NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

 

Course Title:

Texas Government

Course Prefix & Number: 

GOVT2306

Section Number: 

0402; 0408; 0409

Semester/Year:

Fall 2019

Semester Credit Hours:

3

Lecture Hours:

3

Lab Hours:

0

Course Description (NCTC Catalog):

Origin and Development of the Texas constitution, structure and powers of state and local government, federalism and inter-governmental relations, political participation, the election process, public policy and the political culture of Texas.     

Course Prerequisite(s): None

Required Course Materials:

Mora, Sherri.  The State of Texas.  4th edition. McGraw Hill Publishing.

ISBN 978-1264031993

             

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:

Donna (Hooper) Smith

Campus/Office Location:

COR 209

Telephone Number:

940-498-6266

E-mail Address:

** I prefer students email me using the Canvas Course Email—Secondary is dhooper@nctc.edu

 

OFFICE HOURS

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9:30-10:50 AM

12:30-3PM

9:30-10:50 AM

12:30-3PM

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

2-3 PM

 

2-3 PM

 

 

 

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:

 

Explain the origin and development of the Texas Constitution.

 

Demonstrate an understanding of state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.

 

Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.

 

Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Texas government.

 

Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in Texas.

 

 

Analyze the state and local election process.

 

Identify the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

 

Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas.

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements

Graded Course Elements

Percentage or Point Values

15

Quizzes:  Into to the Course, 14 Chapter Quizzes Lowest dropped), and Course Post Test

10%

3

Exams:  Midterm, Final & Research Assignment

30%

14

Learn Smart (MCGRAW HILL)

10%

11+

Class Assignments ** which includes class participation assignments given in class at any time

50%

 

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria--All due dates will be maintained in the Canvas Course Calendar.  This schedule provides a tentative layout of the course; however, changes can be made at any time to ensure the best learning environment.  As this is a government class, there are always current events that can guide the course.  Students are expected to be in class and to monitor the Canvas Calendar throughout the semester.)

 

Week

Dates by Week

Requirement

Due Date

1

Aug 26 to Sept 2

Complete Intro to the Course Week 1 Module

Sept 2

 

 

**Couse Pre Test

Sept 2

 

 

**Intro to the Course Quiz

 

 

 

** Students who do not meet Week 1 minimum requirements will be dropped from the course on Nov 3rd at 2pm

Sept 2

 

 

 

Sept 3

 

 

 

 

2

Sept 2 to Sept 9

Read Ch 1 Intro to Texas History & Politics

Chapter 1 LearnSmart

Chapter 1 Quiz

**Student Intro Essay

 

 

Sept 9

Sept 9

 

 

 

 

3

Sept 9 to Sept 16

Read Ch 2 Amer Federal System & Tx State Constitution

Chapter 2 LearnSmart

Chapter 2 Quiz

 

 

 

Sept 16

 

 

**Census & City Data Assign (Ch 1)

Sept 16

 

 

 

 

4

Sept 16 to Sept 23

Read Chapter 3 The Texas Legislature

Chapter 3 LearnSmart

Chapter 3 Quiz

 

 

Sept 23

 

 

**State Rep Assignment (Ch 2)

Sept 23

 

 

 

 

5

Sept 23 to Sept 30

Read Chapter 4 The Executive Brach

Chapter 4 LearnSmart

Chapter 4 Quiz

 

 

Sept 30

 

 

**Texas State House Member Inventory (Ch 3)

Sept 30

 

 

 

 

6

Sept 30 to Oct 7

Read Chapter 5 The Court System

Chapter 5 LearnSmart

Chapter 5 Quiz

 

 

Oct 7

 

 

 

 

7

Oct 7 to Oct 14

Read Chapter 6 The Criminal Justice System

Chapter 6 LearnSmart

Chapter 6 Quiz

 

 

Oct 14

 

 

 

 

8

Oct 14 to Oct 21

Read Chapter 7 Local Governments

Chapter 7 LearnSmart

Chapter 7 Quiz

 

 

Oct 21

 

 

*** Mid-Term Exam

**Exoneration Assignment (Ch 6)

 

Oct. 16 & 17

Oct. 21

 

 

 

 

9

Oct 21 to Oct. 28

Read Chapter 8 Public Opinion & the Media

Chapter 8 LearnSmart

Chapter 8 Quiz

 

 

Oct 28

 

 

**Local Reps Assignment (Ch 7)

Oct. 28

 

 

 

** Nov 1—Last Day to Drop with a “W”

 

Nov. 1

 

 

 

 

10

Oct 28 to Nov 4

Read Ch 9 Voting& Political Participation

Chapter 9 LearnSmart

Chapter 9 Quiz

 

 

Nov 4

 

 

** Research Assignment**

Constitutional Amendments

 

Nov 4

 

 

 

 

11

Nov 4 to Nov 11

Read Ch 10 Campaigns & Elections

Chapter 10 LearnSmart

Chapter 10 Quiz

 

 

Nov 11

 

 

 

Nov 11

 

 

 

 

12

Nov 11 to Nov 18

Read Ch11 Political Parties in Texas

Chapter 11  LearnSmart

Chapter 11 Quiz

**Elections & Campaign Assign (Ch 9 & 10)

 

 

Nov 18

Nov 18

 

 

 

 

13

Nov 18 to

Nov 25

Read Ch 12 Interest Groups and Lobbying in TX

Chapter 12  LearnSmart

Chapter 12 Quiz

 

 

14

Nov 25 to Dec 2

Read Chapter 13 Public Policy

Chapter 13 LearnSmart

Chapter 13 Quiz

 

 

Dec 2

 

 

**Party Platform/Public Policy Assignment

 

Dec 2

 

 

 

 

 

15

Dec 2 to Dec 9

Read Chapter 14 Financing State Govt

Chapter 14 LearnSmart

Chapter 14 Quiz

 

 

Dec 9

 

 

 

 

16

Final Exams Week

Dec 9 to Dec 12

***Course Post Test

***Final Exam

Dec. 10

**As per Final Exam Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

Points                   Letter Grade Equivalent

90% or higher                         A

80-89.99%                              B

70 -79.99%                             C

60 – 69.99%                            D

59.99% or less                        F

** Grades are never rounded up in this course.  The student will receive the grade earned.  Every student has the ability to increase his/her grade with extra credit.

