Course Description. 3

Course Objectives. 3

Course Assessment 4

Due Dates and Late Penalties. 6

Adult Learner Motivations. 6

Assignment Rubrics. 8

Discussion Rubric. 8

Team Rubric. 10

Paper Writing Rubric. 12

Presentation Rubric. 13

Course Materials. 15

Student Expectations. 16

Facilitator Expectations. 17

Important Policies and Notices. 17

Course Description

This course reviews various regulatory and legal systems and their causal effect on the legal environment of business.  The course will analyze relevant court cases and legal principles as a basis for understanding the depth and breadth of the law’s influence on the free market enterprise system.

 

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

 

• Examine the legal system and fundamental legal concepts that affect businesses.
• Analyze workplace policies and procedures along with their potential personal and professional exposure to civil and/or criminal liability.
• Research areas of law that impact businesses.
• Apply relevant legal principles in business contexts.
• Synthesize legal concepts for presentation purposes.
• Analyze legal and regulatory precepts against the backdrop of workplace experience.
• Apply Christian principles in critical thinking and decision making.

Course Assessment

 

Assessment Type	Value
Devotionals Weeks 1-6 Devotional	5 points each 30 points total
Discussions Constitution and Government Power Discussion Contract Experience Discussion Character Ethics Discussion Government and Ethics Discussion Partnership Discussion Creation Process Discussion Environmental Law Interview Employment at Will Discussion	30 points each 240 points total
Research Papers Binding v. Persuasive Authority Paper Contract Case Study Paper Intellectual Property Paper Business Formation Paper Equal Protection Clause Paper	70 points each 350 points total
Team Projects Business Scenario Group Presentation	100 points
Exercise Activities
Legal Cases Response	10 points
Research Focus Response	10 points
Traditional v. E-Contracts Response	20 points
Ethical Reasoning Case Study Response	30 points
Week Three Group Presentation Milestone	10 points
Limited Liability Company Response	30 points
Human Resource Law Response	30 points
Agency Relationships Response	30 points
Project Evaluation Response	10 points
Final Project
Legal Principles Analysis Final Project	100 points
Total	1000 points

 

 

 

Percentile	Points	Letter Grade
94-100%	940-1000	A
91-93%	910-939	A-
88-90%	880-909	B+
84-87%	840-879	B
81-83%	810-839	B-
78-80%	780-809	C+
74-77%	740-779	C
73% and below	0-739	F

 

To receive an “A” (EXCEPTIONAL) the student

• constantly exceeds minimum requirements
• is always prompt and thorough with assignments
• uses outside research for self-evaluation
• integrates learning with life goals

To receive a “B” (EXCELLENT) the student

• frequently exceeds minimum requirements
• is always prompt with assignments and is generally thorough
• is eager to profit from instructor’s evaluation
• integrates learning with peer values and relationships

To receive a “C” (ACCEPTABLE) the student

• usually meets minimum requirements
• completes assignments reasonably well
• is willing to respond to evaluation
• integrates learning with course requirements

To receive an “F” (UNACCEPTABLE) the student

• rarely meets minimum requirements
• usually does not complete assignments or does them inaccurately
• ignores or resists instruction
• is unable to integrate learning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due Dates and Late Penalties

 

Due Dates

All submitted assignments are due the last day of each school week; therefore, a Tuesday to Monday school week would require all submitted assignments to be due by midnight of each Monday.

 

All initial posts within the Discussion forums are due the fourth day (see Discussions rubric for details), but students are encouraged to post sooner. This is in order to ensure quality interaction throughout the week.

 

Late Penalties
Assignments submitted within 24 hours past the due date will have a 10% late penalty of the final assignment grade.
Assignments submitted within 48 hours past the due date will have a 20% late penalty of the final assignment grade.
Assignments submitted between 3-6 days late will receive a 50% late penalty of the final assignment grade.
Assignments submitted beyond seven days past the due date are not accepted.

 

 

Adult Learner Motivations

 

There are summaries for each objective that start with an overview of a particular objective, followed by an experiential learning activity. Every weekly objective will have a learning activity that ensures you successfully fulfill that objective.

 

The goal of the adult learner is to find relevance in the learning activity on a personal level. The original four comparative assumptions differentiating pedagogy (teaching children) and andragogy (teaching adults) developed and published by Knowles (1980) are as follows:

 

• Adult learners have an intrinsic need to be self-directed, limiting dependency to specific situations.
• Adult learners learn more effectively when connecting learning with the resources of their own experiences, such as discussions, case studies, simulations, and field experience.
• Adult learners experience the need for learning based on experiences that identify the gaps in their knowledge and ability to handle social roles.
• Adult learners have the need to experience learning as a competency that is immediately applicable.

