Course Syllabus

Compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act

The materials presented in this course are not made accessible as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar California state statutes, and contain complex graphics, images, transcripts and captions that are not easily distinguished. In case you have difficulty accessing the course content, graphics, images, transcripts and captions, please contact the Disability Resources Department (DRD) for assistance. The DRD offers services designed to assist students who require accommodations. To contact the DRD, you may:

• Visit the DRD office in person. DRD offices are located on the third floor of Bertolini Hall on Santa Rosa campus and in Room 101 of Jacobs Hall on Petaluma campus;
• Call the DRD office on Santa Rosa campus at 707-527-4278 and the DRD office on Petaluma campus at 707-778-2491 to make an appointment; or
• Email DRD at disabilityinfo@santarosa.edu.

Instructor Contact Information

Alexander Korniakov PhD CPA CGMA

Email: akorniakov@santarosa.edu

Office Hours

As this is a fully online class, no live office hours are scheduled.  If you need an individualized assistance, please contact me by sending a private message through Canvas. Otherwise, please post your questions to the course discussion forums so that your classmates and I could help you.

Instructor Assistance

Students should contact me via a message through Canvas. If you have a question that you think that only I can answer, then by all means message me directly. If, however, it is a general question about an assignment or a “How do I do this?” kind of question, I urge you to post it into the discussion forums.

I check Canvas messages and emails multiple times a day and will generally respond within 24-48 hours during normal business hours Monday through Friday. If you send me a message during the evening, I may not respond until the following day and if you send a message on Friday afternoon or later during the weekend, it may not get responded to until that coming Monday or Tuesday. Make sure you reference the specific assignment you are working on.

Important Notice!  Please do not contact me through Gleim. Instead, please use Canvas inbox if you need to reach out.

Unfortunately, I am not able to assist with technical issues.  As such:

Important! If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Canvas, please contact Canvas technical support directly by clicking on Help link on the navigation menu of this Canvas course shell.

Important! If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Gleim, please contact Gleim technical support directly at 800-874-5346.

Course Content and Structure

This is one of a series of courses designed to prepare students the IRS Special Enrollment Examination, commonly referred to as the Enrolled Agent Exam. This course covers common tax issues that relate to the federal taxation of individuals.

Important! Although there are no specific prerequisite requirements for this course, students are advised to complete BAD 59 "Federal Income Tax" course or possess general knowledge of the federal tax law as it pertains to individuals before registering for this course. Students who do not possess sufficient knowledge of the federal tax law should review the supplemental basic tax law course content posted for each of the modules.

Students registered for this course are also advised to be eligible for ENGL 100 "College Reading and Writing" or ESL 100 "College Reading and Writing for ESL Students". Prior completion of BGN 81 " Practical Business Math Skills" is also recommended.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Identify and assemble the preliminary work needed to prepare tax returns.
• Understand how IRS (Internal Revenue Service) tax code is used to determine gross income, deductions, adjusted gross income and required taxes.
• Demonstrate how IRS tax code is used for non-income activities such as IRA's (Individual Retirement Account), property-related transactions, retirement, gift and estate taxes.

The content provided in this section of the course syllabus is from the currently approved course outlines of record.

Course Objectives

After completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Complete the preliminary work to prepare tax returns.
• Understand and apply the IRS tax code to determine gross income from W2, partnerships, business, royalties, rents and other sources.
• Understand and apply the IRS tax code to determine adjustments, allowances and losses to obtain the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
• Examine, create and apply standard and itemized deductions, required schedules and credits to determine taxable income.
• Identify and calculate required tax.
• Examine standard and Roth IRA contributions and deductions from AGI.
• Review and understand property sale transactions.
• Examine basis requirements for estates and gifts.

The content provided in this section of the course syllabus is from the currently approved course outlines of record.

Required and Supplemental Textbooks

"Gleim EA Review Premium Part 1: Individuals," by Irvin N. Gleim and James R. Hasselback, Gleim Publishers, ISBN 9781618542472 is the required textbook for this class. This textbook can be purchased from the college bookstore (at a higher price) or ordered directly from the publisher (at a lower price). 

Students who lack adequate knowledge of the federal tax law or who previously did not successfully complete BAD 59 "Federal Income Tax" course may consider purchasing "Individual Income Taxes," by James C. Young, William H. Hoffman, Jr., William A. Raabe, David M. Maloney and Annette Nellen, Cengage Learning, ISBN 9781337702546. This textbook can be purchased from the college bookstore or from any online publisher.  Students will not be required to use this textbook in this course.

Gleim Personal Counseling Support

Students should reach out to Gleim personal counselors on a regular basis. Gleim personal counselors are experienced, knowledgeable experts who can advise students on everything from how much study time students need to which part to take first. They can also answer any questions students might have about the exam process or the exam itself.

