GOVT 2305 0380 - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Introduction

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

 

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

 

 

 

Federal Government

 

GOVT2305 0380

 

Spring 2022

 

January 18th to March 12th

 

Asynchronous Online

 

Class meeting location, days, and times: N/A

 

Lab meeting location, days, and times: N/A

 

Semester credit hours: 3

 

Course description: 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.

 

Course prerequisites: none

 

Required course materials: Registration in the course gives you access to the e-book needed for GOVT2305.  You do not need to purchase a separate textbook.  

 

Inclusive Access is a partnership between NCTC and McGraw-Hill Education, to provide the best learning resources on the first day of class. Students can gain access to McGraw-Hill’s adaptive online platforms with the latest version of the eBook at a discount. If students would like to purchase a physical copy of the textbook, they can order a discounted loose-leaf version through the bookstore.

 

Students who drop before the add/drop date will have their book fees credited back to their student account, and students who remain in the course will be charged a materials fee by the school to have continued access of the online platforms.  If you remain enrolled in the course but wish to opt-out of access to the book please email the NCTC Bookstore with your name and student number to 1263mgr@follett.com.

 

 

Name of instructor: Charles Cooper  

Office location: Online

Telephone number: 

E-mail address: Ccooper@nctc.edu

Office hours for students: Wednesdays 10 am to noon

 

SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER

 

 

 

The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class. Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or in writing.

 

 

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

 

 

 

List of graded assignments:

 

Final grade scale:  

A – 90 to 100

B – 80 to 89

C – 70 to 79

D – 60 to 69

F – 0 to 59

 

Late work policy: No late work is accepted and no extra credit is given.  Please do the work and turn it in on time.  Communicate as far ahead of the due date as possible if you foresee any issues keeping up with the work in this course. 

 

SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.

 

 

COURSE POLICIES

 

 

Academic Integrity Policy: 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)]”.  

 

Instructor-specific Academic Dishonesty Policy:

 

 

Attendance Policy: Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgment 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.  The student 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)

Additional Instructor-specific Absence Policy:

 

Withdrawal Policy

A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.

 

Last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is:  January 23rd

 

Student Learning Outcomes: (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog).

 

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

 

  1. Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the federal system.
  3. Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government.
  5. Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in the political system.
  6. Analyze the election process.
  7. Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
  8. Analyze issues and policies in U.S. Politics.

 

Core Objectives: Critical thinking, Communication, Personal Responsibility, Social Responsibility

 

COLLEGE POLICIES

 

 

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.

 

ADA STATEMENT

NCTC will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations.  See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.


STUDENT SERVICES

NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students.  See the Student Services Syllabus Addendum for a listing of those departments and links to their sites.

 

 

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS

 

 

 

The student should contact the instructor to deal with any questions, concerns, or complaints specific to the class.  If the student and faculty are not able to resolve the issue, the student may contact the chair or coordinator of the division.  If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may proceed to contact the instructional dean.

 

Name of Chair/Coordinator: Donna Smith

Office location: Corinth Campus, Room 209

Telephone number: 940-498-6266

E-mail address: dhooper@nctc.edu

 

Name of Instructional Dean: Crystal Wright

Office location: FSB Exchange/Denton Campus, Room 204

Telephone number: 940-380-2504

E-mail address: cwright@nctc.edu

 

Charles Cooper Syllabus Addendum

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements

Graded Course Elements

Percentage or Point Values

8

 

Exams *Any discussions, debates, or issues presented “in class” may be included in an exam.

30%

2

 

Graded Written Assignments – The two assignments will all be written and submitted into Canvas.  There will be at least one research paper.  Please take care to cite your sources.

20%

16

Book Smart - The quizzes will open on Mondays and will be due by midnight Friday.  Quizzes will review that particular chapter's content only.  Quiz contents will likely show up in the Unit Exams.

25%

16

Weekly Discussions – Two posts due per chapter: one is your original reflection with citations from the textbook or a reputable online news source and the second is a response to another student’s reflection.

25%

 

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

Exams - All exams will be online.  They will be multiple choice exams.  Your exam average will constitute 30% of your final course grade.  There will be no extra credit (on the exam or elsewhere) and no make-up test dates.  You will get two chances per exam and the grades will be averaged.  If you get a grade you're happy with on the first attempt, you DO NOT have to take the exam a second time.

