University of Houston-Clear Lake

College of Business
Course Syllabus for Accounting 5131.31 and 5131.32
Accounting for Administrative Control
Spring Semester 2019 – Fully Online
Instructor
Dr. Lin (Libby) Yi
Office: Suite 3-237, Room 10, Bayou Building
Phone number: 281-283-3176
UHCL email: yil@uhcl.edu
Office hours: By appointment

Course Materials
Fraser, L. and A. Ormiston, Understanding Financial Statements, 11th edition, Pearson, 2016. At
bookstore. Required.

Datar, S. and M. Rajan, Managerial Accounting: Making Decisions and Motivating Performance, Pearson,
2014. At bookstore. Required.

Learning Outcomes
This is an accounting course designed for MBA students, MS in Accounting students, and other master’s
degree students in business-related areas. In this course, students will learn cost concepts and
behavior, performance measurement, and analytical uses of accounting data for administrative
decisions by managers in merchandising, manufacturing, and service organizations. Also, students will
learn how to read and interpret financial statements provided to external stakeholders.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

(1) understand how cost data are accumulated;
(2) use cost data for managerial decision-making, planning, and performance evaluation;
(3) use spreadsheet software to analyze cost data for decision making and problem solving;
(4) use appropriate cost accounting techniques to assist in making decisions and solving problems; and
(5) effectively read and interpret financial statements provided to users outside of the entity.

Course Format
This class is online and is delivered using Blackboard. The schedule for the eight-week session is
attached. The folders for the chapters covered are in the ‘Content’ section of the course Blackboard
page. For each chapter, there are learning objectives, a reading assignment, instructor notes, a
homework assignment, and homework solutions. I suggest that you study a chapter in the following
order: 1) read the assigned textbook pages; 2) study the instructor’s notes; 3) do the homework
problems (these homework problems are for you to practice and will not be collected for grading).

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Keeping up with the course material in timely manner is essential for success in this course. Falling
behind may be fatal with respect to a satisfactory grade. You must understand the book’s material and
examples. Also, you need to be able to do the homework problems without looking at the solutions.
Given that this is an eight-week course, the course material will be covered at approximately twice the
speed at which semester-long courses are covered. Please keep this in mind when scheduling your
courses. Expect to spend between 16 and 30 hours each week on this course.

Announcements
This section contains general announcements that pertain to the course, resources at UHCL, and other
information that is important to some or all students in the course.

Blackboard E-mail Facility

With the course e-mail facility, you may contact the instructor or any other student. The course email
facility is intended for communications of a personal nature. Only the person(s) to whom you address
your e-mail will be able to view the e-mail.

Grading
Grades are based on total points earned on a midterm examination, a final examination, end-of-chapter
quizzes, collected homework assignments, and a spreadsheet assignment.

Three collected homework assignments @ twenty points each ............................................ 60

Spreadsheet assignment ......................................................................................................... 40
Eight end-of-chapter quizzes @ ten points each .................................................................... 80
Midterm examination ... ....................................................................................................... 100
Final examination. ......... ....................................................................................................... 100
Total possible points ................................................................................................ 380

The course may be graded on a curve. Nevertheless, the grading scale will be no more stringent than a
straight scale. Therefore, the following percentages in the course would guarantee at least the following
grades: 93% (A); 90% (A-); 87% (B+); 83% (B); 80% (B-); 77% (C+); 73% (C); 70% (C-); 67% (D+); 63% (D);
60% (D-).

You will be able to view your grades (after they are posted) on the ‘My Grades’ section of Blackboard.

Withdrawals and Incompletes

Monday, April 29: Last day to withdraw.
An incomplete will only be given in extreme circumstances. If an incomplete is granted, all exam and
assignment grades that are recorded up to the applicable date (e.g., date the emergency began) will be
carried over and cannot be replaced. Please see the UHCL catalog for more information.