Gleim personal counselors will:

• Work with you to create a personalized study plan.
• Make sure that you set the right goals and detail each step to achieve those goals.
• Provide encouragement, instill confidence, and ensure your success. They are with you every step of the way.
• Provide encouragement, instill confidence, and ensure your success. They are with you every step of the way.

Gleim personal counselors can be reached by phone or via email:

• By calling 800-874-5346 ext. 498 or 352-375-0772 ext. 498.
• Via email to personalcounselor@gleim.com.

Other Required Course Materials

• A Java-capable Internet browser to access Canvas and Connect.
• Regular (daily preferred) and reliable access to a computer and the internet.
• Microsoft Office 2003 or higher version.
• A permanent e-mail address. Familiarity with email, including knowledge of receiving and sending attachments.
• A pocket calculator and storage media to save various assignments (a USB drive).
• Adobe Reader (recommended).  Download a free copy of Adobe Reader (Links to an external site.), if needed.

Grade Synchronization between Gleim and Canvas

Most of your homework assignments will need to be completed in Gleim while Canvas grade book will your official grade record. As Gleim does not automatically synchronize with Canvas, your Gleim grades will be entered into Canvas manually. As entering grade is tedious and time consuming, delays are anticipated.

As there is no grade synchronization between Gleim and Canvas, please ensure that the name on your Gleim account is the same as the name on your Canvas account. Even obvious deviations, such as Alex vs Alexander, might cause delays. As such:

Important! When ordering Gleim textbooks and other Gleim materials, and setting up your Gleim accounts, students should use the same name as on their Canvas accounts. If the name on your Canvas account is not the name that you wish to use, please contact Admissions and Records for instructions on how to change it.

Important! If you name on your Gleim account is not the same as the name on your Canvas account, you must contact Gleim technical support to change it.

Time Commitment

This is a three unit course. There are approximately six to eight hours of course work, reading the modules, going over items in the text plus another few hours outside of the classroom you should plan for each week. A good amount will depend on your comfort level with the topics that are covered in this course. Please budget your time accordingly.

Grading of Assignments

Students will be able to earn a maximum of 1000 points for the course, as follows:

• Student introductions:  30 points or 3 percent.
• Course participation (discussions): 125 points or 12.5 percent.
• Quizzes (13 assignments, 15 points each): 195 points or 19.5 percent.
• Group case report: 250 points or 25 percent.
• Course examinations (5 exams, 50 points each): 250 points or 25 percent.
• Final examination: 150 points or 15 percent.

Normally, there are extra credit assignments in all the courses that I teach.  So, there is a good chance that students will be able to earn few extra points in this course as well.

Student Introductions and Course Participation

During the first week of the course, students should introduce themselves by posting a short message about themselves in the corresponding discussion forum. Students will earn points for posting these introductions.

In this course, students will also be able to earn up points for participating in class discussions. Participating in discussions means asking questions, provide comments on the topics discussed in class or answering other students' and instructor's questions. Discussions must be relevant to the topics discussed in class, and any disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.  The grading rubric for discussion posts is posted in the modules.

Important Notice! For course discussions, please use the discussion forums on Canvas. Please do not post any questions in Gleim discussion forums.

Quizzes

For each study units that we cover, there will a quiz. These quizzes will have to be completed online in Gleim.  Quizzes are due on the due dates shown on the detailed course schedule posted in the modules.

Quizzes will need to be completed on Gleim and will be due on the due dates indicated on the Detailed Course Schedule.

Each quiz will have a total of 15 multiple choice questions. You will have two hours to complete each quiz. It is not required that you complete these quizzes in one settings; in other words, you may interrupt your work at any time. A total of 10 attempts are allowed for each of quiz; your best attempt will be recorded towards your course grade.

Group Case Report

During the first few weeks of the semester, students will be assigned in groups and will start working on their group case project. Students may utilize their own groups' discussion forums to communicate within their groups. All group case report topics will have to be approved by the instructor and must be relevant to the topics covered in this course. If the topic of your submitted report has not been previously approved by the instructor, you will receive a zero grade for this assignment.

Please note that only one submission is required. As such, please work among yourselves to identify a group member who will submit the case report on behalf of the entire group. If two or more group members choose to submit the report, the report submitted first will be graded.

Please make sure to submit your case report once it is completed. If you submit your report multiple time, the version submitted first will be graded.

Please save the report as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file type before you submit it. Other file types will not be accepted. If you use Open Office or Google Docs to prepare your case report, please export the file as Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file.

Group case report will have to be submitted in Canvas.

Course Examinations and Final Examination

The midterms and the final will be given online on the dates shown in the detailed course schedule posted in the modules. Make-up exams are only allowed if a student can provide a valid and documented reason in advance of missing an exam. Course examinations will need to be completed on Gleim and will be due on the due dates indicated on the Detailed Course Schedule.

