Collin College Faculty Syllabus

COLLIN COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS Business Law Summer II 2011

Course Number: BUSI 2301.2S7

Course Title: Business Law

Course Description: General principles of the law of contracts, property and torts. Includes the historical and ethical background of the law and current legal principles.

Course Credit Hours: Lecture Hours: 3

College Repeat Policy: A student may repeat this course only once after receiving a grade, including “W”.

Course Delivery Method: Lecture and discussion

Instructor’s Information: Instructor’s Name: Kristine Horn Office Number: Associate Faculty Office K-237 Office Hours: By appointment only Mon./Wed.5:30-6 Contact Information: Assoc. Faculty Office Tel. 972-881-5759 [email protected] [email protected] Web Page: http://iws.collin.edu/kdhorn/

Campus Security: In case of emergency, contact Campus Police at 972-578-5555

Class Information: Class Meeting Times: Mon & Wed 6:00-10:10 p.m. Class Meeting Location J-208

Textbook : McGraw Hill, Business Law, Busi2301 Collin College, ISBN 978-0-39- 015598-6.

Supplies: No supplies are required.

Student Learning Outcomes: After successful completion of this course, the student should be able to: 1.0 Describe the United States legal system. 2.0 Identify the steps that take place during the trial process. 3.0 Interpret a simple contract. 4.0 Explain the basic laws that govern the workplace. 5.0 Explain the differences between the various kinds of intellectual property. 6.0 Explain ways that consumer law protects the public. 1 7.0 Exhibit a rudimentary ability to apply legal methods to problem-solving. 8.0 Explain the American way of handling tort claims.

Course Requirements: Complete exams and assignments satisfactorily. You are responsible for reading and understanding all materials contained on the course website, including all exam and other due dates.

Method of Evaluation: There will be two exams, one current events project, and one paper/presentation. Exams are each worth 30% of your grade, the paper/presentation is worth 25% and the current events project is worth 15%. No scantron is required for exams. Your final grade will be calculated using the following scale: 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, Below 60 = F.

Attendance Policy: Please see Instructor Policies section of this document. See the current Collin Registration Guide for the last day to withdraw.

Religious Holy Days: Please refer to the current Collin Student Handbook

ADA Statement: It is the policy of Collin County Community College to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals who are students with disabilities. This College will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the ACCESS office, SCC-G200 or 972.881.5898 (V/TTD: 972.881.5950) in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations. See the current Collin Student Handbook for additional information.

Academic Ethics: Every member of the Collin College community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Collin College may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts, or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission of one’s own work material that is not one’s own. Scholastic dishonesty may involve, but is not limited to, one or more of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion, use of annotated texts or teacher’s editions, use of information about exams posted on the Internet or electronic medium, and/or falsifying academic records. While specific examples are listed below, this is not an exhaustive list and scholastic dishonesty may encompass other conduct, including any conduct through electronic or computerized means: Plagiarism is the use of an author’s words or ideas as if they were one’s own without giving credit to the source, including, but not limited to, failure to acknowledge a direct quotation. Cheating is the willful giving or receiving of information in an unauthorized manner during an examination; collaborating with another student during an examination without authority; using, buying, selling, soliciting, stealing, or otherwise obtaining course assignments and/or examination questions in advance, copying computer or Internet files, 2 using someone else’s work for assignments as if it were one’s own; or any other dishonest means of attempting to fulfill the requirements of a course. Collusion is intentionally or unintentionally aiding or attempting to aid another in an act of scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to, failing to secure academic work; providing a paper or project to another student; providing an inappropriate level of assistance; communicating answers to a classmate about an examination or any other course assignment; removing tests or answer sheets from a test site, and allowing a classmate to copy answers. See the current Collin Student Handbook for additional information.

INSTRUCTOR POLICIES:

1. WEB SITE: http://iws.collin.edu/kdhorn/

Bookmark this page! You are responsible for the information I post on the site. Assignments, supplemental readings, useful links, class notes, and announcements are posted here. You should check the site before each class to determine if there are any announcements pertaining to the upcoming class period.

2. DUE DATES : All dues dates for assignments and exams are firm dates. There will be no make-up tests unless the EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES CLAUSE applies (see below). Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period for which they are assigned, and will NOT be accepted by email unless the EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES CLAUSE applies.

3. THE EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES CLAUSE: Extreme circumstances include those very limited situations such as plague, pestilence, nuclear war, death, and serious illness. Events that do not qualify include: your significant other telling you that you are no longer significant, staying up late to watch Law and Order, or, my personal favorite, “I had a test in another class.” (Conventional wisdom suggests that telling a professor her course is not as important as others will not result in a warm, fuzzy response). Work, family, and yes, even social obligations DO NOT qualify. If you are faced with a bona fide emergency, send me an email BEFORE the class period if at all possible, and be prepared to submit documentation of the emergency. If you know in advance that you will not be attending class on an assignment due date, dire consequences may be avoided by turning your assignment in early. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CLAUSE WILL BE STRICTLY CONSTRUED IN FAVOR OF THE STATED POLICY NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT THAT I DRAFTED IT.

4. “ The Dog Ate It”. Please keep a copy of your writing assignments. Also, to sidestep easily avoided problems related to computer failures—keep a copy of your work on a floppy disk or CD and be ready to make alternative arrangements for last minute printing. A crashed computer does not qualify as an extreme event under the EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES clause.

3 5. Course Reading/Participation. Students are expected to read the assignments before class and make a significant effort toward meaningful participation in class. Class exercises and weekly assignments will supplement the reading material. Please note that the instructor reserves the right, in the case of students on the borderline between letter grades, to consider significant and meaningful class participation, effort, and attendance in determining whether to award the higher letter grade.

6. Attendance. Woody Allen once said that 80% of success is simply being there. In this class it is more like 99.999 %. Regular attendance is critical to your success in this course, but I will leave it to your good judgment as to how you prioritize your time. Attendance is taken only to comply with university policy and to assist the instructor in determining whether to award the higher grade in the case of averages that are borderline. Please, DO NOT CONTACT ME IF YOU WILL NOT BE IN CLASS unless the day in question is the day of an exam AND the Extreme Circumstances clause applies. If you are not in class on a day other than when a test is scheduled, I will assume that you have conducted your own cost/benefit analysis, and have a good reason for not being there.

7. Availability. The fact that I do not maintain an office at Collin DOES NOT mean that I am not available. I am happy to meet with you before or after class or at another mutually convenient time. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Email is the preferred method of communication.

4 COURSE CALENDAR (Subject to adjustment at Instructor’s discretion)

JULY 11 Course Introduction

JULY 12 Intro to B. law, U.S. Legal System Ch. 1, 2

JULY 18 Legal System Cont’d, Constitutional Law Ch. 4

JULY 20 EXAM I

JULY 25 Consumer Law Ch. 24, Employment Law Ch. 25, Business Ethics

JULY 27 Intentional Torts, Strict Liability, Negligence Ch. 5

AUG 1 Contracts Ch. 7, 8, 9

AUG 3 Contracts 10, 11, 12, 13

AUG 8 EXAM II

AUG 10 PAPER DUE;PRESENTATIONS