Course Syllabus

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA

Division of Business & Technology

Business Administration Department

  • BUSL 101 – Navigating Leadership and Business Professions
  • TERM and Section Number

Instructor: Name                          

  • Email: Please email me via Canvas. If you cannot access Canvas, you can reach me at jsirkis@ccp.edu. This address is ONLY to be used if you cannot access Canvas!
  • Telephone: 215-751-8834 (leave a message and I WILL get back to you!)
  • Evenings and Weekends: I am happy to speak with you during evenings and weekends - to do so, please send me an email via Canvas and we can arrange a time to talk.                                                    

COURSE PREREQUISITES:

None

REQUIRED TEXT:

No required text. You must work your way through the reading, discussions, and assignments provided for you in this Canvas Course.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course introduces first-year students in business and professional programs and related fields to success strategies for self-leadership and college-level academic inquiry, including career planning, problem solving, critical thinking, communication, cultural competence, working within teams, and institutional knowledge. Students develop self-advocacy skills, enabling them to further develop their sense of who they are, what they can accomplish, and how critical thinking, communication skills, and emotional behavior influence personal, academic, and professional interactions. Students will learn within the context of self-leadership the alignment of educational, societal, organizational, and personal values. Students create a comprehensive personal leadership plan, including academic, financial, and career/transfer components. Business students are required to enroll in BUSL 101 within the first twelve credits.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. Define integrative leadership and its relationship to self, others, teams, institutions, and cultures
  2. Apply self-leadership skills to locate and/or describe institutional policies, campus resources, and student organizations
  3. Act with purpose and demonstrate cultural competence in areas of influence, such as business and campus etiquette, dressing for success, interviewing skills, and team building
  4. Act with intention and apply critical thinking in the areas of decision making, problem-solving, and institutional knowledge
  5. Demonstrate emotional intelligence by identifying triggers and personal strengths and then creating strategies for team building, conflict resolution and goal completion
  6. Demonstrate self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-efficacy by sharing knowledge, make decisions, and assume responsibility as part of a collaborative unit
  7. Develop a personal leadership plan, including academic, financial and career/transfer components to support educational commitment and completion.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY (CHEATING):

Academic dishonesty, as described in the CCP Student Handbook, will result in the following:

The student will receive a grade of "0" for the assignment and, at the instructor's discretion, the student's grade for the semester may be reduced by one or more letter grade. Academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Student's Office and may result in additional consequences.

LATE WORK:

You are expected to manage your time and anticipate activities that might compromise or hinder your ability to complete your work on time. For most assignments, late work will not be accepted unless you are experiencing dire circumstances such as documented hospitalization or a death in the family. For some assignments, late work will be accepted but with a significant penalty.

GRADING AND GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:

Graded work is intended to help BOTH YOU and YOUR INSTRUCTOR understand how well you are learning and how well you are able to APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED. Here is a breakdown of the graded work:

Snapshot Presentation: (You create and upload a short video of yourself.) The Snapshot presentation is undertaken early in the course. You will create a video of yourself discussing your past academic and leadership experiences. (10% of Grade)

Integrative Leadership: (You will answer questions and take one very short quiz) You will learn about the Integrative Leadership Model and answer questions about how you can apply aspects of the model to help you understand yourself, your role as a leader, and how leadership can help you to achieve personal, academic, and career success. The short quiz will ask questions about the model. (10% of Grade)

Academic and Career Professionalism: (You submit one document that includes your answers to questions asked in a series of lessons).  You will learn about the characteristic traits of a successful student and career professional. After completing each online lesson (typically by reading or watching a video), you will answer three short questions. Your answers to ALL of the questions for all of the lessons are submitted as one document.  (10% of Grade)

Academic Success: (Short worksheets, quizzes, or activities that you must perform. You submit your work or evidence of activity completion online.) These assignments and activities will focus on helping you understand the many services, processes, and resources available to you at CCP.  (10% of Grade)

Career Exploration: (You learn about a variety of careers but you only complete 5 of the Career Exploration Assignments) The course includes lessons exploring popular business careers. Each exploration comes with a series of questions. You choose 5 explorations that you would like to complete. Only five of these assignments (your choice!) will count toward your grade. (15% of Grade)

3 Personal Leadership Plans: (You will submit three Personal Leadership Plans: a Career/Transfer Plan, an Academic Plan, and a Financial Plan) Over the course of the semester you will be making decisions about your future and then you will map out a path to achieve your goals. While these plans can be changed should you change your mind about your future, research shows that people who develop concrete plans are far more likely to achieve their goals than those who don’t plan. (Each plan is worth 8% of your grade for a total of 24% of Grade)

