Students

AFAS200 – Principles of Financial Literacy

2017 – S3 External

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Dr Mark Stewart
Refer to iLearn
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
21cp at 100 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit develops financial literacy, enabling students to understand what is needed to achieve a lifestyle that is financially sustainable, ethical and responsible. On completion of the unit, students will be able to set financial goals, establish a working budget, understand and distinguish between different investment instruments, understand the key features of superannuation in Australia and understand the implications of common financial contracts and employment structures. These outcomes aim to develop students' research and problem solving skills and develop personal judgement and initiative.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

General Assessment Information

Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site. 

Assessment Task Marks: 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 Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quizzes 21% No See details
Forum Discussion 24% No See details
Final Exam 55% No 25 January 2018

Online Quizzes

Due: See details
Weighting: 21%

Student will be required to complete four online quizzes. The questions will be based on the materials covered.

Quiz one (0%) - Due on Mon 18 December 2017 at 11.59pm

Quiz two (7%) - Due on Thu 21 December 2017 at 11.59pm

Quiz three (7%) - Due on Thu 11 January 2018 at 11.59pm

Quiz four (7%) - Due on Thu 18 January 2018 at 11.59pm

Extension 

No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

Forum Discussion

Due: See details
Weighting: 24%

Students are required to contribute to the forum. Details will be provided on the iLearn unit. 

Forum One (8%) - Due on Sun 24 December 2017 at 11.59pm

Forum Two (8%) - Due on Sun 14 January 2018 at 11.59pm

Forum Three (8%)  - Due on Sun 21 January 2018 at 11.59pm

Extension

No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

Final Exam

Due: 25 January 2018
Weighting: 55%

The final exam is open book and will be held online. Students can only access the exam online between 9.30 to 10.30am on Thu 25 January 2018. Once the exam has started, students will have two hours to complete the exam. Further details will be provided on iLearn.

Extension

No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

Delivery and Resources

Please note: This is an online course and therefore it is the student’s responsibility to have the technology to access the material and to complete the assigned tasks. No exceptions or extensions will be granted because of issues with the student’s technology, the student's internet provider or the student's internet connectivity.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Focus on Personal Finance (McGraw-HILL, by Kapour, Dlabay and Hughes)

Further resources:

Readings will be drawn from the online sources including journal articles and students are also expected to follow web links in the Learning Management System and download materials. 

Technology Used and Required

1. Access to a computer

2. Access to Microsoft Office

3. Access to the Internet

Unit Web Page

Course material is available on the learning management system (iLearn) The web page for this unit can be found at ilearn.mq.edu.au.

 

Unit Schedule

Schedule

Week Period Topic(s)
1 4 to 10 December 2017

Topic 1 Personal Finance Basics

Topic 2 Money Mangement Strategy

2 11 to 17 December 2017

Topic 3 Setting Goals and Objectives

Topic 4 Investment - Fundamentals

3 18 to 24 December 2017

Topic 5 Investment - Shares

Topic 6 Investment - Bonds

Topic 7 Managed Investments / Real Estate (Part 1)

4 8 to 14 January 2018

Topic 8 Managed Investments / Real Estate (Part 2)

Topic 9 Insurance

Topic 10 Superannuation

5 15 to 21 January 2018

Topic 11 Taxation

Topic 12 Estate Planning

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Supplementary exams

Information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available at: http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/how_do_i/special_consideration

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,

Assessment task

  • Forum Discussion

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

Assessment tasks

  • Online Quizzes
  • Final Exam

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,

Assessment tasks

  • Online Quizzes
  • Forum Discussion
  • Final Exam

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understanding the role of financial goals and developing personal financial goals.
  • Constructing and maintaining a working budget.
  • Assessing, comparing and evaluating common investment, structures and vehicles and debt instruments,
  • Understanding the principle of saving and planning for retirement.
  • Understanding of the general operation principles of taxation, superannuation, insurance and estate planning.

Assessment task

  • Forum Discussion