Module and Course Development Grant
Indiana State University
FIN 333: Principles of Investment
Abstract
This proposal is for the design and development of a web-based asynchronous
course, Principles of Investment (FIN 333). This three-credit-hour course
is a requirement for all Finance Majors at Indiana State University. In
addition, FIN 333 is an elective for the Insurance Major and a requirement
for the Finance Concentration in the Business Administration Major offered
through the DegreeLink Program. DegreeLink is an Indiana State University
partnership with Vincennes University and Ivy Tech State College that
provides statewide access to baccalaureate degree-completion programs
via distance technologies. Currently, only one undergraduate finance course
is offered via the Internet through the Indiana College Network. The proposed
web-based offering of FIN 333 will enable DegreeLink students to meet
the two-course requirement for the Finance Concentration in Business Administration.
In addition to the DegreeLink Program, a secondary market exists for a
module-based offering of FIN 333. The contents of this web-based course
will be repackaged into distinct modules to be delivered to students,
investors, and other residents of Indiana who are interested in learning
how the financial market operates, and how to select, monitor, and manage
their own investments. The proposed project requires a total of $ 28,104.
Of this amount, $18,454 is requested from the Indiana Partnership for
Statewide Education (IPSE), and $9,650 will be provided as matching funds
by Indiana State University (ISU).
Project Narrative
This proposal is a request for funding to support the design and development
of Principles of Investment (FIN 333) as an asynchronous, web-based course.
In addition, the content of the web-based FIN 333 will be repackaged into
several distinct modules to be marketed to investors, students, and other
residents of Indiana who are interested in learning about the financial
market.
1-2. Needs To Be Addressed and Learners To Be Served
Indiana State University's Finance 333 is currently offered only on campus.
The proposed web-based FIN 333 will be an asynchronous course accessible
statewide via the Internet. The primary audience will be Indiana residents
completing the Business Administration or Insurance Baccalaureate Degree-Completion
Programs offered through DegreeLink, an Indiana State University partnership
with Ivy Tech State College and Vincennes University. During 1999 - 2000,
business courses and programs were the most demanded by DegreeLink students.
Currently, FIN 333 is not available in a distance format.
In addition, only one undergraduate finance course is offered over the
Internet through the Indiana College Network. The offering of FIN 333
as a web-based distance course will enable DegreeLink students to meet
the two-course requirement for the Finance Concentration in Business Administration,
and to satisfy an elective requirement in Insurance. In addition, FIN
333 is a requirement for all Finance Majors at Indiana State University.
A secondary market exists for a module-based offering of FIN 333. The
contents of this course will be repackaged into distance modules that
will be marketed to investors, students, and others who wish to learn
about the financial marketing, including how to select, monitor and manage
their own investments. Thus, the needs of two very distinct groups of
learners will be addressed with a web-based offering of FIN 333.
3. Rationale for Choice of Course and Technology To Be Used
As the DegreeLink Program enters its third year of program delivery, additional
upper-level business courses must be developed for distance delivery to
ensure that DegreeLink students can meet the requirements for their Business
Administration and Insurance bachelor degrees. Principles of Investments
(FIN 333) is targeted for distance delivery for the following reasons.
Principles of Investment (FIN 333) is:
- An upper-level course that
will partially satisfy requirements of the both the Business Administration
and the Insurance Baccalaureate Degree-Completion Programs offered through
DegreeLink. As part of the articulation agreements among the participating
college and universities, ISU will offer only upper-level undergraduate
courses for DegreeLink students.
- A requirement for Finance
Majors and an important elective for all other business majors.
- The most frequently chosen
elective by students enrolled in the Business Administration Program.
- Not currently offered via
the Internet by any university in Indiana.
- An important supplement
for the DegreeLink initiative; therefore, the development of a web-based
distance offering of FIN 333 has been identified as a priority by the
University.
- A course that will attract
significant enrollment.
Because it is necessary for
place- and time-bound audiences to have optimal access to FIN 333, creating
an asynchronous web-based course will reach the largest number of clients
in the target market. In addition, the choice of a web-based course format
will increase the opportunities for interactivity and communication between
and among the participants and the instructor. Interaction was reported
to be one of the most important components of any learning experience
(Dewey 1938). In the distance learning environment, meaningful interaction
through email, discussion board, listserv and online chat will provoke
intellectually stimulating exchanges of ideas between teachers and students
and among students themselves. A web-based offering will also provide
access to and encourage the utilization of on-line investment resources.
4-5. Institutional Capacity and Commitment
ISU has committed extensive resources to help faculty develop courses
for the DegreeLink Program. This includes design, development, training,
and evaluation assistance from instructional designers and course development
editors in the Office of Distance Education, staff in Information Technology
and the Faculty Computing Resource Center. In addition, the Office of
Distance Education will support, market, and implement FIN 333 as part
of DegreeLink and the University's Distance Education Program. The School
of Business is also committed to the development of FIN 333, and will
provide the necessary support needed to design, develop, and deliver this
course.