Examinations and Proctoring

You will take two face-to-face, proctored exams (a midterm and a final) worth 100 points each. They are
scheduled for two hours and thirty minutes and are non-cumulative. The exams consist of fifty multiple-
choice questions worth two points each. There are both conceptual and computational questions. The
exams are closed book. However, you are allowed to use a 3-inch by 5-inch note card as an aid.

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Exams will be proctored in a face-to-face setting on the UHCL campus in a specific campus classroom at a
specified date and time. The exams are scheduled for:

Saturday, April 20, 2:30-5:00pm (location will be notified later)

Saturday, May 18, 2:30-5:00pm (location will be notified later)

If you are unable to come to campus to take an exam, you may use ProctorU. ProctorU is a service for
proctoring online exams. With a computer and web cam, you can take online exams at home, at work,
or almost anywhere you have Internet access. ProctorU connects you directly to the proctor via web
cam so you can both see and talk to one another. ProctorU’s proctor also monitors your computer while
you complete the exam. You may also have your exam proctored at a testing center at a university that
is a member of the National College Testing Association. The use of ProctorU or a testing center will be
at your own expense.

ProctorU’s current price for 2.5 hour exam is $25.00. If you wait until 72 hours before the exam to make
an appointment with exam proctoring with ProctorU, there is an extra $5 charge. To take the exam
immediately (during the testing window), the fee is an additional $8.75.

The cost of proctoring at a testing center varies, but is typically at least $25 per exam.

If you use ProctorU or a testing center to take an exam, you should take it at the same date as the face-
to-face exam and within a time window of 2:30pm - 7:30pm. That is to say, you can schedule your
exam1 and exam2 with ProctorU at the date of Apil 20th and May 18th, respectively. You need to set it to
be a 150 minutes test within 2:30pm -7:30pm window of those two dates (to make sure you can finish
the exam within the timeline, the latest time you can start the exam is at 5:00pm), e.g., you can set your
exam1 to be 3:00pm-5:30pm on April 20th. If you are unable to take the exam during the regularly
scheduled time, you must provide acceptable (according to the professor) written documentation to be
excused and take a make-up examination. Any make-up examination must be taken after the regularly
scheduled exam and can be different from the regularly scheduled exam.

Homework Assignments
Three homework assignments will be collected. Each assignment is worth twenty points. In the Course
Menu on the course Blackboard page, you will see a link to the collected homework assignments. Also,
as per the Course Schedule, other homework assignments in the chapter folders in the ‘Content’ section
will not be collected. The collected homework assignments tend to be more challenging than the
homework assignments that are not collected.

Please submit the assignment through the Homework Assignments tool by the due date. Instructions on
how to submit an assignment through the assignment tool are found on the Blackboard log-in page. The
due dates for the collected homework assignments are listed in the ‘Course Schedule’ section of this
syllabus. Late homework assignments will receive a three point deductions for every 24 hours late. For
example, a homework assignment turned in 40 hours late will receive a six point deduction. Please do
not submit a homework assignment by email.

Spreadsheet Assignment
You are responsible for one spreadsheet assignment. Please submit an electronic version of this
assignment through the Assignments tool by the due date. Instructions for how to submit an

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assignment through the Assignments tool are found on the Blackboard login page. The due date of the
spreadsheet assignment is shown in the ‘Course Schedule’ section of this syllabus.

Late spreadsheet assignments will be accepted with a penalty. The penalty will be five points off for
every 24 hours late. For example, if your Spreadsheet Assignment is 30 hours late, you will receive a ten
point deduction. Please do not send the spreadsheet assignment through email.

Quizzes
There are eight quizzes and they are worth ten points each. The quizzes consist of ten multiple-choice
questions, each worth one point. The questions will usually be both conceptual and computational.
Every student’s quiz is different. The quizzes will be located under content folders for particular
chapters.