Weekly Quizzes- Quizzes will begin Week1 with the Intro to the Course Quiz, proceed to the weekly Chapter Quizzes, and end with the Course Post Test.  Students will have one week to complete the quizzes.  Quizzes will be timed and students will have two attempts, with the highest score recording.  Weekly quizzes will open the Monday before the due date at 1am and close the following Monday at11:59pm. At the end of the semester, the lowest chapter quiz grade will be dropped. The Intro to the Course and Post Course Post-test cannot be dropped.  Students who miss a quiz, FOR ANY REASON, will receive a zero.  There are no make-up quizzes in this course; therefore, it is essential that students plan weekly to complete the quizzes accordingly.

            ** Students are not allowed to use any resources such as the book, notes, internet, when taking quizzes.  These are comparative to exams, and should be treated as such.

LearnSmart (Connect/McGraw Hill)-  For each chapter, students will be required to access the ebook and complete a series of questions from the reading to show mastering of learning outcomes of each chapter.

Exams:  The exam category will consist of the mid-term, research assignment, and the final exam.  Make-up exams are not given; therefore if a student misses an exam without making prior arrangements to take the exam early, a zero will be given.  Students need to make sure to be in class on schedule exam days.

In Class Assignments:  At any time during the semester, in class activities/assignments may be given.  Students who are absent will have the ability to submit the assignment before the next class with an automatic deduction of 10 points.  It is the responsibility of the student to request any missed in class assignments the day of the absence.  If not, the student will receive a zero and no make-up will be allowed.

Late Work –Late assignments will not be accepted.  No assignments, research paper, quizzes, 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.

All Assignments must be typed and uploaded as a doc or docx document.  I will not grade assignments that have been handwritten.  In Canvas I can only use the grading function if the document is a doc or docx.  If you are using a Mac, it is your responsibility to make sure the document has been submitted correctly.  Canvas will not recognize files uploaded as .pages, which will lead to the student receiving a zero.  I highly recommend that you use Google Chrome as your browser.  Safari should never be used with Canvas.

Announcements:  All course information will be posted as announcements.  I will post several announcements each week to remind you what is coming due and I will also give more details and suggestions on assignments.  It is very important that students read all announcements in full.  Students are encouraged to set the notifications to receive announcements as they are posted.

** I have posted the instructions on setting Notifications.  I strongly suggest you set those up for better success.

CONNECT ACCESS-  The textbook, Learn Smart, Chapter Quizzes, and Connect activities are all maintained within the McGraw Hill Connect System.  Students need to be enrolled immediately in Connect, which can be purchased at the bookstore, or online directly from McGraw Hill through Canvas.  Temporary access can be used directly from Connect McGraw Hill for 12 days from the first day of class.  Students must be enrolled within the first week of class, as assignments are due immediately.  Students who do not properly enroll in Connect will be dropped from the course.  Students will be given a warning by email and then dropped from the Course if the required materials are not purchased.

CANVAS ACCESS:  All students must have complete access to Canvas for the entire semester.  It is the student’s responsibility to have access to the internet at all times, as well as having all needed programs to complete an online course.  Students are not to give any other person access to his/her Canvas account.  Students can be removed from the course immediately up violating this rule.  Once a student has given another person access to his/her canvas account, the credibility of any work completed becomes questionable.

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)

**Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class with a sign in sheet.  If a student comes in tardy, it is his/her responsibility to stay at the end of class and request to be changed from absent to tardy.  Any student who fails to sign in will be counted absent.  Attendance will count as an assignment grade, which will be a cumulative grade for the entire semester.  Students are either present or absent.  There are no excused absences, except those listed in the catalog where specific requirements have been met.

**ANY STUDENT WHO HAS 8 OR MORE ABSCENSES MAY, AT THE INSTRUCTOR’S DISCRETION, BE DROPPED FROM THE COURSE. 

**It is always the student’s responsibility to drop the course if they no longer wish to attend the course.

**Students who miss 3 or less hours (2 classes) will be awarded 10 extra credit points.

 

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is NOVEMBER 1, 2019.

 

DISABILITY SERVICES (Office for Students with Disabilities)

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.

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)_______       


o        Communication

o        Mathematics             

o        Life and Physical Science

o        Language, Philosophy & Culture

o        Creative Arts

 

X         Government/Political Science

o        Social and Behavioral Sciences

o        Component Area Option

o        American History


 

REQUIRED CORE OBJECTIVES (For classes in the Core)


X               Critical Thinking

X          Communication

o             Empirical and Quantitative

 

o             Teamwork

X                Personal Responsibility

X                Social Responsibility


COURSE TYPE

o             Academic General Education Course (from ACGM but not in NCTC Core)

X          Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course

o        WECM Course

 

STUDENT HANDBOOK

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

**Students who display inappropriate or disrespectful behavior will be immediately removed from the course and reported to the Dean of Students. 

 

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

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)]”. 

**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.

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:

1500 North Corinth St, Corinth, TX 76208-5408

Telephone Number:

940-498-6464

E-mail Address:

bking@nctc.edu

 

 

 

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