ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS - Fall 2017 - 12 Week
AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT (3 credits)
POS 2041-3249-Tarpon Springs Campus
Welcome to American National Government. It is a pleasure that you have enrolled in this class and I am excited as we look forward to a wonderful semester of learning & thoughtful discussion.
INSTRUCTOR:
Name: Joyce Smith
Classroom: TS -LY262, Monday/Wednesday12:25-1:55 PM
Email: Use My Courses Email
Office Hours: M/W12:10-12:25 PM, after class, or by appointment
Office Location: LY-262
Instructor Page:
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT:
Dean: Dr. Joseph Smiley
Office Location: PS
Office Number: 727-712-5851
Academic Chair: David Liebert
Office Location: PS120
Office Number: 727-712-5776
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course providesa comprehensive examination of the American political system. Students will become familiar with theory, organization, principles, and function of American national government and the political system that shapes policy outcomes. This course satisfies the writing requirements outlined in the General Education Requirements.
Course Learning Outcomes:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of government; the American federal system; the principles & values of the American political system; the U.S. Constitution; civil liberties & civil rights protections; the functions of the executive, legislative & judicial branches; policy making; the role of various institutions; and participation & responsibilities of citizenship. In addition, students will demonstrate improved writing & communication abilities, critical thinking skills, and knowledge of library resources.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
Required Textbook: Karen O’ConnorLarry J. Sabato. American Government: Roots & Reform, 2016 Presidential Election Edition, 13th Edition. Pearson (2018). ISBN 978-0-13-464874-3
10 KEYS TO SUCCESS
1. Plan to spend at least 9 hours a week for each course; SCHEDULE it in your life.
2. Read the entire SYLLABUS carefully.
3. Read and take notes on all assigned readings WEEKLY.
4. COMPLETE chapter study questions.
5. ENGAGE your instructor and other students in discussions.
6. PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN: turn in assignments on time. Keep a calendar of Assignment Due Dates and check COURSE CALENDAR frequently.
7. ASK QUESTIONS when you are confused or need clarification on course topics OR requirements. FREE TUTORS are available in person or online!
8. ENJOY LEARNING! Talk to your family and friends about what you are learning and apply it to your own life whenever possible.
9. Find a STUDY-BUDDY to study with for exams. Explaining these concepts to someone else is a great way to check your understanding and comprehension.
10. HAVE FUN!
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:
Active participation is defined as abiding by the attendance policy, completion of class assignments including exams, and class involvement. To be considered actively participating, you cannot miss more than three class meetings or more than one exam. At the 60% point of term, students not actively participating will be administratively withdrawn with a “WF”. Students may withdraw prior to that time by October30, 2016.
ATTENDANCE:
No more than 3 absences per semester.
Syllabus Addendum defines the college wide policy.
CLASSROOM COURTESY:
Misconduct during class such as texting, surfing the net, sleeping, passing notes, talking, or working on other materials or any other distracting/inappropriate behavior is unacceptable and will be dealt with by the instructor. If behavior is not corrected, and is detrimental to other students and the learning environment, the student will be asked to leave the classroom. If other students are interfering with your learning, please bring this to the instructor’s attention.
INSTRUCTOR’S EXPECTATIONS:
Students are expected to takean active role in the learning process by discussing class materials & issues pertaining to American Government. Students are expected to be prepared and read the material before we discuss that material. Class discussions allow for an examination of scholarly material to help students understand the key concepts of the course. Students should take this opportunity to improve their communication skills that are so vital in today’s society. Students must always be respectful of others in the classroom even though you might not agree with their ideas. This free flow of information allows us to explore and understand the complex ideas & world that surround us. Please give whoever is speaking your utmost attention, and always be respectful. Cell phones & social media during class time are not conductive to the learning process. Please turn off and put away equipment, including recording devices.
All work must be student’s original work. Students must be aware of the St. Petersburg College’s ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY and follow policy at all times.
Academic Honesty Syllabus Statement: Students who demonstrate academic integrity use their own thoughts and efforts when performing academic work and acknowledge any contributions or collaboration. Academic integrity is critical to St. Petersburg College’s mission, vision, and values, and it is the responsibility of all faculty, staff, and students of the college. Each person must consciously choose to uphold this important and vital responsibility. Students who engage in academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, collusion, cheating, submitting same papers/projects, or other acts of dishonesty, will be subject to academic penalties, including but not limited to no creditorreduced creditfor an assignment or exam, a reduced or failing final grade, or suspension or dismissal from the college.
