LAWS 6826 Corporate Compliance: Building a Strong Compliance Culture

This course will provide students with an understanding of the primary aspects of designing, implementing, and maintaining effective corporate compliance programs that will withstand the test of time. The course will examine the key aspects that make up an effective program and comply with the Department of Justice (DOJ) expectations for such programs. Students will examine recent high profile case studies involving companies whose compliance programs were tested by courts, prosecutors, and the public at large. The course will also explore the public policy interests associated with giving corporations favorable consideration by prosecutors for having in place strong compliance programs in exercising prosecutorial discretion. Regular attendance, preparation, and participation in class will be required. The reading materials will be available via the course website. Class participation will count towards 20% of the final grade. There will be a take-home exam at the end of the semester.

Course overview

Department
Law
School
LAW
Credits
2
Level
Graduate
Offered
Every Fall

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.76 / 5 · Excellent
71 responses
Instructor rating
4.82 / 5 · Excellent
71 responses
Terms evaluated
5
Most recent: Fall 2025

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Fall 2025Gerard Caron4.74.84.64.54.44.74.94.81–3 hrs/week13 of 14
Fall 2024Gerard Caron4.54.44.74.64.34.64.64.71–3 hrs/week11 of 11
Fall 2023Gerard Caron4.84.94.94.94.54.94.94.91–3 hrs/week15 of 17
Fall 2022Gerard Caron4.94.94.84.84.64.64.94.91–3 hrs/week18 of 19
Fall 2021Gerard Caron4.95.04.94.94.95.05.05.04–6 hrs/week14 of 16

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Gerard Caron
    Fall 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.82/5