Government Course Syllabus GOVT 2305 Fall, 2017, 40418 Southeast Campus, Online 3 Semester Credit Hours 48 Contact Hours 14 Weeks Online Instructor Name Sean Skipworth, M.A. Sean.Skipworth@hccs.edu Government Department Chair Evelyn Ballard Evelyn.ballard@hccs.edu 713-718-2490 Note: If you have a problem with your Government course, please contact your instructor before contacting Mrs. Ballard. Office Hours: By Appointment. 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. Prerequisite, Co-requisite Must have passed or co-enrolled in English 1301 (Composition I) as a co-requisite.

Academic Program Learning Outcomes:

* Identify the structure, functions and nature of the institutions of the American national government.

* Understand and describe the development, purpose and attributes of the US Constitution

* Identify the policy making process and comprehend the outcomes of foreign and domestic policy in the United States.

* Understand how political values and ideas are developed and expressed and the means through which one may engage in the political system.

* Comprehend how media, interest groups, parties and the structure of the political system influence political participation.

Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) 1. Identify and describe the institutions of American national government. 2. Recognize and assume the responsibilities of citizenship by developing one’s critical thinking skills, engaging in public discourse, and by obtaining information through the news media. Core Objectives The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) mandates that the core curriculum must ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life. Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning. Students enrolled in GOVT 2305/2306 core curriculum courses will complete assessments designed to measure the following core objectives:

Critical Thinking Skills—to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information

Communication Skills—to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication

Personal Responsibility—to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making

Social Responsibility—to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making

Student assessment of proficiencies mandated by THECB may include testing, projects, or assignments.

Course Calendar All Quizzes due Thursday, December 14th 11:55PM Final Exam due Thursday, December 14th 11:55PM Discussion Forum assignments due each Sunday by 11:55PM* *With the exception of the first two discussion which allow two weeks for completion. Follow the schedule listed above. Instructional Methods Government affects nearly every aspect of our lives yet most people have very low levels of political knowledge and understanding. When I became aware of this fact in school I decided I did not want to be “out of the loop” and effected by forces I did not understand. This desire to understand my world, and what is going on in it, was a large part of my decision to pursue the study of Political Science in college. Political Science and Government is something that is a passion of mine. I could sit down and discuss policy issues, current events, and theories of government for hours on end. I do not expect students to come away with this level of passion for government, but it is my goal to instill some of the passion and excitement I feel for politics into the students learning process. I want my students to leave my class with an understanding of what is going on around them so they will have a chance to be part of the political process and not just effected by it. As an instructor, it is my responsibility to inform you about the structures, groups, and theories of government and how it operates. I do this by calling on the knowledge learned from my studies and by keeping myself informed on the state of the discipline and current events in our world. It is also my responsibility to respond to the students’ questions and concerns and be certain material is explained in a clear and concise manner. As a student in a government course, it is your responsibility to listen to assigned audio lectures, read the textbook, submit assignments on the due dates, study for the exams, participate in classroom activities, attend class, and enjoy yourself while experiencing the politics in our country. Students should complete the assigned readings before class and be prepared to participate. Students should focus on the audio lectures when preparing for assignments.

Student Assignments a. Quizzes. Multiple choice quizzes will be given over most chapters covered

in the course. (See the course schedule below for specific quiz assignments) The quizzes will be timed and students will receive a total time of 30 seconds per question. The two lowest quizzes will be dropped at the end of the semester.

b. Final Exam. Students will be given a comprehensive multiple choice exam over each chapter covered. The final exam will be timed and students will receive a total time of 30 seconds per question.

c. Discussion Forums: Weekly Discussions. Each week students will be provided with an article(s) on a political issue and will be required to comment on that issue in a discussion forum. Students are required to submit the following each Sunday by 11:55PM

i. Students will write a 400, not to exceed 450, word position paper over the work assigned by the instructor. The bibliography and heading do not count towards the required word count. The paper must be written in MLA format, double spaced, and include a bibliography if outside sources are used. Students are expected to utilize proper grammar and syntax. The paper should:

• Express your opinion of the issue being examined. There may be multiple topics in a single assigned reading that could be chosen to form your thesis. Focus one ONE of those topics.

• Do not summarize the piece you are writing about. A few lines of general summary are sufficient, but the bulk of the paper needs to focus on your reaction.

• Students are expected to make use outside sources when researching and writing their reaction papers. Students must document these sources in a bibliography and via parenthetical citations. Failure to do this is plagiarism. Avoid using lengthy quotes.

• You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. Personal opinion cannot be “wrong”, but you can demonstrate poor logic or utilize inaccurate or distorted information. Engage in due diligence when referencing facts and conclusions and think critically about your own reasoning. Points will be deducted for issues in this area. Anecdotal evidence (I knew someone who…) is rarely sufficient support of an argument.

