Course Syllabus

HIGHLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BUSINESS LAW 201 (On-Line)

Summer Quarter 2017 Item #2007

 

 

 

 

Jessica McColl Neilson, J.D., LL.M

Bldg. 29, Room 251

Office Phone: (206) 592-4902

Assistant:  Dianne Lonsbery at x3436

E-mail address: jneilson@highline.edu

 

What should I be doing in this online course?

 

A week begins Monday at 9AM and concludes Sunday at 11:59PM. There are 8 weeks in this summer quarter. Each week, you should (1) read the syllabus for that week’s reading assignment (2) go to that week’s module and then (3) read the textbook, (4) read the power point slides (these summarize the key points in the chapters), and (4) read that week’s assignments (5) do the assignments which will include posting on that week’s discussion board and (6) turn them in. Rest, relax. Repeat!

                       

Office Hours: : Go on the web to jneilson.youcanbook.me and find a time that works for you. These are my office hours this quarter:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
10:30-11:30am   12:30-1:30pm	By appointment	10:30-11:30am	By appointment	By appointment

 

I can make other times available by appointment.

 

Contacting me: You should contact me directly via e-mail (Put “Bus Law 201” in the subject line) or phone if you have questions that relate to you individually, and post on the “Questions for Jessica” discussion board if your question may have an impact on the entire class. If you are not sure, contact me directly and I can decide if the class needs to be made aware of the issue.

 

Netiquette: The etiquette of posting things in an online forum. Rule #1: Do not post something you would rather not see in the headlines when you are running for office, or that you’d rather your mother not see. Do not “flame” others by insulting them (or their mother!).

 

Availability of Instructor: I will check my texts and email daily, including on most weekends. You can phone me or e-mail/text to set up a phone conference as indicated in “Office Hours”, above.

 

 

 

Required Materials:

Business Law.  Jeffery F. Beatty & Samuelson, Cengage Learning Pub. You should be using the 6^th edition, customized for Highline Community College.  You can buy the full edition of this book on Amazon, Half.com, Barnes and Noble, etc. for less than the price at the bookstore.

 

The reserve section in the library has a copy of the textbook, as well as books on the various topics covered in the textbook. Consult these when you have difficulty with a section of your required reading.  Also check the glossary in the back of the book for legal terms you don’t know.

 

Description of Course:

 

            Objectives – At the end of this course, you should be able to:

 

> Distinguish between the various branches of government and judicial law and legislative law.

>  Distinguish between the functions of the state courts and the federal courts and identify their respective roles in the legal system.

>  Apply and analyze the application of the laws of contracts to business-related agreements.

>  Apply and distinguish the appropriateness of proceeding in court or by means of Alternative Dispute Resolution in various types of business-related litigation.

>  Analyze and apply current employment regulations to hypothetical business-related situations.

>  Recognize and identify the substantive area of law applicable to certain types of disputes that present themselves within a business environment and demonstrate an awareness of how they should be handled.

>  Distinguish amongst the different types of employment relationships and demonstrate the ability to analyze the appropriateness to given situations.

>  Apply correctly legal terminology in the selected areas of law affecting business transactions.

>  Recognize ethical issues in business, including their legal implications.

 

            Reading Assignments – Reading Assignments must be completed prior to the relevant class

 

Budgeting Your Time—For an online class, please plan on spending at least six hours preparing each week. Students who have been away from the academic environment for an extended period of time or new to college settings, or international students should take note as this amount of time may be different than you might have expected.  Preparation time may include reading (and re-reading!) textbooks, being part of a study group, completing chapter questions and assignments, outlining the class, creating index cards, or using other method of preparing for exams, etc.

           

            Examinations & Quizzes – Test questions may include questions such as fill-in-the-blank, definitions, multiple choice, and essays that require you to apply the material.

If you miss an opportunity to obtain your graded assignment and/or exam, it is your responsibility to obtain the assignment/exam from me.  Assignments and exams are held only until the third Tuesday of the following quarter and may not be reclaimed after that time.

                       

Policy re: written assignments -- In keeping with the high professional standards required in the legal profession, all papers must be typewritten.  Assignments will be graded on their contents, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and professional neatness.

 

            If any assignment is not clear to you for any reason, please communicate this to me before the assignment is due. Assignment deadlines are absolute absent the most extraordinary circumstances.  Examples of “extraordinary circumstances” are determined in the sole discretion of the instructor.  You should think of assignments as being turned into a court – courts usually refuse to read and consider late-filed papers.  I reserve the right to mark down any assignment that is not timely completed.

 

            Keys to Success in this Course – Throughout the course, I will share my suggestions for succeeding in this course.  You can take note now that reading and re-reading the assigned materials will help enhance your understanding as will reviewing your class notes.  Procrastination in this class, and in the legal profession, can be deadly and is not advised.  If you experience overwhelm, disorganization, procrastination, or other difficulties in studying for this course, let me know – there are many tools to combat these problems, and I am here to help you succeed!

 

            Student responsibility – Students have responsibility to get on line and review the material and to note any changes which are communicated to the class.  Students are responsible for obtaining all assignments and/or handouts that are provided to the class.  Therefore, if a student cannot get on line, it is his/her responsibility to obtain a copy of those materials from a fellow student or from the Instructor.  The bottom line: When in doubt, you are responsible to figure it out!

