Course Title: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – Summer III

Course Prefix & Number: GOVT 2305

Section Number: 330

Semester: Summer 2019

Semester Credit Hours: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Room #: Online

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, 12th edition, ISBN: 9781260200607

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

Name of Instructor:

Aubri E. Thurmond

Campus/Office Location:

n/a in Summer

Virtual Office Hours:

Tuesdays 9:30am – 10:30am

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

17

CONNECT – Learnsmart Chapter Concept Mastery

255

14

Reading Quizzes

280

1

Supreme Court Case Analysis

100

2

Discussion Boards

100

10

CONNECT - Homework Assignments

100

3

Exams

300

Total = 1135

Grading Policy & Procedures

Students accumulating between 1135 and 1022 points will receive an                               A

Students accumulating between 1021 and 908 points will receive a                       B

Students accumulating between 907 and 795 points will receive a                          C

Students accumulating between 794  and 681 points will receive a                         D

Students accumulating or fewer than 680 points will receive an                                                F

1. Late Policy: No assignments will be accepted late. No Canvas or Connect assignment will be re-opened.  I will not re-open any assignments for any student for any reason.  You must complete the assignments by the due dates stated in the course schedule. All assignments must be completed on time and will receive the grade of 0 if they are not completed by the due date. 

2. Attendance:  Because this course is facilitated online, I will not formally take attendance.  However, students who are not consistently logging-in to Canvas and are not completing assignments, will be reported to the registrar as “not attending.

3. Email:  I encourage you to contact me via the Canvas Inbox to get extra help on an assignment, to clarify materials covered in the lectures or readings, to discuss comments on work, or to discuss the course generally.  Please contact me using the Canvas Inbox. I will do my best to respond within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hour over the weekend.

4. 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.  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.

5. Statement Regarding Lecture Material: Students may not, under any circumstances, release or make public the lecture materials provided in this course. Lecture materials are the LEGAL academic property of the instructor. Students who share, post, or make public the lecture materials in any way will face serious institutional consequences. Before you begin any work in the course, you must complete the Statement Regarding Lecture Material to demonstrate your understanding of and agreement to this policy. 

6. A Note on Canvas Assignments:

It is imperative that you complete Canvas assignments during the time allotted in the syllabus.  In other words, you must complete a Unit 1 assignment during the time allotted for Unit 1 assignments.   Failure to take a quiz, or complete an assignment, at the appropriate time will result in a 0.  COMPUTER PROBLEMS, POWER FAILURES, etc. will not be considered viable excuses for not completing a Canvas assignment.  Plan to complete your assignments at the earliest possible moment so that, should technical problems arise, you will have time to make other arrangements (come to a campus computer, etc.) to complete the assignment.  What Should I do if I Encounter Technical Problems with a Canvas Assignment?  Should you encounter any difficulty in accessing a Canvas assignment do the following things:

a. Contact Mrs. Thurmond via the Canvas Inbox (or email, if Canvas is unavailable)

AND

b. Contact the Technology Service Desk (ph. 940-498-6288, etx. 6288) 

Assignments

1. Exams: There will be three exams in this course (100 points each).  Exams will assess your comprehension of all materials discussed in lectures and printed in the assigned readings. Students will get 1 attempt and will have 60 minutes to complete each exam.  Exams Failure to take an exam will result in a 0.  

2. Readings:  You are required to do all reading listed in the course schedule.  Quizzes – worth 20 points each –  will be administered to assess your comprehension of the assigned reading.  Each reading quiz has ten questions, worth two points each. You will have 15 minutes to complete each quiz and are allowed 2 attempts. Careful reading is essential to success in college government courses.

3. 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 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 Vericite.  Please see syllabus for due dates.  Further instructions are available on Canvas. 

Assignments

4. 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 3 units. All Unit 1 LearnSmart assignments are due on or before July 2^nd at 11:59pm. All Unit 2 LearnSmart assignments are due on or before July 20^th at 11:59pm. All Unit 3 LearnSmart assignments are due on or before August 10^th at 11:59pm. The due dates listed in the course schedule are simply a suggestion to help students stay on track.