Each quiz has a due date. The due dates of the quizzes are posted in the Course Schedule in the
syllabus. Once the due date of a quiz has passed, you are not able to take the quiz. Furthermore, you will
get two attempts to take a quiz during the availability period and your highest score will be kept.
However, the quiz for each attempt is different. You can begin taking the quiz anytime during the
availability period. Save your answer to a question by clicking on the ‘Save Answer’ button in the upper
right corner of the question. Once you start a quiz, you will have thirty minutes to complete the quiz
attempt. Make sure you properly submit your quiz when you are finished. To submit the quiz, click on
one of the ‘Save and Submit’ buttons located on the right side above and below the quiz. Once you click
on this button, the quiz is submitted and finished. Once the availability period on the quiz expires, you
cannot take the quiz or the second attempt, whichever is applicable.

The quizzes are open book and open notes. However, they must be taken individually. The purposes
of the end-of-chapter quizzes are to test your knowledge of the chapter material and keep you on
schedule.

Contacting the Instructor

As previously mentioned in this syllabus, you can contact the instructor by using the email function in
the course website in blackboard or using the instructor’s UHCL email address. You can also arrange to
meet the instructor in person by scheduling appointments.

Academic Honesty
The Academic Honesty Policy at UHCL (found on the Dean of Students’ website, the Faculty
Handbook, the Student Handbook, the Senior Vice President and Provost’s website, the
Graduate Catalog, and the Undergraduate Catalog) states: “Academic honesty is the
cornerstone of the academic integrity of the university. It is the foundation upon which the
student builds personal integrity and establishes a standard of personal behavior.” Because
honesty and integrity are such important factors in the professional community, you should be
aware that failure to perform within the bounds of these ethical standards is sufficient grounds
to receive a grade of "F" in this course and be recommended for suspension from UHCL. The
Honesty Code of UHCL states "I will be honest in all my academic activities and will not tolerate
dishonesty."

All exams are closed book. On an exam, using external materials (except the note card previously
discussed), working as a group, or giving information to a classmate is considered cheating. Students

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who are discovered cheating on an exam will receive an ‘F’ in the course and will be referred to the
applicable UHCL authorities for further disciplinary action. Although the quizzes are open book and
open notes, they are to be done individually. Therefore, on the quizzes, working as a group or giving
information to a classmate is considered cheating. Students discovered cheating on a quiz will receive
scores of ‘-5,’ which will not be counted as a dropped score.

The Spreadsheet Assignment and the collected homework assignments are to be done individually. You
are allowed to ask the professor questions on these assignments using the Blackboard e-mail facility.
Students found cheating on the Spreadsheet Assignment will receive scores of ‘-10’ and students found
cheating on a chapter homework assignment will receive scores of ‘-5,’ which will not count as the
dropped score.

Statement of Assessment
The School of Business may use assessment tools in this course and other courses for curriculum
evaluation. Educational Assessment is defined as the systematic collection, interpretation, and use of
information about student characteristics, educational environments, learning outcomes and client
satisfaction to improve program effectiveness, student performance and professional success.
This assessment will be related to the learning objectives for each course and individual student
performance will be disaggregated relative to these objectives. This disaggregated analysis will not
impact student grades, but will provide faculty with detailed information that will be used to improve
courses, curriculum, and students’ performance.

Academic Accommodations
If you require special academic accommodations under the Americans with Disability Act, Section 504,
or other state or federal law, please contact the Disability Services Office at (281) 283-2626.

Miscellaneous Items
1. Counseling and Study skills - UHCL Counseling Services can help you access your study skills and find
ways to improve your academic habits, as well as assist you with things such as time management,
procrastination, learning styles, writing papers, test preparation, test anxiety, and concentration. To
take advantage of this free and confidential academic counseling, call 281-283-2580 to set up an
appointment or visit the Counseling Services webpage for more information, including handouts on
these topics.
2. The Student Success Center provides tutoring for this course free of charge. You can visit the
Student Success Center webpage or call 281-283-2643 to preview the services and set
appointments.
3. Any ambiguity in this syllabus is to be interpreted by Dr. Yi.

