• About this course
• Instructor and Classroom
• Information and materials
• Re-Taking BA131? Read this please...
• Assignments
  • The "Precision Requirement."
  • Make back-up copies of your work.
• Accommodations
• Grading and Certification Exams
• Exams
• Course Policies

About this course

This two-credit-hour course teaches you how to use office productivity software in a professional environment.  You will learn by completing a number of hands-on exercises and assignments with lessons and coaching on business professionalism.  You should exit the course with an excellent foundation that you can apply to any office productivity software applications in any environment. The exercises you will complete are categorized into seven "competencies" and include lessons and assignments on Network File Management, Advanced Email, Word Processing, Analytical Spreadsheets, Spreadsheet Modeling, Data Graphing, and an exercise that pulls it all together in a final integrated assignment.

The single most important item that will ensure your success in this class is reading.  You must read all instructions completely and watch carefully for details.

You will demonstrate mastery of the competencies in an "open-book" timed midterm exam and "open-book" timed final comprehensive certification exam.  You must achieve a minimum competency of a D-minus on the final Certification Exam to pass the course.  D-grades in BA 131 will not satisfy COB graduation requirements and you may be required to retake the course if you earn less than a C-minus.

Effort and Competency

Some students become dismayed or perceive unfairness when grades are issued at the end of the term because they have spent so much time on this class-and don't feel their grade properly reflects the effort they expend.  I generally tell students that most of you would earn an "A" in the class if I graded on effort.  However, as in most university courses, you are graded on demonstrated competency, not your effort.  Effort is something that may play heavily in a job evaluation where a manager is evaluating an employee for a periodic performance review, but effort is generally not used to evaluate college-level course competency in a skills-based course because effort is highly personalized, individualized and extremely variable based on several factors. 

For example, a novice will require much more initial effort than a person with significant computer experience for the first three or four assignments in BA131.  That may be caused by the novice's inexperience or even by a person's study skills.  But when it comes to the final exam, the novice and experienced person will likely begin to expend more similar efforts to achieve similar mastery or competency.  It would not be appropriate or fair to evaluate you based on your effort.  Take for example a student who spent just a few minutes doing something they understood very well and showed excellent competency.  Again it would not be appropriate to say that person expended little effort and therefore should not receive a good score.  Effort does not indicate how well you have mastered any materials in a particular course or lesson-effort simply measures how hard you are trying to master the materials.  We want you to do well, and we want you to try hard to master these materials because they are so essential for your success.  But as you work through the lessons, practices and assignments remember that your goal is efficiency and mastery of the materials, and you may need to expend a lot of effort to get to that point.

Structure

• Monday is the general lecture.  You will learn the context for the lesson and assignment.

• Lab sessions (check your schedule for your lab time) are "orchestrated" sessions headed by teaching assistants.  In these sessions you are guided through a practice activity that prepares you to complete the current assignment.

• Help sessions are on Fridays.  These sessions are in 324 Bexell hall labs and are staffed by teaching assistants who help you with questions you might have about the current assignment or practice.

Conduct

The College of Business and general business community have high standards of professional conduct.  This class provides a number of opportunities for you to practice professionalism as well as establish your own set of professional standards. Expectations for your professional behavior and individual initiative are consistent with a business-like environment. 

You should treat the course no different than a professional job. Attend class every day, be on time, find a place in the classroom that is as comfortable for you as possible, do your own work, do your work on time, and learn how to work in groups (but always do your own work).  Historically, about 85% of students pass the course the first time.  Those who pass attend all lectures and lab sessions and master the skills independently using the course web and assignments.  For every hour in the classroom, expect to spend two hours working outside of class (that means 3 hours per week in class equates to about 4-6 hours per week in independent study).

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Instructor and Classroom 

Ray D. Tanner

• Phone: 737-6065 Office: Bexell 337
• E-mail: TannerR@bus.oregonstate.edu  Reponses time is generally within the next scheduled class period or about 24 hours-often sooner.  If you don't get a response, try again (check the email address carefully).

