BADM 320: Principles of Marketing Spring 2026
BADM 320: Principles of Marketing
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Spring 2026
Class Location: Foellinger Auditorium Instructor: Dr. Mark Wolters
How to Engage with the Instructor:
Email: for questions about the class, badm320questions@gmail.com for the instructor directly, use mwolter@illinois.edu
Social Media Engagement with the instructor: So, you can reach out in a way that is convenient to you.
X/Twitter: @woltersworld TikTok: @woltersworld
Instagram: @woltersworld YouTube: youtube.com/professorwolters
Website: www.professorwolters.com select the “Principles of Marketing” tab. There you will find videos for all topics of the course.
Mailbox: 330E Wohlers Hall Professor’s Office: 13 Wohlers Hall
Office Hours: Prof. Wolters you can speak with the instructor before class, he is located in 13 Wohlers Hall. The dedicated office hours will be Tuesdays from 11am to 12pm, but feel free to talk to the professor at any time. He will be at class early each day. Please note that the professor has another class at 9:30am right after our class, thus he will need to leave right at the end of class.
Course Website and Social Media Sites:
The course website where all summary videos can be found is www.professorwolters.com select the Principles of Marketing link to access each topic and set of videos. www.youtube.com/professorwolters location of summary videos for class topic videos & Exam Reviews Q&A.
The course has a Canvas page for grade and announcement posting. Please note that the Canvas grade percentage does not show your actual grade in the course. Please use the syllabus to calculate your grade.
Lecture Times: The course is held at 8:00am to 9:20am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There will be attendance checks to make sure students are attending the course. If you are unable to attend a class you can learn the material via online lecture videos. There are summary videos for all lectures on www.professorwolters.com . The professor will also send out a weekly email that will have links for the videos on the topics that we will talk about each week.
Email for BADM 320 Questions: badm320questions@gmail.com use this email to send your class questions. Also, if it is a quick answer either the professor or one of the graders will answer your question. Graders answer emails Monday through Friday.
If you have questions about your grade, you should contact Prof. Wolters directly. If it is the end of the semester and you are hoping to get a higher grade, there are extra credit assignments that you can do during the semester to raise your grade 3%.
So, the class offers an easy way to boost your grade already. Do not show up at the end of the semester asking for extra points, as there are up to 3% extra credit available in the course already. So, those are the bonus points to get you to a higher grade.
Course Summary: The idea behind this course is to give students a solid base of marketing knowledge so no matter what area of business their careers take them, whether accountancy, finance, management, supply chain, marketing, advertising, non-profits, they have a firm understanding of the principles of marketing.
Course Learning Outcomes:
- Define the role of marketing in a firm and how it can add value to a firm,
- Give students a brief overview of the main areas of marketing so they will not be lost when discussing marketing among other executives,
- Open students’ eyes to the tricks of the trade of marketing so that they can become better informed consumers.
- Develop an understanding of the processes that companies go through to develop: marketing strategies, new products, pricing models, promotion & advertising strategies.
- Give students a feel for the developing fields of online and social media marketing,
- Give students of all disciplines a firm base of marketing knowledge that they can use in their future business careers.
Course Materials:
Required: BADM 320: Principles of Marketing Spring 2026. Mark Wolters. Stipes Publishing2026.
This is a physical book that contains all of the slides for the course, practices exams, attendance sheets, and BADM 320 BINGO Card. Only Spring 2026 books are acceptable for the attendance grades and assignments. You can buy the book at the Illini Union Bookstore. Please note the face-to-face class has a physical book. There is a different book for the online class.
Required: Canvas login. The online learning management system for the U of I.
- Announcements will be posted in Canvas in your announcement feed, please note any announcements as this is where any relevant notes or announcements will be placed.
- If you do not have your Canvas announcements set to send you notifications or emails this is not an excuse that will be accepted for missing any assignments or announcements.
- If class changes or exam information is shared on Canvas Announcements it is required for students to know. The professor will not accept “I didn’t see the announcement” as an excuse.
- There is a possibility that one of the exams may be held via Canvas. The online exam will be proctored via the online cheating procedures the U of I has available.
Additional Material for Students Who Would Like More Marketing Information: Marketing by Grewal and Levy, (2024, McGraw-Hill).
Performance Evaluations:
Exams: There are three exams throughout the semester.
