Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook and published online.

 

Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion.  Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty.  See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”. 

 

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  On-line students are expected to log-in on a regular basis to get their work done.  It is the student’s responsibility to get assignments done by the deadline.  If a deadline is missed, it is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Students will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent, or tardy, a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

Absence does not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Dropping a course is the student's responsibility, but you MAY be dropped for excessive absence.  See Attendance Regulations in the North Central Texas College Catalog.

 

Last day to withdraw from this course with a “W” is November 8, 2019.

 

Smart Books is due by the Due Date and no late work is accepted, since it is hosted off site.

Discussion responses will NOT be accepted after one day. Participation Assignments can be accepted late, but ar worthless after 4 days, since I will take off 2 points a day.

Research papers can be accepted late through e-mail, but there will be a loss of 10 pts per day.

Since Exams are open for 2 ½ days, there will be no make-ups, except for some sort of technical malfunction.

E-mail your instructor IMMEDIATELY if there are any problems with anything. DO NOT send e-mails asking to turn in your work, attach it to your e-mail and send it ASAP. The longer you wait, the more I take off.

Grades will post within 3 days of assignment closing, except for research papers and surveys, which can take up to 7 days, assuming there is no intervening factor that occurs.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).

Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc.  Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.

For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321.  Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.

STUDENT 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

 

Completion Center offers academic coaching, tutoring, including a Writing Center, a Math Lab 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

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS

Name of Chair/Coordinator:	Crystal R.M. Wright
Office Location:	Gainesville Campus, Room 824
Telephone Number:	940-668-7731, ext. 4320
E-mail Address:	cwright@nctc.edu
Name of Instructional Dean:	Dr. Bruce King
Office Location:	Gainesville Campus
Telephone Number:	940-498-6464
E-mail Address:	bking@nctc.edu

 

Rumsfeld’s Unknown Speech

"As we know, there are known knowns. These are things we know. These are things we know we know… We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know… But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know, we don't know." – Donald Rumsfeld      Think about this as it applies to Education.

 

Discussions:

 

Every student is expected to participate in the weekly Discussions. We will only have 10 Discussions in between exams, but NOT the week of an exam. Dates are set to allow you some time to study without assignments before your exams.  Discussions will be on the Discussion Board, but you can get to them through the link on the Assignment Board.  I want you to respond.  Due dates will show in the title of each discussion and should be listed in chronological order.

 

Your original response will be made and be at least 300 words long. It can be more if you wish. Make sure to reference your source material in some fashion, as you need facts to form opinions. Everyone should have at least 2 sources for their original response. Your original response is worth 10 pts. An additional 5 pts will be added for your response to another poster. Your response should be at least 100 words and be something more than agreement or disagreement. In other words, WHY do you agree, or disagree, with the person’s post?

 

Although there is no real wrong answer to these questions, you will NOT get points for fluff, opinions without facts, or extremely biased “just because” pieces. I will take off points for derogatory language, answers that are too short, poorly worded, or use little to no research.

 

Remember EVERYONE is entitled to their opinions, so there is no need to get nasty about them.  We can always agree to disagree, but the best opinions are those you can defend.

 

GOVT 2305 – Research Paper / Survey Project – Fall, 2019

 

Research Papers will consist of three 1000 to 1200 word essays from the assigned topics listed below.  Please choose your words carefully and make sure your paper is no longer than 1400 words with your citations.  Put your name at the top, skip a line and then start writing.  Be sure to focus on relevant information and not extraneous personal information like exact birth dates, siblings, pets, mother’s/father’s occupation, etc.  Make sure your discussion is significant to the topic at hand and researches/discusses both sides of each issue.  In your conclusion, discuss your own opinions on the subject; for or against, etc. and justify that conclusion! 

 

Make sure to cite ALL your quotes, and use APA or MLA format for citations/sources.  Failure to cite your quotes is plagiarism, and you will be counted off for that.  Also, do not cite more than 10%, or 100 words, of your paper.  Using encyclopedias and encyclopedic websites (wikipedia.com or about.com), or grade school websites, will count against you!  Do NOT quote your instructor or textbook.  This is supposed to be OUTSIDE research, so make good use of the books, magazines, journals, reports, and government/education websites.

 

Each paper or project is worth 25 points towards your final grade, and paper points are assigned as follows:

3 points – Is the length correct? 

6 points – Covered subject matter w/o grammatical, spelling, or sentence errors?

4 points – Is there a conclusion?  Was it a high quality conclusion?

4 points – 4 or more “good” sources?  (You will lose points for using wikipedia.com, about.com, or any encyclopedic site, as a source.  You also lose points for using your textbook or instructor as a source.)