Team Project: (You work with teammates to create a short presentation or brochure. Your team submits a worksheet for each step in the process.)  You will work with a team to create a short presentation or brochure “pitching” a CCP service to new, incoming students. The process takes several steps. Your grade will be based upon a combination of Team Success (60%) and Individual Contribution (40%). (16% of Grade)

Participation/Professionalism: Even though this is an online course, you will receive a grade for your level of participation and professionalism as you interact with me and with your classmates over the course of the semester. As a college student, you are expected to be attentive and respectful. Be sure to read announcements and emails. Interact with others using professional and respectful communication. (5% of Grade)

Your grade for the course is weighted as listed in the assignment descriptions above. In other words, some assignments count for more of your grade than others. Your grades will be listed in Canvas. At the end of the semester, your final grade will be listed as a percentage (%) of the total points with 100% being a perfect score.

Grade Calculation:                                                    

Assignment Type % of Final Grade
Snapshot Presentation 10
Integrative Leadership 10
Academic and Career Professionalism 10
Academic Success   10
Career Exploration 15
Personal Leadership Plans (8% Each) 24
Team Project 16
Class Participation/Professional Behavior 5
TOTAL 100%

 

Final Grad Calculation:

90% or above = A

80% to 89% = B

70% to 79% = C

65% to 70% = D

Below 65% = F

 

EXTRA CREDIT:

At my discretion, I may offer extra credit. You will only earn extra credit points if you complete all of the assignments due the week that the extra credit is assignment is due.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EMAILS:

It is absolutely 100% YOUR responsibility to read announcements and emails that I send to you via Canvas. Make sure that you are checking Canvas frequently (daily) to make certain that you are not missing important information. Since this is an online course, Canvas is how I communicate with you. 

WRITING, GRAMMAR, AND SPELLING:

While this is not a “writing” course and most assignments only require short answers, you should, to the best of your ability use standard English, correct spelling, and full sentences. Occasional typos and misspellings may occur - but persistent or frequent bad grammar and poor spelling may result in a deduction of points. Use your computer’s spelling and grammar checkers. If grammar and spelling present a problem, consider seeking help from CCP’s Learning Lab.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Students who believe they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss their accommodation form and specific needs as soon as possible, but preferably within the first week of class. If you need to request reasonable accommodations, but do not have an accommodation form, please contact the Center on Disability, room BG-39, phone number 215-751-8050.

Students who are registered with the Center on Disability must inform the instructor by the end of the first week of classes if special accommodations are requested. 

STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID:

**Please read the Financial Aid Office's policy regarding withdrawing from a class and the ramifications that can result.**

TO STUDENTS RECEIVING TITLE IV FINANCIAL AID FUNDS:

It is your responsibility to submit an official drop form or drop classes via the web, even in cases of non-attendance. Students who drop prior to the start of the term will not incur any charges other than fees that are considered non-refundable. Students who drop during the equivalent first three weeks (first 20 percent) of the term will be charged 50 percent for tuition and applicable fees and will be financially responsible for the charges incurred. Students who drop classes during the equivalent fourth week and thereafter will be charged 100 percent of tuition and applicable fees and will be financially responsible for the charges incurred.

Students who receive financial aid are subject to federal refund policies and calculations as described in the provisions of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. Recipients of grants and loans who fully withdraw or drop on or before the 60 percent point of the term will be required to return all or a portion of their financial aid proceeds to the College and/or the Federal Government. See the Financial Aid Withdrawals, Refunds and Repayment Policy section of the College Catalog for more information.

CAMPUS EMERGENCIES:

Community College of Philadelphia uses Send Word Now, an emergency notification system, to quickly notify students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency, closing or delayed opening.

Send Word Now allows the Office of Safety and Security to send alerts through text messaging, phone and email to numerous devices, such as mobile phones, College landline phones, and email accessible devises.

To receive emergency notifications, your contact information must be up-to-date. To update your information, log into MyCCP. Within the Student Tab, under the Enrollment Services channel, select Update Contact Information.

 

CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS:

This syllabus may change at any time at the instructor's discretion.

CLASSROOM MEETING SCHEDULE:

Week 1:

  • Introductions
  • Course Review
  • Syllabus Review
  • Career and Transfer
  • Counseling

Week 2:

  • Integrative Leadership

Week 3:

  • Professionalism
  • Advising
  • Academic Planning

Week 4:

  • Team Project
  • Wrap Up

 

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due