Course Information
Course Description:
This course offers an introduction to U.S. government and politics, focusing on citizen participation and governmental institutions.
Course Objectives: 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. After completing the course students 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.
Prerequisites and Corequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.
Students must be able to read and write at the college level.
Course Topics: The Constitution, Federalism, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Public Opinion, Political Action, Mass Media, Political Parties, Campaigns, Voting Behavior, Interest Groups, Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, Supreme Court
Specific Course Requirements: A basic knowledge of the World Wide Web and computer navigation is necessary
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks: Edwards, Wattenburg, & Lineberry, Government in America, brief 9th edition. MUST be a BRIEF edition. Does NOT have to be the SOS edition sold in the Virtual Bookstore. You will not need the Access Code that comes with new books, so you can buy a used book without an access code. Obtain the book from a source that can get it to you by the second week of the semester.
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course: Link to Bookstore
Supplementary Materials: Web-based materials available through links within the course units
Hardware Requirements: See hardware requirements at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org
Software Requirements: Microsoft word is recommended, Acrobat Reader, Flash
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures: Tests may be taken from anywhere the student has access to the internet. No proctor is needed. Quizzes and tests are timed. However, students may continue with a quiz or test if time expires and the student needs a few minutes to complete or review the test. Students may consult books and notes during quizzes and tests, but time is insufficient to permit reading the chapter simultaneously. Students will need to be familiar enough with the chapters to find information quickly.
Grading Procedure: The final grade in the course is based upon the student’s performance on these assignments: quizzes, tests, essays, a project, and discussions
Grading Scale:
10 Quizzes (averaged) 10%
Participation (including a Participation Report) 10%
3 Tests (averaged) 30%
3 Interest Group Reports (averaged) 20%
6 simulation/website analysis reports (averaged) 30%
The course grade will be based on points earned as follows:
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
65-69 D
Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects: Students will write short reports, participate in weekly online discussions, 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.
Class Participation: Participation is important. It’s what makes the class a class, instead of a student taking a correspondence course with the professor. With each new chapter, there will be an accompanying discussion and opinion poll.
Punctuality: All deadlines are listed on the Course Calendar. These are deadlines, not due dates. Students are expected to submit work ahead of deadline. Late assignments are not accepted. Students are expected to plan ahead, to manage their time well, and to anticipate that technical and personal emergencies will occur.
Course Ground Rules
Academic honesty is important. Your work in this course must be your own. You may have others help you with proofreading or critique your work, but the work itself must be your own. Academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely. Plagiarism, a form of academic dishonesty, is a serious offense. It is very important that you use proper citation methods to give credit for borrowed information of any kind--whether a quotation or whether paraphrased or summarized. If an idea or fact came from a source, cite the source, using either MLA or APA in-text citations.
Students must address technical problems immediately. Students are expected to devote time at the beginning of the semester to familiarizing themselves with the course website, with course policies and procedures, and with the D2L software. Students are expected to take the initiative in requesting help when needed. Students are expected to participate in lively but civil political discussions with other students. Students will use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address. For most communication, students will use the course Email and discussion board. Students are expected to understand when to use E-mail and when to use the discussion board to communicate with the professor and are expected to check Email and the discussion board daily M-F.
Guidelines for Communications
Email: Use Email for personal or confidential communication; use the discussion board for all other communication, including asking questions about the course
Always include a subject line.
Remember that 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.
Respect the privacy of other class members.
Provide essential information. For example, if you are asking about a quiz question, identify the quiz number and question number.
Use a respectful tone,
Discussion Groups: Use the discussion board for public communication: asking questions about the course, participating in discussions, etc.
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.
Select the REPLY WITH MESSAGE option so that we can tell what message you are responding to.
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 positive and constructive in group discussions.
Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Stay involved throughout a discussion period, posting multiple times over multiple days.
Refer to the text, current events, & historical events as appropriate & as the basis for your opinions.
Post in the correct forum: check before you post
Chat: No chat sessions are planned.
All discussions will take place in specifically designated forums at the Discussion Board.
Library
The Tennessee Board of Regents 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.
Students With Disabilities
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.
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.
Technical Support
Telephone Support: 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://help.rodp.org