Faculty practices in undergraduate investments courses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices of professors teaching the introductory class in investments. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 101 syllabi of the first investments course taught in various AACSB accredited business schools around the country was collected. Several dimensions of course content are summarized: the primary textbook selections, other required and recommended materials including the use of spreadsheets, financial calculators, financial magazines such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and/or stock market games, grading policies including assessment components and their weights, and course contents based on various investments topics. Findings – Classroom practices of investments professors differ considerably. There is virtually nothing that is universally applied by investments faculty. There are, however, many areas such as key content to include in the course where a large majority tends to agree with each other. Originality/value – While there is obviously not a single right way to teach investments, many professors may be able to improve their classes or their assessment methods by trying some of the things that others are doing. Including stock market games, for example, might enlighten the students and encourage more classroom discussion.