Each course examination will have a total of 50 multiple choice questions. You will have two hours to complete each course examination. It is required that you complete course examinations in one settings; in other words, you may not interrupt your work after you start your attempt. A total of three attempts are allowed for each of the course examinations; your best attempt will be recorded towards your course grade.

The final examination will have a total of 100 multiple choice questions. You will have three and a half hours to complete the final examination. It is required that you complete the final examination in one settings; in other words, you may not interrupt your work after you start your attempt. A total of two attempts are allowed for the final examination; your best attempt will be recorded towards your course grade.

Final Grade

If you have elected a letter grading option, your letter grade will be assigned based upon the following percentages:

• 90.00-100.00%: grade A;
• 80.00-89.99%: grade B;
• 70.00-79.99%: grade C;
• 60.00-69.99%: grade D; and
• 0.00-59.99%: grade F.

If you have elected a pass/no pass grading option, your grade will be assigned based on the following percentages:

• 70.00-100.00%: grade P (pass); and
• 0.00-69.99%: grade NP (no pass).

Please contact Admissions  if you want to switch between grading options.

Other Course Policies

Academic Integrity

Santa Rosa Junior College holds that its primary function is the development of intellectual curiosity, integrity, and accomplishment in an atmosphere that upholds the principles of academic freedom. All members of the academic community - student, faculty, staff, and administrator - must assume responsibility for providing an environment of the highest standards, characterized by a spirit of academic honesty and mutual respect. Because personal accountability is inherent in an academic community of integrity, this institution will not tolerate or ignore any form of academic dishonesty.

Academic dishonesty is regarded as any act of deception, benign or malicious in nature, in the completion of any academic exercise. Examples of academic dishonesty include cheating, plagiarism, impersonation, misrepresentation of idea or fact for the purpose of defrauding, use of unauthorized aids or devices, falsifying attendance records, violation of testing protocol, inappropriate course assignment collaboration, and any other acts that are prohibited by the instructor of record.

I would like to encourage you to work with your classmates in groups on all homework assignments and on the group case report. Often a group member can help clarify concepts that you may not have understood correctly. However, each assignment that you submit needs to be your own work. That means that although you can (and probably should) work in a group, each person in that group needs to do their own assignment. That also means that you should not use any online resources to provide you with answers to homework except for the textbook and Gleim website.

Withdrawal and Dropping from the Course

Students assume responsibility for completing the course. It is also the student’s responsibility to drop or withdraw from the course. Dropping classes is not automatic and can be accomplished only in the Student Portal or through one of the Admissions and Records Offices.

Avoid Being Dropped! This is an online course delivered via Internet.  Regular participation in the course is required.  To avoid being dropped from the course, you need to:

• Complete the first week assignments by the required due date.
• Login into Canvas regularly, at least once per week.
• Complete other course assignments by the due dates.

Attendance Requirements for This Online Course

Students in this online course are required to actively attend this course each week or they will be dropped for non-attendance as per the State law and Federal Financial Aid regulations. This online class is not self-paced, such as correspondence courses, but require weekly assignments and participation in order for students to document their attendance. Please be aware of the following when taking this online course:

• Simply logging in to the course does not qualify as attendance in an online class.
• Students must pay close attention to the course syllabus, log into the course frequently to read announcements and view the course modules and content, and submit required assignments on time to maintain their attendance in online classes.
• Students who are dropped after the course census date are not eligible for a refund and will receive a W.

Consequences of Non-Attendance

When you register for a college class, you are making a commitment to attend class and be present for lectures and instructional activities and making a personal investment in your future.

• Regular and consistent attendance in this class is critical to your success and is proven through research to contribute to higher grades.
• If you are experiencing issues that prevent you from attending this class, you should consider your decision to attend college and or re-prioritize your time so you can attend this class regularly.
• Meeting with a counselor is important if you are unsure about your ability to attend class.
• It is critical to take classes at a time when you can be successful. Missing classes will cause your grade to suffer and may lead to being dropped for non-attendance.
• Students should not expect their instructors to extend deadlines, offer alternative assignments and extra credit for failing to turn in assignments and or missing exams due to non-attendance.
• Remember, your college transcript is a permanent record that will follow you to future jobs, graduate school and other situations so you want to choose the right time to attend classes that will allow you to be successful and dedicate the time you need to study and perform at a high level.

Non-Attendance Due To Medical Reasons

If you experience a medical issue that prevents you from attending this couse, you (or a family member or friend) must notify me immediately. Depending upon the duration of the medical issue and when it occurs during the semester, there are different options that must be explored to address the time missed in class.

• If you have completed 75% of this course and cannot finish due to medical issues, you can request an incomplete contract with your instructor to complete the work after the semester has ended.
• If you have NOT completed 75% of the class but cannot finish the quarter, an emergency withdrawal can be requested through Admissions.

Important!  If you stop attending this course due to medical issues and fail to notify me, you will either be dropped for non-attendance or receive your earned grade at the conclusion of the quarter.