Penn Foster Courses - Questions on Syllabus Info

[AngelaP]

Hello,
So, I'm registered and doing 3 courses through Penn Foster. Strategic Business Management, International Business, Financial Management.
I was looking at the syllabus for these three and there may be a mistake somewhere for Strategic Business Management, the other two OK.

COURSE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
Textbook: Crafting and Executing Strategy
Study guide: Strategic Business Management

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Reading assignments, discussion boards, webinars

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
Lesson examinations, graded project
Lesson examinations (4); discussion boards (4); Webinars (3) 67%
Final (proctored) 33% <<== This should be the Graded Project, there shouldn't be a Final Exam


COURSE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
Textbook: International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition
Study guide: International Business

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Textbook, study guide, webinar

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
Lesson exams, discussion boards, graded project, proctored exam
Lesson exams (4), discussion boards (4), graded project 67%
Final (proctored) 33%


COURSE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
Textbook: Basic Finance: An Introduction to Financial Institutions, Investments & Management, 10th Edition
Study Guide: Financial Management

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Textbook, study guide

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
Lesson exams, final exam
Lesson exams (5) 67%
Final exam 33%


My questions are the following:
1) Within the syllabus there are some extra assignments and quizzes, should I skip these if the are no grades for them, and just work on the graded materials.
2) Are most of the answers already in the Study Guide? Can I just use that instead of both the Study Guide and Text Book
My textbooks haven't arrived for the courses yet and I want to get a head start.
3) For International Business, there are webinars, but I don't think they are going to be graded for participation. Do I need to attend those?
4) I see there are discussion boards, what exactly do we do in the discussion board? Is it just answering questions?
5) Would you recommend the textbook or ebook versions of them? I'll search online for their counterparts, maybe easier to search.

1 - Yes, skip those and only do the graded assignments that are listed on the main screen under your course heading.
2 - There may be some answers in the study guide, but I would not say all are. The study guide is a synopsis of the chapter.
3 - Yes, the webinars must be attended and they are for a participation grade.
4 - Yes, you will answer a question(s). Just answer it in 3-5 sentences and you will be fine. I don't think anyone grades them, but is a participation grade.
5- I have always used the book they sent.