• Office Hours: Monday 10-11am and 2-3pm; Thursday 10-11am

  • If you need help, contact me by email, phone or come to my office.  If I am not available, we will arrange another meeting time.  In general, students will have to meet with me during my office hours.
  • I do ask that you make every effort to take advantage of my office hours-it may be quite difficult to find me other times.
  • I will post a note on my door and reschedule the time if I have a time conflict.  
• What to Expect: I will be glad to help you understand processes and procedures, guidelines and grade results, and assignment structures, grades, etc.  I can't do tutoring or one-on-one help sessions-but don't let that scare you away.  If you have exhausted all other resources in getting your skill-based question or issue resolved, you should ask me for help.  I will either help you directly, or show you where or how to solve your issue independently.

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Information and Materials

1. You need to bring paper, pen or pencil and at least one 3.5" floppy disc (to back up your work) with you each class period.  Label the discs so that if you lose it or leave it in a computer, it can be returned to you.  On the label, be sure to include your name, course number, and term.  Include enough detail so if your disc is lost it can be returned to you.  Do NOT write your username and password on the disc label.
   
          
    
2. You are ADVISED to use your COB e-mail account daily (weekdays).  You may have other email accounts--but you need to make sure and check your BUSINESS account daily.  You can check your business email from ANYWHERE in the world on any web-enabled computer.  Either log on directly to your COB (College of Business) account on a computer in Bexell hall, or navigate to the COB home page and click on the web-mail icon.  Your COB email address looks like:
   
   name@bus.oregonstate.edu
    
3. You are also R E Q U I R E D to use the BA131 course web site for this class. 
   
   Your College of Business (COB) e-mail account and the course web site are your primary sources of non-lecture  information for the course.  NOTE:  Because of privacy and security concerns, I will not normally respond if you send me messages from other email accounts such as ORST, Freemail or Hotmail. Your COB e-mail account and file system are available from any computer in the world with WWW access.
    
4. Required Text: Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Step by Step; ISBN 0-7356-1518-7; Microsoft Press 2003
   Optional Text:  Microsoft Office System Inside Out 2003 Edition
   
   The Excel 2003 Step by Step text will help you learn some of the more difficult functions and operations that you will be using in this class.  You will find the text useful for many of your classes in the future that involve spreadsheet operations.  The MS Office System text is an all-encompassing reference book that should only be purchased if you find help systems or online assistance difficult to use.

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If you are retaking BA131 for any reason, it is very important for you to take a couple of steps to prevent yourself from having "Academic Integrity" problems.  Remember that all work in BA131 must be completed in the current term.  This means that you need to make absolutely certain that you delete your previous BA131 folder and all of the files you created for the course.  If you want to keep a copy of that work, you can MOVE the BA131 folder to your private P-Drive folder. 

However, do not submit or copy anything from those files or folders into your current-term work.  Even if you copy and paste from that work, that is considered an academic integrity violation.  My grading system will quickly uncover any work or part of a file that was not created this term. 

You are much better off not using that old material anyway for two reasons: first, you need to learn the material again and using old work will short-cut your memory and learning; second, lessons change somewhat each term and you need to learn the materials as they are presented, not as modifications to old work.

The good news for you is that the success rate for students retaking BA131 is excellent--if you follow those easy steps detailed above...

All assignments must use MS Office 2003 Premium, MS Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, assume the use of MS Windows 2003 Professional on the College of Business Network, and must be originated and completed during this term.  Most assignments are due Wednesday nights at the time the Bexell labs close (the labs generally close Wednesday nights at midnight) but you should check the lecture schedule actual due dates.  The first three assignments are best completed in the Bexell Labs-I say this because you may find yourself dealing with the complications of being off-site rather than doing your assignments.  The other assignments can be completed off site if you have the proper software on your system.  Keep in mind that the networks or computer labs may be very busy or unavailable just before an assignment is due so don't wait until the last hours to start your assignments.  

