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 June 30, 2020.

 

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 – Good for deep thinking…

"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 – President GW Bush’s 1^st Defense Secretary

 

Discussions:

 

Every student is expected to participate in the weekly Discussions. We will have 5 Discussions in between exams, or roughly one a week.  Dates are on the assignment board, and in the title of the Discussion.  Discussions themselves will be on the Discussion Board, and ONLY the grade will go on the Assignment Board.  You will need to go to the Discussion Board to complete the assignment.  Due dates will show in the title of each discussion and should be listed in chronological order.

 

Your original response will be at least 400 words long, but 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 your 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 150 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 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 – Summer I, 2020

 

Research Papers will consist of two 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.  Here is a good place to find source material: https://www.nctc.edu/library/research-help/subject-guides/government.html  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 (about.com or wikipedia.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 50 points towards your final grade, and paper points are assigned as follows:

5 points – Is the length correct? 

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

10 points – Is there a conclusion?  Was it a high-quality conclusion?

8 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.)

15 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 June 21st –

Unemployment is a serious problem in America at the moment.  It hasn’t been this bad since the Great Depression.  It’s estimated that as many as 30 million could be out of work.  Congress passed the CARES Act to help alleviate some of the problems.  What exactly did it do, and how successful has it been, or NOT been?

 

Do you think we are good and on the road to recovery, or do you think America will need another CARES Act?

 

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.

 

Paper #2 Due July 3^rd – What are your thoughts about Mail-In Voting, and voting in general?  President Trump says mail-in voting would lead to “massive voter fraud.”  Do you think it can be done without massive voter fraud, or is he correct?  Everyone agrees there is always some voter fraud.  I guess the real question is how much fraud is acceptable?  What is the definition of “massive voter fraud?”  When 130 million people are voting for President do a couple thousand fraudulent votes really matter?  If we tighten up restrictions to prevent 10 fraudulent votes, we may prevent 10,000 legal voters from voting.  Is that the right way to do it?  What are the current rates of voter fraud?  Discuss…

 

General question to answer in conclusion: Is it better to keep one fraudulent voter from voting at a cost of 1000 legal voters, or is it better to let 1000 legal voters vote even if there is one fraudulent voter in there?

 

(BTW – Texas Leaders have said NO to mail-in voting due to COVID concerns, so Texans will have to physically show up at the polls.  Feel free to include in paper, or not.)

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.

 

If you have any questions, please ask!

 

Grading Scale: 775 total points possible

A = 691+ pts     B = 690 – 613 pts     C = 612 – 536 pts    D = 535 – 458 pts    F = 457 or less

 

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

 

Technical Problems?

• • The Connect website address: http://connect.mheducation.com (shortcut: mhhm.com)
  • The Customer Experience Group: The Customer Experience Group is your “just in time” contact for tech support and one-off questions that need immediate attention. This team can address questions such as how to extend a due date, how to view a student’s grade, how to change assignment policies, etc.

• • • https://mhedu.force.com/CXG/s - You will find the Platform Status Center here, which lets you know if there is a Connect disruption and when/for how long it occurred.
    • 800-331-5094
    • Their hours of operation [Eastern]:

Sunday              12pm – 12am
Mon-Thurs         24 hours
Friday                12am - 9pm
Saturday            10am - 8pm 

 

Kevin Davis: 972-899-8410

Email: kdavis@nctc.edu

 

Address:

NCTC – Flower Mound
Attn: Kevin Davis

1200 Parker Square
Flower Mound, Texas 75028