This page contains the information for BSL101 – Business Law I – at Quinsigamond Community College.
I. EXCERPTS FROM THE SYLLABUS
A. CONTACT INFO
College Email: jlimanek@qcc.mass.edu
Personal Email: proflimanek@gmail.com
B. Text:
Required – Robert W. Emerson, Business Law, 6/E, Barron’s Education Series, © 2015, 978-1438005119
Additional supplemental readings – will be assigned throughout term. Writing assignments may accompany these readings, which shall be counted as homework.
C. Grading:
Exams – There will be three examinations this term: two regular exams and a final. The first two exams will cover the subject matter for the period of time that immediately precedes it. The final exam, on the other hand, will be a comprehensive exam that covers all matters of law covered throughout the term. NOTE: 1) all students enrolled in the course must be present on the day of the exams to receive full credit, and 2) no student may take the exam earlier than the scheduled time. Penalties will be applied for all work not completed when assigned (10 points per day late).
Exams #1 & #2 will each count as 15% of your grade.
Exam #3 (final) will count as 30%
Reading Quizzes – Reading quizzes are short unannounced pop quizzes given at the beginning of class. These will encompass material from that particular day’s readings. You must be present to receive credit. No make-ups for missed quizzes will be offered.
Reading quizzes will each count as 20% of your grade.
Participation – To be successful in any law class, a student must be an active participant in the learning process. Class participation in discussion of both the cases and the law will be a significant part of your grade. Meaningful participation requires that you read the assigned chapters in advance of class discussions on of the material, complete all assigned casework, and be an active member of class.
If you are assigned to read a particular cases in advance of class, you must brief the case and bring it with you to class. All briefs will be hand-written. Printed or photocopied briefs will not be accepted. Students are required to complete briefs for all assigned cases. These will be collected at the end of each class. Missing or inadequate briefs will reduce your grade. Briefs generally will not be accepted late.
Students will also lose points if, when called upon, they are clearly not prepared for the class.
Participation will count as the final 20% of your grade.
Extra Credit – Opportunities for extra credit may be offered if deemed appropriate.
Generative AI Use – For the purposes of this course, no use of generative AI in any form is permitted. Intellectual honesty is vital for fair evaluation of work. All work submitted must be the student’s own, completed in accordance with the College’s academic honesty policy. Students may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software with the exception of Grammarly for grammatical editing only. All work in which the use of generative AI is suspected will be graded as a zero.
Students will, however, have opportunity to challenge any penalty that is imposed. To do so, ample proof shall be presented to the professor in a timely manner that the submitted work is in fact the student’s own. And if deemed satisfactory, all work will be regraded and the new grade will be awarded.
D. Attendance Policy:
Attendance – Absences
You are required to come to class on time every scheduled meeting. However, there may be times when situations arise which are beyond your control. With that in mind, I will allow you to miss FOUR classes this term without penalty.
You will be penalized 3 points off of your final average for each absence over the allowed limit.
For example, if your class meets twice per week and you miss six classes, 6 points will be deducted from your final grade. So, hypothetically, a B of 85 will become a C+ of 79.
NOTE: While I do my best to keep an accurate tabulation of attendance throughout the term, any penalty incurred for missing more classes than allowed will not be deducted until your final average in totaled.
On the other hand, you will receive a bonus of 3 points if you are actively present for every scheduled class session. This too will be added to your final average.
Due to the constraints of missing too many classes, you will fail the course if you miss more than TEN scheduled meetings.
NOTE: because I allow you to miss FOUR classes without penalty, there will be no “excused” absences granted under any circumstance. So, be sure to use your absences wisely.
It is your responsibility to see if you missed anything. Be sure to check with either me or your classmates after class to find out any important info you may have missed. Due to time constraints, you must schedule an appointment with me to review any missed notes. NOTE: if your absences results in you missing a quiz, you will not be granted a makeup because a) quizzes in almost every class amount to extra-credit points and b) I typically review the answers when the quizzes are collected.
Attendance – Tardies
Please arrive on time. I almost always begin the moment your class is scheduled to start. As you will see, one of several things occur at the start of class: a) I will check attendance, b) I give a quiz, c) I will present items of importance to the class such as exam dates or assignments, and/or d) I will review the major points from the previous session.
Generally, no penalty will be applied if you arrive to class late. The only time you will receive a penalty is if your tardiness is habitual. If you are frequently late, you will first receive a personal warning. Thereafter, every two tardies will count as an absence.
If you are late, it is your responsibility to check-in at the conclusion of class to ensure that your presence was noted. If you fail to do so, you may be marked absent. It is also your responsibility to see if you missed anything. Be sure to check with either me or your classmates after class to find out any important info you may have missed. Due to time constraints, you must schedule an appointment with me to review any missed notes (same as if you were absent). NOTE: if miss you tardiness causes you to miss a quiz, you will not be granted a makeup because a) quizzes in almost every class amount to extra-credit points and b) I typically review the answers when the quizzes are collected.
E. Useful tools:
Briefing Cases Guide
Model Brief
Federal Complaint Form
Massachusetts Complaint Form
Interrogatory Form
F. Course Work:
Kuehn v. Pub Zone Reading
Assignment #1 – You Be The Judge
Assignment #2 – Case Briefs
Assignment #3 – Ethics Hypotheticals
Assignment #4 – Case Briefs
Assignment #5 – Case Briefs
Assignment #6 – Case Briefs
Assignment #7 – Case Briefs
Assignment #8 – You Be The Judge
Assignment #9 – You Be The Judge
Assignment #10 – You Be The Judge