United States Government Syllabus for 2023-2024
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Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.

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Course

GOVT-2305-DC007 United States Government

Prerequisites

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.

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Dual Credit Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

We the People, Essentials Edition, Fourteenth Edition, By Ginsberg, Benjamin, Lowi, Theodore J., Weir, Margaret, Tolbert, Caroline J... New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc.

• ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-324-03479-7
• ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-324-03489-6

• Access code for Inquisitive is NOT required for this course.

Supplies

Student Performance

OVERVIEW & INFORMATION

• This is an online class. This is not a self-paced class. We will have due dates every single week.  All assignments are due by 11:59 PM on Sunday of the week they are assigned, except the written assignment, which will be due by Wednesday December 13.

• Submitting class assignments on time is essential for success in this course.  Even though you have entire 7 days window to submit each quiz or discussion post, I highly recommend that you do not wait until Sunday night to complete the item that is due that week.  All the due dates are listed below in the course schedule.

• Each week's folder in Blackboard consists of a link to the EBook chapter for those who are using an EBook, chapter PowerPoint, and a chapter outline.  To study for the quizzes, you are expected to read the chapter, and review the PowerPoint and chapter outlines provided for each chapter.

• Each module in D2L also contains a YouTube video link titled “YouTube Extra.” These YouTube videos are intended as supplementary materials that provide broad overview and understanding of the topics discussed.  However, watching these videos is not mandatory as these videos are not intended as study materials for the quizzes.  

• There are 15 chapters in the book, but we will skip Chapter 14 (Domestic Policy) and cover the remaining 14 chapters.

• There are 14 chapters that we will cover with 14 main quizzes. I will drop the lowest two quiz grades and the average of the other 12 will count as the overall main quiz average 60% of total grade. Each quiz includes 10 multiple-choice questions. Each quiz has a time limit of 20 minutes. Student have only one attempt for each quiz. 

• There are five (5) discussion questions in the course. The discussions will average together 30% of your overall grade.

• There will be a written assignment that will be available to students between November 20 - December 13. Students are encouraged to not wait until last minute to complete this assignment as late submissions will not be accepted for this assignment due to its proximity to the end of the semester. This assignment is worth 10% of total grade.

• Those will be all of the grades for the course. There will not be any unit exams.

• Certain weeks will have only a chapter quiz due that week, and other weeks will also have a discussion due. Check the weekly folders in Blackboard to know everything you need to accomplish each week.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Students must log into this course on a regular basis, preferably daily, to keep up with all assignments and quizzes. It is the student's responsibility to keep up with all due dates for this course and to turn work in on time.

Grading Criteria

A = 90 - 100
B = 90 - 89
C = 70 - 79
D = 60 - 69
F = 0 – 59

Grading Criteria

14 Chapter Quizzes : 14 - 2 = 12 X 5 Points Each = 60%                                                                   (Lowest 2 quiz grades will be dropped)

Discussion Board Posts: 5 X 6 Points Each = 30%

Written Assignment = 1 X 10 Points = 10%

 

LATE WORK POLICY:

Make-up Quizzes:  Given that the lowest two quiz grades will be dropped, quizzes may be made up only if you can provide proof of a demonstrated incapacity to take the exam as scheduled.  If no excuse is given, students are expected to have missed at least two quizzes before contacting the instructor to request a make-up quiz.  10% grade deduction will be applied to all make-up quizzes.  It is the responsibility of the student to contact me to make arrangements for missed work.

Late Discussion Board Posts:  Late discussion posts will be accepted up to a week after their due dates. However, these will be assessed 10% grade deduction. For discussion posts, if you miss the window of availability to post, you will need to email me your response to the prompt and the reply (indicating the student's name).

The Written Assignment will be due on Wednesday December 13.  Students have about 3 weeks to complete this assignment.  No late submission will be accepted for this assignment due to its proximity to the end of the semester.

Attendance

Regular attendance by logging into this class on a very regular basis is a necessity for success. Being organized, logging in to the class and completing work, and being responsible for all due dates is imperative for student success in this class.

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