5. Homework: Students are required to complete ten homework assignments, worth 10 points each. All homework assignments are Connect assignments. See course schedule for due dates.

6. Discussion Boards:  You are required to write two 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 10 sentences.  After writing 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. 

Tentative Course  Schedule

COURSE SCHEDULE

Unit 1

June 10                       Welcome to Government 2305  

Assigned Reading:     Syllabus

Assignments:              Sign & Submit Course Agreement Statement

                                    Statement Regarding Lecture Material

                                    Syllabus & Course Policy Quiz

June 11                        Module 1 - Roots & Context – Lecture 1                       

Assigned Reading:     We The People Chapter 1

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch.1

                                    Reading Quiz #1 – Chapter 1

June 15                        Module 2 - The Constitution and Federalism – Lecture 2

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapters 2 & 3

Assignments:               Connect LearnSmart Ch. 2 & 3

                                    Reading Quiz #2 – Chapters 2 & 3

                                    Homework – Constitutional Compromises

                                    Homework – Separation of Powers

June 19                        Module 3 - Civil Liberties – Lecture 3

Assigned Reading:      We the People Chapter 4; and  Selection from Lewis 

                                    “Freedom for the Thought that We Hate”

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 4

                                     Reading Quiz#3 – Chapter 4

                                     Discussion Board #1

June 24                        Module 4 - Civil Rights – Lecture 4

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 5

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 5

                                    Reading Quiz#4 – Chapter 5

June 29                         Module 5 - Congress – Lecture 5      

Assigned Reading:       We the People Chapter 11

Assignments:              Reading Quiz#5 – Chapter 11

                                    Connect LearnSmart Ch. 11

                                    Homework – Legislating (Experiential Assignment)

July 2                           UNIT 1 EXAM

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

Unit 2                        

July 3                          Module 6 - The Presidency – Lecture 6

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 12; and Selection from 

                                    Schlesinger’s “The Imperial Presidency”

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 12

                                    Reading Quiz#6 – Chapter 12

July 7                           Module 7 – The Federal Bureaucracy – Lecture 7

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 13

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 13

                                     Reading Quiz #7 – Chapter 13 

July 11                        Module 8 - The Judiciary – Lecture 8

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 14

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 14

                                     Reading Quiz #8 – Chapter 14

                                     Homework – Judicial Review

                                     Homework – Supreme Court Procedure

July 16                      Module 9 - Parties & Public Opinion – Lecture 9

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

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 6 & 8

                                   Reading Quiz#9 – Chapters 6 & 8

                                   Homework – Public Opinion

July 20                        UNIT 2 EXAM

                                   Supreme Court Case Analysis due by 11:59pm

                                   All Unit 2 assignments are due tonight by 11:59pm

Unit 3

July 21                       Module 10 - News Media and Interest Groups – Lecture 10

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapters 9 & 10

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 9 & 10

                                    Reading Quiz #10 – Chapters 9 &10

                                    Homework – Independent Campaign Expenditures

July 25                        Module 11 - Elections, Voting, and Campaigns – Lecture 11 

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 7 

Assignments:             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 7 

                                    Reading Quiz #11 – Chapter 7

                                    Homework – Campaigns and Elections

July 29                        Module 12 - Domestic Policy – Lecture 12

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 16

Assignments:              Connect LearnSmart Ch. 16

                                    Reading Quiz #12 – Chapter 16

                                    Homework – Identifying Social Programs

Aug 2                          Module 13 - Economic Policy – Lecture 13

Assigned Reading:       We The People Chapter 15

Assignments:              Reading Quiz #13 – Chapter 15

                                    Connect LearnSmart Ch. 15

                                    Discussion Board #2

August 6                     Module 14 - Foreign Policy – Lecture 14 

Assigned Reading:     We The People Chapter 17

Assignments:             Connect LearnSmart Ch. 17

                                   Reading Quiz #14

                                   Homework – Foreign Policy Map Analysis

August 10                    UNIT 3 EXAM

                                   All Unit 3 assignments are due tonight by 11:59pm            

Other Pertinent Information

5. 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.

5. Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is  July 17th ­­­­.

5. 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 kindto one another at all times or he/she will be removed from the class. 

5. 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 the Canvas Inbox 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.