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Course Schedule

Key:
FO – Fraser and Ormiston textbook
DR – Datar and Rajan textbook

ST – Self-Test (from Fraser and Ormiston)

SQP – Study Questions and Problems (from Fraser and Ormiston)
C – Case (from Fraser and Ormiston)
E – Exercise (from Datar and Rajan)
P – Problem (from Datar and Rajan)

Note: The only homework collected is the homework labelled as collected.

Week Chapters, Readings, Homework (not collected) Assignments due (count
towards grade)
03/25-03/31 Ch 1 (FO): Financial Statements: An Overview
Ch 2 (FO): The Balance Sheet
Readings:
Ch 1 (FO), pages 1 to 32 (includes Appendix)
Ch 2 (FO), pages 47 to 76
Homework: SQP1.1, SQP1.5, SQP1.6, SQP1.7, SQP1.8,
C1.3,
SQP2.3, SQP2.6, SQP2.9, SQP2.14, SQP2.15, SQP2.16,
SQP2.17, SQP2.19, C2.3
04/01-04/07 Ch. 3 (FO): Income Statement and Statement of 1) Quiz 1 (Ch 1 FO) due
Stockholders’ Equity on 04/07 at 11pm
Ch 4 (FO): Statement of Cash Flows
Readings: 2) Quiz 2 (Ch 4 FO) due
Ch 3 (FO), pages 103 to 122 (do not need to read the on 04/07 at 11pm
appendix)
Ch 4 (FO), pages 161 to 183 (do not need to read the
appendix)
Homework: ST19 (Ch 3 FO), ST20 (Ch 3 FO), SQP3.5,
SQP3.9, SQP3.12, SQP3.14, C3.1,
ST23 (Ch 4 FO), ST24 (Ch 4 FO), ST25 (Ch 4 FO), ST26 (Ch 4
FO), SQP4.5, SQP4.6, SQP4.7, SQP4.8, SQP4.9, SQP4.11,
SQP4.15
04/08-04/14 Ch 1 (DR): The Manager and Management Accounting 1) Quiz 3 (Ch 1 DR) is due
Ch 2 (DR): An Introduction to Cost Terms and Purposes on 04/14 at 11pm
Readings:
Ch. 1 (DR), pages 1 to 19 2) Quiz 4 (Ch 2 DR) is due
Ch. 2 (DR), pages 28 to 49 (do not need to read the on 04/14 at 11pm
appendix)
Homework (DR): E1-11, E1-14,
E2-13, E2-14, E2-15, E2-17, E2-18, E2-23, P2-27, P2-28,
P2-32
04/15-04/21 Midterm Exam 1) Collected Homework

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 Chapters 1 to 4 (FO), chapters 1 and 2 (DR) Assignments #1 is due on
Saturday, April 20, 2:30-5:00pm 04/21 at 11pm
Building XXXX, Room XXXX (specific information will be
posted soon) 2) Collected Homework
Assignment #2 is due on
04/21 at 11pm
04/22-04/28 Ch 3 (DR): Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis 1) Quiz 5 (Ch 3 DR) is due
Ch 4 (DR): Job Costing on 04/28 at 11pm
Readings:
Ch. 3 (DR), pages 76 to 97 (do not need to read Appendix) 2) Quiz 6 (Ch 4 DR) is due
Ch. 4 (DR), pages 115 to 139 (do not need to read on 04/28 at 11pm
Appendix)
Homework (all from DR): E3-13, E3-14, E3-17, E3-18, E3-
19, E3-20, E3-21, P3-28,
E4-13, E4-14, E4-15, E4-16, E4-18, E4-19, E4-24
04/29-05/05 Ch 6 (DR): Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Quiz 7 (Ch 6 DR) is due on
Management 05/05 at 11pm
Ch 9 (DR): Decision Making and Relevant Information
Readings:
Ch 6 (DR), pages 206 to 227
Ch 9 (DR), pages 341 to 369 (do not need to read
Appendix)
Homework (all from DR):
E6-11, E6-12, E6-14, E6-15, E6-19, E6-22, E6-23, E9-12,
E9-13, E9-15, E9-16, E9-18, E9-19, E9-20, E9-21, E9-22
05/06-05/12 Ch 12 (DR): Master Budget and Responsibility Accounting 1) Spreadsheet project is
Ch 13 (DR): Flexible Budgets, Cost Variances, and due on 05/12 at 11pm
Management Control
Readings: 2) Quiz 8 (Ch 13 DR) is
Ch 12 (DR), pages 483 to 507 (do not need to read due on 05/12 at 11pm
Appendix)
Ch 13 (DR), pages 535 to 564
Homework (all from DR): E12-12, E12-13, E12-14, E12-16,
E12-17, E12-18, P12-23,
E13-11, E13-13, E13-16, E13-17, E13-19, E13-20, E13-21,
E13-25, E13-27
05/13-05/19 Final Exam Collected Homework
Chapters 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13 (DR) Assignments #3 is due on
Saturday, May 18, 2:30-5:00pm 05/19 at 11pm
Building XXXX, Room XXXX (specific information will be
posted soon)

