NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title: Texas Government

Course prefix, number, and section number: GOVT2306 602

Semester/Year of course:  Fall 2023

Semester start and end dates:  August 28, 2023 to December14, 2023

Modality: Face to Face—Denton Campus

Class meeting location, days, and times:  Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 AM-10:50 AM; Room 211

Semester credit hours:  3

Course description: 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 prerequisites: none

Required course materials: Registration in the course gives you access to the e-book needed for GOVT2306.  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:  Donna (Hooper) Smith

Office location:  Corinth Campus, 209

Telephone number:  940-498-6266

E-mail address:  dhooper@nctc.edu

Office hours for students: Tuesday & Thursday:  8am-9:20 am (Denton Campus); by appointment in Corinth & WebEx

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/Participation: 10% of Grade

Connect:  10% of Grade

Analysis Assignments:  40% of the Grade

Exams & Research Assignments:  40% of the Grade

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. Every student has the ability to increase his/her grade with extra credit.

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.

Exams:  Students will be given a mid-term and final exam.  There are no make-up exams. 

**Research Assignments: Students will complete a SERIES of 3 Research Assignments. LATE Assignments/Papers will not be accepted FOR ANY REASON.  Students are not allowed to submit previously submitted papers from a previous class.  Students are encouraged to submit assignments early, especially when Turnitin, plagiarism reporter, is used to ensure adequate time to review and make edits as needed.   Papers with 50% or more plagiarism will receive an automatic zero and require a student/faculty meeting to determine the outcome, which may include a permanent zero on the assignment, failing the course; filing of scholastic dishonesty with the Provost office, etc.  Turnitin will also detect any use of AI (such as Chatgtp).  If the student fails to meet with the instructor as required, the instructor will make the final decision on penalties assessed.

**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.

• 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 docume

**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 Online once per week, as well as every Tuesday and Thursday at the beginning of class.  At the beginning of each week, students will be required access the weekly discussion board to sign-in. This must be done early as everyone needs to be clear on what is required each week.

Attendance counts as 10% of the overall grade.  Students are required to review the weekly attendance sign in materials and answer the questions provided.  Students are to use the textbook and course lecture materials to answer the questions.  If a website is used to answer the question, the website must be cited to within. 

The following will determine the weekly attendance grade assigned to the student:

The following guidelines will apply:
Sunday – Tuesday sign in:  Present (100%)
Wednesday – Saturday sign in: Tardy (-10 pts per day submitted after Tuesday)
Those not signed in by Saturday at 11:59 pm: Absent (0%)

** 20 points will be deducted for each question not answered within the weekly attendance discussion board.  Answers are graded for accuracy.

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:  November 6, 2023

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 the Texas Constitution.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.
3. Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Texas government.
5. Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in Texas.
6. Analyze the state and local election process.
7. Identify the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
8. Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas.

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