Please note that students will have a limited opportunity to ask questions regarding the assignments should they need some clarifications. These issues should post on the relevant discussion thread on ilearn as questions posted on other threads might be missed. The opportunity to post queries will close three days before the assignment due date. However, students will be able to continue posting on the thread, but the questions will not be answered by any of the academic staff including the teaching assistant. You are free to discuss matters amongst yourselves.

Please read the assignment question carefully and start planning early.  Replies to online posts and emails will be responded to within 48hrs however we will only be respond to them during work hours and not on weekends. Repeated questions will not be answered so; please read the previous postings carefully.

The standard submission folder will not be accessible after the due date and time of the assignment. A late submission folder will appear thereafter and you will need to submit your work there. All submissions in the late folder will be subjected to the late penalty as outlined under each assignment task above.

• It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
• Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.   

Any emails after the completion of the final exam relating to their fairness in the exam or their grade will not be answered.  The outcome is only communicated via the official release of grades by the University. 

Classes 

Lecture: See timetable https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2017/

The campus map is downloadable from the following link http://www.ofm.mq.edu.au/maps_campus.html

Classes in AFIN310 are composed of a three-hour lecture. Unit materials are learnt by attending lectures and through independent learning. The lectures provide a general overview of the topics highlighting some concepts and techniques. Students are strongly advised to study any additional reading material furnished by the unit convenor, the guest lecturers and further explore all relevant concepts.

Students should attend a three-hour lecture every week. Lecture slides will sometimes be available before the lecture on iLearn and in some instances after the lecture. The notes get distributed at the discretion of the guest lecturer.

The lecture recording (audio and video) will also be available via ECHO360 (approximately one hr after the end of the talk). Please see the ECHO360 link in your course iLearn page.

Prizes

The Financial Services Institute of Australasia, FINSIA, has kindly sponsored a prize of $500 for the most outstanding student in AFIN310.

Required and Recommended Texts and Materials

There are no required or recommended texts for AFIN310. Notes for each of the lectures will be made available in iLearn. If required, additional readings will also be provided either via iLearn and eReserve.

Please note that you will be needed to complete the following module from the CFA website and upload the completion report to ilearn.

http://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/products/onlinelearning/Pages/61587.aspx?WPID=BrowseProducts 

Technology Used and Required

iLearn is an online program available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/ through which students will be able to access resources such as lecture notes and ilectures to assist them throughout the semester. The discussion forum environment will be extensively used to allow students to interact with each other.

Unit Web Page

Course material is available on the learning management system at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

You are strongly encouraged to visit the website regularly and use it as a resource centre to assist with your learning.

If you are unable to access the internet site because you are not aware of or have forgotten your username and password, please contact the IT helpdesk. All information is available at http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

With regards to assistance in using iLearn, please visit the following link.

http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/index.htm

You can follow the tabs on the left, i.e., “Getting Started” and “Access iLearn.”

Please remember to logout when you have finished using iLearn. Failure to do so could result in unauthorised access to your iLearn account.

Learning and Teaching Activities

The teaching strategy in AFIN310 recognises that students learn independently and assume responsibility for the learning process and with academic integrity.

Students are expected to participate in the unit by attending lectures, reading the provided material and thoroughly revising the lecture notes. You are also supposed to use the full suite of research databases available from the library including reference to journal articles and industry reports.

What we aim to achieve in AFIN310 is deep (as opposed to the surface) learning. Thus, learning is interpreted as making sense or abstracting meaning. Learning involves relating parts of the subject matter to each other and the real world. Further education is understood as comprehending the world by understanding and reinterpreting knowledge.

This unit also gives you the opportunity to go beyond your discipline and exposes you to different areas of finance, including discussion of the latest financial regulation from ASIC and other bodies that will become essential when starting your career in the workforce.

The assessments now include a mid-semester test worth 20% and the final exam is worth 40%.  There will be one group assignment worth 20% and one individual assignment worth 20%. Students will not be able to bring in an A4 sheet of paper to the exam with pre-written notes. There will be no hurdle assessment, i.e., the double pass rule will no longer apply as was in previous semesters.  

This unit gives the students the opportunity to work individually and as a group on various assignments and projects delivered by industry professionals.  Studens are required to source information from resources usually referred to by industry professionals.  Specifically students are guided to industry reports published by third parties and regulatory bodies that support the finance services and banking industry.  It also exposes students in identifying key data sources used by the industry in writing various stock/share recommendation and company valuation reports. This unit gives you opportunities to conduct your own research based on skills obtained from using MS Excel and from exposure to different financial products. Being at the forefront of the legal environment gives one the chance to remain vigilant when giving advice to clients. One can also apply valuations techniques in their personal investment decisions which might enhance the performance of their assets. Please note however that under no circumstances is neither Macquarie University nor the lecturer liable for any losses suffered from the application of investment techniques learnt in this subject.