Exam 1: 250 points – 50 multiple choice questions. Date: Tuesday February 24th, students will have 80 minutes to complete the exam. The exam is held IN CLASS DURING THE LECTURE PERIOD. Exam one covers topics 1, 2, 3, & 4. The exam is in class.
The conflict is held at 7pm until 8:30pm Thursday February 26th. You have to have an emergency dean letter to be able to take the conflict exam. The conflict exam is an essay exam. You cannot just skip the multiple-choice exam in class and expect to be allowed to take the conflict exam. If you have not gained pre-authorization for the conflict exam the instructor will not grade your conflict exam. To find the location of the conflict exam you will need to speak with the instructor. Email him at mwolter@illinois.edu with the subject line CONFLICT EXAM REGISTRATION. You will need to supply your emergency dean letter and reasoning why you did not take the in-class exam. This is the procedure for all three conflict exams this semester.
Exam 2: 250 points – 50 multiple choice questions. Date: Tuesday March 31st students will have 80 minutes to complete the exam. The exam is held in class during class time. Exam two covers topics, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10. The exam is in class.
The conflict exam is held Thursday April 2nd at 7pm until 8:30pm. You have to have an emergency dean letter to be able to take the conflict exam. The conflict exam is an essay exam. If you have not gained pre-authorization for the conflict exam the instructor will not grade your conflict exam. To find the location of the conflict exam you will need to speak with the instructor. Email him at mwolter@illinois.edu with the subject line CONFLICT EXAM REGISTRATION. You will need to supply your emergency dean letter and reasoning why you did not take the in-class exam. This is the procedure for all three conflict exams this semester.
Exam 3: 250 points – 50 multiple choice questions. Date: Thursday April 30th, the exam is held in class. Exam three covers topics 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
The conflict exam is held on Canvas on Tuesday May 5th at 7pm until 8:30pm. You have to have an emergency dean letter to be able to take the conflict exam. The conflict exam is an essay exam. If you have not gained pre-authorization for the conflict exam the instructor will not grade your conflict exam. To find the location of the conflict exam you will need to speak with the instructor. Email him at mwolter@illinois.edu with the subject line CONFLICT EXAM REGISTRATION. You will need to supply your emergency dean letter and reasoning why you did not take the in-class exam. This is the procedure for all three conflict exams this semester.
Syllabus Quiz: 50 points – online quiz covering important materials from the syllabus. Students will have until 11:59pm Friday on September 12th to complete the quiz. The syllabus quiz will be available from the first week of class until February 6th at 11:59pm. All students will need to complete it on their own at any time until the due date. You will find the quiz on Canvas. I will send out various reminders to do the syllabus quiz, so there are no excuses not to have the syllabus quiz finished before the February 6th deadline. There are no make-ups for missing the syllabus quiz. Students who join the class late will need to have the syllabus quiz done by Friday February 6th at 11:59pm as well.
Attendance Check Quizzes: 200 points –In order to inspire students to attend classes there will be attendance checks randomly throughout the semester. The attendance sheets can be found in the back of the textbook for the course. After the first exam the instructor will only accept attendance sheets from the Spring 2026 textbook. The course has a two-attendance point curve, so you are allowed to miss two attendance checks and still receive 100% for your attendance grade. These two free attendance checks can be used for job interviews, illness, or just not wanting to come to class. Therefore, you do not need to inform the instructor about your absence. The attendance points usually show up on Canvas within a week or 10 days for the class that they were taken. Please do not contact the professor about missing attendance points until 10 days after the date of the attendance check as my graders may need time to put all the grades in.
Grading Scale: Please note the cut offs, the grades are based on 1000 total points possible for the class, not counting possible extra credit that could take you over 1000 points.
| A+ (964.5-1000) | A (924.5-964.4) | A- (894.5-924.4) |
| B+ (864.5-894.4) | B (824.5-864.4) | B- (794.5-824.4) |
| C+ (764.5-794.4) | C (724.5-764.4) | C+ (694.5-724.4) |
| D+ (664.5-694.4) | D (624.5-664.4) | D- (594.5-624.4) |
| F (594.4 and Below) |
Students should review their grades on Canvas to ensure that there were no data entry errors when entering your grades. If you note a discrepancy, please write mwolter@illinois.edu about the issue. Note your full name, student number, the grade in question, and relevant information for the discrepancy. Attendance check points and exam points may take up to 10 days to be entered into the system.
