Business Communications (BUS 1105) at UoPeople

Last term, I took Business Communications (BUS 1105) at the UoPeople. It’s a very lightweight course that you can pair with any other course. It felt like an elective class to me. I paired it with Introduction to Statistics (MATH 1280), and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. In the class, you learn about various forms and methods of business communications, effective business writing, business presentation, intercultural and international business communications, group communication, leadership, teamwork, and so on.

My class had 23 students. Not many students dropped the course. Something I noticed was, for most of the students, it was their first or second course at the UoPeople. I also felt that this course was ideal for someone just starting their studies at the university. When I began my journey at the UoPeople in 2019, I was given Principles of Business Management (BUS 1101) to study. I feel that this course should be assigned to first-year students in their first term instead of BUS 1101 because it prepares them better in terms of business and academic writing.

My instructor was an academic dean at a vocational institution in the US. He had an MBA and had been teaching at various schools for the last 15 years. He had been instructing at the UoPeople for 5 years. In the first week, he told us that he didn’t tolerate plagiarism, yet there was still some in the course. Rest assured, I took care of it and reported it to the school and instructor. That resulted in a change, and the students stopped plagiarizing. I liked the instructor though. He regularly posted in the Discussion Forums, answered questions in the course forum, replied to his emails, and marked the Learning Journals regularly on Sundays.

You get a book assigned to you in the class. Each week you read from it and do your assignments. The book was quite good. Most of the time, I didn’t even have to reference another source, because the book did an excellent job of explaining the concepts. In the course, you write 7 Discussion, 5 Written, and 7 Learning Journal assignments. They are all 10% each. All the assignments are very uncomplicated. They usually want you to recall a time to present an example from your past. The Learning Journals had this unique question of defining unknown words from the readings each week, which was kind of cool. In one of the Learning Journals, you have to submit your resume to your instructor.

There are two Graded Quizzes in the courses worth 40% in total (20% each) that you take in the 4th and 7th week. All the Graded Quizzes are straightforward. Most of the questions come from the non-Graded Quizzes and weekly readings. You have to answer 15 questions in 30 mins in each Graded Quiz, which is more than ample time.

The Final Exam had 40 questions with 1hr 30 mins given to you to finish it. The final was a bit challenging, but everything came out of the readings. If you do your weekly readings, make notes of important terms and concepts, and understand the material, then I don’t see why you can’t do well on it. I got 24% out of 30% on the final and ended up getting an A. Funny story, I was traveling out of the States for my bestie's wedding and was taking the final in a coffee shop in Dubai (the hotel's WIFI sucked). In the last 30 mins, the power broke down there. I politely asked a local stranger named Rab for their phone, and they let me borrow it for 20 mins. That helped me finish the final. Thank you, Rab! I won’t forget your generosity. By the way, if you're in downtown Dubai, do check out Falafel Ala Kaifak. The place makes excellent sandwiches! 

TLDR; very informative and lightweight course. Straightforward assignments and Graded Quizzes. A bit challenging final. Do all your weekly readings, non-Graded Quizzes, and make notes. You’ll be fine.