                       

STATEMENT ON ACCESSIBILITY-- If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability; if you have emergency medical information to share with the Instructor; or if you need special arrangements in case the classroom building must be evacuated, please provide the Instructor with a Letter of Accommodation you have received from the Office of Access Services. Access Services is located in Building 6 in the Student Development Center.

           

Grading:  Your grade for this course will be based on the following:

 

MIDTERM EXAM:               100 POINTS

FINAL EXAM:                      100 POINTS

Weekly Homework                 160 POINTS (20 points each week)

Discussion Participation          40 POINTS (5 points each week)

MISCELLANEOUS

ASSIGNMENTS                    NOT TO EXCEED 50 POINTS

 

            Total Possible Points: 400-450 (See Grading Scale below)

 

Extra Credit-- There will be no extra credit opportunities for this challenging introduction class—it is better for you to spend your time understanding the material in the course!

 

Timely Feedback on Assignments—You may find your grades posted by entering Canvas. For instructions on how to use Canvas, please go to  If you have difficulty with Canvas, please e-mail helpdesk@highline.edu.  You may expect that matters that require significant effort to grade such as exams and written work, may take up to two full weeks to be graded and returned to you—Please plan accordingly.   

 

Policy Regarding Academic Dishonesty

            Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable to the Instructor and at Highline Community College.  Any form of cheating is not fair to the rest of the class and will be prosecuted by the standard disciplinary procedure in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Codebook.  All students must author their own projects and perform their own assignment and exams.  Students may not copy anyone else’s work, including published materials and present it as their own.

                                   

GRADING SCALE

 

Final grades will be calculated according to Highline’s decimal grading system:
95%	4.0	84%	2.9	73%	1.8	62%	0.7
94%	3.9	83%	2.8	72%	1.7	Below 62%	0.0
93%	3.8	82%	2.7	71%	1.6
92%	3.7	81%	2.6	70%	1.5
91%	3.6	80%	2.5	69%	1.4
90%	3.5	79%	2.4	68%	1.3
89%	3.4	78%	2.3	67%	1.2
88%	3.3	77%	2.2	66%	1.1
87%	3.2	76%	2.1	65%	1.0*
86%	3.1	75%	2.0	64%	0.9
85%	3.0	74%	1.9	63%	0.8

 

                                                           

 

WITHDRAWAL

Please note that the last day to drop a class this quarter (without receiving a "W" on your transcript) is July 16, 2017.  The last day to withdraw officially from class with a “W” on our transcript is August 7, 2017.  Please consult Highline’s Quarterly Schedule for more information.  Please note that a student’s FAILURE TO OFFICIALLY WITHDRAW FROM THIS CLASS MAY RESULT IN A FAILING GRADE OR 0.0 AT THE END OF THE QUARTER- proper withdrawal from this class is the responsibility of the student; the Instructor will not unilaterally withdraw a student on his own.  Although, as your Instructor, I do not wish to see students drop this class, please pay close attention to these dates, since I equally do not wish to give you a 0.0 grade for the quarter due to your failure to promptly withdraw.  

 

                                   

Syllabus

 

            Changes in Syllabus/Additional Assignments:  I reserve the right to amend this syllabus to accommodate class needs. Similarly, I reserve the right to add additional reading materials, exercises, or assignments not specifically contemplated by this Syllabus.

 

Course Calendar

Week 1  (6/26)

            Class Introduction and Overview

            Chapter 1.  Introduction to Law

            Chapter 2.  Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Chapter 3.  Dispute Resolution

 

Week 2  (7/3)

Chapter 4.  Common Law, Statutory Law, & Admin. Law

Chapter 5. Constitutional Law

Chapter 8. Crime

 

Week 3  (7/10)

Chapter 6.  Intentional Torts & Business Torts

Chapter 7.  Negligence & Strict Liability

Chapter 9: International Law

           

Week 4  (7/17)

           

            Chapter 10.  Introduction to Contracts

            Chapter 11.  Agreement

Chapter 12.  Consideration

            Chapter 15.  Written Contracts

 

Midterm (covering Weeks 1-4) will be posted by midnight on Wednesday 7/19 and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Sunday 7/23

 

 

Week 5  (7/24)

           

            Chapter 17.  Performance and Discharge

            Chapter 20.  Introduction to Sales

            Chapter 21.   Ownership and Risk

            Chapter 22.  Warranties and Product Liability

            Chapter 23.   Performance and Remedies

 

 

Week 6  (7/31)

Chapter 28.  Agency Law

Chapter 29.  Employment Law

Chapter 38.  Antitrust

            Chapter 43.  Real Property and Landlord-Tenant Law

 

 

Week 7  (8/7) 

           

            Chapter 31.  Starting a Business: LLCs and Other Options

Chapter 32.  Partnerships

            Chapter 33.  Life and Death of a Corporation

            Chapter 34.  Corporate Management

 

Week 8  (8/14)

 

            Chapter 35.  Shareholders

Chapter 39.  Consumer Law

Chapter 40.  Environmental Law

 

 

 

Final Exam (not cumulative) will be posted by Friday, 8/11 at 5pm and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m.  on Wednesday, 8/16.

 

Note: This class requires a lot of reading as you can see. Plus, this is a shorter quarter – please plan accordingly.