• Likewise, differing points of view should be given a fair hearing and shouldn’t be altered to align with your criticism. Do not construct “strawman” arguments to pick

apart and do not engage in ad hominem or unsupported personal attacks.

• At all times students should demonstrate logical critical thinking skills, illustrate clarity of though when expressing personal opinion, and should support claims and arguments with credible evidence/supporting opinions.

• Dig deeper when writing these papers. Avoid cliché theses like “People should be better educated” or “Politicians should work together more”. The instructor is looking for a clash of ideas, solutions to problems, and a consideration of potential counter arguments to student’s ideas. Students should demonstrate they can express an opinion without blindly rejecting arguments against it. Students should strive to follow the truth wherever it leads.

• There may be multiple points that a paper could be written on in a given week, but the word count of these assignments is limited and it is usually best to focus on one aspect of the discussion. It is better to have one well developed idea than to give shallow treatment of several points.

ii. Respond at least twice (2) to other student’s posts. Each response

post must be 250 – 300 words in length. These response posts should not be submitted in Microsoft Word format, but should be posted into the submission box of the discussion forum link.

• Students should not simply focus on posting the assigned number of times, but should put thought into their responses and create quality posts. State your feelings on the issue and then explain why you have those feelings.

• When responding to the posts of others do not make posts that simply state agreement without further, or brief, explanation. We’re looking for difference of opinion and contrast so avoid choosing opinions you agree with to respond to, try to make a post challenging another student’s point of view each week.

• If you have are having trouble with the above remember, that you don’t have to respond and express YOUR point of view, you can respond with a critique to their ideas that you may actually disagree with.

• If students utilize information from outside sources in their response posts, they must include a citation at the end of their post.

• Students should criticize the ideas of their classmates and NOT their classmates. The instructor will pass on feedback to students that demonstrate poor logic, grammar, etc. and students will refrain from taking it upon themselves to do this. Students will also refrain from leveling personal attacks at their classmates.

• Students will be graded on both the quantity and quality of their posts. Students should not wait until the last minute to work on this assignment as part of your participation is dependent on the comments of other students. Points will be deducted for improper use of grammar and formatting.

• Discussion forum topics for the coming week will be posted on Mondays.

If you are enrolled in my Govt 2305 and Govt 2306 courses simultaneously, or have been enrolled in one of my courses in the past, you may not re use a position paper and response posts from that other course should the discussion topic in both courses be the same. A good strategy is to take a different position on the topics in each course. For example, if gun control was the topic in both courses for one week you could write papers for and against gun control. Please contact me with any questions or concerns you have. The lowest discussion forum grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

Classroom Assignment Policies

a. The “class week” for this course runs from Monday -- Sunday. Weekly assignments will become available for students on Mondays (Discussion forum topics may not become available until as late as Monday evening)

b. No late assignments will be accepted. Some allowance may be made for the final exam, but this will only be done should the student encounter a genuine emergency and documentation of the emergency will be requested. The instructor will determine what qualifies as an emergency and is under no obligation to allow for a late submission.

c. Students must turn in their initial post for the weekly discussions in Microsoft Word Format (or the papers must be able to be opened in Word) within the link to the discussion forum. The response posts should be entered into the submission text box of the discussion forum link. Papers will not be accepted via college email or the course email system.

d. All assignments are to be completed and turned in online. You will not be asked to travel to the campus to complete an assignment.

e. Students are not allowed to use the internet to access outside material during exams or quizzes. Students caught doing this will receive a grade of F for the course consistent with the previous statement. Students are

free to reference the included lecture power points, audio lectures, or their textbooks.

Online Course Etiquette Communication in often a challenge in online courses since it precludes face to face communication. Issues will undoubtedly arise between students and the instructor, but students (and the instructor) must keep their “cool” at all times and act in a professional manner. Rude or abusive comments directed towards the instructor will not be tolerated and the instructor will remove students from the course at his discretion. What constitutes “rude and abusive” is defined by the instructor. If the withdrawal date for the course has passed, or the instructor is otherwise unable to remove a student from the course, the student’s access to the online course shell (including the course mail system) will be disabled. No assignments will be accepted from a student in this situation and this might cause a student to fail the course. If you are upset about any issue concerning the course think VERY carefully about the manner in which you address the issue and choose your words carefully. Students occasionally get into trouble when acting out of emotion. If you are upset, it is a good idea to let some time pass before dealing with the issue. Students also interact with each other via the online message boards and it is imperative that students also refrain from posting rude or abusive comments. Message board posts will be in response to political issues and such issues have the tendency to evoke strong emotions in some. It is the student’s responsibility to reign in emotionalism and respond only to the arguments and not launch personal attacks against other students. Sarcasm is not particularly effective over the internet and should be avoided. Inappropriate comments directed towards other students will be treated more seriously than comments directed towards the instructor and a warning MAY OR MAY NOT BE ISSUED depending on the judgment of the instructor. Students will be removed from the course immediately if the instructor deems it necessary. Students should keep direct contact with other students via the online mail system to a minimum. Most people receive plenty of spam in their normal email inboxes and do not wish to receive them from students. Unsolicited emails directed to other students should have an academic purpose. (ex. do you want to study together, can I borrow your textbook, etc) A Q&A forum exists under the “Read This First” tab of the course and students should feel free to ask general questions or other students there. Students that attempt to “rally” students against the instructor will be removed from the class and reported to the department chair, division chair, and dean as appropriate. It is your right to complain about the instructor’s policies or conduct to supervisors, but it is NOT your right to bully the instructor by threatening to complain if a situation is not resolved in the way you like. Furthermore, it is particularly