6. Instructional Design and Delivery Plan
The primary source of information for the course will be an investment
textbook. The students will be required to complete reading assignments,
homework problems, exercises, and weekly quizzes to demonstrate their
understanding of the course material. Evaluation also will include three
examinations and a project. For this project, each participant will define
an investment goal and then access web sites such as Yahoo or Quicken
to research real financial data to create a portfolio that is consistent
with the participant objective as stated in his/her policy statement.
Each participant will then monitor and manage the portfolio till the end
of the semester. His or her experience with managing the portfolio and
outcome of the investment will be shared with the instructor and the other
students through online discussion board.
FIN 333 will be developed and offered via the Internet using CourseInfo
4.0, a web-based courseware product that is supported and maintained by
the University. Content will be designed using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint,
and Adobe PhotoShop software programs. The course site will feature approximately
15 learning modules comprised of lectures, demonstrations, on-line exercises,
and quizzes and exams.
7. How the Instructional Design Serves the Needs of the Target Audience
The target audience for the proposed web-based FIN 333 course includes
time- and place-bound adult learners who are completing the Business Administration
and Insurance majors offered through DegreeLink. Many of these individuals
are living and working in underserved areas of the State. Others face
the time constraints of shift work, and care of dependent children and/or
elderly parents. An asynchronous web-based course will offer these individuals
optimal access and ensure that the course will reach the largest number
of individuals in the target market. In addition, the choice of a web-based
format will increase the opportunities for interactivity and communication
between and among the students and the instructor. A web-based offering
also will provide access to and encourage the utilization of on-line investment
resources. A secondary market exists for the module-based offering of
FIN 333. This audience includes working professionals and other adult
learners who are seeking workforce development or personal enrichment
opportunities. The proposed web-based asynchronous format, resplendent
with interaction and communication, will best satisfy the needs of this
population.
8. Course Evaluation Plan
FIN 333 will be evaluated by ISU instructional designers and by the students
enrolled in the course. Both formative and summative course and instructor
evaluations will focus on pedagogical effectiveness, usability of the
course site, technology challenges, and overall satisfaction with the
course. These evaluations will be obtained during the Fall of 2001 when
the course is beta tested. During the implementation phase, students will
provide feedback through periodic, anonymous on-line surveys, e-mail communications,
synchronous focus group discussions, and asynchronous focus group discussion
postings. CourseInfo has a survey component that will be used to facilitate
the surveys. Colleagues from the Finance Program will be used as peer
reviewers for the project.
9. Quality and/or Transferability Plans and/or Strategies
Information concerning the design, development, implementation, and evaluation
of the course will be disseminated in various ISU publications, including
Interaction, an electronic newsletter delivered to staff and faculty
at ISU and other colleges and universities within Indiana. Information
will also be shared at the Course Transformation Academy (CTA), a series
of faculty development workshops offered to faculty who are preparing
to transform on-campus courses to the distance environment.
10. How the Course Fits Into Other Programs in Indiana
FIN 333 is a requirement for the Finance Concentration for the Business
Administration Program, and an elective course for the Insurance Program
offered through DegreeLink, an Indiana State University partnership with
Ivy Tech State College and Vincennes University that offers statewide
access to graduates of both two-year institutions. As such, the proposed
course will support the DegreeLink Program, the Community College of Indiana,
and encourage future partnerships among two- and four-year institutions.
In addition, FIN 333 is a requirement for all Finance Majors at Indiana
State University and, as a distance offering, will be a popular elective
for other business courses.
11. Marketing Plan
The University's Office of Distance Education will market FIN 333 as part
of DegreeLink and the University's Distance Education Program. These marketing
activities include statewide press releases and mailings, and distribution
of marketing material via DegreeLink student services coordinators located
throughout Indiana. Additionally, the School of Business employs an Assistant
Director of Undergraduate Student Services and Advising who travels throughout
Indiana marketing the program. Proposals also will be submitted to professional
organizations for presentations at their annual meetings. These organizations
include the Financial Management Association, the Academy of Financial
Services and Global Finance Association.
12. Project Schedule
Design and Development Phase: Summer 2001
Dr. Zaher will dedicate approximately 350 hours of time to prepare appropriate
notes, to develop information for electronic use, and to transform this
material into course information that can be loaded into the course software.
Online Implementation with Simultaneous Beta Testing and Evaluation: Fall
2001
Dr. Zaher will allocate an additional 150 hours beyond regular teaching,
research, and service duties to redraft and load the material to the course
site, teach the course as a web-based offering, make final revision to
materials, and fine-tune the course for future delivery.
