Sample Syllabus for Government 2301

Houston Community College System
Government 2301

Class Meetings:

Southest College - Eastside Campus
Room 3003 Angela Morales Building and Online
M-W 8-9:30 am
See calendar for specific classroom and lab dates

Contacting Your Instructor

Office Location and Hours:
Eastside Campus
6815 Rustic
Houston, Texas
713-718-5243 (I check my voice-mail once daily Monday-Thursday)

Office Hours:

Wednesday - Eastside Campus - 11-3 PM - Room 240 Felix Morales Bldg.

e-mail - on WebCT (this is the best way to reach me - I check this mailbox Monday-Thursday, several times a day)

Note: Like all of you, I am not available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. I do not check e-mails or voice-mails on the weekends. If you leave a message after 4:00 PM Thursday, do not expect a response until Monday afternoon.

Mailing Address

Evelyn Ballard
HCCS-Southeast
6815 Rustic
Houston, TX 77087

Course Description

Government 2301 is one of the two courses designed to introduce students to the politics of national, state, and local government. Government 2301 and 2302 are fully transferable to other colleges and universities.

Required Textbooks

Tannahill, Neal. American Government: Policy and Politics 8th edition (Longman Publishing, 2006.)
Tannahill, Neal. Texas Government: Policy and Politics8th edition (Longman Publishing, 2005).

NOTE: Students often contact me to ask about using older editions of the textbooks. All that I can offer as an answer is that I use the editions listed above when I write the exams. It is your responsibility to determine if an older edition will work for you.

All books may be purchased from the Houston Community College Bookstores.

Grading:

The following Grading scale will be used:

90-100% = A
80-89.9% = B
70-79.9% = C
60-69.9% = D
Below 60% points = F

Note: There are no "extra credit" points in the course. Please do not ask.

There will be four exams. All exams will be taken online. The exams will be averaged and will be worth 80% of your final course grade. Each of the four exams will be available UNTIL specific dates - the dates are listed on this syllabus. You must take each exam before the deadline.

Please note: For students who have taken my classes before, this is a change.) The exams are strictly timed and there will be a penalty for using more than the allowed time (a one point per minute penalty will be assessed).

You will also be required to participate in 4 class discussions worth a total of 5% of your final course grade. Finally, there will be 2 writing assignments due in October and November which will be worth 15% of your final course grade. I will be checking all writing assignments for plagiarism or any form of cheating (working together is considered dishonest and, therefore, cheating).

Make-up Exams

Make-up exams are not available for this course.

All exams will consist of multiple choice questions. Many of the exam questions will require that you analyze, critique, or apply what you have learned. In other words, you must understand the material rather than simply memorize it. Increasingly, today's employers rely on databases to store information, they want employees who are literate and have the ability to process information and use it in a productive manner. That is the goal of this course as well.

Some students initially feel intimidated by the requirement that they go beyond simple memorization to critical thinking. Often, they have not been expected to apply such skills in high school and previous college classes. Yet all of us have this ability and use it every day when making decisions. Actually, it is a lot easier (and fairer) to be tested on understanding, if you have studied as required. Furthermore, it is more relevant. Calculus teachers rarely test students' ability to memorize and repeat a formula--they test the students' ability to solve problems, using the formulas. Similarly, I will rarely ask you to repeat a theory about politics, but, instead, I will test your ability to recognize and apply that theory to the real world.

You will be allowed to use your textbooks and notes for the exams, but you must read and make notes in your books before the exam - there will not be enough time to look up each answer if you are not already very familiar with the materials. Each exam will have 50 questions and you will have 60 minutes for each exam.

Please be aware that, although you are allowed to use your notes and books for the exams, it is necessary to read the materials carefully and make notes as well as marking your materials. You will not have enough time to look up each question unless you are very familiar with the materials and are very well organized.

Participating in the Discussions

Periodically, I will place discussion topics in the discussion section of your class. Your participation grade will depend on two things: 1) Your logging in and responding to these topics as directed and 2) the quality of the thought that goes into your responses - I expect college-level responses (and I will contact you if that is not what you are submitting). There will be 4 discussions - one for each course module. Discussions are designed for you to show that you have a growing understanding of the course materials, whether that material is from the course lectures, the readings, or from supplementary materials from the Internet.

