BITM 510: Advanced Excel with VBA University at Albany, School of Business Monday, 5:45 8:35, BA 222 (laboratory)

) 5 weeks, Spring 2013, 24 Jan 25 Feb Instructor: Dr. Eliot Rich E-mail: For all class correspondence use: erich2@albany.edu. Office: BA 310C, 518 442 4944 Office Hours: Mondays, after class, and by appointment. We may also experiment with electronic office hours though Blackboard (BLS). Course description: BITM 510 will motivate students to understand Excel and elements of VBA. The majority of Excel users use less than 10% of capabilities of Excel (or any other spreadsheet program). This course will expand this threshold, pointing out how to use built-in functions (mostly financial and statistical), other Excel tools (Pivot Tables, Data Analysis, and macros) and elements of VBA for building working prototypes for decision making. We will also discuss some elements of good practice in spreadsheet design. The selection of functions was made in cooperation with other business and science areas to be discussed during your graduate program. Basic knowledge of Excel is expected before you come to the first class, so you should review the content of the first lecture. Software: The course will use Excel 2010, and this version is installed in the school labs and university libraries. Whats new in Excel 2010? http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excelhelp/what-s-new-in-excel-2010-HA010369709.aspx You may purchase Microsoft office student version (be sure to get the Professional edition, as this includes Access. Student versions are complete and are available at albany.onthehub.com, where SUNY has negotiated student discounts. Excel for Macintosh, older versions of Microsoft Office, and non-Microsoft open source tools differ in their function and implementations, and are not acceptable substitutes for the purposes of this course. Submit all documents in Excel for Windows format. Other formats will be returned without grading. All UAlbany library user areas have computers with Excel 2010 installed. You can also access these computers over an Internet link, though this tends to be slow. See http://www.albany.edu/its/virtic.htm to learn more about the Virtual Information Commons. Text: Prof. Crnkovic has prepared a short textbook for this course: Advanced Excel 2010, available at the University bookstore or Mary Jane books (printed version is around $27) or as an eBook (around $13.50) available over the Internet from the publisher. This text summarizes the materials for the course, and is significantly cheaper than the standard texts. To purchase an ebook, copy this address into an internet browser: https://create.mcgraw-hill.com/shop/#/catalog/details/?isbn=9781121290785 and follow the instructions for purchase.

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Learning Objectives: By the end of the course you should be able to: Develop and demonstrate your technical skills through creation of elementary spreadsheets, graphs, elements of Excel objects and macros Participate actively in problem-solving exercises for other courses, such as Statistics, Finance, Operations Management and Accounting Extend your analytic skills in the areas of data and decision making Practice reflective thinking through analysis of various requirements in business oriented problems Be able to easier participate in discourse in your business environment Assessment: Your achievement of these objectives will be assessed through a combination of individual assignments in-class quizzes, class participation, examination and discussion. Grading format: ITM510 is an S/U course. Active participation via class presence and discussion is expected. Deadlines for course projects are firm, with exceptions only for university-required reasons. Please anticipate travel or other delays in your scheduling. All work is to be completed individually. To be a successful (S), participant will need to submit all projects, participate in class discussions, and take all quizzes. Not all activities need to be perfect since you need to earn 70 out of a possible 100 points. There are strict deadlines for projects submissions and participation in discussions that will not be waived. All submissions must be done through Blackboard. Ensure that you have access to the tool. Do not send copies to instructors e-mail address just in case, as this slows grading. Also, do not wait until the last minute for submissions, as Blackboard has been known to become unavailable without notice. Submissions are due at 11 pm on the scheduled day. Electronic Communications Policy: The growth of instant communications has overwhelmed my capacity to manage my inbox. While you are welcome to ask questions via e-mail, please expect a 24 hour delay during the week, and I may not respond on weekends and holidays. The format and tone of mail should reflect business manners. Questions about content are welcome, but please do not send early drafts of projects for review. Grading: 4 quizzes, <=4% each, <=16%. There are no make-up quizzes except as required by University policy. 4 projects, <= 12% each, <=48% (note: The grade for project solution is <=10%, quality of solution is additional <=2%). Penalty: 2 points per day or part for lateness. Exam <=32% Attendance and participation <=4% All grades are posted in Blackboard as they are completed. Project descriptions: All projects are to be individual work. Your Blackboard ID and name should be on all materials unless otherwise noted in the instructions. The first project involves

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building Excel formulas and using built-in functions; the second project will use more advanced Excel options, wizards and functions; the third project will be building a very simple Excel based prototype of a simple information system using buttons and recordable macros. The fourth problem will use simple elements of VBA. Problem descriptions for all projects will be distributed on BLS. Note: Cheating and plagiarism is unacceptable at any academic level. Any suspicion of unethical behavior will be referred to University authorities. If you have a question about the appropriateness of behavior, contact me. You should be familiar with the Universitys regulations. Preparations for the first class: There will be a short quiz at the start of the first class to help establish your knowledge at entry to the class. Please read the first chapter from the textbook in preparation before starting to learn more advanced topics. COURSE SCHEDULE AND TOPICS Version 1 (We may add topics based on student performance) Date 1/28 Topic Cell, range, label, value, format; Formula (user made), addressing, copying, filling; Elementary functions (Sum, Average, Min, Max), IF function, Conditional IF. Business charts and graphs. FORECAST function Selected more advanced built-in functions (financial, statistical), SUMIF, LOOKUP function, PMT, PV, FV, select Excel tools and wizards: Pivot tables, Data Analysis (Regression) Elements of Management Science and mathematical applications: using Goal Seek, Scenario and Solver Using built-in VBA objects from the Form and ActiveX menus (Scroll Bar, Combo Box, Check Box, Option Button, Command Button). Building Information Systems for end-user IS applications (prototypes using Excel) Elements of VBA and more on Excel Macros In Class Exam Comment Quiz 1 (in class)

2/04

Quiz 2 (in class) Project 1 due

2/11

Quiz 3 (in class); Project 2 due

2/18

Quiz 4 (in class); Project3 due

2/25

Project 4 due

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