Course Syllabus

Contact Information

This table includes information about how to contact your instructor and other details about your class

Professor Dena Newhouse Phone: (405) 325-5599          Email: dnewhouse@ou.edu Office Hours: By appointment on ZOOM Office Location: Price Hall 1040, Center for Student Success Join Zoom Meeting: https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/91809633098?pwd=1WMJbq0kV1NMbOOg7ph6bSFd3rGyNH.1 Meeting ID: 918 0963 3098 Passcode: NEWHOUSE	BC 2813 Section 850 Meeting Time: Monday-Friday 9:00a-11:15a, ZOOM Final Exam Period: Friday, January 10, 2025, from 9:00a-11:15a, ZOOM

Course Details

Course Description 

Prerequisite: Business majors and students enrolled in approved degree programs or by permission of Price College advising; ENGL 1213 or EXPO 1213 or equivalent. Business professionals communicate effectively when integrity, emotional intelligence, exceptional judgment, and technical skills converge.

This is a writing- and presentation-intensive class for future business professionals. The course builds skills to enhance personal and professional credibility, adapt to the unique contextual features and audiences in various professional settings, and deliver the best content through appropriate channels.

Students learn to work in high-performing teams and to integrate feedback into presentations and written documents. Students will reflect on analytics and feedback to drive improvements in essential writing and speaking skills.

Course Objectives

L1: Build and exhibit credibility through integrity, accountability, and exceptional judgment in writing, presenting, and interacting with others. 

L2: Employ strategic, audience-centered analysis to plan, research, write, revise, and deliver effective and appropriate messages for various business writing genres. 

L3: Develop, organize, and deliver excellent, audience-centered presentations. 

L4: Demonstrate effective professional communication to produce positive work climates and maximize performance in small-group and interpersonal interactions.

Course Materials

Required Textbooks and Program

• Cardon, P.W. (2024). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill LLC.

Other Required Materials

• Laptop, tablet, or desktop computer with word processing functions.
• Reliable Internet Access
• Paper and pencil for note-taking and in-class writing. 
• AI Tool (Instructor will specify when you may use AI Tools).
• A professional business suit for your final presentation. 

Grades

Breakdown

Course activities and grades listed for each activity

Activity	Description	Points
Elevator Speech		50
LinkedIn Learning Certificates	3 @ 10	30
Resume and Cover Letter		100
Professional Email		50
Company Profile		50
Academic Integrity Pledge		20
Progress Update Briefing		50
Business Report		100
Company Profile Team Presentation		100
Final: Business Report Team Presentation		150
In-class Participation		190
Connect Videos and Questions	11 @ 10	110
	Total	1000

Scale

Grade Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
90–100%	A
80–89%	B
70–79%	C
60–69%	D
Below 60%	F

BC 2813 Attendance and Participation Policies

BC 2813: Strategic Communication for Business Professionals Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is crucial to success in this course. The following attendance policy will apply to this winter session course.

One to two absences (personal leave). Personal leave includes absences for any reason, including sickness. You will miss valuable information and participation activities, likely affecting your performance on assignments, but your instructor will make no attendance deductions. Please see the class participation policy for details.  

Three or more absences- Your final course grade will be reduced by one full letter grade.

Participation Policy

When you enter Price College, you are entering an opportunity to join one of the top business schools in the United States (U.S. News and World Report, 2022). Please treat BC 2813 with the same care and attention you would at an extended interview for your dream job. What you do today in Strategic Communication for Business Professionals influences what doors open tomorrow. Embrace the discomfort of technical writing, public speaking, revision, giving and receiving feedback, and developing emotional intelligence. You can earn total participation points if you show up to work on time with a great attitude, stay for the entire class period, participate in the daily activities, and take an interest in your classmates' successes. Students can only make up in-class participation points if they represent the University at an official function.

Document Submission

All documents submitted to the Canvas dropbox must be in Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint format.  I do not accept assignments that are in the following formats: PDFs, JPGs, PNG or any other file format.

ZOOM Requirements

This is a synchronous class.  Therefore, my expectation is that all cameras are on with appropriate lighting during the entirety of class.  I expect communication, interaction and conversation.

