Department of Economics & Finance

Economics & Finance

College of Business & Public Affairs

Course Listing - Learning Traceability Matrix

    As part of our efforts to continuously improve the quality of our course offerings by making it responsive to both students’ needs and the changing macro-economic environment, we outlined a set of “intended learning outcomes”. These intended learning outcomes are a set of functional skills that Finance major of the 21st century should possess.

    Based on this assessment, we then created new courses, and also redesigned existing courses to ensure that the courses making up the Finance curriculum provide these functional skills.

    The traceability matrix summarized in the table below maps functional requirements to courses that make up the Finance curriculum.

S/No	Functional Knowledge Requirement(s)	Curriculum Course(s) Providing Knowledge	Key Course Objective(s)
1.	Critically analyze an issue	FIN 375	Perform a literature search; Review and synthesize literature; Critically assess the literature Develop a supportable thesis; Write a thesis paper
2.	Use quantitative methods to analyze problems	ECO 252, FIN 375	Develop a testable hypothesis; Obtain data; Test the hypothesis; Interpret the results(Students must use Spreadsheet software, like MS Excel, Lotus 123, etc, or statistical analysis application like SPSS to perform statistical analysis.)
3.	Make written and oral presentations	ECO 251, ECO 252, FIN 344, FIN 326, FIN 375, FIN 337, ENG 368	ECO 251, 252: Interpret statistical results and write an executive summary for a business supervisor with limited statistical knowledge. FIN 344, 326: Perform a financial analysis of a company. (Students prepare a professionally written paper summarizing their analysis). FIN 375: Develop a portfolio analysis for a client, write the report, and present it to them. FIN 337, 375: Effectively integrate and present information to stakeholders using PowerPoint. ENG 368: Learn to write appropriately given the topic and audience. All finance courses: All tests will require written explanations of financial concepts and/or theories.
4.	Critically analyze media reports; Understand diverse perspectives	ECO 111, ECO 112, FIN 375	ECO 111, 112: Evaluate the newspaper articles and popular media representations of economic and finance topics to better understand assumptions, biases, and perceptions. FIN 375: Write a critical book review of a popular, non-academic finance book.
5.	Effectively use technology	FIN 326, FIN 325, FIN 326, FIN 344, FIN 375, ECO 251, ECO 252	FIN 326: Use spreadsheet application to analyze financial problems. FIN 375, ECO 251, 252: Use statistical analysis software package, such as Minitab and SPSS, to analyze problems. FIN 325: Use internet technologies and the world wide web to obtain financial information. FIN 326, 344, 375: Obtain data from Valueline and Compustat from the world wide web, and perform on them. Most courses: Use word processing software like MS Word to complete papers.
6.	Manage time effectively	All finance courses	Homework problems, reports, and presentations must be submitted on-time; Late work will either not be accepted or will be heavily penalized.(In order to set a good example, professors pledge to return tests within one week.)
7.	Behave ethically and accept responsibility	All finance courses	Syllabi will contain a paragraph defining academic dishonesty and the consequences for such behavior; Faculty commits to vigorously enforce such policies.
8.	Interact with others and work in teams	FIN 337, MGT 499	Make group presentations; Groups manage Stock-Trak portfolios.

Click here for a complete description of the Finance program curriculum courses designed to satisfy the above functional knowledge requirements.