GOVERNMENT 2301 Maymester 2011 Section 4746 MTWR 6:00-09:40 p.m. G203 May 16-June 3, 2010 Instructor: Phil McMahan I will be available before/after class or by appointment. [email protected] 972-860-7156 for messages Learning Objectives: 1). Develop a demonstrable understanding of the basic principles of the American political system and the United States and Texas governments through a survey of topics that will include but not be limited to the following: the legislative process and the structure of the United States Congress and the Texas Legislature; the role of the executive branch in both the United States and Texas governments; the American judicial system and the role of the courts in the evolution of the United States and Texas governments; and, historic and current views of foreign affairs, national defense, domestic policy, civil rights and civil liberties. 2). Develop through practice, reading, writing, critical thinking, listening, speaking, computer literacy and analytical skills that will be of value in your future college and professional careers. Attendance: Students are expected to attend each class session. The pace will be quick; it is your responsibility to keep up. The class will meet only twelve times. If you fall behind it will be difficult to catch up. If you are unable to complete the course you must withdraw by the final withdrawal date of 05-30-11. You must do this yourself. I cannot do it for you. If you stop attending class, but do not withdraw, you will receive a performance grade, usually an “F”. Repeating a Course: Effective for Fall Semester 2005, DCCCD will charge a higher tuition rate to students registering for a third or subsequent time for a course at any district campus. Courses taken prior to Fall 2002 do not count and developmental courses are not covered by this policy. STOP BEFORE YOU DROP For students who enrolled in college level courses for the first time in the fall of 2007, Texas Education Code 51.907 limits the number of courses a student may drop. You may drop no more than 6 courses during your entire undergraduate career unless the drop qualifies as an exception. Your campus counseling/advising center will give you more information on the allowable exceptions. Remember that once you have accumulated 6 non-exempt drops, you cannot drop any other courses with a “W”. Therefore, please exercise caution when dropping courses in any Texas public institution of higher learning, including all seven of the Dallas County Community Colleges. For more information, you may access: https://www1.dcccd.edu/coursedrops Americans With Disabilities Act Compliance: For information regarding services for students with physical, mental, or learning disabilities, or information pertaining to the Americans With Disabilities Act and Postsecondary Education, call the Disability Services Office at (972) 860-8348 (voice or TDD), or email [email protected] and Supplies: Shea, Daniel., et al. Living Democracy, Texas Edition, 2E, Books a la Carte :Pearson, 2009 ISBN-10: 0205775144 ISBN-13: 9780205775149 Students must purchase scantron forms for exams. The book will be available at the campus bookstore in a loose-leaf format. You can put the book in a large binder or put the chapters we’ll be using in a series of small folders. This may be inconvenient, but it reduced the cost of your book by $42.00. Grading: There will be five exams which may include multiple choice questions and/or short essay answers. If you miss a test your final will count double. There will be no makeup tests. Grades will be computed as follows: Five Exams (100 pts ea.) 500 pts. Total possible: 500 pts. A = 450-500 B = 400-449 C = 350-399 D = 300-349 F = 0-299 See Attendance policy on page one. Make-up Exams: All test dates are firm. There will be no make-up exams. If you miss a test I will double the score on your final exam. Don’t miss two tests. UC Open Access Videos In addition to the above graded assignments you will be required to: read the assigned chapters in the Shea text, and I would encourage you to watch online videos that are part of an online course provided by the University of California. These will be linked in the course outline, but are all found at http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=71 These videos are free online and are of high quality. This will be time well spent. The assignments at the end of the UC Open Access lessons are not required for this course. Technical Problems You must act quickly to resolve any difficulty you encounter with eCampus access or any other technical problems. We will use eCampus for some parts of the class. Details will be provided. You can get help with eCampus at 972-669-6402 or email at [email protected]. Grade Reports: Grade reports are no longer mailed. Your student identification number will allow you to access them online at http://econnect.dcccd.edu or by phone at 972-613-1818.Course Outline Note that the chapters are not numbered consecutively. Do not confuse the chapter numbers with the “unit” number. ********************************************************************** Unit 1 Introduction: A few basics; My Key Terms View lessons 1 and 2 at the University of California site http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=81 ************************************************************************ Unit 2 Read Early Governance and Constitutional Framework Shea Chapter 2 View lessons 3, 4, 5, and 6 at the University of California site http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=81 The United States Constitution ************************************************************************ Friday May 20 Test One ************************************************************************ Unit 3 Read Federalism Shea Chapter 3 View