The "Precision Requirement."  You should check, double check and then check again... Precision in file names, folder names, locations of files and folders, spreadsheet names, workbook names etc., is a fundamental requirement and an essential skill in all business settings.  Precision is the foundation of Business productivity.  The people who use computer systems with office productivity applications recognize and accept the requirements for precision. That same requirement applies to all work you do in these classes.  This means that I will not accept work that is located in the wrong place on the network or contains incorrect file names or folder names.  Substantial points will be deducted if your work contains spelling errors, grammatical errors, inaccurate formulas, locations of cells and formulas or otherwise lacks the exacting precision required in business activities and as specified in each assignment and exam. 

While you are checking and double checking your submittals, you also should understand that a single character out of place can result in zero points awarded for an assignment!  

Make back-up copies of your work. This is an essential skill in any business setting.  It only takes a few seconds to make a back-up copy of a file—or of a folder containing many files and subfolders. Having a back-up copy can save hours of rework if a file becomes lost or corrupted. You are required to bring to class and use either a back-up floppy disk, some other backup device (like a USB-drive), or understand how to back your work up to a different network location.  Back up your work regularly and aggressively.  NOTE: Because backup is a basic requirement, loss of work due to system crash is not an acceptable excuse for a late or incomplete assignment or exam submittal--your backup is your defense against system crashes.

All alternate accommodations are governed by OSU policy or governing statute.  Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term.   Accommodations may not be possible after that time. 

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BA131 incorporates a "certification" grading model:  to successfully complete the course, you must take and pass the Certification exam.  This exam is offered two times during the term: during week two of each term and during finals week.  As a result, there are two BA 131 Certification processes for students enrolled in BA131:

• Standard Certification Exam Process 
  
  The standard process follows a more traditional course method in which you take the BA 131 Certification Exam during finals week after attending the course and working through each of the assignments and midterm.  The assignments and midterm are specifically designed in learning steps to help prepare you to successfully complete the BA 131 Certification Exam at the end of the term.

Note:  If you are re-taking BA131 for any reason you must follow this Standard Certification process and take the exam during finals week.

In this process, the letter grade you receive for the course and reported on your official OSU transcript will be assigned based on two separate computations:

1. First, a grade will be awarded on the Certification exam that you take during finals week at the end of the course. You must receive a 60 percent (D-minus) or higher on the final exam to pass the course.
2. Second, a composite grade will be computed based on the number of points accumulated on the activities and midterm that you work on during the term.  Please note that each assignment has a different "overall" weight (importance) towards the final grade.
3. Final exam scores between 60% and 70% will result in "D" final course grades (D+, D, D-) based on the grade scale.
4. Final exam scores of 70% and above use a "best of" grade process.  For these final exam scores, your course grade will be the higher of your final exam grade or your composite grade.

For example, your actual course grade will be the higher of the composite and final exam scores computations.

1. If you earned an "A" on the Certification exam, and your composite grade for the course was a "B", you would receive the "A".
2. If you earned a "B" on the Certification exam, and your composite grade for the course was an "A-", you would receive the "A-".
3. However, if you earn an "F" on the Certification exam (lower than a C-minus), your course grade will be an "F" regardless of your composite grade.
4. If you earned a "D" on the Certification exam, your final course grade will be a "D" regardless of your composite grade.

Grades and feedback on each assignment are distributed via COB email.    When assessing your status in the course, make sure you take the "weight" of each assignment into consideration--some assignment are more important than others. 

• Early BA 131 Certification Exam Process 

  Unless you are retaking BA131 you can choose to take the Certification exam during week 2 of each term.  This path is provided for students who are very highly advanced in the individual competencies taught in the course. This path is not available to students retaking BA131 for any reason.

  As a guideline, if you are able to successfully complete assignment number 7 and the practice final exam (both available on the course web site) in less than two hours each with no outside assistance, you may want to consider taking the Certification exam early.   However, the consequences of taking this early exam are significantly different than taking the standard course and exam.  It is your responsibility to notify the instructor in person prior to the end of the second class meeting if you intend to take the early certification exam.  If you fail to take the exam at your assigned time, you will received an "F" for the course grade.