Plagiarism: Presenting words or ideas of another person as your own. The most common form of this is copying a direct quotation from a source and not crediting the author. A more subtle form is inadequately paraphrasing the material from a source. Also, plagiarism is quoting undocumented public text or the undocumented borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase or directly quoting in a piecemeal manner (i.e. cutting & pasting) from published texts or other informational texts such as internet documents, without providing proper citation.
Instructor will be available to students before or after class to discuss any issues. Students may also email instructor at any time.
Emergency Preparedness Procedures
The College realizes that it is possible for a significant natural disaster to compromise SPC campus facilities sufficiently to disrupt the delivery of classes on campus for an extended period of time, and is planning ways our operations can continue following such an emergency.
- Online courses will continue as normal.
- Blended courses will continue with faculty adding online instructional activities to substitute for in-class activities.
- For courses taught in the classroom, faculty will have instructional activities on My Courses.
- Practical and internships will be suspended.
- If a course is not appropriate for online delivery (clinical, art classes, studio music, etc.) an email will be sent to all students enrolled in the course via MyCourses stating:
In the event that a hurricane or natural disaster causes closure of St. Petersburg College facilities, you may not be provided the opportunity to complete your work online due to the hands-on requirements of this course. Your instructor will notify you if there are options for completing this course work at an alternate location.
DISABILITY RESOURCES
Disability Resources at SPC wants to help you succeed. If you have a documented disability or think that you may have learning or other disability and would like to request accommodations, please make an appointment with the Disability Resources Specialist on your campus. If you will need assistance during an emergency classroom evacuation, please contact your campus Disability Resources Specialist immediately about arrangements for your safety. Disability Resources staff can be reached at 791-2628 or 791-2710 (CL), 341-4316 or 341-4310 (SP/G), 394-6289 (SE), 712-5789 (TS), 341-3721 (HEC), 398-8284 (AC, MT), or 341-7913 (DT, EPI).
If you would like more information, you can learn more about Disability Resources on our website:
ASSIGNMENTS:
EXAMS = 100 points each = 300 Points Four exams will be given worth 100 points each; the lowest exam score will be dropped. Exams cannot be made up. Two exams will be essay & two will be multi-choice. Scantrons will be needed for exams. Exam material will be from the textbook & lectures, so reading textbook & attending class are very important.
LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS = 50 Points
Presentations complete in one week.
You will pick a country and find a peer-reviewed, academic journal article (minimum 1,500 words) about any topic related to that country. Only articles from peer-reviewed, academic journals will be accepted, not popular magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias or government publications. The class will be instructed on what peer-reviewed, academic journals are, and how to use a library research database to find such articles. Attendance at the library instruction session is mandatory.You will make a 3 minute oral presentation to the class to explain what your article is about & in the journal it was published. You will give the instructor the page with the APA citation when you do the presentation.
QUIZZES = 50 points Three quizzes will be given during the semester and cannot be made up if missed. A MyCourses Project worth 20 points will be done by September 23.
PEARSON REVEL = 50 points
Activities on Pearson Revel Textbook will be allotted 50 points.
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA & GRADING:
GRADING: Grades will be posted in the MyCourses system.
Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives & outcomes.
Your grade will be based on the following points:
3 Exams = 300, Library = 50, Quizzes = 50, Pearson Revel = 50
Total = 450
GRADE SCALE:
A = 90% - 100%Your Points = %
B = 80% - 89%Total Points
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%(Divide your points by total)
F = Under59%
COURSE OUTLINE:
CHAPTERS AND EXAMS
SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
EXACT EXAMS DATES ANNOUNCED IN CLASS
TopicChapters Discussed Week of
Introduction, Culture, MediaCh. 1Sept11-13(Drop 9/15)
The ConstitutionCh. 2Sept18-20
Federalism, Civil Liberties& Rights Ch. 3, 4 & 5Sept25-27
MondayEXAMCh 2, Civil RightsCh. 2, 4 & 5Oct 2-4
Civil Rights & LibertiesCh. 4 & 5Oct9-11
MondayEXAMCh 1-5Ch. 1-5Oct 16-18
CongressCh. 6Oct 23-25
The Presidency & BureaucracyCh. 7& 8Oct 30 – Nov 1
Withdrawal DateOctober 30
MondayEXAMCh7, JudiciaryCh. 9Nov 6-8
Public Opinion & Interest GroupsCh. 10 & 14Nov 13-15
Party Politics,ElectionsCh. 11 & 12Nov 20
No SchoolNovember22
MediaCh. 13Nov 27-29
Final 1-2:50amCh. 6-14Dec 4(Monday)