Do not attend class in bed.  Do not travel in your car, walk around, attend appointments, or go shopping.  You will be dismissed from class and counted absent.

Do ensure that you also have ZOOM loaded on your phone in case you experience connectivity issues with your laptop.  If you have camera issues with your laptop, you should join class on your phone.

Time Zones

As many students travel home over the holiday break, it is imperative that you are mindful of the accurate time zone for this course.  All deadlines and class times are in U.S. CST time zone.

Course Assignments 

Elevator Speech

After watching the Elevator Pitch Mini-Lecture and Sample Student Elevator Pitches, develop, practice, and deliver a brief, creative elevator pitch introducing yourself to your classmates. As you prepare your speech, strive to emphasize your credibility and creatively connect with your audience. Please see the assignment details in Canvas.

LinkedIn Learning Certificates

You will complete several LinkedIn Learning Certificates to improve your speaking and writing skills. You can choose to add these certificates to your resume to demonstrate your communication skills. 

Resume and Cover Letter

Research an internship position using Handshake, a Price College Center for Student Success service. Once you have selected an internship posting, apply business letter-writing principles to design and create a cover letter. Next, use one of the Price College Center for Student Success resume templates available in Canvas to create your resume. Please see the assignment details in Canvas.

Professional Email

Use effective business writing skills to create a clear, concise, complete, and correct email. Please see the assignment details in Canvas.

Course Policies

Feedback 

I will try to grade all work approximately one week from the due date. For grades of A.W., W, and I refer to the university catalog for information and how they might affect eligibility for financial aid, etc. *Even if mathematically you can pass the course without completing the presentation assignments, I will not pass any student who does not complete each speech assignment.

Late Policy

All assignments, written and oral, are due on specified dates. Please discuss any extension requests before the assignment is due. Unexcused late submissions will receive a 15% grade reduction. Please complete the assignment or exam within one calendar day of the scheduled date or you will receive no points for the assignment.

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation or when asked to experiment with generative AI. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
	Dec 16	Dec 17	Dec 18	Dec 19	Dec 20
WEEK 1	Syllabus	Elevator Pitch in Class Professionalism Organizational Ethics & Credibility   Due by 5:00p: Chapter 1 & Chapter 17 Videos and Questions	Active Listening Cover Letter Overview Resume Overview   Due by 5:00p: LinkedIn Learning Certificate // Writing a Cover Letter	Credibility Managing Impressions	Resume & Cover Letter Workshop Mock Interview Workshop     Due by 5:00p: Resume and Cover Letter
	Dec 23	Dec 24	Dec 25	Dec 26	Dec 27
WEEK 2	Move into Teams Research Company Profile  Due by 5:00p: Company Profile	Social Penetration Theory Mission Statement PowerPoint Slide Design Expectations Due by 5:00p: Company Profile Presentation Slides; Chapter 2 & Chapter 3 Videos and Questions	HOLIDAY	Virtual Presentation Expectations Presentation Run Through Presentation Apprehension    Due by 5:00p: Chapter 15 & Chapter 16 Videos and Questions	Company Profile Presentation       Due by 5:00p: LinkedIn Learning Certificate // Presenting as a Team
	Dec 30	Dec 31	Jan 1	Jan 2	Jan 3
WEEK 3	Company Profile Team Analysis Peer Reviews Professional Writing Business Reports Due by 5:00p:  Chapter 6 & Chapter 7 Videos and Questions	FLOATING STUDENT HOLIDAY	HOLIDAY	APA Academic Integrity Pledge Professional Email Assignment Due by 5:00p: Chapter 8 Video and Questions	Writing Strategies Visual Aids Protest Due by 5:00p: Chapter 13 & Chapter 14 Videos and Questions
	Jan 6	Jan 7	Jan 8	Jan 9	Jan 10
WEEK 4	Professional Briefs Due by 5:00p: LinkedIn Learning Certificate // Tips for Business Writing	Charity Partnership Slides Global Business	Business Report Reviews Due by 5:00p: Business Report	Presentation Run Through	FINAL: Business Report Presentations

University Academic Policies and Student Support

Access the University Academic Policies Document.