NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title: Federal Government

Course prefix, number, and section number: GOVT2305 0339/0340

Semester/Year of course:  Spring 2024

Semester start and end dates:  1/16/2024 – 5/11/2024

Modality (Face to face/Synchronous or Asynchronous online/Hybrid):  Online (Asynchronous)

Class meeting location, days, and times:  Online (Available 24/7)

Lab meeting location, days, and times:  NA

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 nctc@texasbook.com. 

Name of instructor:               Mr. Paul Coraccio

Office location:                       NA (Available Online)

Telephone number:               NA (Available Online)

E-mail address:                       pcoraccio@nctc.edu (primary:  email via Canvas)

Office hours for students:    Contact for appointment (primary:  email via Canvas)

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 writing.

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

List of graded assignments:

# of Graded

Course

Elements                             Graded Course Elements*                                                                     Points                   Totals

                           McGraw-Hill ‘Connect’ Textbook Readings:                0

13                            Smartbook® (CONNECT) – 1 per chapter                                                       15 pts ea.            195 pts

  3                            Chapter Modules (CONNECT) – varies per chapter                                        5 pts ea.               15 pts

     4                       Unit Exams & Final Exam                                                                                      50 pts ea.              200 pts

     1                       Writing Assignment (Research Paper)--REQUIRED TO PASS COURSE        100 pts ea.               100 pts

     5                            Pre-Writing Assignments                                                                            10-30 pts ea.               100 pts

     7                       Forum Discussions (Discussion Boards)                                                             20 pts ea.               140 pts

   10                       Primary Source Readings                                                                                     15 pts ea.               150 pts 

   18                       Instructor Lesson Material                                                                                      5 pts ea.                 90 pts 

     3                       Assignment(s) – Miscellaneous                                                                        2-20 pts ea.                 27 pts

     1                       Essay Assignment                                                                                                   20 pts ea.                  20 pts

     1                       U.S. Constitution Quiz                                                                                            20 pts ea.                  20 pts

     1                       Letter to Representative                                                                                        20 pts ea.                  20 pts

                                                                                                                                                                                               1,077 pts

* Assignments are not “weighted” by groups, so what you see is what you get--the overall point values effectively inform you of the "weight" of assignment(s), for example, 200 points for unit exams from about 1000 points total for the entire course is about 20% of overall course grade. 

Final grade scale: 

Letter Grade Equivalents:†

A = 90% or higher; B = 80-89.99%; C = 70-79.99%; D = 60-69.99%; F = 59.99% or less

†Grades are not rounded up in this course--students will receive the grade earned.  Your individual effort determines your grade in this course. It is your responsibility to complete assignments, meet deadlines, and contact the instructor if you have any questions. No assignments or low scores are dropped. Minor grade adjustments may be made at the instructor's discretion (e.g., from a ~79% to 80%) but, if considered, would take a student's "course standing" into account (e.g., attendance, participation, level of effort, missed assignments, etc.)—see definition of “course standing” in the Syllabus Addendum-1. 

Late work policy:  Late assignments will not, as a rule, be accepted. Please look ahead at assignment workload and plan accordingly; manage your time wisely and leave enough time to deal with any time/technology problems or schedule conflicts that might prevent you from submitting your course work on time. Communicate any issues with the instructor as early as possible. 

Discussion Forums’ due dates will show the final closing date—students are expected to post their initial submission mid-week and then carry on a “discussion” for the rest of the week.  Also, there are some assignments that are meant to incentivize early submission and no late work will be accepted for those type of assignments, like discussion forums and the research paper pre-writing assignments. 

Students must communicate as early as possible with the instructor to receive consideration for adjusting due dates, if circumstances warrant such. If late work is accepted, points may be deducted.

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:

Special Attention—PLAGIARISM:  The term “plagiarism” includes, but is not limited to: 

• The use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person, without full and clear acknowledgement;
• The unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials;
• The use of previous work created by the student without the prior approval from the instructor (the student shall not use work they have previously submitted in any other course—no recycling assignments).
• This definition includes the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, whereby a student attempts to present AI-generated work as their own. 

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 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:

Attendance is determined by participation (e.g., submitting assignments, participating in discussion forums) and not simply logging in.  Attendance will be taken weekly. For this course, Monday is considered the beginning of the week and Sunday the end.  Students will be considered present if they have submitted assignments and participated in discussion forums during that week and/or submitted assignments on time.

NOTE:  When there is a discussion forum during a particular week, students who do not participate by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. will be considered Tardy/Late.  Also, if a student is late submitting an assignment that week, they will be considered Tardy/Late. Students who do not participate (e.g., submit an assignment) by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. will be considered Absent for that week.

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:   April 1, 2024

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