inappropriate to threaten or attempt to enlist other students to join you in that endeavor. If there are conflicts between students the instructor will resolve them, not the students. If you feel you are being harassed or treated inappropriately by another student contact the instructor immediately and do not respond directly. Students “taking matters into their own hands” will not be tolerated and will be dealt with more harshly than a student that initiated a conflict. Students should never use internet slang and “leetspeak”. This is a college course and it is expected that students will correspond appropriately. Grading Scale 90 - 100 = A 80 - 89 = B 70 - 79 = C 60 - 69 = D Below 60 = F Instructor Grading Criteria Position Papers: 50% Final Exam: 10% Quizzes: 40% Instructional Materials Text: We The People, Patterson 12th Ed. ISBN: 978-1-259-43918-6

Audio Lectures: These lectures are central to the course and should be listened to if posted. Much of the material on quizzes and exams will come from these lectures and the power point outlines that accompany them. Students should utilize these lectures the same way they would a lecture in a face to face class: take notes and study the material therein. HCC Policies ADA Policy: If you have any special needs which affect your ability to learn in this class, please inform me. Appropriate steps will be taken to assist you with your needs. Any student with a documental disability (physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the ADA counselor at the beginning of each semester. There is a Disability Support Services Office at each campus. To find the name of the ADA counselor at your campus, visit www.hccs.edu, then click future students, scroll down the page and click on the words Disability Information. Faculty members are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that institutions have policies that protect students’ rights with regard to sex/gender discrimination. Information regarding these rights are in the HCC website under Students-Anti-discrimination. Students who are pregnant and require accommodations should contact any of the ADA Counselors for assistance. Please note that the instructor must have documentation of ADA requests from the college before accommodations will be made. The instructor must have received this documentation from the college, accommodations will not be issued based on a doctor’s note. Please follow the first link in this section for more information on how to obtain an ADA accommodation. Student Rights and Responsibilities: It is important that every student understands and conforms to respectful behavior while at HCC. Sexual misconduct is not condoned and will be addressed promptly. Know your rights and how to avoid these difficult situations. Log in to www.edurisksolutions.org Sign in using your HCC student e-mail account, then go to the button at the top right that says Login and enter your student number. Scholastic Dishonesty: HCCS students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by HCC System officials against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. "Scholastic dishonesty" includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. Cheating on a test includes but is not limited to: Copying from another student's test paper; using unauthorized materials during a test, unauthorized collaboration with another student during a test; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of a test; and bribing another person to obtain a copy of a test. Plagiarism includes the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work. Collusion includes the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work. Academic Dishonesty: HCC is committed to a high standard of academic integrity among its students and faculty. In becoming a part of the HCC academic community, students are responsible for honesty and independent effort. As stated in the HCC Student handbook, failure to uphold these standards, includes, but it is not limited to, the following: plagiarizing written work, cheating, on exams or assignments and collusion among students on an exam or project without specific permission from the instructor.

i. Cheating includes look at or copying from another student’s exam/quiz, having another person take an exam/quiz or complete a project or assignment for you, bringing unauthorized notes,

texts, or other materials into class with you for an exam (this includes cell phones and texting of ANY kind during an exam), and obtaining or distributing an unauthorized copy of an exam or any part of an exam.

ii. Plagiarism means the unauthorized use of another’s writings without giving proper credit and includes copying material from another source (especially the internet) without clear documentation of the source and submitting a paper, report, or project that someone else has prepared.

iii. Collusion is in appropriate collaborating on assignments designed to be completed independently.

