Welcome to BUS 249 Spring 2024 
Entrepreneurship – Hybrid

Dear Student:

Welcome to the Hybrid version of Entrepreneurship. My name is Neil Higgins and I will be your instructor for this course. This letter is to inform you of some of the important details prior to the start of our Spring 2024 course.

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor:           Neil Higgins
Phone:                805.776.3008 (mobile)
Email:                 nhiggins@cuesta.edu

Course Overview

Welcome to BUS 249 Entrepreneurship, a Hybrid course.  A Hybrid course means we will meet once a week(not twice a week) in person and also complete course work online in a distance education setting.

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor: Neil Higgins                   
Phone:805.242.3008 (cell)
Email: nhiggins@cuesta.edu

What You Can Expect From This Course

We will be exploring Entrepreneurship, what it is and the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur. Our approach will include the study of the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Ideation, Design Thinking and Business Viability.

In order to be successful in this course you will need to: 1) complete reading and writing assignments, 2) participate in class discussions, 3) develop, write and present a business plan/model, 4) review and analyze various forms of business principles, and 5) read and complete a book report 6) complete quizzes or exams.

My responsibilities include facilitating your learning process. Ultimately, you are responsible for ensuring that you learn the material. Our course will integrate videos, reading assignments, critical thinking activities, projects and guest speakers to serve as tools to assist in your journey through Entrepreneurship.

 Course Student Learning Outcomes (“SLO’s”)

1. Evaluate their personal desires, skills, motivation, and life commitments to determine whether they are suited to being an entrepreneur. 

2. Appraise the advantages and disadvantages of acquiring capital in order to fund a business. 
3. Value the importance of the business plan to an entrepreneur. 
4. Explain and use basic business terminology related to banking, marketing, legal, tax, management, human relations, ethics, and accounting issues as used in small business. 

5. Demonstrate communication and social (Business Etiquette) skills appropriate to a business environment 

6. Analyze an ethical dilemma faced by a small business manager, prepare a recommendation for action and justify it legally or morally. 

Additional Course Objectives    

1. Explain the entrepreneurial mindset and how it is applied to , design thinking / critical thinking and problem solving.
2. Develop a comprehensive business plan/model for a new or existing  business.
3. Demonstrate proper ethics, business etiquette, and communication skills needed in entrepreneurship. 

III.       RequiredTextbook: We will be using a combination of Open Educational Resources and Online Resources for this course. In my opening email to you, before class starts, I will explain how to acquire the resources.  There may or may not be a small fee for access to the resources.

Computer Requirements

The browser requirements and minimum qualifications required for this class are detailed in the following link:  https://www.cuesta.edu/academics/distance/faqs_technical.htmlLinks to an external site.

Canvas Support 

Canvas Support: http://www.cuesta.edu/student/aboutacad/distance/

College Policies / Assistance

Each student is required to follow all school guidelines and comply with all school deadlines including personal responsibility for adding and/or dropping this class.  Drop dates are available on the academic calendar: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/documents/admissions_records/studentcalendar.pdfLinks to an external site.

If you have any further questions prior to the first day of class, please feel free to email me at nhiggins@cuesta.edu. Otherwise, I look forward to getting to know you during the course of the semester.

Thank you,
Neil Higgins