What computer skills will I need for University of Arizona Business Mathematics I

The computer prerequisite for Business Mathematics I is successful completion of the University of Arizona's Management Information Systems course Introduction to Computing, MIS 111. Students may substitute an equivalent computer course, taken at another accredited college or university. The level of computer experience and familiarity with the applications in Microsoft's Office Suite that are provided in MIS 111 will be assumed for all students in Business Mathematics I. This will be used with very little review or instruction.

A few students with exceptional backgrounds in computing may be allowed to enroll in Business Mathematics I without the completion of MIS 111, or an equivalent course. Since such students will not have met the listed prerequisites for the course, they start the course at their own risk and may find themselves at a computational disadvantage, when compared with students who have completed the prerequisites.

"Computer literacy" is a very elusive quantity. It is often difficult for a faculty advisor or a student to know if his or her background with computation is extensive or current enough to be adequate for Business Mathematics I. Anyone who is enrolled in the course, or who is thinking of enrolling in it, should use the following simple exercise to assess his or her computer skills and readiness for Business Mathematics I. You should allow an uninterrupted period of 20-25 minutes for the exercise.

1. Insert a 3-1/2² diskette into the floppy drive of your computer and create a new folder, named Practice, on the diskette.

2. Click on Skills.xls and save that file in the folder Practice. Rename the file Computation.xls. Click on Preliminary.doc and save that file in the folder Practice. Rename the file Report.doc.

3. Open the Excel file Computation.xls, that you have saved on the diskette, and follow the instructions that are given in the file. These will involve working in Computation.xls, copying material into the Word file Report.doc, and then adding text to that file. When you are done, save both of your files.

4. If you have trouble with some part of the exercise use the application's online help to see if you can solve the problem. If you cannot figure out how to do a step, try to work around it and complete the exercise. In computation, ingenuity and experimentation may be as useful as skill and experience!

5. When you are done with your work and have saved your files, click on CompSolution.xls and RepSolution.doc, to open the solution files. These contain comments and notes that will help you evaluate your computer readiness for Business Mathematics I. Study the solutions carefully, noting how each step was performed.

You can grade yourself in the comfort and privacy of your own home! If your files are quite similar to the solutions, and if you completed the project in a reasonable amount of time, then you are probably in good shape to start the computer parts of Business Mathematics I. On the other hand, if the exercise took you more than 40 minutes, or if you missed more than three of the nine main points, then it is very likely that you need more computer experience before you tackle the course.

If you are unsure about how to evaluate the results of your exercise, or if you are not comfortable about your computer background, talk to any of the current course instructors.

Attempting to learn the advanced computer skills that are taught in Business Mathematics I without a solid foundation in the basic aspects of Excel and Word would be very frustrating and time consuming. The most likely result of such an effort would be a low course grade, or outright failure. Do not risk missing out on the excitement of the business applications because you are having a continuing struggle with computers.