  NOTE: If you take the early certification exam during week 2 of the term and receive a D-minus or better, that grade is the final grade that will be recorded in your official OSU transcript for the course.  The "composite" grade described above does not apply if you take the Early BA 131 Certification exam.  Once you take the early certification exam, you are done with the class for that term.

  If you are re-taking BA131 for any reason you must follow the Standard Certification process (above) and take the exam during finals week.

  IMPORTANT: If you take and fail the early certification exam ("failure" means that you do not achieve a D-minus or better on the exam), a failing grade ("F") will be recorded on your official OSU transcript.  You can change that failing grade only by registering for and taking BA131 again in a subsequent term.  If you take the early exam, you will not be allowed to withdraw or drop the course.

Students who are qualified under OSU's AR23 policy for examination for credit should refer to the OSU Academic Regulations and must go to the COB advising office for procedure information.

Grading Scale

I use the following grading scale for this class.  Grades are not applied to a performance curve.

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Exams

Exams will all be held in Bexell Hall's first floor computer labs.  The exams require you to complete various computer tasks based on the prior lessons and assignments.  Practice versions of both exams will be made available the week before the exam.

• The 50 minute Midterm will test your ability to manage files, send email,  format a business document, and perform basic spreadsheet formatting and formulas.
• The 1-hour 50-minute Certification Exam will emphasize advanced spreadsheet skills and integration between word processing and spreadsheet applications.   It will include network file management and e-mail competencies as well.

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Specific Course Policies

Standards for written work and e-mail
Seek Help when Needed
Lecture Sessions
Lab Sessions
Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity--Files and Monitoring
Professional Behavior In Class
Discrimination or Harassment
Electronic-based Class
Arbitration
Attendance and Class Participation
Submission of Assignments
Resubmission Policy
Failure to meet minimum competency
Incomplete Grades

Standards for written work and e-mail:  Written work and e-mail correspondence related to BA 131 uses the Oregon Department of Education CIM (Certificate of Initial Mastery) Benchmarks for Writing standards for construction, usage, grammar, spelling and conventions. Written work, including course e-mail is expected to be at level 4 or above. If you need a refresher or are not familiar with the benchmarks for writing:

1. Go to this link and read the CIM Benchmark Scoring Guides for High School Writing (use the [Back] button on your browser to return to this page), or
2. Go to this link at the Oregon Department of Education and read about CIM scoring guides. (use the [Back] button on your browser to return to this page).

If you are having difficulty with appropriate writing standards, you should visit the OSU Writing Center for assistance.  Visit the Valley Library Writing Desk or link to the OSU home page for information on the Writing Center.

E-mail messages that do not conform to the minimum standard will result either in a written warning from the instructor or will not be read.  Hostile, threatening or other inappropriate e-mail messages may result in sanctions and may be subject to discipline as outlined in "Behavior in Class" below.

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Seek Help when Needed:  If things are not going well for you in the class, come see me—Ray Tanner.  Don't wait until the end of the term to request help.    

Lecture Sessions:  These sessions deal with the context for the current assignment.  The tasks are placed in a business and professional context so that students understand how the assignments relate to business activities.

Lab Sessions in Bexell 324: Bexell 324 will be the primary lab facility directed by teaching assistants.    Do not use class time for general web browsing, e-mail (including e-mail about course scores or assignments) or any other non-lesson-related purpose unless you are asked to do so by the instructor (refer to disruptive behavior, below). 

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Academic Integrity is the guiding and fundamental principle for the University (refer to the OSU mission statement at http://osu.orst.edu/mission/.  Personal and intellectual integrity requirements are clearly stated in the University's Honesty policy and in this policy statement. You are expected to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and must be honest and ethical in all of your work.  Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in one of the following areas:

1. Cheating- use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information or study aids.  Examples for this class: turning in all or part of someone else's work as your own; obtaining solutions to assignments from another person or organization; use of previous term exams or assignments as study aids.