13. Key Course Development Personnel
Dr. Tarek S. Zaher, Professor of Finance and the Finance Program Coordinator
in the School of Business, will be the author of the course and serve
as the Project Director. In addition, a course development team will be
formed. This team will consist of the primary instructor, an instructional
designer, and development personnel from the Faculty Computing Resource
Center. Dr. Sharon Guan, Manager of Instructional Design and Interim Manager
of the Faculty Computing Resource Center, will serve as Team Leader, coordinating
the resources necessary for the design and development of the proposed
course.
Proposed Budget Narrative
The bulk of the grant financial request from IPSE ($16,954) is for funding
two four-credit hours summer courses of faculty release time for Dr. Tarek
Zaher who will serve as the project director. Two summer 4-hour courses
are compensated at 20% of the instructor's base salary or $15,185. Benefits
are 11.65% of the summer salary or $1,769. ISU's contribution to the project
will be through in?kind services for instructional design assistance through
the Faculty Computing Resource Center (FCRC) and Media Technologies and
Resources (MTR) as well as marketing and implementation support from Division
of Lifelong Learning. In addition, the necessary computer and software
upgrades to make the development of this course feasible will be provided
by the School of Business.
Following is the rationale for the budget figures. As a conservative estimate,
it takes an average of 16 hours of overall design and development work
to transform one hour of student learning in a traditional course to an
online environment. According to Judith V. Boettcher (1998), web development
hours range from 5?23 hours with the average projected as being 18 hours.
The CourseInfo 4.0 will be used for the course site, class communication,
testing, and exchanging files. Course is a relatively new courseware product
and faculty is inexperienced with the technology of creating materials
for the Web. Our estimate is therefore about two third of the upper limit
of 23 hours reported.
A 3 credit hour course consists of 45 (50?minute) student learning hours.
As a result it is estimated to require 720 hours (45 x 16) to take an
existing course and design and develop it for online Internet delivery.
To teach two 4-hour summer courses requires the equivalent of 120 hours
of in?class time (4 credit hours x 15 weeks x 2 courses = 120 hours).
Time for preparation, as well as time for grading tests, reading and evaluating
numerous written assignments, and office hours for student conferences
requires an additional 1 hour for every hour spent in class. This brings
up the total of hours of release time to 240 hours (120+120). Because
faculty release time will only account for 240 of the 720 hours estimated,
support staff will make up the remaining 480 design and development hours
for the course at a cost of $9,650.
The breakdown of the in-kind support from ISU includes
| Instructional Design $35 x 90hrs |
$ 3,150
|
| FCRC $17 x 200hrs |
$ 3,400
|
| Graphical Design $20 x 100hrs |
$ 2,000
|
| Course Editor $20 x 40hrs |
$ 800
|
| Expenses of technical materials at FCRC $150/miscelleneous cost of office supplies $150 |
$ 300
|
| Total: |
$
9,650
|
Supplies are estimated at $1,000.
$800 to cover the estimated cost of electronic scanner and a digital CD
writer, and the balance will cover the estimated cost of postage, telephone,
reproduction, copyright release and other related miscellaneous expenses.
Appendix A:
Summary of Lead Faculty Member's Experience Dr. Tarek Zaher is currently
a Professor of Finance and the Finance Program Coordinator in the Analytical
Department in Indiana State University's School of Business. Dr. Zaher
completed a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1989. He has
taught at Indiana State University since 1990. Prior to that, Dr. Zaher
taught finance classes for three years at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Dr. Zaher has held a number of professional jobs with the industry and
provided consulting services to a number of companies in the United States
and other foreign countries. He also has served on the Board of Trustees
of local and not-for-profit organizations. Dr. Zaher's research has been
published in numerous professional and scholarly journals, including the
Journal of Financial Research, the Journal of Banking and Finance,
and Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management.
In the summer of 1998, Dr. Zaher completed Indiana State University's
Course Transformation Academy, a faculty development workshop designed
to assist faculty with transforming their courses for distance delivery.
He also taught the business finance course (FIN 300) via IHETS television
in Fall 1996. Dr. Zaher utilizes computer technologies in almost all of
his on-campus classes. He also uses resources available on Internet sites
(for example, Yahoo, Quicken, Excite, Free Edgar, and Federal Reserve
Banks) to enhance the understanding of investment and financial management
concepts. Professor Zaher has written five articles on the use of the
Internet in teaching finance courses. Three articles have been presented
at the Academy of Financial Services (AFS) meetings held in 1997, 1998,
and 1999. Abstracts of these articles are published in the meeting's proceedings.
A fourth article will be presented at the AFS meeting in October 2000.
One article is currently under review with the Journal of Financial
Education.
