Preparing Your Course for QM Certification: Four Standards

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FIN 101 Financial Management

Course Description

FIN 101 is a required undergraduate course in the College of Business at Sacramento State. The course introduces the fundamental principles of financial management and their application to business decision-making.

The course typically enrolls multiple sections of business majors and serves as a core course in the BSBA program. Students develop both conceptual understanding and applied skills in areas such as time value of money, valuation, capital budgeting, and risk-return analysis.

**Motivation for Preparing Your Course for QM Certification: 4 Standards Participation**

I participated in this FLC to improve the structure, clarity, and alignment of my hybrid course design. While the course already includes well-developed content and assessments, the QM framework helped me identify areas where the student experience could be improved through clearer organization, more explicit expectations, and stronger alignment across course components.

In particular, I wanted to ensure that students can easily navigate the hybrid structure of the course, understand how asynchronous and in-person components connect, and clearly see how learning objectives map to assignments and exams. The QM standards provided a structured approach to redesigning the course with a stronger focus on transparency, alignment, and student engagement.

Students will benefit from a clearer course entry point, more measurable learning objectives, better-aligned learning activities, and more intentional use of instructional technologies. These changes are especially important in a hybrid course where students must independently manage asynchronous learning components.

Alignment or Engagement Changes Addressed in Course

As part of this redesign, I implemented four key changes aligned with selected QM General Standards.

For General Standard 1 (Course Introduction), I created a structured “Getting Started” module that clearly explains the hybrid format, weekly workflow (asynchronous + in-person), course expectations, and navigation. This helps students understand how to begin the course and reduces confusion in the first weeks.

For General Standard 2 (Learning Objectives), I refined course and module-level objectives using measurable action verbs and aligned them more explicitly with assessments such as homework, exams, and quizzes. For example, objectives related to time value of money, valuation, and capital budgeting are now clearly tied to specific assignments and exams.

For General Standard 5 (Learning Activities and Learner Interaction), I redesigned learning activities to better support active engagement. Asynchronous videos are now paired with structured practice (attendance surveys and short questions), and in-person sessions emphasize problem-solving and application. This improves the connection between content exposure and skill development.

For General Standard 6 (Course Technology), I reviewed all technologies used in the course (Canvas, video recordings, quizzes, Respondus for exams) and clarified their purpose and usage. Instructions are now more explicit, helping students understand how each tool supports their learning and assessment.

Together, these changes improve alignment, reduce ambiguity, and create a more coherent learning experience across the hybrid course format.

Evidence of Redesign

Examples of Redesign
Getting Start Page Link	Learning Objectives	Learning Activities in FIN 101	Course Technology

Plan for Pathway toward QM Certification

In the next phase, I plan to participate in another QM FLC to complete the remaining four General Standards. My goal is to systematically redesign the course to meet all QM expectations and prepare it for a formal QM review.

Faculty Bio
	Susan Zhou is an Assistant Professor of Finance in the College of Business at California State University, Sacramento. She received her Ph.D. in Finance from Tulane University. Her research focuses on corporate finance and venture capital, and she teaches courses in financial management and related areas.