Extra Credit Options: 3% or 30 points Maximum – choose one of two options
Save the World Extra Credit Project
Write a strategic marketing plan (Max 3% or 30 points depending on quality of work done) for a non-profit or not-for-profit group based in the Champaign-Urbana area or in your home community (think save the planet, help the community, make the world a better place organizations). Your job is to help out organizations that depend greatly on volunteers. You should help them determine their main marketing problems and issues and analyze their market and industry using the tools we learn in class. You should then give them recommendations on how they could improve their marketing and fundraising positions. Please use the following strategic marketing tools, SWOT Analysis, develop six Key Success Factors for their industry with recommendations for the firm to achieve them, Ansoff Matrix for growth recommendations and analyze their social media with recommendations. The extra credit project should be 8-12 pages long, 1.5 line spacing, 1-inch margins, times new roman font. The cover page and appendices do not count toward the 8-12 pages. You can also use this as your James Scholar or Honors Project. If you are using this as an honors project, please indicate this on the title page of your Save the World project. It is due April 8th and you will email the final project to the firm and Prof. Wolters at mwolter@illinois.edu and you will turn in a printed copy as well by April 8th.
Participate in up to six (6) SONA Experiments throughout the semester. A link will be sent via Canvas Announcements a few weeks into the semester. Sign up for studies as soon as you see them as there may not be enough studies for all students to get all six experiments. Each experiment that you complete will learn you 0.5% or 5 points added onto your FINAL grade. I will only accept zero to six completed SONA experiments for extra credit. If you are in another class that also is giving extra credit via SONA experiments you will need to assign your points for each extra credit experiment before reading day at the end of the semester. You can assign points to different classes until reading day. The extra credit points will be assigned after reading day to your Canvas grade sheet, not before as the instructor only receives the total experiment list after reading day. Please note if you skip two experiments you sign up for you will need to petition to be allowed to take further experiments. If you have any questions about the SONA experiments you need to contact the SONA experiment coordinator, as the professor does not have access to the SONA experiments.
Viral Video Extra Credit
Students can develop, film, and edit a video focused on The University of Illinois, student life, marketing, or other activities that relate to their time at the U of I. The videos are made to not only help students earn extra credit, but to help them develop their digital portfolio that they can use to show recruiters. This is not a project that students will do on their own. They will need to meet with the professor in order to go over their idea for their video to make sure that it fits in the guidelines for the class. This is a separate form. Students can do up to two viral videos for a total of 2% added on to their final grade or 20 points. Student can also do no videos, or they can create one viral video and earn 10 points or 1% added onto their final grade. The videos will be published in order to help promote the U of I or student education/preparation for college. Contact the instructor at mwolter@illinos.edu for more information. The videos must be filmed, edited, and submitted by March 26th. Please remember that you have to get approval from the instructor, so please speak with the instructor about this extra credit assignment.
There is a maximum of 3% extra credit available (30 points maximum), so you will not receive extra extra credit if you do all the SONA experiments and the save the world project and the viral videos. So, decide if you want to do the save the world project or a combination of the SONA experiments and the viral video or just the SONA experiments. Extra credit is not required. However, it does help your grade.
Final Exam: There is no Final Exam during the final exam period for this course.
Course Policies: The instructor has the right to change the syllabus as seen fit to accommodate topics, classes, etc.
Grade Notification: Due to FERPA the Professor is not able to email you or respond by phone to your requests for your current grade standings. If you would like to know where your grade stands on any specific day please contact the professor (mwolter@illinois.edu) about your desire to know your grade and then we can discuss how best to review your grade with social distancing.
Common Courtesy Policy: Students are expected to show respect towards the other students, faculty and guest speakers in the course. These courtesies include respecting others’ opinions, giving full attention to presenters, acting in a professional manner with respect to external contacts, other students and faculty, also speaking in a low voice if speaking to others in class. If you are a disruption, you will be asked to leave and your grade will be marked down 5% of the final grade for each dismissal. Refusal to leave or submit your name will lead to a further 10% decrease of your final grade. Additionally, if you are found to be harassing other students, teaching assistants or the professor, your case will be handed directly over to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affairs/Programs. We have had some serious issues in the past and therefore we have a zero-tolerance policy on threats, bullying and harassment.
Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty: Please do your own work. If it is found out that you copied, plagiarized, paid someone to do the work for you, used works from previous semesters you will receive a zero (0) on that assignment/exam. Also, if the act is severe further university action may be taken. This is further detailed in the Student Code. (Though I expect nothing but the best from all of you).
Special Accommodations: If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, which will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as outlined above please, notify myself, Mark Wolters during the first week of the course and I will do my best to accommodate you.
Requests for special accommodations will require documentation from the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES). All summary videos for the class have closed captioning. If you would like to take your exam at the DRES testing center you can sign up for any time slot on the day of the exam or the following day. Also, with attendance in relation to DRES accommodations. If a DRES student misses an in-class attendance check, they have 10 days from the missed attendance check date to contact the professor to make note that they missed the attendance check and it was in relation to the DRES accommodations.
Enrollment in the Course: I do not have any control over enrollment in this course. If you need information on registering for the course, please visit the Business Administration office in 330 Wohlers Hall.
Copyright Protection: The materials presented in class are copyrighted and are not allowed to be photographed, recorded, or any other form of reproduction in order to be sold or re- distributed. If this is found the person/institution that did such selling/re-distribution will be held legally accountable.
Exam Policies:
Exam Questions: The questions on the exam will come from the chapters indicated by the professor. The three exams are not cumulative; they will only focus on the material covered in the term between exams.
The chapters listed in the schedule are a tentative list of what chapters will be covered in each exam, the professor reserves the right to change the chapters covered in the exam if time does not allow for certain materials to be covered. The exams will be multiple choice and taken in class. I will announce the number of questions on the exam in the class preceding the exam (approximately 50 multiple choice questions are typical). The conflict exams will be done in essay format and students will be given 80 minutes to complete the essays.
Exam Preparation: What should I study Professor? Please do not ask me this, I will tell you, “Why Everything Student O’Mine.” So, my recommendations are to read the class notes, watch the summary videos found in the study guides on the Wolters World website, read the cases and chapters and get a good night’s sleep before the exam (and have a healthy breakfast too, and call your parents without asking for money. They will appreciate it and send you money anyway, maybe).
Exam Day Etiquette: Exams will be held during class. We will begin the exams promptly. If you finish earlier than other students please be quiet and respectful of the students that are still taking the exam and exit as quietly as you can. There will be proctors collecting the exams and you will need your iCard ID, multiple #2 pencils, an eraser, and yourself. The exams are closed book.
In case of online exams needing to be done: The exam will be available once you open the exam link. Therefore, it is best to have everything ready at your station when you open the exam. If you close your computer it will not reset your timer, your timer is linked to your UIN and Canvas account. So, once you start you have the allotted 80 minutes regardless of technological issues, timing issues, bathroom breaks. As the exams are done through Canvas there is nothing, I can do to give you extra time, so please make sure you are fully prepared once you click the link to the exam. If you stop or decide to take a break your exam will not allow you to pause and the clock will keep going. Also, if you open the exam to look at it the exam time will begin. You are only able to open the exam on one device.
Additionally, please do not cheat on the exam or work with your colleagues on the exam at the same time. You are much smarter than your friends, and therefore do not need their help. Also, if you are caught cheating you will receive a ZERO for the exam and lose 100 points from your attendance points grade. We will use the ProctorU system for the online exams or whatever the U of I has for anti-cheating software.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What if you miss an exam: if you miss one of the first three exams, we have conflict exams a couple days after the normally scheduled exams.
What if you miss an attendance quiz: I will be giving a two-attendance point bonus for the course. Therefore, if you miss two attendance checks you will still receive 100% of the points.
What happens if I miss the syllabus quiz February 6th due date? Well, then I hate to tell you, you will receive ZERO points for the syllabus quiz. Three weeks seems like a good enough time to answer a few questions that have all the answers on this piece of paper. And let’s be honest, I have sent out a ton of email reminders and mentioned it in class a lot, so you have no excuse.
Can I use the two-bonus attendance checks and then use a Emergency Dean note to get out of more attendance checks or exams? No, you will need to use one of your two bonuses for the missed attendance checks. Think of it like a job, you work 12 months out of the year and you get two vacation months. I will do approximately 12 checks and drop 2 of them.
Do I need to watch the videos? The summary videos that are available on www.professorwolters.com are there for students to review at their leisure. On the days we have online only lectures, those videos will have the materials covered for that day’s class and the material in those videos are exam question worthy.
