to registrars final grade submission deadlines) with questions/concerns about the grade posted. 
• Make-up assignments. There are no "on demand make up assignments" in this course.  Opportunities to demonstrate your mastery of the course learning objectives are provided throughout the semester.  Consequently, you are expected to attend and complete the additional opportunities provided to demonstrate course mastery should circumstances arise that require you miss a regularly scheduled class meeting time.
• Assignments submitted outside of the outlined parameters will automatically be deducted 10% each day; if solutions/grades have not been reviewed/released. 
  • No assignment will be accepted for grading after the solutions are released.
• Access course guidance by class period 
  • Student Guide

Note Selling: Several commercial services have approached students regarding selling class notes/study guides to their classmates. Selling the instructor’s notes/study guides in this course is not permitted. Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities. Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s notes/study guides individually or on behalf of one of these services using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

Course Materials—Instructor’s Exclusive Rights.

The faculty member teaching this course holds the exclusive right to distribute, modify, post, and reproduce course materials, including all written materials, study guides, lectures, assignments, exercises, and exams. While you are permitted to take notes on the online materials and lectures posted for this course for your personal use, you are not permitted to re-post in another forum, upload to AI, distribute, reproduce content from this course, or sell the instructor’s course materials (including notes and study guides) without the express written permission of the faculty member.

Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities.

Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s course using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

Use of generative AI (such as ChatGPT) in this class.  Using AI to assist in completing assignments will be allowed only in the following ways:

• The financial literacy project WITH confirmation and inclusion of sources of all information for accuracy.
• Summarizing your own notes to prepare study guides and look for knowledge gaps.

All other use of AI is prohibited. You are permitted to use the free version of Grammarly and Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar tool. 

If you use AI in an unauthorized manner, you will be committing plagiarism* and will be subject to penalties in this class and sanctions by Indiana University. 

WARNING: Submitting any questions, assignments, notes, slides, or other instructor-produced course materials into Generative AI without permission is a violation of the faculty member’s exclusive rights and will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct.

*Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. https://studentcode.iu.edu/responsibilities/academic-misconduct.html. (emphasis added)

 Email Communication

• If a students chooses to send emails OUTSIDE of the Canvas system, you must indicate the course number (found at the top of this screen -SPEA-V246-3572) or class meeting time in the subject line.
• Canvas is the primary method of communication for the course (Pages, Announcements, Email, etc.)

Student Honor Code

Introduction

The O’Neill School takes matters of honesty and integrity seriously.  We expect O’Neill students will, at all times, maintain academic integrity and civil and professional standards of conduct.

Scope

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code applies to all courses and programs offered by O’Neill, and to all students who participate in O’Neill classes and programs, regardless of whether students are admitted to O’Neill. Students studying at O’Neill are expected to continue their commitment to ethical behavior in all their endeavors, including, but not limited to, coursework inside and outside of O’Neill, internships, community service, and overseas study.

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code incorporates IU’s Code of Student Right, Responsibilities, & Conduct and extends to matters of civility and professional conduct, including, expectations about class attendance, punctuality, participation in class, and decorum in class and at other school functions.

Academic Conduct Requirements  

All students enrolled in O’Neill courses are subject to the academic misconduct provisions found in the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.  

Academic misconduct is defined as any activity that tends to undermine the academic integrity of the institution.

The IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct lists and defines many types of academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules, and facilitating academic dishonesty.   

Academic misconduct includes the use of any technology or assistance, including AI, that is not permitted by the instructor.

Civility and Professional Conduct Requirements

O’Neill requires that all students treat others with mutual respect and behave professionally in the classroom and during all academic and non-academic activities.

These civility and professional conduct requirements foster an appropriate atmosphere inside and outside the classroom:

• Students must act in accordance with the O’Neill School mission and values.
• Students must regularly attend and be fully prepared for class, including completing readings.
• Students must not behave in a way that interrupts or distracts from teaching or learning. For example, students must be punctual in their arrival to class and be present and attentive for the duration of the class. They must not sleep, do work for another class, or wander in and out of the classroom, pack up, or leave class early (unless an emergency exists).
• Students must abide by the course policy regarding use of electronic devices in the classroom, including a requirement that no electronics are allowed or that students are not permitted to use devices for non-class related purposes.
• Students must responsibly participate in class activities and during team meetings for course assignments.
• Students must attend scheduled meetings with faculty or staff, events for which they have RSVPed, interviews with prospective employers, and student organization meetings.  
• Students must address faculty members, other students, and others appropriately and with respect, whether in person, in writing, or in electronic communications.
• Students must show tolerance and respect for others.
• Students must practice respect and responsible stewardship of the physical resources of the school, refraining from destroying or defacing school property, integrating practices of sustainability, and contributing to a clean and orderly physical environment in all buildings, classrooms, offices, and meeting spaces.   
• Students must comply with the personal misconduct responsibilities within the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.

Reporting 

Students must abide by the O’Neill Student Honor Code themselves and hold their peers to the same standards. Students should report suspected instances of academic, civility, or professional misconduct to the instructor of the course. Students should report suspected instances of personal misconduct to the IU Office of Student Conduct. 

 Grading Scale

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The following schedule is subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

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