Course Syllabus

PDF Course Syllabus. Click HERE

Course Description

Course Description: Explores techniques and challenges in developing and operating a small business. Emphasizes application of classroom learning in cases involving real-life business situations.

Prerequisites: BUS-321 and Junior standing or higher, or permission of the instructor.

Entrepreneurship is an essential human behavior that underpins societal progress. Individual economic activity dominates day-to-day behavior in all but a few western societies and cultures today. Most of the world’s population depends on an entrepreneurial livelihood. Without an understanding of the role of the entrepreneur in economic formation and the conception of markets, a basic historical understanding of societal development is limited. Therefore, this course covers the many facets of entrepreneurship and its implications for careers, business, and society. It is designed to introduce the entrepreneurial mindset to students pursuing all University majors.

Textbook

Textbook: OpenStax Entrepreneurship, by Michael Laverty and Chris Little.

• Access the textbook and associated resources at: https://openstax.org/details/books/entrepreneurship 
• ISBN:  978-1-947172-69-2
• Available in the Modules section as a PDF download. Please download the document to your computer for easy access and to avoid crashing your browser!

Course Assignments

All assignments are available in Canvas. After week two, all assignments will be available with the exception of midterm and finals week assignments. You may work ahead or pace yourself on other assignments according to your level of comfort. 

Academic Integrity

• Academic dishonesty, which includes cheating and plagiarism, is not tolerated at LC State. Individual faculty members will impose their own policies and sanctions regarding academic integrity situations. Students who have been sanctioned for academic dishonesty may be referred to the VP for Student Affairs for official disciplinary action.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – AI tools and applications (such as Copilot, ChatGPT, etc.) have had a major impact on our professional and educational lives. LC State recognizes the role these programs play in our students’ educational and professional lives. While AI can be valuable and convenient, students must understand that there are appropriate times and situations for its use.

The use of generative AI is allowed/encouraged on most/any academic work submitted for a grade in this course, including assignments, discussion boards, exams, etc. If you choose to use an AI program, you must cite the source and provide the prompts used in the program to produce the work. Additionally, if any citations are generated using an AI tool, it is your responsibility to confirm those sources are accurate and used appropriately. Failure to provide a citation for the AI tool and/or provide the prompts used may result in a sanction per the LC State Student Code of Conduct.

State Law, Academic Freedom, and Course Expectations

Effective July 1, 2025, Idaho Code § 67-5909D establishes that courses “derived from or that promote” certain concepts associated with critical theory or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may be subject to additional state-level reporting and oversight. However, the statute also explicitly affirms that it does not “limit the free discussion of ideas in a classroom setting.” At LC State, this provision protects our ability to foster a learning environment grounded in open inquiry, respectful dialogue, and academic integrity.
As one of Idaho’s four public four-year institutions, LC State is governed by policies of the Idaho State Board of Education, including the following principles articulated in SBOE Policy III.B:
“Membership in the academic community imposes on administrators, faculty members, other institutional employees, and students an obligation to respect the dignity of others, to acknowledge the right of others to express differing opinions, and to foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and instruction, and free expression on and off the campus of an institution.”
In line with these principles, this course is designed to encourage your academic development through thoughtfully selected readings, activities, and assignments. You are invited to engage critically with course materials, analyze competing viewpoints, and arrive at your own reasoned conclusions. While some content may challenge your perspective, you will not be asked or required to adopt any specific ideological or political position.
As you review the course syllabus and other instructional materials, please know they have been developed to support a respectful, engaging, and rigorous learning community. If at any point you decide that this course does not align with your academic preferences or goals, you are encouraged to contact your Academic Advisor (full email: advisor@lcsc.edu) to discuss available alternatives. Be sure to consult the LC State Academic Calendar for important deadlines related to course withdrawal or schedule changes. If you are receiving scholarships or financial aid, consult with the Financial Aid Office about potential impacts on scholarships or financial aid eligibility.
If you have questions about course content, instructional approach, or academic freedom policies, please contact the Provost/VP of Academic Affairs (full email: academicaffairs@lcsc.edu). We are committed to your success and to upholding LC State’s standards of academic excellence, respect, and transparency.

Consumer Information

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (amended in 1988 and 2008) requires all post-secondary institutions offering federal financial aid programs to provide key data to both prospective and current students. To comply with this requirement, LC State has developed a consumer information webpage (full URL: https://www.lcsc.edu/consumer-information) for your reference.

Disclosures

During this course, if you elect to discuss information with your instructor that you consider to be sensitive or personal in nature, and not to be shared with others, please state this clearly. Your confidentiality in these circumstances will be respected unless upholding that confidentiality could reasonably put you, other students, or other members of the campus community in danger. In those cases, or when faculty are bound by law to report what you have shared, such as incidents involving sexual assault or other violent acts, a report will be submitted to appropriate campus authorities.