COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title: Contemporary Social Problems

Course prefix, number, and section number: SOCI 1306. Sec.380

Semester/Year of course: Spring 2026 1^st 8 weeks

Semester start and end date: January 12 to March 7^th

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

Class meeting location, days, and times: Online

Lab meeting location, days, and times: None

Semester credit hours: 3

 Name of instructor: Dr. Cherly Furdge

Office location: Online

Telephone number: 940-498-6238

E-mail address: cfurdge@nctc.edu

Course Description: Application of sociological principles and theoretical perspectives to major social problems in contemporary society such as inequality, crime and violence, substance abuse, environmental issues, deviance, or family problems.

Course prerequisites: None

Required course materials: Social Problems: John J. Macionis. 9th edition.  Pearson.

Barnes and Noble Lion Book Bundle gives immediate access to the textbooks from the first day of class by adding charge to your initial tuition was applied to cover this expense.

While the Lion Book Bundle is designed to help NCTC students easily obtain their course materials at a discounted price it may not fit every student. If you do not wish to participate in the program, you must opt out each semester. You can change your program status 30 days before the semester begins.

SPRING 2026 opt-out window:

Opens December 15th, 2025

Closes January 16th, 2026 (10:59 pm CST)

Office hours for students:

Monday:  By Appointment only

Tuesday: 11:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Wednesday: 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Thursday: By Appointment only

Friday By Appointment Only

NOTE:  Please do not schedule your meeting the same day.  Same day meetings may have to be rescheduled due to other commitments.  Scheduling at least 24 hours in advance allows me to plan for the next day.

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

List of graded assignments:       

9 Chapter Quizzes                   10%

4 Exams                                    15%

3 Discussion Forums               15%

Mid-Term                                 20%

Final Exam                               20%

Concept Paper                          20%

Final grade scale:                     90-100 A

                                                   80-89   B

                                                    0-79   C

                                                   60-69   D

                                                   59 and Below F

Late work policy: No assignments will be accepted late.  You must read your syllabus to ensure you are submitting your assignments on time.  All assignments will not be reflected on the to-do-list.  To see all assignments, you must click on module and go to the weekly modules to see all assignments SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL

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

COURSE POLICIES

Academic Integrity Policy: Cheating or collusion is prohibited.  There are no group assignments in this course.  Each student is responsible for their own assignment.  In the event you are caught cheating, the first time, you will receive a warning and a zero for the assignment.  Should you get caught cheating again, you will be dropped from the course and receive an F.

 Attendance Policy:  Attendance is taking by your participation in the discussion forums, meeting with the instructor and completing other assignments. Simply logging in does not constitute attendance.  If a student has not completed any assignments in four (4) consecutive weeks, he/she will be dropped from the class.

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 February 16, 2026

 Student Learning Outcomes:

• Describe how the sociological imagination can be used to explain the emergence and implications of contemporary social problems
• Explain the nature of social problems from at least one sociological perspective, e.g., critical, functional, interpretive, etc.
• Identify multidimensional aspects of social problems including the global, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of social problems
• Discuss how “solutions” to social problems are often contentious due to diverse values in society
• Describe how the proposed “solutions” to a social problem, including social policies, may bring rise to other social problems

Core Objectives:

Critical Thinking

Communication

Empirical and Quantitative

Social Responsibility 

COLLEGE POLICIES

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all the 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 accommodation.  See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.

AI STATEMENT

Absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other similar technologies shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person, agency, or entity. In particular, using generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment or exam is not permitted. Students should acknowledge the use of generative AI (other than incidental use) and default to disclosing such assistance when in doubt.

When students use generative AI to replace the rigorous demands of personal engagement with their coursework, it runs counter to the educational mission of the college and undermines the heart of education itself. Artificial Intelligence, large language models, and other such technologies hold promise for deploying knowledge in service to others and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge. However, such technology poses new challenges to pedagogy and to integrity. Within the context of the teaching mission of the college and consistent with the Student Code of Conduct, the authority defines the appropriate use, study, and deployment of these technologies’ rests with the faculty.

Individual course instructors, in coordination with their divisions, set policies regulating the use of generative AI tools in their courses, including allowing or disallowing some or all uses of such tools. Course instructors will set such policies in their course syllabi and clearly communicate such policies to students. Students who are unsure of policies regarding generative AI tools are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification.

The use of any and all AI tools in this class is strictly prohibited.  This not only includes AI generating software such as Chat GPT, but also generative/corrective AI assistants like Grammarly or CoPilot.  The only extent of writing aid used should be simple spell-checking tools such as those provided by Microsoft Word.  AI usage will be verified by the TurnItIn service commissioned by the college and no other AI checking tool will be considered by the instructor. If caught using any AI for any writing assignments, the student will receive a zero on the assignment for the first offense and a warning from the instructor.  Any second offense will result in a zero for the entire class and an Academic Disciplinary Report submitted to the student’s record.

Student Learning Outcomes:

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

Create an argument through the use of historical evidence.

Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.

Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period of United States history.

Core Objectives:

Critical Thinking

Communication

Personal Responsibility

Social Responsibility

COLLEGE POLICIES