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An Introduction To Corporate Finance

School: Wharton School of Business

Platform: Coursera

Link: An Introduction To Corporate Finance (Includes Introductory Video)

Start Date: October 28, 2013 (6 Weeks Long)

Workload: 6-8 Hours Per Week

Instructor: Franklin Allen

Credentials: A Wharton Faculty member since 1980, Allen is currently the Managing Editor of the Review of Finance and President of the Financial Management Association. He is also a co-author of the popular textbook, Principles of Corporate Finance.

Graded: Students can earn a signed Statement of Accomplishment from the instructor. There is a $49 fee for a certificate.

Description: Professor Allen’s course consists of a series of lecture videos, which examine how financial decisions, such as valuating assets. measuring risk, and capital budgeting are made. Along with end-of-course assessment, students must submit weekly problem sets. To assist students with mastering concepts, lecture notes and PDF files are available.

Review: “I gave this course two stars out of the respect I have for the Warton School, and for no other reason. It seems that no effort other than providing the poorly edited video logs of the professor’s lectures, and sketchy notes for study. The sound quality was so poor, some times the professor could not be understood. I stayed on long enough to realize that there were, for me, unsurmountable technical and substantive issues. I recommend the staff take a look at how professor Brian Bushee structured his accounting course, also from Warton.” For additional reviews on this course, click here.

Additional Note: Professor Allen also includes two suggested readings before enrolling in this course. They are listed on the Coursera link.