Course Title: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – Wednesday Nights/Hybrid

Course Prefix & Number: GOVT 2305

Section Number:

Semester: Spring 2017

Semester Credit Hours: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Room #: C190

Course Description (NCTC Catalog):

Origin and development of the U.S. Constitution, structure and powers of the national government including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, federalism, political participation, the national election process, public policy, civil liberties and civil rights. 48 lecture hours.

Course Prerequisite(s): None

Required Materials:

We the People (ebook with Connect Plus Access Card) by Thomas E. Patterson, McGraw Hill, 11th edition, ISBN: 9781259563614

   ** Students can order a full color loose leaf book for an additional $25 directly from McGraw Hill when registering Connect Access

Name of Instructor:

Aubri E. Thurmond

Campus/Office Location:

Corinth

E-mail Address:

athurmond@nctc.edu

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States.

Demonstrate knowledge of the federal system.

Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice.

Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government.

Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties.

Analyze the election process.

Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Analyze issues and policies in U.S. politics.

Research and compose an essay assignment/argument using proper grammar/English and basic computer skills.

# of Graded Course Elements

Graded Course Elements

Percentage or Point Values

6

Discussion Boards

150

17

CONNECT – Learnsmart Chapter Concept Mastery

255

13

Reading Quizzes

260

1

Supreme Court Case Analysis

100

1

Media Worksheet

50

6

Homework Assignments

120

2

Exams

300

Total = 1235

Grading Policy & Procedures

Students accumulating between 1235 and 1112 points will receive an                    A

Students accumulating between 1111 and 988 points will receive a                           B

Students accumulating between 987 and 865 points will receive a                             C

Students accumulating between 864  and 741 points will receive a                            D

Students accumulating or fewer than 740 points will receive an                                 F

 Late Policy: No assignments will be accepted late. No Canvas or Connect assignment will be re-opened. All assignments must be completed on time and will receive the grade of 0 if they are not completed by the due date.

Attendance: Student attendance will be recorded in each class meeting.  Students are expected to attend class, to be on time, and to stay for the duration of our class meeting.  If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get notes from one of your peers and to ask the instructor about assignments, handouts, etc. There are NO MAKE UP QUIZZES OR EXAMS. There are no excused or unexcused absences in this course; students are either present or absent.  If a student misses 1 or less days of class (and is punctual and does not leave early), he or she will be awarded 10 extra credit points at the end of the semester. 

Technology Requirements: Students are required to have weekly access to an internet-enabled computer (not a phone, not a tablet – an actual computer).  There are computers available in the lab on campus, if needed. Students are also required to have Microsoft Word and Adobe Reader programs.   

Course Agreement Statement: You are required to read the syllabus and understand all assignments, due dates, requirements, course expectations, and the course grading system.  After reading the syllabus you must complete the “Agreement Statement” found on Canvas.  Mrs. Thurmond will not accept future course work from any student who has not submitted the course agreement statement by February 1^st.  If you do not understand the syllabus, assignments, due dates, requirements, course expectations, course grading system – and are, consequently, unable to sign the statement – you must contact Mrs. Thurmond immediately.  If you do not understand any aspect of the course requirements, etc. Mrs. Thurmond will be happy to explain them to you.  Failure to sign the agreement statement, within the allotted time, will result in severe academic penalty.

Course Pre-Test and Post-Test: To measure student learning outcomes, students must complete both a pre-test and a post-test for this class.  These are REQUIRED assignments and students must complete them within the given time frame.  As an incentive, Mrs. Thurmond will give 5 extra credit points to students who complete the pre-test by January 25^th at 11:59pm.  The post-test will be available after our last class meeting on May 3^rd and an additional 5 extra credit points will be given to students who complete the post test by May 10^th at 11:59pm.  Both the pre-test and post-test can be found on CONNECT.

Recording Lectures: You are permitted to record lectures using only audio recording devices.  However, if you intend on recording my lectures, you must first complete and turn in the recording contract found on Canvas. You do not have permission to record my lectures, unless you complete the recording contract.

Additionally, students are not permitted to take pictures of the instructor’s power point presentations without my explicit permission.  All lecture material is considered my academic property and you may not replicate it without my permission.  Students who do so will be removed from the classroom.