 

As a result, Knowles notes that “their orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of performance-centeredness” (1980, p. 45).

 

Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

 

The curriculum developed at Ohio Christian University for the online platform used adult learning theory as the guiding principles to ensure that you will have an effective and relevant education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment Rubrics

Discussion Rubric

 

Discussions promote enhanced comprehension and critical thinking. Your satisfaction and the overall quality of the class are highly dependent on the interactions arising from discussions.

 

It is very helpful to your fellow students to include the previous statement when responding in the discussion forums; however, it is important to copy and paste only the piece of the message to which you are responding to clarify the context and to avoid the need to scroll though long messages.

 

Only interactions that include quality analysis and development of the topic within the time allotted count towards the grade. Disagreement is permitted, but must done with complete respect and recognition of the other opinion. It is always the best scenario to provide textbook and/or articles to support your statements. It should be noted that faculty in higher level courses may require it.

 

 

This is essentially what is happening when students do not respond to questions that the facilitator or other students ask them in the discussions! Try and keep this image in mind as you engage with other students.

 

See the Discussion rubric for more details about expectations.

 

 

Discussion Rubric (30 points total)
Initial Post (15 points total – 50%)
15-14 points	13-11 points	10-9 points	8-0 points
Initial responses are posted no later than the fourth day of each week.	Initial responses are posted no later than the fifth day of each week.	Initial responses are posted no later than the sixth day of each week.	Initial responses are posted no later than the last day of each week.
The following actions are considered substantive for initial posts:   The response was well researched and involved thoughtful, detailed analysis. While there may be some mechanical errors, the writing is professional. Definitions and terms from the reading assigned were applied in the post. The post should contain 200-300 words. Proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and standard English are used. Resources are provided to support your opinions and may be required by a facilitator.
Interaction Posts (15 points total – 25% for each interaction)
15-14 points	13-11 points	10-9 points	8-0 points
There are at least two substantive interactions with other students posted on separate days.	There is at least one substantive interaction with other students.	There is no substantive interaction with other students.	There is no interaction with other students.
The following actions are considered substantive for interaction posts:   The post should contain 50-150 words. Proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and standard English are used. At least one of these options was clearly used in the interaction.   a.        A question that is probing. b.        An insight gained from reading a post. c.        An opinion on the conversation that is substantiated with an outside resource. d.       A personal experience that validates or disagrees with statement posted. e.        Submit a suggestion that assists a colleague. f.         An expansion on the post with more details about the subject matter.

 

Team Rubric

 

Group learning is very exciting, even though it is perfectly natural to have some fears going into the process. Two extremes that occur early in the forming stage of your team include a fear of alienation, or being isolated from the group, and a fear of fusion, or losing individuality. It will take time, experience, and open-mindedness to put these fears to rest and trust others. There are some tasks to take care of immediately to help alleviate any concerns of trust.

 

Decide whether the team will have a consistent leader or change based on project.

Having an individual who leads your meetings or coordinates projects can be helpful. From your assessment of the context and mission for your team, determine if having an individual or individuals coordinate things will be helpful.

 

Clearly define the team’s objectives.

What does your team need to achieve in this course? Clearly discuss assignment due dates and when various parts of assignments need to be completed.

 

Determine what process will be used to achieve objectives.

The team may split up the activities necessary to complete the project, or each one may contribute based on personal perspective. The bottom line is that regardless of method, each team member must contribute. Remember that attempts to include every thought and contribution can sometimes produce clumsy final results. It is important to synthesize all contributions for the best final compilation. Do not be afraid if your contribution was not fully included; the fact that you are involved with contributing to the brainstorming, analysis, and final synthesis means that you are contributing!

 

Clearly define and assign roles and responsibilities to achieve objectives.

Each person needs to be clear on what role and responsibility is to be expected. It is very stressful to have vague or ambiguous goals with no particular assignment. The more structured a team is, the more effective and efficient a team project will be.

 

Agree and commit to expectations.

Flexibility and openness are essential to good team management. All team members should be involved in team management. Once responsibilities are outlined as a team and roles are chosen, that commitment is a priority for the individual. Anything that prevents that commitment should be shared immediately so a back-up plan can be developed.

 

See the Team rubric for more details about expectations.

 

Please note that the points represented in the Team Rubric are only a piece of the activity’s grade. For example, if a team activity is worth 100 points and the Team Rubric represents 25 points, then 75 points are dedicated to the content of the submission. The score for the content will be the same for any team member that contributed, but the 25 points would be assigned based on each individual’s contribution commitment and quality. Any individual who does not participate receives no credit for any part of the assignment.

 

All group assignments should have a list provided after the References that indicates each individual’s contribution to the project.

