FINA

Using Peer Mentoring to Help Students Learn in a Large Class

Project Overview
Project Title	Using Peer Mentoring to Help Students Learn in a Large Class
Project Leader	Prof Surendra K Mansinghka
School / Dept	SBM / FINA
Project Duration	Oct 2002 - Jun 2003
Project Description	This project provided students with all available resources and methods to foster their sense of responsibility for their learning. Students attending a large class are sometimes nervous and do not ask questions. If possible, they would like to receive convenient peer assistance, especially from the final year finance students, in assignments, lectures, etc. Leaving students working on their own without assistance or meetings is not very helpful, whereas peer learning is known to be very effective. Consequently, the project team encouraged students to form study groups which were assigned a peer-mentor. Final year FINA students were recruited as mentors to guide the FINA111 freshmen in their study of this course. It also benefited the mentors by improving their interpersonal skills, leading to professional growth. This project was a trial of peer mentoring that ran between the mid term and final examination in 2003.
Project Outcome	The major arrangement and deliverables included: i) recruited 25 second and third year student mentors; ii) introduced mentors to students in class/ at tutorials. Mentors provided details for contacting them; iii) posted the mentors’ contact information onto WebCT; iv) Voluntary individual / group arrangement of consultation sessions among mentors and students; v) Mentors helped students in answering their questions, clarifying any confusion about the subject, and providing them with collegial support; vi) Informal communication among mentors, TAs and instructor about students’ reaction and consultation; and vii) Conducted an online survey with the mentors after the whole consultation period ended in May 2003.
Status	Completed
Project Documents (Only accessible by HKUST users)	Project Plan Final Report
Adaptation	Full Project

Assessment in Large Classes through a Secure Online Assessment System

Project Overview
Project Title	Assessment in Large Classes through a Secure Online Assessment System
Project Leader	Prof Surendra K Mansinghka
School / Dept	SBM / FINA
Project Duration	Sept 2002 - Aug 2004
Project Description	Continuous assessment lets students keep track of their study; and the faculty can give timely feedback on their progress. For a class of 700 students, they can only be assessed continuously with online tools. Although practice in several FINA courses using WebCT proved the method effective, it was unsuitable for examinations as it could not prevent students from cheating. Therefore this project proposed to develop a secure online assessment system (SOAS) which was equipped with elements hindering students’ communication with others, as well as the downloading or printing the questions. The system recorded each student’s login and logout. Their submissions were processed automatically and results were saved in a database, which instructors and students could access. The system also supplied instructors with a test item bank so that they could design a new test easily. Finally, it provided timely feedback to the teacher and the learner on the latter’s progress so that both parties may improve.
Project Outcome	With the assistance from CELT, a secure environment for online assessment that would prevent any unauthorized communication was created. The response activities from student during the assessment was logged and reviewed by instructors.
Status	Completed
Project Documents (Only accessible by HKUST users)	Project Plan Progress Report: First \| Second \| Third \| Final Report
Adaptation	Full Project

Developing Business Case Studies on Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions in China

Project Overview
Project Title	Developing Business Case Studies on Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions in China
Project Leader	Prof Vidhan K. Goyal
School / Dept	SBM / FINA
Project Duration	Nov 2005 - May 2008
Project Description	Business school teaching becomes heavily case-based. Existing cases available through Harvard Business School Publishing and the European Case Clearing House focus mostly on the US and European firms. Business situations faced by Chinese managers or students working in the Mainland often differ quite significantly from those in Europe or the US. The Asian Case Research Center has started to develop some Asian cases but only a few of them focus on finance. Asian cases on cross-border mergers and acquisition transactions are almost non-existent. The objective of this project is to develop two high quality business cases revolving around recent cross-border mergers and acquisition transactions in China. This will greatly enhance student learning as they will be able to analyse business problems that reflect local context and institutions.
Project Outcome	We researched and wrote a case study and a teaching note that can be used in corporate finance courses at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. The case describing a recent cross-border acquisition by a Chinese company and focuses on valuation and cross-country acquisition issues. The main objective of project was to contribute to the teaching material that can be used by instructors in Asia and to write a case on a recent Asian cross-border transaction that has local context and that raises issues that are of concern to Asian firms. The first case "Lenovo: The Acquisition of IBM's PC Business" was tested in two sections of FINA535 Strategic Finance and Value Creation (with total enrollment of 78 MBA students) in the spring semester 2008. We asked students to complete a group analysis of the case before coming to the class. We then spent a whole class period discussing the case as would be done in a case session. The CELT staff observed the case discussion and complete a survey form to obtain feedback on various aspects of the case and the discussion that took place in class. The comments and views of participants obtained were helpful in revising the case. A second case based on the restructuring of a Hong Kong company has been planned. The tentative title of the case is "Chevalier iTech: Restructuring" and it is currently in progress.
Status	Completed
Project Documents (Only accessible by HKUST users)	Project Plan Progress Report: First \| Second \| Third \| Forth \| Final Report
Adaptation	Full Project