Journal of
Financial Education

#1 - Insiders' Look Into The Publication Process For Finance Journals

Michael J. Seiler and Vicky J. Seiler

The charge of bias in the publication process has been documented on numerous occasions and in various fields. To date, no study has ever examined favoritism in the field of finance, much less ever asked those who would truly know if it exists – journal editors. The results indicate that while favoritism is alive and well, it is self-reported to be less pronounced at top-tier academic journals. Moreover, this category of journals is leading the way to improving the speed, efficiency, and fairness of the publication process.

Pages 1-17

#2 - Effective Course And Curriculum Design Using Stated Objectives
And Learning Outcome Statements

Gay A. Ragan and Kent P. Ragan

In this paper we discuss the role of course objectives and related learning outcome statements. These tools are well-known in education disciplines as useful for structuring the presentation of course materials and for designing assessment items. We provide an example of a well-known application of objectives and learning outcome statements in finance, build our own model for the risk-return tradeoff which is covered in most corporate finance courses, and provide a framework to extend the objectives and learning outcomes to the design of departmental finance curricula, as illustrated through the use of a capital budgeting example.

Pages 18-27

#3 - A Profile Of Classroom Technology Usage In Finance Instruction

Mike Cudd, John Tanner and Tom Lipscomb

Electronic innovations in classroom technology are rapidly changing how finance faculty function in the classroom. This paper offers a profile of the usage of various types of software and hardware technologies available for finance instruction based on a national survey of finance faculty. The study also provides an analysis of how technology usage varies with faculty demographics.

Pages 28-40

#4 - Teaching Ethics In Investment Classes: A Series OF Vignettes

Dan W. Hess and Carolyn A. Strand

Daniel et al. [1997] claim that the 1990s will most likely be remembered as the decade in which ethics instruction emerged as a vital part of training individuals to enter a variety of professions. However, financial educators have been relatively silent in promoting ethics coverage in the Finance curriculum. This paper offers four ethics vignettes that were specifically developed for use in investment classes. We also include discussion questions, additional reading, and application assignments. The topics addressed in these vignettes offer instructors an opportunity to discuss with students ethical dilemmas commonly encountered by financial advisors and other investment professionals.

Pages 41-60

#5 - The APR On Single Advance Closed-End Transactions:
Actuarially Correct Versus Regulation Z

David B. Vicknair

The annual percentage rate (APR) is defined in Regulation Z of the Federal Reserve Act as the product of the periodic rate multiplied by the number of compounding periods in a year. The APR has also been theoretically defined as the product of the effective periodic rate multiplied by the number of compounding periods in a year. This paper clarifies the relation between these two definitions. In particular it demonstrates that the actuarial equation used by Regulation Z understates the effective periodic rate on single advance closed-end transactions with one or more odd payment periods.

Pages 61-74

#6 - A Simplier Approach To Mortgage-Backed Securities

Glen Tanner

Despite phenomenal growth in the mortgage-backed securities market, most investments textbooks provide only superficial coverage of these financial assets. The brevity of this coverage can be at least partially blamed on complexities in valuing mortgage pass-through securities, largely due to uncertainties in the size and timing of cash flows. Using median prepayment rate forecasts provided by Bloomberg, this paper shows that these securities, as well as their more complicated IO and PO derivatives, can be valued easily in a simple spreadsheet. This simplified valuation allows students to clearly understand important facts about the pricing and interest rate risk of these increasingly popular assets.

Pages 75-86

#7 - An Evaluation Of Grup Zeltia: A Biotech Company

Francisco J. Lopez Lubian

Pages 87-102