WCOB 3003H: COLLEGE HONORS COLLOQUIUM

INSTRUCTOR:
Professor John M. Norwood
OFFICE:
WCOB 468 (4th floor, in the Accounting Department)
PHONE:
575-6353 (office), 521-1269 (home for emergencies only).
E MAIL:
jnorwood@walton.uark.edu
BLACKBOARD: Enter via the Walton College web site: http://waltoncollege.uark.edu
CLASS SCHEDULE9:40-10:30 MWF: WCOB 3003H
10:45-11:35 MWF: BLAW 3033
12:55 1:45: MW: Law School class
9:30-10:45 TTh: ACCT 2013H
12:30-1:45 TTh: ACCT 2013H
OFFICE HOURS:

I very much enjoy working with students on an individual basis, and I hope
that you will come see me if you have any questions, or just want to visit.
Pop ins are welcome. Here are my official hours, but I am usually in
my office and available to see students whenever I am not in class.
MWF: 8:30 9:20
TTh: 11:00-12:15 and 2:00-3:00

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Cyberlaw and various other selected topics, including business
organizations and employment law.
TEXT: none
COURSE CONTENT: This course will allow you to develop a deeper level of understanding of
certain areas of the law which were introduced in the Legal Environment of Business. The
primary focus of study will be Cyberlaw, but several non Cyberlaw topics (ie, common law) will
also be covered. I have invited a number of guest speakers to come to class, including a local
judge, a practicing attorney, and a professor at the law school. Here are the topics to be covered
1. Sources of law
2. Jurisdiction
3. Contracts
4. Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents
5. Trade dress and trade secrets (common law)
6. Privacy
7. Obscenity
8. Computer Crimes
9. Tax
10. Business Organizations (common law)
11. Employment Law (common law)
SPECIAL NEEDS: If you are registered with the Center for Educational Access (ARKU 104),
or have other special needs that must be reasonably accommodated under campus policy or law,
you are encouraged to contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester. In any event, any
testing accommodation requests must be made at least ten school days in advance of the test date.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY: Good news! If the university is open, we will have class.
The local media should tell you if the administration has decided to close the university, or you
may call the U of A Weather Hot Line (575-7000).
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: As a part of its mission, the University of Arkansas provides
students with the opportunity to further their educational goals through programs of study and
research in an environment that promotes freedom of inquiry and academic responsibility.
Accomplishing this mission is only possible when intellectual honesty and individual integrity
prevail. Each University of Arkansas student is required to be familiar with and abide by the
universitys Academic Integrity Policy which is available in the Catalog. Students with questions
about how these policies apply to a particular course or assignment should immediately notify
their instructor.
EXAMS (390 points): The presentation of the course material will be divided into three
sections, with an exam at the end of each section. There is no comprehensive final in this course.
I expect that the exams will be given in weeks 5, 10 and 15. Therefore, the tentative dates of the
exams are:
Friday, Feb. 19
Friday, April 1
Wednesday, May 11 (final exam week). Each exam will be worth 130 points.
CLASS PARTICIPATION (50 pts): I feel that classes are more fun and more valuable to
students when they are actively involved in the class. For this reason class attendance and
participation are required and you will be called upon at random via index cards. You will be
allowed three personal days without penalty. A personal day is defined as being physically
absent or being present but not willing or not able to contribute to class discussion when called
on. After your personal days are used up five points will be deducted from your participation
score for each additional day missed. Guest speaker days count double!
GROUP PRESENTATION (30 pts): As part of a group, each of you will make a short (20
minute) power point presentation to the class on a topic of current interest. Questions associated
with the presentation are subject to being included on the next exam. I anticipate that there will
be six groups of 4 or 5 students each, with two presentations made in each section of the course.
Suggested topics include:
- Non-compete agreements
- Fantasy Sports Gambling
- WIPO (domain name dispute resolution)
- Insider trading
- UBER
- ?
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS (30 pts.): There will be three very short (one page double spaced)
written assignments worth 10 points each. Spelling and grammatical errors will count against
your score.
GRADES: As this is an upper level honors class I expect that grades will be high, but this may
not be the case for all students. If you attend to your academic duties you should have no trouble
achieving the grade that you desire. Here is how grades will be determined:

Points available:
Exams:
390
Class participation: 50
Group presentation: 30
Written assignments: 30
Total:
500

Letter grades (out of 500)

A: 450 - 500
B: 400 - 449
C: 350 - 399

DATES (tentative):
Jan. 18:
Feb 3:
Feb 5:
Feb. 19:
March 11:
March 21-25:
April 1:
April 15:
April 22:
May 11:

MLK holiday
Guest speaker
Career Center (Renee)
Exam 1
Guest speaker
Spring Break
Exam 2
Guest speaker
last day to drop a class with a W
Exam 3

PROFESSIONALISM: I would like you to view each class as an important business meeting,
and view me as your immediate supervisor. I expect you to report to work on time and ready to
have a productive session. Please note that I take roll at the beginning of class, and if you are
more than five minutes late you will be deemed absent. Leaving class more than five minutes
early will also be regarded as being absent. Do not bring food into the work place, as this tends
to be distracting to your fellow employees. You may use electronic devices (such as laptops, I
Pads) for note taking purposes, but not for personal reasons.
A PERSONAL NOTE: Having served as the founding director of the WCOB Honors Program,
the opportunity to teach the College Honors Colloquium brings back many fond memories. I
actually taught cyberlaw as the Honors Colloquium a number of times back in the early days (ie,
pre-Facebook!). With your support I am confident we will all have a great educational
experience.