 

Team Effort (20 points)
20-18 points	17-15 points	14-12 points	11-0 points
Team effort is organized, structured, and proportioned well between members.	Team effort is clear and proportioned well between members.	Team effort is evident, but not proportioned well between members.	Team effort is not evident or well proportioned between members.
Personal contributions are identified and completed in a timely manner.	Personal contributions are identified and contributed, but caused the team delays.	Personal contributions are not clear, although contribution is evident.	Participation is unclear and does not seem to positively impact the team.

Paper Writing Rubric

Writing is an essential part of the learning process and an academic paper is required almost every week. The Paper Writing rubric is a general rubric to follow for all papers required in this course. Resources counted towards your grade that support your writing should be scholarly. Dictionaries and non-peer reviewed sites such as Wikipedia are not considered scholarly.

 

General Paper Writing Rubric (70 points total)
Content (40 points)
40-35 points	34-30 points	29-24 points	23-0 points
Please select and utilize the appropriate checklist to assist with content quality. Adapted from The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors   Research Paper  /  Essay
Relevant content with analysis is developed.	Relevant content exists, but needs more analysis.	Content is somewhat relevant, but lacks analysis.	Information is provided.
Analysis is excellent.	Analysis is good.	Analysis is average.	Analysis is difficult to follow.
Supporting Resources (10 points)
10-9 points	8 points	7-6 points	5-0 points
The required number of supporting resources is provided, if applicable.	Relevant Resources are provided, but not the number required for the paper, if applicable.	Resources are provided, but not relevant to the content and requirements of the paper, if applicable.	The required number of supporting resources is not provided, if applicable.
Presentation (10 points)
10-9 points	8 points	7-6 points	5-0 points
Once the paper is written, please apply the checklist for presentation points. Adapted from The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors
Writing follows the presentation checklist.	Writing follows some of the presentation checklist.	Writing does not follow most of the presentation checklist.	Writing does not follow the presentation checklist.
Presented in APA format very well.	Presented in APA format with minor errors.	Presented in APA format for the most part.	Not presented in APA format well or not at all.
Resources are correctly referenced to APA standard.	Resources are referenced to APA standard.	Resources incorrectly referenced to APA standard.	Resources not referenced to APA standard.
Mechanics (10 points)
10-9 points	8 points	7-6 points	5-0 points
No grammatical errors.	Some grammatical errors (1-3).	Many grammatical errors (4-6).	Many grammatical errors (7+).

Presentation Rubric

Presentation Rubric (80 points total)
Content (40 points)
40-35 points	34-30 points	29-24 points	23-0 points
Please apply the checklist for presentation points. Adapted from The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors   PowerPoint Presentation
Relevant content with analysis is developed.	Relevant content exists, but needs more analysis.	Content is somewhat relevant, but lacks analysis.	Information is provided.
Analysis is excellent.	Analysis is good.	Analysis is average.	Analysis is difficult to follow.
Supporting Resources (10 points)
10-9 points	8 points	7-6 points	5-0 points
The required number of supporting resources is provided, if applicable.	Relevant Resources are provided, but not the number required for the paper, if applicable.	Resources are provided, but not relevant to the content and requirements of the paper, if applicable.	The required number of supporting resources is not provided, if applicable.
Presentation (20 points)
20-18 points	17-15 points	14-12 points	11-0 points
Color is consistent throughout, contrast of font with background makes the color easy to read, background color does not distract from the content.	Some colors inconsistent and overly used.  Background color distracts from the presentation in some areas.  Contrast of color and font questionable in some places.	Too many colors used, Contrast  between font and color is poor, difficult to read No background color used or background color not appropriate or distracting.	Too many colors used, Contrast  between font and color is poor, difficult to read No background color used or background color not appropriate or distracting.
The font is simple, easy to read, consistent throughout, font size used to emphasize important points.	Some font selection is difficult to read, some slides have font sizes too small or too large and distracts from the presentation in a few places.	Large portion of the font selection is difficult to read, many slides have font sizes too small or too large and distracts from the presentation in many places.	Font difficult to read, too many different fonts used, font size too small or too large, font selection not appropriate and distracts from presentation.
Major points emphasized, no more than 40 words per slide, bullet points used where appropriate, chart and graphs easy to read, pictures used where appropriate to aid learning, background and slide layout is professional, and consistent throughout presentation.	Some major points emphasized, 1- 50% of the slides have more than 40 words per slide, some bullet points needed in places but not used where appropriate, some chart and graphs not easy to read, some pictures not used where appropriate to aid learning, background is inconsistent in some places in the presentation.	Some major points emphasized, 50% – 75% of the slides have more than 40 words per slide, some bullet points needed in places but not used where appropriate, a majority of charts and graphs are not easy to read, some pictures not used where appropriate to aid learning, background is inconsistent in many places in the presentation.	No major points emphasized, more than 40 words on over 75% of the slides, no bullet points used if appropriate, charts and graphs are busy and difficult to read, pictures are over used or inappropriate for the topic and audience, background is inconsistent.
Transitions and animations used appropriately to enhance the content.	Transitions and animations are used appropriately to enhance content for the majority of the presentation.	Transitions and animations are used appropriately to enhance content for at least half of the presentation.	Transitions and animations are not used appropriately to enhance the content.
Resources are correctly referenced to APA standard.	Resources are referenced to APA standard.	Resources incorrectly referenced to APA standard.	Resources incorrectly or not referenced to APA standard.
Mechanics (10 points)
10-9 points	8 points	7-6 points	5-0 points
No grammatical errors.	Some grammatical errors (1-3).	Many grammatical errors (4-6).	Many grammatical errors (7+).

