Houston Community College System
Fall 2015 – Business Law I – BUSG 2305
Syllabus – 16 week course
Instructor: Charles J. Koen, J. D.
CRN Number: 72322
Class Meetings: Online Classroom
Office Hours: TBA online, via telephone (713-385-4704) or email at: charles.koen@hccs.edu
Discipline/Program: Business Law
Course Title: Business Law I
Course Number: BUSG 2305
Semester with Course Reference Number (CRN): Fall 2015 Semester, CRN 72322
Course Semester Credit Hours: 3 hours
Course Contact Hours: 48 hours
Course Length (Number of Weeks): 16 weeks
Type of Instruction: Online
Course Format and Description: The course will be conducted as a combination of
discussions of the course reading materials and current events. Students are to participate
actively in online class discussions and exercises.
Course Goals and Objectives: The overall expectation is that this course will help students
gain a greater understanding of business law and its concepts and its use in the practical field of
business.
Course Student Learning Outcome (SLO): Students should be able to fulfill all of the SLOs
as described below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Define business law and purpose of law;
Understand business ethics and the social responsibility of business;
Have knowledge of the U.S. legal system and its structure;
Define international law and the various legal structures world-wide;
Discuss and understand legal causes of action;
Gain an understanding of basic contract law.
EGLS(3) – Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System: At Houston
Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is necessary to improve
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teaching and learning. During a designated time, you will be asked to answer a short online
survey of research-based questions related to instruction. The anonymous results of the survey
will be made available to your professors and division chairs for continual improvement of
instruction. Look for the survey as part of the Houston Community System online near the end of
the term.
Attendance and Drop Policy: You are expected to attend all weekly online class sessions. You
are also responsible for material covered. I may be willing to consult with you for late or makeup assignments, but it is your responsibility to contact me.
Class attendance is checked daily. Although it is your responsibility to drop a course for nonattendance, the instructor has the authority to drop you for excessive absences. You may be
dropped from a course after accumulating absences in excess of 12.5% of the total hours of instruction. For example:
 For a 3 credit-hour lecture class meeting 3 hours per week (48 hours of instruction), you
can be dropped after 6 hours of absences.
 For a 4 credit-hour lecture class meeting 6 hours per week (96 hours of instruction), you
can be dropped after 12 hours of absence.
3-peaters:
NOTICE: Students who take a course more than twice face significant tuition/fee increased at
HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor/counselor about
opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are
not receiving passing grades.
The Texas State Legislature has begun to impose penalties on students who drop courses excessively. In 2007 the Legislature passed a law limiting students to no more than 6 total course
withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. To help students avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an Early Alert process
by which your instructor will “alert” you and HCC student services of the chance you might fail
a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic performance. You should visit with
your instructor, a counselor, or HCC online Student Services to learn about your options.
Students are expected to attend every class meeting. Additionally, students are responsible for
materials covered during their absences. Although it is the responsibility of the student to officially withdraw from the course, a student may be dropped for reasons outlines in the Policy
regarding W, F, and I section on the last pages of this syllabus. The last day for administrative
and student withdrawals is March 24, 2015 by 4:30 p.m. Failure of a student to withdraw officially could result in the student receiving a grade of “F” in the course.
Texts: Kubasek, et al., Dynamic Business Law.
The textbook is available at the Northeast and Southeast College bookstore, as well as online.
Instructional Methods: Online instruction and exams.
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Student Assignments:
Participation: Students are expected to participate in any online discussions. Reading must be
completed in order to do well in the course.
GRADE RUBRIC
All students will have the opportunity to earn a total 100% for the semester. There may
potentially be a limited number of extra credit opportunities but this is not a guarantee.
1) Participation Grade – 15% of total grade
Class participation is key to having an optimal learning atmosphere. Like any aspect of
our public forum participation is the life-breath of ideas and ensures that all aspects of
society are represented. Your thoughts and ideas about the materials are greatly
encouraged. This of course means that you will have to read and study the material. I
expect that you will read and study the material to ensure that class time is not wasted. It
also makes the learning process more interesting and makes the time go by faster when
we all provide input.
2) Written Assignment – 25% of total grade
The written assignment will be on an issue dealing with business law and/or contracts. It
can discuss a business issues and concepts in your field of work, issues and concepts in a
business you own, or in a field that you are interested in or plan to go into. I will provide
a rubric at a later time of what I expect more specifically in the written assignment.
3) Quiz I – 10% of total grade
4) Quiz II – 15% of total grade
5) Quiz III – 15% of total grade
6) Final Exam – 20% of total grade
The final exam will cover all chapters completed.
HCC GRADING SCALE
A = 100-90
B = 89-80
C = 79-70
D = 69-60
F = 59 and below
FX (Failure due to non-attendance)
IP (In Progress)
W (Withdrawn)
I (Incomplete)
AUD (Audit)
Cheating and Plagiarism: There is a no tolerance policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. Not
only will you receive an “F” for the course if caught cheating or plagiarizing, but the Dean will
also be notified of your actions.
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IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROCESS THE PAPERWORK DROP
OR WITHDRAW FROM A COURSE BEFORE THE DUE DATE. THOSE STUDENTS
WHO FAIL TO DO SO WILL BE ASSIGNED A LETTER GRADE BASED ON THE
SCHEME ABOVE.
ADA Statement: Students with Disabilities Any student with a documented disability (e.g.
physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) and who needs to arrange reasonable
accommodation must contact the Disability Services Office at the respective college at the
beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested
by the Disability Support Services Office. The DSS Counselor for the Southeast College is Mrs.
Baldwin and she can be reached at (713) 718-7218.
Scholastic Dishonesty: There will be no sharing of answers on exams and written assignment.
In addition, students must present their original work on all assignments and document all
outside resources. Plagiarism is not allowed. Cheating will result in a grade of “F” in the course,
as well as disciplinary actions.
Academic Honesty: Academic irregularities cannot be tolerated. Attempts to compromise the
integrity of this course will result in a grade of zero for the assignment or dismissal from the
class. Student must not collaborate on the exams in any way (including the use of materials from
former students) and must not copy material from any source to use as their essay answers or
discussion contributions. See the HCCS Student Handbook for details.
Course Schedule SPRING 2015
Week
Week 1
Aug. 24-28
Week 2
Aug. 31-Sep. 4
Week 3
Sep. 7-11
Week 4
Sep. 14-18
Week 5
Sep. 21-25
Week 6
Sep. 28-Oct. 2
Week 7
Oct. 5-9
Week 8
Oct. 12-16
Week 9
Oct. 19-23
Readings
Intro to class/syllabus
Chapter 1
Chapters 2 and 3
Chapters 4 and 5
Chapters 6-8
Quiz I
Chapters 9 and 10
Chapters 11 and 12
Chapters 13-15
Quiz II
Chapters 16 and 17
Chapters 18 and 19
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Week 10
Oct. 26-30
Week 11
Nov. 3-7
Week 12
Nov. 10-14
Week 13
Nov. 17-21
Week 14
Nov. 24-28
Week 15
Dec. 1-5
Week 16
Dec. 8-12
Chapters 20
Chapters 21 and 23
Chapters 24 and 26
Quiz III
Chapters 27-29
Chapter 32/Thanksgiving
Holiday
Chapters TBA
Written Assignments due
Final Exam (TBA)
*This syllabus is subject to revision prior during the course of the semester. Please check
periodically for updates.
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