Contract Law and Construction Documents

Exam­ine the prin­ci­ples of con­tract law as they relate to the con­struc­tion indus­try. In par­tic­u­lar, the course will deal with the cre­ation and inter­pre­ta­tion of con­tracts and the reme­dies avail­able for breach­es of con­tracts. There will be con­sid­er­able empha­sis on the rights and respon­si­bil­i­ties of own­ers, con­trac­tors, and con­sul­tants in the bid­ding process. You will acquire knowl­edge and skills to admin­is­ter projects with reduced legal dif­fi­cul­ty and to resolve dis­putes in a time­ly and cost-effec­tive manner.

Course at a glance
  • Recognized by CIQS, Gold Seal, and Blue Seal both as required education for accreditation and continuing professional development (post-accreditation maintenance).
  • Aimed at a wide range of construction workers, including tradesmen and journeymen, managers and supervisors, administrators, contractors, consultants, architects, and construction business owners.
  • Comprehensive content aimed at providing knowledge, skills, and a sense of confidence in your ability to deal with legal issues, emphasizing the early recognition of issues and practical procedures to avoid and resolve problems.
  • Class dynamics heavily based on active student participation, with close guidance from the instructor/subject-matter expert and group work via case study review for industry application.
  • Learning materials available through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Understand the requirements in order to create a contract, recognizing the elements that must be present for a contract to exist and utilizing the proper procedures and language to create a contract.
  • Create concise and effective contracts.
  • Create effective bidding packages and instructions to bidders, employing practical language and utilizing the required elements.
  • Identify and utilize bidding strategies which are more effective, preparing bids that are more likely to be successful and analyzing bids more fairly and with reduced confrontations.
  • Identify the skills required to administer construction projects with a reduced risk of legal difficulty.
  • Recognize potential issues with legal implications, identifying the problem and analyzing the degree of risk and the likely outcome.
  • Distinguish between situations that require legal and consulting advice.
  • Identify and resolve construction disputes more efficiently, saving time and money.
This course has no prerequisites

Students from all educational backgrounds welcome. You can register for this course without applying and enrolling in a program.

Take note:

  • Course assessment includes assignments, group work, and exams.
  • Students are expected to read materials before each class, present materials in class, and participate in open discussions of the principles and concepts. Questions and comments are encouraged.
Currently counts towards:

Applicants intending to enrol in a program are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to lock in their course requirements since they are prone to change.

*If you are already enroled in this program, please refer to your specific program requirements as outlined at the time of your admission: Bear Tracks > Academic Advisement.

Email

cst@ualberta.ca

When will
this course be offered?

New course schedules are released each June and November.

Scheduled for Fall/Winter:

Info & Register