2. Fabrication- falsification or invention of any information.  Examples for this class: Making false statements about your experiences or fabricating your work or education history; providing false answers to surveys completed in class; use of a previous term exam or assignment and turning it in as a current term assignment or exam.

3. Assisting- helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty. Examples for this class: giving someone else your solution files; sending assignment files by email to another student for their use; doing another persons assignments for them.

4. Tampering- altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents.  Examples for this class:  Any use of any device or technology to attempt to circumvent the requirements of an exam or assignment--such as altering the "properties" of any assignment or exam file to attempt to change file attributes to obscure or alter information about your files.

5. Plagiarism- representing the words or ideas of another person as one’s own.  Example for this class:  use of any number of words in any sequence from someone else's work and representing the work or ideas as your own; lack of appropriate citations in any work.

Possible penalties for a violation include a failing grade for the assignment or exam, a failing grade for the course, or administrative disciplinary action by your major college or COB, or both, as well as overall OSU actions--which could mean disciplinary suspension from the College or University system. For more detailed information on this subject, visit the OSU Student Conduct web site: www.orst.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm and the following OSU web site regarding the University's mission: http://osu.orst.edu/mission/.

Academic Integrity-Files and Monitoring:

1. Files and Assignments:  All work completed for these classes must be original (you must do your own work) and must be started and completed during this term. Direct or indirect use of assignments, exams or other student work from previous terms to complete your exams or assignments is a violation of academic honesty policies.  If you turn in all or part of someone else's work as your own or allow someone else to turn in your work as theirs, then you have committed a violation of academic honesty and will be dealt with in accordance with academic honesty policy of the University.
2. File "Properties:"  File properties (the information attached to all Windows files used to manage and track files) are important in monitoring and tracking file dates and times, file ownership, file authorship, and other aspects of your assignments.  Changing, Tampering, Modification, Fabrication or Deletion of any file properties (Exception: you may clear the read-only flag) including dates and statistics for any file you create, copy, download, modify, edit, save and/or ultimately submit for this class is forbidden and will be treated as tampering or fabrication.  Basically, don't mess with the file "Properties" of any file.  You can view the Properties any time you wish by right-clicking on a file in MS Explorer and selecting "Properties" or by selecting the "Properties" item in the File menu in any MS Windows application.
   There are occasions when you may find a file is read only.  It is okay to uncheck the read-only box on the main properties tab, but make sure you don't make a file read only by checking that box.  Making a file read only will prevent me from grading your files.

Professional Behavior In Class: Behavior in class should be professional at all times. Behaviors that are disruptive to teaching or learning will not be tolerated and may be subject to disciplinary action or referred to the Office of the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.  The University and the Oregon State Board of Higher Education have student conduct regulations and sanctions regarding student behavior which all apply in these courses.  The content of email messages you write in this class or concerning this class is subject to professionalism standards and regulations.

•     Examples of unprofessional behavior:
  • Not paying attention to speakers or classroom activities
  • Showing disrespect to speakers, teaching assistants, lecturers
  • Passive-aggressive activity, such as asking inappropriate questions
  • "Surfing" the web during class (except as part of a class activity)   
  • Reading the newspaper during class
  • Sleeping during class
  • Operating a cell phone (leaving a phone "on" during class)
  • Having a "side-conversation" not related to the class activity
  • Using inappropriate language (swear words, street language)
  • Reading or composing email messages (except as part of a class activity)

Use of Bexell 324 computers during a lecture, work or help session for any purpose other than the specific lesson being presented is considered disruptive behavior. 

Habitual late arrival to class by more than a minute or two is considered disruptive behavior.  If you need to leave early, please advise the instructor in advance and sit in the room such that you do not disrupt others when you leave.

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Discrimination or Harassment: Discrimination or harassment will not be tolerated in the classroom. Most cases of discrimination or harassment violate Federal and State laws and University Policies and Regulations. Intentional discrimination or harassment will be referred to the Affirmative Action Office and dealt with in accordance with the appropriate rules and regulations.

