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Information |
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Course Description: |
Introduction to U.S. government and politics focusing on
citizen participation and governmental institutions. Topics include the
Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and civil rights, voting, the
media, parties and groups, public opinion, Congress, the Presidency,
the federal bureaucracy, and the courts. Students will write short
essays and reports, study an interest group in-depth, participate in
online public opinion polls, take part in online simulations of
political situations, and become acquainted with numerous websites
related to politics and government.
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Course Objectives: |
Goals:
- Students will acquire a general understanding of the key
concepts and ideas upon which the American system of government is
based, demonstrate a clear understanding of how the American political
process works, and develop critical skills which are necessary to the
decision-making process in a democratic republic like the United
States. Upon successful completion of this course, the student should
be able to:
Understand our governmental heritage (where our rules emerged)
Understand basic societal rules (the Constitution).
Understand the mechanisms individuals use to influence their government
(i.e. , interest groups and political parties).
Understand how the electoral system operates.
Understand the delicate balance of power between the President,
Congress and the courts.
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Prerequisites
and Corequisites: Students must be able to read and write at the college level |
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Course Topics:
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Specific Course Requirements:
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Students
will complete 10 quizzes, 10 public opinion polls, & 6 homework
assignments. In addition, students will monitor the activities of an
interest group by locating and visiting its website throughout the
semester. Three periodic reports regarding this group activity will be
submitted. There are three multiple choice unit tests. As preparation,
students may take practice quizzes at the course website & in the back
of the textbook; however, these should not be submitted to the
instructor.
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Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements |
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Required
Textbooks:
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Supplementary Materials:
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Hardware
Requirements:
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Software
Requirements:
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Instructor Information |
Please see
the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact
information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other
communication information.
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Assessment and Grading |
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Testing
Procedures:
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Grading Procedure:
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Tests & quizzes are available online at the course
homepage. Click on the link to "Tests/Quizzes." No proctor is needed.
Tests may be taken from anywhere the student has access to the
internet.
While the text may be consulted during the test, because tests are
timed, there is limited opportunity for consulting the text. You will
not have time to read the chapter WHILE taking a test. Read & study
chapters prior to taking quizzes & tests. Consult the text as
needed. Know WHERE in the chapter to find information.
There is a stated time limit for every test & quiz. However, if you
need a little more time, please take it. You will not be kicked out
of a test when the time limit expires. I will be told by how many
minutes you exceeded the limit. If the time seems excessive, I'll be in
touch.
Tests & quizzes are in multiple choice format. Be aware that with
this type of question & answer format, you should select the BEST
response. There may be some element of truth in more than one answer,
but you need to select the BEST response. Avoid over-analyzing. The
questions are pretty straight forward--but you do need to read
questions carefully.
If you enter a test or quiz by mistake, exit immediately
& send me an Email message so that I can re-set the test or quiz. Do
not try to take the quiz or test, & do not spend time examining the
test. If you do either of these things, your mistaken attempt will have
to count as your grade. If you exit immediately & get in touch,
you'll get a second chance. Be careful! Look carefully at the link
before you click. You don't want to click on "Test 2" when you meant to
click on "Quiz 2."
Public Opinion Polls are accessed at the "Tests/Quizzes" link. In
addition to taking the survey, you are required to participate in
discussion about the topics of the poll. For more information, click on
the "Course Modules" link & then on the "Public Opinion Polls"
link.
Written assignments must be well-developed, specific, clear,
well-organized, & logical. When formatting instructions are given,
they must be followed. In addition, students must demonstrate their
understanding of the connections between the writing assignment &
the related chapter content. Any use of sources, including the
textbook, must be documented. Directions for written assignments are
located at the "Assignments" link. At that link, click on "Assignments
to be Submitted Via Drop Box" & then click on the assignment title.
Return to that link to submit the assignment. It's a good idea to print
assignment directions in advance. If there is a problem with the
server, you will still be able to work on your assignments.
The Grading Scale is as follows:
90-100---A
80-89---B
70-79---C
65-69—D
below 65--F
The final grade will be based on this formula:
POPs 10%
Quizzes 10%
Interest Group Reports 20%
Writing Assignments 30%
Unit Tests 30%
No one type of assignment is weighted much more heavily than others.
You earn your final grade by completing numerous assignments--no one of
which affects your final grade to a huge extent.
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Polices:
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Deadlines are posted on the Course Calendar. Assignments are
due by the deadlines listed on the course calendar. No late
assignments are accepted. NOTE: Very occasionally, exceptions are
made in the event of dire circumstances such as a serious illness or
the death of a family member. Any exception needs to be worked out
between the student & the instructor.