How do I talk to the instructor? You can contact Prof. Wolters via email mwolter@illinois.edu or you can contact him via social media (if you feel comfortable doing that) with @woltersworld on twitter and Instagram.
When do we find out our grades on the exams? As we are using Scantron forms for exams it usually means that the professor will receive the exam grades back on the day following the exam. And the instructor will put the scores in as promptly as possible once they have the scores. If our exams fall during busy periods for the testing center the instructor may need more time to put in the grades.
Is there a curve in the class? No, there is no curve in the class. I have 3% extra credit that you can earn that can boost everyone’s grade if they take advantage of the extra credit opportunities. (see above in the syllabus).
What happens if I am kidnapped by aliens and miss 1/2 of the class and then they drop me back in Champaign and I want to start taking the class gain? I will not drop anyone from the class. You will still be able to do the rest of the exams and quizzes that are available to you. I would also talk to the emergency dean and Unsolved Mysteries as they might find your story pretty cool. This is also true if you by chance skip half of the semester for any non-alien abductions.
What if I start the exam 20 minutes before the exam time ends? Will I still have 80 minutes? No, if you are in person you will have until the class period ends to finish the exam and we have to release the exam room for the next university function. For online exams Canvas will close down the exam and take all the answers you have already submitted at the closing bell. So please start your exam with plenty of time in the three-hour window.
Can you just give me a higher grade? No, I cannot do that. I can lose my job. Please do not ask this at the end of the semester.
Why isn’t the instructor answering my emails right away? It is 2am, he is probably asleep, or perhaps the answer is in the syllabus? Best to go up and talk to him before or after class.
Class Schedule: (Subject to Change if deemed necessary by instructor)
| Day | Date | Topic | Assignment |
| Tue | 1/20 | Syllabus Day – Get to know about the class | |
| Thur | 1/22 | Topic 1 – Introduction to Marketing | |
| Tue | 1/27 | Topic 2 – Marketing Strategy | |
| Thur | 1/29 | Topic 2 – Marketing Strategy | |
| Tue | 2/3 | Topic 3 – Marketing Environment | |
| Thur | 2/5 | Topic 3 – Marketing Environment | Syllabus quiz due Friday |
| Tue | 2/10 | Topic 4 – Digital & Social Media Marketing | |
| Thur | 2/12 | Topic 4 – Digital & Social Media Marketing | |
| Tue | 2/17 | Marketing Careers & Life Post College Talk | |
| Thur | 2/19 | Exam Review | |
| Tue | 2/24 | Exam 1 – IN CLASS – Topics 1, 2, 3, & 4 | Exam in class |
| Thur | 2/26 | Topic 5 – Consumer Behavior | Conflict exam 7pm |
| Tue | 3/3 | Topic 6 – Business to Business Marketing | |
| Thur | 3/5 | Topic 7 – Global Marketing | |
| Tue | 3/10 | Topic 8 – Segmentation, Targeting, & Positioning | |
| Thur | 3/12 | Topic 9 – Marketing Research | |
| Tue | 3/17 | SPRING BREAK NO CLASS | |
| Thur | 3/19 | SPRING BREAK NO CLASS | |
| Tue | 3/24 | Topic 10 – Branding and Packaging | |
| Thur | 3/26 | Exam Review & Topic 10 continued | Viral Video E.C. Due |
| Tue | 3/31 | Exam 2 – IN CLASS – Topics 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 | Exam in class |
| Thur | 4/2 | Topic 11 – New Product Development | Conflict Exam 7pm |
| Tue | 4/7 | Topic 12 – Service Marketing | |
| Thur | 4/9 | Topic 13 – Pricing Strategies | Save the World Extra Credit due |
| Tue | 4/14 | Topic 13 – Pricing Strategies | |
| Thur | 4/16 | Topic 14 – Supply Chain Management | |
| Tue | 4/21 | Topic 15 – Advertising & Integrated Marketing Communication | |
| Thur | 4/23 | Topic 15 – Advertising & Integrated Marketing Communication | |
| Tue | 4/28 | Exam Review | |
| Thur | 4/30 | Exam 3 – in class Topics 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15 | Exam in class |
| Tue | 5/5 | Last Day SONA E.C. Conflict exam 7pm |