Assignments

Exams: There will be two exams in this course (150 points each).  Exams will assess your comprehension of all materials discussed in lectures and printed in the assigned readings. Both exams will only be offered in-class on the dates and times listed in the syllabus. Failure to take an exam will result in a 0.  

Readings:  You are required to do all reading listed in the course schedule.  Quizzes – worth 20 points each – will be completed online prior to class to assess your comprehension of the assigned reading.  Careful reading is essential to success in college government courses.

Media Worksheet: You will be required to engage with news media throughout the semester by completing 1 media worksheets.  You will find two news articles from two different news outlets (NBC, CNN, ABC, BBC, NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, etc.) reporting on the same event or story.  The articles must be recent; they must be dated within the time frame of this semester (Jan 17 – May 10). The news outlets must be legitimate and either national or international in scope, meaning the news sources cannot be op-ed pieces, local news, or satirical.  You will then answer the questions on the media worksheet regarding the articles you’ve chosen. Your answers must be typed and you must print and attach copies of the articles to your worksheet.  I will not accept any worksheets without articles attached. I will not accept web links to articles or worksheets by email.

Supreme Court Case Analysis:  Students will complete a research paper examining a U.S. Supreme Court case.  Students will select a case from the list provided and answer the following questions in a formal essay: What are the facts/circumstances of the case? How did the lower courts decide? What were the arguments of both sides? What reasoning did the court use to come to a decision? What is the significance of the court’s decision? Your essay must be 2 – 3 pages in length.  It must be doubled-spaced with 1-inch margins and you must use 12-point font. The essay will be submitted both in class and through Turnitin.  Please see syllabus for due dates.  Further instructions are available on Canvas.

Assignments

Connect – Learnsmart: Students are required to have access to Connect – the McGraw Hill online learning tool for our textbook, We the People. Students are required to complete a content mastery activity (called Learnsmart) for all 17 chapters of our textbook.  They are organized into 2 units. All Unit 1 LearnSmart assignments are due on or before March 22^nd at 11:59pm. All Unit 2 LearnSmart assignments are due on or before May 10^th at 11:59pm. The due dates listed in the course schedule are simply a suggestion to help students stay on track.

Homework: Students are required to complete six homework assignments, worth 20 points each. See course schedule for due dates.

Discussion Boards: You are required to write six discussion board posts examining the topics covered in the lectures and your reading assignments.  A series of questions will be provided to guide your discussion.  Your post must be thoughtful and demonstrate that you are critically thinking about topics covered in the course, and they must be at least 8 sentences.  After writing and submitting your post, you must respond to the posts of two classmates.  Always be respectful in your responses to others; disrespectful and derogatory language will not be tolerated.

Participation:  Students are expected to be fully engaged in class; to take notes; to ask questions; and to participate in class discussions.  Do not brush your hair, paint your nails, or put on make up during class. Do not eat a hot meal during class.  Do not chat with your neighbor during class.  Do not sleep during class.  Do not study for other courses during class. All cell phones and other mobile devices must be turned off and put away. 

Students are asked to remain seated throughout the entire class; please leave only in cases of emergency.  If you anticipate needing to leave before the end of class, speak with Mrs. Thurmond before the beginning of class and sit near an exit.  Perennially leaving class may result in severe academic penalty.  Students are not permitted to leave class during the administration of in-class examinations. Students who engage in disruptive and/or inattentive behavior will lose participation points and possibly be asked to leave the classroom.