 

 

Course Materials

 

Miller, R., Jentz, G. (2012). Business law today, the essentials: Text and summarized cases (10^th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

 

 

Student Expectations

 

• Submit assignments on time. Discuss alternatives with your facilitator before the due date if it is known that the assignment cannot be submitted on time.
• Plagiarism is absolutely not permitted. All instances of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean/Assistant Vice President of Academic Services.
  • For a student’s first offense, he or she will receive a zero grade on the assignment that was plagiarized.
  • For the second offense, the student will fail the course.
  • For the third offense, the student will be dismissed from Ohio Christian University.
  • A student who has been dismissed for academic reasons may petition for re-admission after six months.

As a general guideline, plagiarism is defined by Lucas (2011) as “to present another person’s language or ideas as your own.” He describes three types of plagiarism: global plagiarism, stealing a speech [or a paper] entirely from a single source and passing it off as your own; patchwork plagiarism, stealing ideas or language from two or three sources and passing them off as your own; and incremental plagiarism, failing to give credit for particular parts of a speech [or a paper] that are borrowed from other people (Lucas 2011). All definitions of plagiarism are taken from The Art of Public Speaking, 2011, by Stephen E. Lucas, McGraw-Hill, p. 37-38.

• Read your posts aloud to ensure that your intended message is conveyed. If a posting upsets you, do not immediately respond. Always think through responses to ensure professional dialogue. Disrespect, sarcasm, and rudeness in discussion forums will not be tolerated.
• Disagreement with a facilitator should be handled privately and respectfully. If it is felt that the facilitator is not being responsive or respectful, it is important to contact the Director of Online Education immediately.
• Participation is determined by activity in course discussions and submitted assignments according to the absence standards below. Please note that an absence is defined as a complete lack of involvement in discussions and submitted exercises.

 

• No absences are permitted for a course running three weeks or less.
• One absence is permitted for a course running four weeks or more, although two absences still results in a withdrawal.

 

Facilitator Expectations

 

• Instructor will respond to forum postings daily.
• Instructor will be available by phone and email to address any student inquiries. Responses to voicemail and email inquiries will occur within 24 hours unless otherwise notified via Announcements.
• Instructor will be engaged in the discussion forum throughout the week.
• Instructor will provide meaningful feedback for all drop box submissions.
• Instructor will provide track changes and the rubric indicating what was earned for all papers.
• All instances of plagiarism must be reported to the Dean/Assistant Vice President of Academic Services with the plagiarized piece and the artifact demonstrating that it is plagiarized.
• Weekly grades and feedback for assignments submitted on time will be returned within 5-7 days of the due date.
• The Final Grade for the course will be provided to the registrar within 14 days of the course’s last day.

 

Important Policies and Notices

 

OCU is fully ADA/504 & Title IX compliant. More information may be obtained from http://www.ohiochristian.edu/about-ocu/general-institutional-information

ADA/504 Accommodations Policy

Ohio Christian University is committed to its entire student body, including those who need accommodation for disabilities. The 504 Compliance Officer is responsible for coordinating OCU’s efforts in complying with applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, including the University’s duty to address any inquiries or complaints regarding discrimination or denial of equal access. Information and forms may be located via the following URL: http://www.ohiochristian.edu/about-ocu/general-institutional-information/disability-services

Title IX Policy for Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Domestic/Dating Violence Complaints

Ohio Christian University admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school administered programs. In conformity with the pertinent requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 enacted by the United States Congress, Ohio Christian University does not within the context of its religious principles, heritage, mission or goals discriminate on the basis of sex in the area of employment, admission, educational programs or other activities. Additional information and contact information for the Title IX Coordinator are available via the following URL: http://www.ohiochristian.edu/about-ocu/general-institutional-information/title-ix