Should you find yourself in an emergency such as described above, get a
simple message to me--if you can--& then get in touch when the
emergency is resolved. I do not require a lot of information during the
crisis. Simply let me know that there is a crisis & that you will
be in touch. At that point, you & I can determine whether & how
an exception can be made. Expect exceptions to deadlines to be very
rare.
Deadlines are all at noon, CENTRAL TIME. Students are
expected to find out how CENTRAL time corresponds to their time zones
so they can adjust as needed to meet deadlines. Course deadlines are
set at noon by design (rather than at, for example, midnight) because
if you encounter a last minute problem just prior to a deadline, there
is a very good chance you can reach me in the morning hours before
noon, but you will not be likely to reach me just before midnight. TIP:
If you are a night owl & prefer a midnight deadline, then think of
a noon Monday deadline as midnight on Sunday (or better yet--Friday or
Saturday).
Students are encouraged & expected to work sufficiently ahead of
deadlines that last minute emergencies or technical problems do not
cause them to miss deadlines. Deadlines should not be regarded as
due dates but as the last possible moment an assignment may be
submitted. Students with time management issues and problems with
procrastination will not do well in this course.
Tests, quizzes, & homework assignments may be submitted as much
ahead of deadline as a student desires. The exception is the interest
group reports which need to be spaced at intervals. In addition, it is
recommended that you receive your grade & feedback on one
assignment before submitting the next one. Work will be graded &
returned promptly so that you will alwys know how you are doing in the
course.
Public Opinion Polls become available just after the related quiz
deadline. Thus, POP 1 becomes available for 5 days just after the Quiz
1 deadline. Reading the chapter prior to taking the poll & entering
discussion will result in more informed discussion than might otherwise
occur. By all means, express your opinions, but try to state informed
opinions.
Interest Group Reports may be submitted no more than 7 days before each
one's deadline. Spreading out these three reports ensures that the
monitoring of the group takes place throughout the semester.
Students will communicate with the instructor via Email and the
bulletin board and will communicate with other students at the bulletin
board. Students will participate in online public opinion polls with
other students in the class & will discuss the topics of the polls
in special designated forums.
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Additional information:
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Students are expected to interact with the instructor and
with each other; to submit assignments prior to deadlines; to be
respectful to others; to resolve problems promptly; to stay on top of
things by checking Email and the bulletin board at least once a day
Monday-Friday; to communicate with the instructor as needed; to show
initiative in solving problems, using course tools, and asking
questions; and to maintain continuous access to the computer and the
internet
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Assignments and Participation |
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Assignments and Projects:
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Homework
will be assigned for each textbook section. These problems will usually
consist of selected odd-numbered problems.
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Class
Participation:
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Students
must actively participate in threaded discussion events. Each week the
instructor will begin an organized discussion topic. Students must
respond to these organized discussions as well as contribute to the open
questions and answers posted on the discussion board.
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Punctuality:
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Quizzes,
homework assignments, tests, and the final exam will all have specific
deadlines. These graded activities must be completed by the due date and
time. Make-up work will be accepted only under documented extreme
circumstances.
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Course Ground Rules |
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Guidelines for Communications |
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Email:
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- Always
include a subject line.
- Remember
without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be
careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in
some cases.
- Use
standard fonts.
- Do not
send large attachments without permission.
- Special
formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should
be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other
communication.
- Respect
the privacy of other class members
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Discussion
Groups:
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- Review
the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a
lurker then a discussant.
- Try to
maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new
topic.
- Do not
make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the
discussion group. Be respectful of other's ideas.
- Be
patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before
entering your remarks.
- Be
cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
- Be
positive and constructive in group discussions.
- Respond
in a thoughtful and timely manner.
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Chat:
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Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
- Be
polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
- Be
concise in responding to others in the chat session.
- Be
prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
- Be
constructive in your comments and suggestion
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Web
Resources:
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Library |
The
Tennessee
Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents
Degree Program.
Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases,
interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps,
and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to
complete online assignments and as background reading must be included
in all courses.
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Students With Disabilities
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Qualified
students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary
academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate
disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting
disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive
written verification of a student's eligibility for specific
accommodations from the disability services staff at the home
institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with
their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the
established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the
instructor.
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Syllabus Changes |
The
instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this
syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the
instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by
individual email communication and posting both notification and nature
of change(s) on the course bulletin board.
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Technical Support |
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Telephone Support:
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If you are
having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other
technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling
1-866-550-7637
(toll free)
or go to the AskRODP website at:
http://askrodp.custhelp.com
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