When there is clear evidence of cheating, plagiarism, or collusion, disciplinary action will be taken. Any academic dishonesty will result in a student being removed from the course, receiving a grade of “F” for the course, and being reported to the appropriate college department. If you are pressed for time on an assignment or are at a desperate place in the course it is a far better idea to simply perform poorly than to cheat and risk failing the course outright. Attendance & Academic Performance Policy An online course does not have regular class meetings, but students still must demonstrate that they are engaged in the course by accessing course materials and completing course assignments. Students that are consistently performing poorly will, at the instructor’s discretion, be referred to the counseling office and may be dropped from the course if improvement is not shown. Withdrawals: Students who take a course for the third time or more must now pay significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. At HCC, it is an additional $50 per credit hour. If you are considering course withdrawal because you are not earning passing grades, confer with your instructor/ counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework, test-taking skills, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring or other assistance that might be available. Also, the state of Texas has passed a new law limiting new students (as of Fall 2007) to no more than six withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. The drop/withdrawal date this semester is Tuesday, February 21st. Repeating Courses: As a result of recent Texas legislative changes, please be advised that HCC is charging additional tuition for students who enroll in the same class three or more times at HCC. While it is the hope of HCC that students will be successful in their first attempt at classes, we realize that life demands, academic struggles, and other issues may

result in students needing to take the same class more than once. Speaking with an advisor will help you develop student success skills, improving your overall academic performance. If a student repeats a course in which a grade (A-F) has been received, the highest grade received at HCC is the permanent grade for the course and will be used in computing the GPA. All grades earned in a given course will be reflected on the transcript. Other colleges may compute the GPA differently than HCC. HCC Student Handbook: Please note that it is each student’s responsibility to read and be familiar with the HCC Student Handbook. Please see: http://central.hccs.edu/students/student-handbook/ Distance Education The Distance Education Student Handbook contains policies and procedures unique to the DE student. Students should have reviewed the handbook as part of the mandatory orientation. It is the student's responsibility to be familiar with the handbook's contents. The handbook contains valuable information, answers, and resources, such as DE contacts, policies and procedures (how to drop, attendance requirements, etc.), student services (ADA, financial aid, degree planning, etc.), course information, testing procedures, technical support, and academic calendars. Refer to the DE Student Handbook by visiting this link: http://de.hccs.edu/media/houston-community-college/distance-education/student-services/pdf/2015-HCC-DE-Student-Handbook-%28Revised-5_28_15%29_will.pdf Disclaimers 1) If students have difficulty accessing an element of the course or have a technical problem they should let the instructor know, but should also contact technical support. Unless the issue is a result of my error, I will be unable to help you resolve other issues such as computer crashes or other glitches. 2) The gradebook used by the online course system is only accurate in that is displays the grades you made on each assignment. However, it will not correctly weight and calculate your final grade and as a result the final grade it displays is NOT accurate and should be ignored. If you are not aware of how to calculate a weighted average, it is worth your while to learn to do so. 3) The syllabus is subject to change in order to clarify, expand, or create new course policies and/or requirements. Students will be notified if the syllabus is changed. 4) Students should not attempt to log back into timed assignments when they are completed and/or the time expires. If you close out a timed assignment once it has begun the timer will continue to run and accessing the assignment again once the time

is up can cause your grade to be posted as a zero. This is a “user end” error and no accommodation will be made for it. 5) The syllabus outlines various reasons that a student might be removed from the course. It is possible that the drop date may have passed or that the registrar is unable to remove a student for some other reason. In this situation a student’s account access will be disabled and their final grade will be calculated based on the work completed up to that point. Uncompleted work will be counted as a zero. Note that this might cause you to fail the course. Technical Compliance This class is a distance-education class using Eagle Online for notes, lectures and assessments. Each student must maintain Internet access throughout this course. Additionally, students are expected to maintain a state of technical compliance, including (but not limited to): up-to-date software as required by the instructor; a stable Internet connection; and use of the Firefox browser when using Eagle Online. The instructor is not required to give consideration for lost/missing/unacceptable work stemming from technical non-compliance and/or end-user technical issues. Failure to maintain Internet access shall not constitute a valid excuse for missed work. Any student who cannot keep up with the coursework owing to a lack of computer or Internet must drop the course. Any student found to have quit logging in (two weeks is typical) and whom the Professor is unable to contact is subject to being dropped without further warning, resulting in either a "W" or a "FX" grade, depending upon the time of the term at which the behavior is noted. If a student has not reset his/her email profile within PeopleSoft to reflect that email which he/she uses most often, the Eagle Online system will default to delivering notifications and messages to that student's HCC default email address, i.e., yourfirstname.yourlastname@student.hccs.edu<mailto:yourfirstname.yourlastname@student.hccs.edu> (please click here<http://webmail.hccs.edu> to access the HCC Webmail system). The Professor is not responsible for communicating with students who fail to follow this instruction. In short, if you fail to complete an assignment because your computer crashes or loses internet access, you forget to attach a file or click submit on an assignment, or you did not use the appropriate browser or operating system you are not entitled to make up an assignment. If the assignment was not completed due to your error it cannot be made up. This includes errors due to computer updates, system crashes, internet outages, etc.