NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title: Federal Government

Course prefix, number, and section number: GOVT2305 0344

Semester/Year of course:   Spring 2024

Semester start and end dates:  January 16, 2024 – May 11, 2024

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

Class meeting location, days, and times:  Online: Weekly Requirements and Due Dates

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 nctc@texasbook.com.

Name of instructor:  Carol Patterson

Office location:

Telephone number: Available by WebEx

E-mail address: capatterson@nctc.edu

Office hours for students:  Available by WebEx Conference by appointment

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:

Attendance:  10% of Grade

SmartBook Assignments (Connect):  20% of Grade

Unit Exams (Connect):  35% of Grade

Research Assignment:  15% of Grade

ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENTS:  20% of Grade--Research based chapter Assignments, Intro Module Activities and Weekly Sign-In Attendance

Unit Exams:  Students will be given three unit exams during the semester and one comprehensive exam at the end of the semester.  Exams will be online in Canvas and students will have 72 hours to complete each unit exam and 48 hours to complete the comprehensive exam, which will be due at 11:59 pm on the final assigned day.  Students will be given one minute per question and once a question is answered, it is locked; therefore, students should read questions and answers carefully before pushing the submit button.  Make-up exams are not given; therefore, if a student misses an Exam, they will receive a permanent zero.  The lowest exam grade will be dropped so the comprehensive exam will be optional.

Final grade scale: 

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

** Grades are never rounded up in this course. The student will receive the grade earned.

Late work policy:

Late assignments will not be accepted.   No exam, assignment, research paper, quiz,
etc. will be re-opened for any student for any reason. Please manage your time wisely, and leave enough time to deal with any computer problems that might arise and keep you from completing your course work as required. Submitting early is the best rule of thumb. Students are free to make unlimited corrections and/or resubmission before the due date; however, after the due date has expired, no resubmissions/corrections will be accepted.

Chapter Quizzes: Students will have the ability to complete a chapter review for each chapter.  Reviews will not be graded – they are available for you to prepare for the Unit exams.  Unit exams count as 35% of your total grade so I strongly recommend you complete the reviews prior to taking the exam.    

**Research Assignment: Students will complete a research assignment which will count as 15% of the grade.  LATE Papers will not be accepted FOR ANY REASON.  Students are encouraged to submit the paper at least 2 days before the due date to leave adequate time to review the Turnitin plagiarism report and make edits as needed.

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)]”. 

AI/Natural Language Programs (NLPs)/Large Language Models (LLMs) Usage Policy: This information is used with permission and citation with gratitude to Princeton University: The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.

1. • Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for my fair evaluation of your work.  All work submitted in this course must be your own, completed in accordance with the College's academic regulations. You may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software/NLPs/LLMs.
   • Students must obtain permission from me before using AI composition software (like ChatGPT) for any assignments in this course. Using these tools without my permission puts your academic integrity at risk. 
   • This course does make use of AI/NLPs/LLMs plagiarism checker software as such as “Turnitin” developed for the purpose of detecting the use of AI programs.
   • Any violation of this policy will be considered academic dishonesty and will be documented and filed as such.  See Student Handbook, “Student Rights and Responsibilities:  Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL])”.

**Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. All students will be held responsible for plagiarism, cheating and/or collusion. Students who do not follow the conditions of the instructor regarding scholastic dishonesty will have the appropriate documents filed with the appropriate Dean and may automatically receive an “F” in the course.
**Falsified Information- Any student who submits falsified information in this course, including community service/local government extra credit information will be given an automatic “F” in the course and scholastic dishonesty documents filed with the appropriate Dean.

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:

Attendance will be taken weekly.  Attendance will be taken based on weekly responses to a Discussion Board.  Each Sunday students will be required to access the weekly discussion board posted on the home page of the class canvas page to sign-in.  This must be done early as everyone needs to be clear on what is required each week.  Students are required to read each chapter, watch lecture videos and complete the SmartBook for each chapter. Attendance will be taken based on responses to the Discussion Board.  Responses made Sunday through Thursday will be counted as Present, responses posted on Friday will be counted as Tardy and any or no response after Friday will be counted as absent.  Class attendance counts at 10% of the overall grade.  Points will be deducted for a tardy or absence.   

The following guidelines will apply:

Sunday – Thursday sign-in: Present (100%)

Friday sign-in: Tardy (75%)

Those not signed in by Friday at 11:59 pm: Absent (0%)

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

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