Unintentional discrimination or harassment may result from individuals not understanding or being aware of the impact that their remarks or actions may have on others. Individuals should be sensitive to the feelings of others and tolerant of the remarks and actions of others.  If you find the remarks or actions of another individual to be offensive, you should immediately bring it to their attention. If you believe those remarks and actions constitute intentional discrimination or harassment, please immediately bring it to your professor's attention.

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Electronic-based Class:  This course relies on electronic media -- the course web site and electronic mail.  DAILY use of your College of Business (COB) email account and course web are basic requirements for this class. Do not rely on a printed copy of the assignment instructions -- check the web site regularly.  System down-time, loss of files, or computer failure will not be accepted as reasons for late submissions.

Arbitration: There is a one-week arbitration period after midterm exams and assignments are returned. Within that one-week period, you are encouraged to discuss any assumptions or misinterpretations that you made on the activity that may have influenced your grade.  Arbitration issues or questions about assignments should be addressed only to YOUR professor--not other professors or any of the teaching or lab assistants.

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Attendance and Class Participation:  Students who attend all lectures and labs are more likely to pass this class than those who do not attend.  Attendance analysis has shown that students who do not attend the lectures and labs fail at a much higher rate than those who do not attend.  If you are unable to attend a class session, it is your responsibility to acquire notes, assignments, announcements, etc. from a classmate.  The teaching assistants and Prof. Tanner will not be able to do one-on-one tutoring sessions or make-up lessons.

Submission of Assignments:  Your performance in this course will depend on your ability to submit your work on the day the assignments are due prior to the deadline.  System down-time, file corruption or loss, or computer failure are not accepted as reasons for late submissions.  If you have a legitimate personal emergency (e.g., health problem) that may impair your ability to turn in an assignment on time, you will be expected to contact the instructor before the due date/time (or as soon after your emergency as possible but no later than 3 calendar days) to communicate the situation.

Pay close attention to the assignment submission instructions.  These instructions provide you with the required locations for submittal. All file, folder, workbook and worksheet names must be spelled correctly and in the correct location in order for that portion of the assignment to be considered submitted.  Assignments will not be accepted for credit after one week past the due date/time.  "Content" portions of some assignments are only graded on the initial due date and cannot be resubmitted.  These are generally the contents of written essays and memos.

All assignments must be completed using MS Office 2003 Premium.  We use the following applications:

• MS Word
• MS Windows Explorer
• MS Internet Explorer
• MS Excel
• MS Outlook (NOT Outlook Express)
• Paint Shop Pro (Non-Office application)

Start your assignments early.  System down-time, loss of files, or computer failure will not be accepted as reasons for late submissions.  If you do not start your assignment early and the network is not available for you to submit your assignment on time, your submittal will be late and will not be graded until the resubmit date.

Resubmission Policy:  All but the last assignment may be submitted within one week of the due date (unless otherwise stated) to receive up to 70 percent credit for the improvements made.   If you do not demonstrate a minimum level of competency at the first submittal, you should correct the deficiencies and resubmit by the re-submittal deadline (one week after the initial due date) to receive credit.   The content (written parts of assignments) of essays, memos and other written work cannot be resubmitted and must be submitted on the initial due date and are graded only on the first pass and only one time. The final assignment (#7) resubmit is due on the last day of classes.

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Failure to meet minimum competency:  If you do not meet the minimum competency after the resubmission of an assignment, you should to continue to work independently on the lesson and assignment skills.  Your independent work will not be scored or graded and no additional points will be awarded.  However, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate competency during the final exam, so you should ensure that you understand the skills required to complete each assignment properly. 

Incomplete Grades:  This course conforms to the OSU Grading System Academic Regulation AR17 for incomplete grades.   I normally do not allow students to receive an incomplete "I" in this class except for medical emergencies or a death in the student's family that requires them to miss the final exam.  All approvals for incomplete grades and requirements for removal are completed in writing.

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Spring Term 05 BA131 Course Web  V08:MSOffice 2003
© 1999-2005   Ray D. Tanner; Oregon State University