Tentative Course  Schedule

COURSE SCHEDULE

Unit 1

January 18                  Welcome to Government 2305  

Assigned Reading:     Syllabus

Assignments:               Sign & Submit Course Agreement Statement

        To Do for next week:  Course Pre-Test

                                             Read We The People Chapter 1

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch.1

                                             Reading Quiz #1 – Chapter 1

January 25                   Roots & Context – Lecture 1                      

Assigned Reading:     We The People Chapter 1

Assignments:              Sign & Submit Course Agreement Statement           

                                    Course Pre-Test Due Today

         To Do for next week:  Homework – Locke & Jefferson

                                             Read We The People Chapters 2 & 3

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 2 & 3

                                             Reading Quiz#2 – Chapters 2 & 3

February 1                  The Constitution and The Federal System – Lecture 2

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapters 2 & 3

Assignments:               Sign & Submit Course Agreement Statement Due Today

                                   Homework – Locke & Jefferson Due Today

         To Do for Next Week:  Homework – Examining the Constitution

                                               Discussion Board #1

                                               Read We the People Chapter 4

                                               Connect LearnSmart Ch. 4

                                               Reading Quiz #3 – Chapter 4

February 8                   Civil Liberties – Lecture 3

Assigned Reading:      We the People Chapter 4

Assignments:                Homework – Examining the Constitution Due Today

         To Do for Next Week: Read Selection from Lewis “Freedom for

                                                  the Thought that We Hate”

                                              Discussion Board #2

                                              Read We The People Chapter 5

                                              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 5

                                              Reading Quiz #4 – Chapter 5

February 15                 Civil Rights – Lecture 4

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapter 5

         To Do for Next Week: Read We The People Chapters 9 & 10

                                              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 9 & 10

                                              Reading Quiz #5 – Chapters 9 &10

                                              Discussion Board #3

February 22                 News Media and Interest Groups – Lecture 5

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapters 9 & 10

          To Do for Next Week:  Media Worksheet

                                                Read We the People Chapter 11

                                                Connect LearnSmart Ch. 11

                                                Reading Quiz #6 – Chapter 11

March 1                       Congress – Lecture 6 

Assigned Reading:      We the People Chapter 11

Assignments:             Media Worksheet Due Today

         To Do for Next Week: Homework – Who Represents Me?

                                              Read We The People Chapter 12

                                              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 12

                                              Reading Quiz #7 – Chapter 12

March 8                       The Presidency – Lecture 7

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapter 12

Assignments:               Homework – Who Represents Me? Due Today

          To Do for Next Week: Read selection from The Imperial Presidency

                                                      By Arthur Schlesinger

                                               Discussion Board #4    

March 15                    Spring Break – No Class

March 22                   Midterm Exam 

                                   All Unit 1 LearnSmarts are due tonight by 11:59pm      

          To Do for Next Week: Read We The People Chapter 14                     

                                               Connect LearnSmart Ch. 14

                                               Reading Quiz #8 – Chapter 14

Unit 2

March 29                     The Judiciary – Lecture 8

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapter 14    

        To Do for Next Week:  Discussion Board #5

                                              Read We The People Chapter 13

                                              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 13

                                              Reading Quiz #9 – Chapter 13

April 5                          The Executive Branch and Federal

                                     Bureaucracy – Lecture 9

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapter 13

       To Do for Next Week: Homework – Bureaucracy

                                             Read We The People Chapters 6 & 8 through p. 258   

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 6

                                             Reading Quiz#10 – Chapters 6 & assigned section

                                                 of Chapter 8

April 12                      Public Opinion and Socialization; and

                                   Political Parties – Lecture 10

Assigned Reading:    We The People Chapters 6 & 8 through p. 258

Assignments:              Homework – Bureaucracy Due Today

        To Do for Next Week:

                                             Read We The People Chapter 7 and  

                                                  We The People Chapter 8 –   Section “Candidate

                                                  Centered Campaign” on pg. 258 through end

                                                  of chapter

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 7

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 8

                                             Reading Quiz #11 – Chapter 7 & 8

April 19                       Elections; Voting, and the Campaign Process – Lecture 11

Assigned Reading:      We The People Chapter 7 and  

                                    We The People Chapter 8 –   Section “Candidate Centered

                                    Campaign” on pg. 258 through end of chapter

Assignments:              Supreme Court Case Analysis Due           

        To Do for Next Week:  Homework – Party Comparison

                                              Read We The People Chapters 15 and 16

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 15

                                             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 16

                                             Reading Quiz #12 – Chapters 15 & 16

April 26                       Domestic Policy – Lecture 12;