8 points – Quality of your paper.  (Answers the questions, sticks to subject, no excessive                     quoting, no awkward spots, and has good flow?)

 

Papers will be submitted through Canvas by 11:59pm on the day it is due.  If you miss the deadline, you can e-mail it to me, but I will deduct 5 points for EVERY day that it is late.  It is YOUR responsibility to make sure YOUR paper is submitted by the deadline.

 

Paper #1 Due October 11^th – Analyze the current policy changes made by the Trump Administration on how people immigrate to the United States, legally and illegally.  Specifically the Travel Ban, Zero Tolerance of Illegal Immigrants and the plan to make sure all future immigrants never use social welfare programs, or else forfeit their chance to become American citizens.  Do you approve of these policy changes?  How is American society affected by these changes?

 

Although your conclusion is your opinion be careful NOT to use “I” or “we.”  Personal pronouns are not to be used in a formal research paper, which this is, even though it is a bit short.  Just say it like you mean it, and it is a fact.

 

Options for 2^nd part of Research Grade – Due November 15^th:

#1 - Write and Submit a Second Paper – What is your opinion of the current US Senatorial candidates from Texas, John Cornyn the Republican Incumbent and his Democratic challengers: Chris Bell, Michael Cooper, Amanda Edwards, Jack Daniel Foster, Jr., Mary Jennings “MJ” Hegar, Sema Hernandez, Adrian Ocegueda, Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez and Royce West.  What are their major stances and who do you agree with and why?  Sources for this assignment should be the candidates’ campaign websites and any news articles you might find that are helpful.

Although your conclusion is your opinion be careful NOT to use “I” or “we.”  Personal pronouns are not to be used in a formal research paper, which this is, even though it is a bit short.  Just say it like you mean it, and it is a fact.

 

#2 - Or Conduct 50 or more surveys with Eligible Texas Voters.  Survey cards will be provided by your instructor, or you can do a Survey Monkey, but you have to get 50 or more individuals to complete them before the deadline.  These will be non-partisan surveys about people’s political habits.  Any one is eligible to complete the survey as long as they are a US Citizen 18 years of age or older, living in Texas.  It is vital that they complete the entire survey and NOT leave out any information.  There are no wrong answers and we are NOT here to judge, but just to collect data.  Incomplete surveys will NOT be counted.  If you are interested, let me know and I can mail the cards to you, or email you the template/questions the first week or two of class. \

 

If I find out you intentionally fabricated cards/information, I will give you a zero for the entire assignment, report you to the Dean for cheating and withdraw you from this class.

 

Options for 3^rd part of Research Grade – Due December 6^th:

#1 - Write and Submit a Third Paper – What is your opinion of President Donald Trump so far?  He has been in office for almost three years, what has he accomplished?  Does he seem to have Made America Great Again?  Are his Cabinet picks working out okay?  What major legislation has been passed?  How are Foreign Relations working out?  Has the economy improved substantially?  What successes/problems do you see so far?  How has been doing compared to other Presidents?  Is American society better off under his leadership?  What do you think he will accomplish next year?  Conclude with your judgment/opinion of why you think he should, or shouldn’t, be re-elected.

 

Although your conclusion is your opinion be careful NOT to use “I” or “we.”  Personal pronouns are not to be used in a formal research paper, which this is, even though it is a bit short.  Just say it like you mean it, and it is a fact.

 

#2 - Or Input Your 50 or so Survey Cards into an Excel Spreadsheet.  For those of you who completed gathering your surveys, now it is time to input your information into an Excel Spreadsheet.  Look in Announcements for an example of how to quantify the information for all 50+ surveys.  For example, a “Yes” answer will be a 1 in the spreadsheet, and a “No” is a 2, etc… (see example in the Announcement section).  I will provide a template, just let me know, and I will email it to you.  Once finished, email the completed template back to me through a normal email account as an attachment.  Do NOT email them through CANVAS.  Return the survey cards through the mail, but mail them early as possible.  Grades will NOT be awarded until the survey cards are returned, and the information has been successfully downloaded into the database.

 

If you have any questions, please ask!

 

Grading Scale: 900 total points possible

A = 801+ pts     B = 800 – 712 pts     C = 711 – 622 pts    D = 621 – 532 pts    F = 531 or less

 

 

Instructor Contact Info:

Kevin Davis: 972-899-8410

Email: kdavis@nctc.edu

 

Address:

1200 Parker Square
Flower Mound, Texas 75028

 

Helpful Phone #’s for Flower Mound:

 

Admissions: 972-899-8430

Business Office: 972-899-8403

Counseling: 972-899-8412

Financial Aid: 972-899-8400

FM Director: 972-899-8408

Library: 972-899-8413

Testing: 972-899-8335