GWAs - Your graded written assignments (GWA) average will constitute 20% of your final course grade.  Any graded written assignment not completed (ie. Not submitted in the appropriate manner) will be calculated as a zero.  Whether the assignment (any assignment) has been completed on your side does not matter if it is not submitted before the due date.  No make-up grades or extra credit grades will be offered for any missed GWA’s.  Citations within the body of the paper (not just a works cited page) are mandatory!

Discussion Forums - Your discussion board participation grade average will constitute the remaining 25% of the final course grade. If you do not participate in the discussion boards a zero will be placed in the grade book for that particular “absence” for that particular assignment. No make-up grade or extra credit grades will be offered for these missed assignments.  To get full credit for discussion forums you will need to complete two tasks:  

  • First, fully address the prompt at the top of the forum (this will be due by midnight each Wednesday).  You will need to either cite a page number in the textbook or add a link to a reputable online news site that supports your statement or comment.  
  • Second, you will need to reply to another student’s initial post (this will be due by midnight each Sunday).  In your reply to another student (your second post), your reply will need to be as academically sound as your first post. In other words, you will need to build upon another students first post, not simply “agree” or “disagree” with them. Please email me with questions if this is unclear. I will also clarify further in my first video post to the class. Each of these tasks is worth 50% of the 100% possible points.  Posting only once will get you 50% of the total points.  All students are expected to participate in each discussion forum. Your first post will be due before midnight Wednesday of each week.   Your second post will be due before midnight Sunday of each week.

Smart Book - As you access your online textbook, you will see the Smart Book exercises.  These are adaptive questions that help you process and understand the content that you are reading.  Adaptaive questions means that the questions levels up or down according to how you answer them . This is a useful tool to ensure that you are understanding what you are reading.  Smart Book open up Monday morning and are available until Friday night at midnight.  Smart Book will make up 25% of your semester grade.  They also help prepare you for the Unit Exams. 

 

Calendar

Unit I 

January 18 to January 23rd

  • Chapter 1
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday(midnight).  Please read the assignment description above! Two posts are due for each chapter each week.
    • Chapter 1 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
  • Chapter 2
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 2 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
    • Unit I Exam (Chapters 1 and 2)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit II

January 24th to January 30th

  • Chapter 3
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 3 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
  • Chapter 4
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 4 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
    • Unit II Exam (Chapters 3 and 4)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit III

January 31st to February 6th

  • Chapter 5
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 5 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
  • Chapter 6
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 6 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
    • Unit III Exam (Chapters 5 and 6)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit IV

February 7th to February 13th

  • Chapter 7
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 7 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
  • Chapter 8
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 8 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due February 12th 
    • Unit IV Exam (Chapters 7 and 8)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit V

February 14th to February 20th

  • Chapter 9
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 9 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
  • Chapter 10
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 10 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
    • Unit V Exam (Chapters 9 and 10)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit VI

February 21st to February 27th

  • Chapter 11
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 11 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
  • Chapter 12
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 12 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
    • Unit VI Exam (Chapters 11 and 12)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

Unit VII

February 28th to March 6th

  • Chapter 13
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 11 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
  • Chapter 14
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 12 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
    • Unit VI Exam (Chapters 11 and 12)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

 Unit VIII

March 7th to March 11th

  • Chapter 15
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight).  Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 11 Book Smart- Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
  • Chapter 16
    • Discussion Forum - Opens Monday and closes midnight Sunday
      • *Two posts are due each week! The first post is due by Weds. (midnight) and the 2nd post is due by Sunday (midnight). Please read the assignment description above!
    • Chapter 12 Book Smart - Opens on Monday and closes midnight Friday.
    • Graded Written Assignment 1 - Assigned... Due 
    • Unit VI Exam (Chapters 11 and 12)  - The exam will open Friday morning and close midnight Sunday of this week.  Unit exams cover content from multiple chapters. 

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  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.  Student 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)

Additional Instructor-specific Absence Policy:

In this online course, attendance is based on access to the course resources.  If you do not access the course resources on a weekly basis, then you will be considered absent for that week (two day's seat time).

 

 

 

Syllabus File(s)

There are no Handouts for this set.