Information about UHCL’s Blackboard

1. To have access to Blackboard for this course, you must be enrolled in the course.

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2. If you have difficulty accessing Blackboard (including login issues), please contact UHCL’s Support
Center at either 281-283-2828 or by email at supportcenter@uhcl.edu. Their hours are Monday
through Thursday 8:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. and Friday and Saturday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Occasionally, there are problems with the Blackboard server and you will not have access to the
course. The server is usually back up within 24 hours.

3. To learn more about Blackboard, you can access Blackboard Learn videos on Blackboard’s On
Demand website. It has short, interactive video tutorials and guides to help you get started.

4. Navigate to the Blackboard website. To enter Blackboard while on the home page, type in your
username and password. Your Blackboard username and password are the same as the username
and password for logging on to on-campus computers and your UHCL email account.

5. The UHCL Blackboard homepage contains useful information, including Blackboard support in the
‘For Students’ and ‘Resources’ sections. Under ‘For Students’ is a link called ‘Submitting
Assignments,’ which gives instructions on submitting assignments through the Assignment tool. The
collected homework assignments and the Spreadsheet Assignment must be submitted through the
assignment tool.

6. Make sure there are no “POP-UP” blockers running on your browser when you use Blackboard.
Also, if you attempt to login to Blackboard from an off-campus computer, the login might fail due to
a firewall. A student accessing Blackboard from off-campus should verify with their technology
administrator or internet service provider whether a firewall is preventing access.

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 Overview of Blackboard for this Course

You will see the following links listed on the left hand side of the home page: Home Page,
Announcements, Content, Homework Assignments, Spreadsheet Assignment, Course Email, Blackboard
Support, and Academic Support.

1. Home Page – contains the Welcome message, course syllabus, and Academic Honesty Resources
folder.

2. Announcements – contains general announcements that pertain to this course, resources at UHCL,
and other information that is important to some or all students in this course.

3. Content is divided into content folders.

Each chapter has its own content folder and includes a “Notes” file, a “Solutions” file, and, if
applicable, a “Quiz” folder.
i) The “Notes” file contains the instructor’s outline of the chapter notes.
ii) The “Solutions” file includes solutions for the homework.
iii) The “Quiz” contains the quiz for the chapter.

4. Homework Assignments contains the collected homework assignments (the due dates are listed in
the ‘course schedule’ part in the syllabus). As previously mentioned, you must use the Assignments
tool to submit these assignments.

5. Spreadsheet Assignment contains the Spreadsheet Assignment (the due dates are listed in the
‘course schedule’ part in the syllabus). As previously mentioned, you must use the Assignments tool
to submit this assignment.

6. Course Email – previously discussed.

7. Blackboard Support provides help with Blackboard, including access to the Blackboard Help page
from Blackboard, Inc.

8. Academic Support provides access to academic resources and offices at UHCL.

9. Course Evaluation Information provides information about the College of Business course
evaluation.