NOTE: As with any on-campus classes, all students in HCCS Hybrid courses are required to follow all HCCS Policies & Procedures, the Student Code of Conduct, the Student Handbook, and relevant sections of the Texas Education Code when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with faculty and fellow students. Students who violate these policies and guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email, discussion groups, and chat rooms or being removed from the class.

Lectures:

The lectures are available on the class site. The materials in the lectures will be covered on your exams, just as lecture material in a classroom would be covered.

Withdrawing From the Course:

If you decide to drop this course, go to any HCCS office and do this. If you fail to drop officially, you will receive either an "F" or a "W" in the course, depending on when you stop participating in the class. If you stop participating (turning in assignments, taking exams, participating in discussions) before the official drop date, you will be eligible for a W in the class. If you stop participating after the official drop date, you will receive an F.

Note: The determination of whether a student is eligible for a W or an F will be made by the instructor. I will not assign a W or an F simply at the request of the student. If you want to be certain that you will receive a W, you must withdraw yourself officially at any HCCS campus before the official drop date (see the Summerl calendar - available at the HCCS or call any campus). If you need an F instead of a W, be sure that you actually participate and complete assignments, discussions and exams both before and after the drop date.

Attendance:

You are required to log on to the course site at least twice a week - my experience indicates that students who do well are those who log on several times a week (5-6). If you do not log on for a week, I will deny you access to the course. You will then need to contact me to gain access again. In class attendance will also count. You may be absent twice without any penalty, but each additional absence for any reason will result in 2 points being deducted from your final course grade.

Overview of the Course

There are four modules in the course. There will an exam over each module. The exams will be taken online on specific dates (see Module schedules at the end of this syllabus). Each exam will be limited to 60 minutes and students will only be able to access an exam one time. Additionally, the questions on each exam will be chosen randomly from a testbank I have prepared. In other words, each student's exam will be slightly different from every other student's exam.

Written Assignments

The written assignments will be short (2-4 pages) and will require some Internet research. These will be due October 1 and November 1. The specific instructions for these assignments are available from the course homepage on WebCT. These written assignments are designed for you to illustrate your growing knowledge of politics and government by writing about that knowledge at a level that indicates a college-level understanding. Your writing must also show the ability to write at a basic college level, using language and grammar correctly.

Grades:

Your grades will be available on WebCT.

NOTE: As with any on-campus classes, all students are required to follow all HCCS Policies & Procedures, the Student Code of Conduct, the Student Handbook, and relevant sections of the Texas Education Code when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with faculty and fellow students. Students who violate these policies and guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email, discussion groups, and chat rooms or being removed from the class.

Statement on Reasonable Accommodations:

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. The person to contact is Ms. Cynthia Scott, at 713-718-7216. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office.

Scholastic Integrity

Honest work and effort are expected and are rewarded. However, if any student is caught cheating on a test or plagiarizing papers, the student will receive a grade of zero on that test or assignment. A second infraction will result in a grade of "F" for the semester. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized collusion on tests or papers, copying directly from another person's work but passing it off as your own, or using unauthorized "cheat sheets, notes, or other forms of information during a test. Review your obligations in the HCC Student Handbook, page 28.

Modification of Syllabus:

This syllabus acts as a contract between students and instructor. I will make every effort to fulfill the requirements of this syllabus during this semester. However, in the unlikely event that changes must be made, I reserve the right to make such changes and to notify students in a timely manner of any such changes.

MODULE 1

Policymaking Process, Texas Background, U.S. Background

Reading Assignment for Module 1:

American Government: Introduction and Chapter 1
Texas Government: Introduction and Chapter 1
NOTE: The Introductions in these textbooks are complete chapters containing important course materials - do not skip them!!

Exam I - Available September 1 - September 18

MODULE 2

U.S. Constitution, Texas Constitution,Federalism

Reading Assignment for Module 2:

American Government: Chapters 2and 3
Texas Government: Chapters 2 and 3

Exam II - Available September 1 - October 16

MODULE 3

Cities, Counties, Special Districts, Political Participation

Reading Assignment for Module 3:

American Government: Chapters 4 and 5
Texas Government:Chapters 4, 11, and 12

Exam III - Available September 1 - November 13

MODULE 4

Interest Groups, Political Parties, Elections

Reading Assignment for Module 4:

American Government: Chapters 6, 7, and 8
Texas Government: Chapters 5, 6 and 7

Exam IV (Final Exam) - Available September 1 - December 4