                                    Economic Policy – Lecture 13

Assigned Reading:     We The People Chapter 15

                                    We The People Chapter 16

Assignments:              Homework – Party Comparison Due Today

        To Do for Next Week:  Discussion Board #6

                                              Read We The People Chapter 17

                                              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 17

                                              Reading Quiz #13 – Chapter 17

May 3                          Foreign Policy – Lecture 14

Assigned Reading       We the People Chapter 17

        To Do for Next Week:  Homework – Why We Fight

                                              Course Post-Test

May 10                       Final Exam

                                    Homework – Why We Fight Due Today

                                    All unit 2 LearnSmarts are due tonight by 11:59pm

                                   Post-Test Due tonight by 11:59pm

Other Pertinent Information

v  Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course.  You are not to give any person (which includes parents, spouses, friends, etc) access to your Canvas account at any time during the semester.  If you do, you are putting the integrity of the course work completed in question.  Do not ask someone to email me on your behalf in Canvas.  If you have an emergency and cannot contact me yourself, it is best to have an alternative person contact me via my NCTC email address: athurmond@nctc.edu.  Again, do not give anyone access to your Canvas account.  Academic dishonesty in ANY form will NOT be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, using incorrect citations; not citing paraphrases; using unauthorized sources; working together when not permitted; falsifying assignments; and turning in or copying the work of someone else.  Students who engage in academic dishonesty on any course material (exams, assignment, post tests) will immediately fail the course and academic dishonesty papers will be filed with the Dean and VP of Instruction.

v  Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is __November 3, 2016.

v  Classroom Decorum:  Many different experiences, opinions, and beliefs will be represented in our class and sensitive and divisive topics will be discussed. Therefore, this course will be an exercise in civil discourse. Students will disagree; however, students must be respectful and kind to one another at all times or he/she will be removed from the classroom.

v  Laptop Computer Policy:  Tablets are NOT permitted in this class under any circumstances.  However, proper laptop computers are allowed for student use in the classroom. Using laptops in class is a privilege.  Any student who is found using their laptop in class for unrelated activities will no longer be permitted to use their laptop in class.

v  Familiarizing Yourself with Canvas:  It is imperative that, before class begins, you familiarize yourself with the various folders and assignments available on the course Canvas site.  In addition to hosting many assignments in this course, Canvas also contains the course grade book, faculty contact information, and other helpful tools.  I use Canvas to post important announcements, course documents and to send periodic communications to the class. I will only use Conversations in Canvas to communicate with students, so be sure that this function is working properly. It is your responsibility to check Canvas and your e-mail account regularly. 

Disability Services (OSD)

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability.  A disability is anything that can interfere with learning, such as a learning disability, psychological challenge, physical illness or injury. Accommodations may include extra time on tests, tests in a distraction reduced environment, volunteer note taker in class, etc.

On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 in the Administration (100) Building or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-668-4209 to arrange for an intake appointment with OSD.

North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112).

http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices/Disabilityservices.aspx  

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook. http://nctc.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2014-2015/Catalog/North-Central-Texas-College-Student-Handbook

Support Services

Counseling and Testing staff offer a variety of services to current and prospective students, such as College 101, placement testing, academic advising and course registration, transfer assistance, and College Success seminars (Time Management, Study Skills, Test Anxiety, Choosing a Major, Learning Style Strategies, Career Exploration), and much more.  http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/CounselingTesting.aspx

 Student Success offers academic coaching, tutoring, including a Writing Center, a Math Lab, free 24/7 online tutoring through Grade Results and assist new students acclimate to college by providing computer lab services for prospective students.   First generation students can also participate in TRIO which offers specialized support services.

http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices.aspx

Financial Aid offers financial resources for students that qualify, visit the financial aid offices for more information.  http://www.nctc.edu/FInancialAidHome.aspx

EEOC Statement

  North Central Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability in the employment or the provision of services.

Name of Chair/Coordinator:

Donna Hooper

Office Location:

Corinth 209

Telephone Number:

940-498-6266

E-mail Address:

dhooper@nctc.edu

Name of Instructional Dean:

Dr. Larry Gilbert

Office Location:

Corinth 305

Telephone Number:

940-498-6216

E-mail Address:

lgilbert@nctc.edu