LAW-201-OL


	Syllabus for LAW-201-OL

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Business Law introduces the concepts and applications of laws that affect the business enterprise. Identification of the sources of law, including the courts, administrative agency rules and regulations, executive orders, and judicial decisions will be addressed. The law of contract, sales and agency will be covered in detail while a distinction is drawn between traditional and on-line versions of each. Additionally, remedies for breach of these agreements will be covered. Business crimes will also be discussed, in addition to potential tort liability arising from criminal acts. Strict liability and product liability will be explored.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

Identify the sources of law in the United States.
Discuss the elements of contract.
Distinguish when the law of contract and the law of sales are to be applied.
Explain the type of remedies available for breach of agreements.
Identify fact patterns that introduce the possibility of tort and criminal liability.
Describe and apply the doctrine of strict liability in tort.
Analyze then distinguish between different agency relationships.

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COURSE MATERIALS

Textbook

Business Law: Legal Environment, Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and International Issues 7th ed., by Henry R. Cheeseman (Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010).

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COURSE STRUCTURE

Business Law is a three-credit online course. It consists of six study modules.

Modules include study assignments, discussion forums and written assignments. You are required to participate in graded online discussions and an ungraded "Introductions" forum, which occurs during the first week of the semester. This course also requires you to take a proctored midterm exam and complete a final paper.

For the course's assignment modules go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site. See also the Course Calendar for an overview of the assignments and for all due dates.

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ONLINE PARTICIPATION

In addition to posting an introduction to the class in module 1, you are required to participate in six graded online discussions, each focusing on a legal issue.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

Your initial responses to the discussion questions and subsequent comments on classmates' responses are due on the days specified by the course Calendar.

For additional information on online discussions, see Online Discussions in the Online Student Handbook.

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WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Business Law requires that you complete 5 (five) written assignments and submit them to your mentor for correction and grading. These written assignments are based on case studies. You are to prepare an essay that answers the questions asked at the end of the case. Each essay will be judged on your capacity to present strong logical discussions that support your conclusions.

Your assignment essays should be well developed and convey your understanding of the course materials. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. Formulate answers in your own words. However, when you feel it is appropriate (i.e., when it strengthens your answer), you may make use of material from your readings. Be sure that you cite the source properly (i.e., footnotes or endnotes).

Your assignments will be evaluated using a rubric.

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor by means of the

>>View/Complete Assignment

link provided at the bottom of the respective assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and submit your assignment file.

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EXAMINATION

Business Law requires you to take a proctored midterm examination. Consult the course Calendar for the scheduling of this exam.

Midterm Examination
The midterm exam covers the material assigned in Modules 1-3. The exam consists of fifty (50) multiple-choice questions and five (5) short essay questions. The exam is closed-book and is three hours long.

You may take the midterm examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation no later than the end of the first week of the semester (see Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site).

If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.

For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook.

Statement about Cheating
The final examination in this course is an unproctored exam. That means you will not be supervised while taking the test. You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.

Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.

Plagiarizing answers.

Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.

Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.

Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Please also note that the exam is time-limited. That means you only have the allotted time in which to complete the exam. If you exceed the time limit on the exam, you will be penalized by having two points deducted for every minute that you exceed the time limit. This may also result in your failing the course.

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FINAL PAPER

This course does NOT have a final examination. Instead you will be required to write and submit a final paper to your mentor. A full description of the paper and the requirements for completing it are found in the Final Paper content area of the website.

Your final paper should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. Your paper should be organized, coherent, and unified; it should also be free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you need help in writing such a paper, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

If you have questions about the requirements of the paper, be sure to discuss them with your mentor well in advance of the final submission. Consult the course Calendar for this paper's due date. It must be submitted by the last day of the semester.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Written Assignments (5)	30 percent
Online Discussions (6)	20 percent
Midterm Examination	30 percent
Final Paper	20 percent

Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and the course examinations are based on the following numerical grades:

A	=	93–100	C+	=	78–79
A–	=	90–92	C	=	73–77
B+	=	88–89	C–	=	70–72
B	=	83–87	D	=	60–69
B–	=	80–82	F	=	Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, projects, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.

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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams and arrange for proctors, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

Arrange to take your midterm examination by following the instructions in the Online Student Handbook. Then complete the "Proctor Request Form" and submit it to the Office of Test Administration (OTA). You must make arrangements to take your midterm examination and send in your "Proctor Request Form" to OTA before the end of the first week of the current semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)

Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

If you are not familiar with Web-based learning, or specifically with the Blackboard platform, be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success:

To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking your examinations. For details on each assignment module and a complete listing of learning activities, go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site.

The "Learning Objectives" set forth the major direction your study should take. The "Overview" provides a general focus for the whole lesson. The "Key Terms" should be reviewed before reading the required material in your text because they will help you understand the lesson better.

You may also wish to answer the questions in the Interactive Quizzes at the textbook's Web site (see below for the URL). Do NOT submit the answers to these questions either. They are for your study only.

Go beyond the required learning activities in this course and explore the Web links and learning resources provided on the textbook's Web site (http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_cheeseman_blaw_6/50/13006/3329550.cw/-/t/index.html).

Check the Announcements page and class Discussion Board regularly for new course information.

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Course Essentials Index

This document contains the following main sections:

Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Materials
Course Structure
Online Participation
Written Assignments
Examinations
Final Paper
Grading and Evaluation
Strategies for Success