Houston Community College
Government 2305 Federal Government
Syllabus
Instructor:
Tom Baugh
Email:
WWW:
Office Hours:
Required Texts:
thomas.baugh@hccs.edu or thomas.baugh@sjcd.edu
http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/thomas.baugh
Available to meet before or after class as requested
Bianco & Canon American Politics Today, 2011 Third Essentials ed.
Special Needs: If you have any special needs which affect your ability to learn in this class,
please inform me. Appropriate steps will be taken to assist you with your needs. Any student
with a documented disability (physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to
arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Northwest ADA counselor at the
beginning of each semester. The Disability Services Office at Northwest College can be reached
at 713-718-5808. Faculty members are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested
by the Disability Support Services Office. To visit the ADA Web site, please visit www.hccs.edu
then click Future students, scroll down the page and click on the words Disability Information.
I.
Course Description:
This course is an introductory survey of the United States political system. Topics include a
theoretical study of the discipline of political science, the United States Constitution, political
institutions, federalism, public opinion, voting behavior, the electoral system, interest groups,
and political parties.
Course Topics:
Understanding American Politics
The Constitution and the Founding
Federalism
Civil Liberties
Equal Rights
Public Opinion and the Media
Political Parties
Elections
Interest Groups
Congress
The Presidency
The Federal Judicial System
The Federal Bureaucracy
Civil Rights
Economic Policy and Social Policy
Foreign Policy
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II.
Course Objectives:
A.
To offer students an introduction to and develop an appreciation of the American political
system and public policy making.
B.
To provide all students with an educational context in which they can appreciate the
impact of the political system on their chosen major or career choice.
C.
To improve the reasoning and communication skills that the students need for their
college education and careers.
D.
Upon completion of Government 2305, you will be able to demonstrate a thorough
knowledge of the topics covered in this course as well as satisfy the following Learning
Outcomes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
III.
Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States.
Demonstrate knowledge of the federal system.
Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice.
Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal
government.
Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties.
Analyze the election process.
Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Analyze issues and policies in United States politics.
Student Learning Activities
The following Student Learning Activities are designed to maximize your
understanding of the course content as well as develop basic competencies and
perspectives that are necessary for your overall success in college and in the
workforce.
Class Lectures: Lectures will be organized and continually updated to include the
latest factual material and ideas. Lectures will involve a significant amount of
material not contained in the textbooks. The lectures are intended to supplement,
not repeat information from the textbook verbatim. Class lectures will develop
your ability to analyze, interpret and discuss spoken information.
Class Discussion and Group Projects: Class discussion and group projects will be
related to the topic under consideration and help students develop critical-thinking
and problem solving skills. Discussions and group projects will consist of roleplaying, debates and Socratic classroom discussions and will stress development
of your ability to speak, listen, and think critically—individually and as a group.
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Textbook Readings: An important part of the college experience is learning how
to learn independently from the instructor. You will be required to read and learn
on your own a significant amount of information and ideas from the textbook.
Additional Readings: Because of the lag time in publishing textbooks, extrareading assignments are necessary to provide you with the latest information and
ideas—especially in political science. Accordingly, additional readings may be
assigned to assist you in gaining new information.
Written Assignments: There is one mandatory written assignment which must be
turned in no later than Wednesday, April 23. Failure to turn it in by the
submission deadline will result in a grade of zero. The written assignment will
constitute 10 percent of your grade for the class. Additional information
regarding the written assignment will be provided in class.
IV.
Grading System:
Grading in this course is designed to demonstrate your knowledge of the course material in
addition to your ability to demonstrate basic competencies and perspectives. If you actively
engage in the student learning activities outlined above you should be able to successful
complete the course.
Tests: There will be four (4) tests. There will be four tests, each covering both the reading
material and material discussed only in class. Each will include multiple choice, short answer,
and/or essay questions. If you miss a test, contact me immediately to arrange a time for a makeup test (which may be entirely in short answer/essay form). Avoid missing a test if at all
possible. Please check the tentative schedule for test dates.
You are responsible for all the material on the tentative schedule. Do not ask me to tell you what
is on the test or whether something is important. An important part of being a successful student
is acquiring a large amount of information, ascertaining the significance of that information and
assimilating that information in a way that is useful and productive.
Come Prepared: Please bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a No. 2 pencil for each exam. Arrive
early for the exam as you will find that you will have time to collect your thoughts and generally
your test performance will improve. You will only have the time allotted for your class period to
take the exam and if you are more than 20 minutes late you will not be allowed to take the exam.
I drop the lowest test score for all students in recognition that everyone has a bad day. This may
be a test you miss for whatever reason or simply a test that you do poorly on due to some outside
issue (i.e., illness, car problems, etc.) As a word of warning, it is always better to make up a
missed exam and use your drop score for a low score rather than a missed exam.
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Test Review: We will review each test in class after the tests have been graded. This is the only
time that you will have to review the answers so do not miss class. You may not make any notes
pertaining to the questions during the test review nor can you have your textbook or notes open.
You are only permitted to verify the right answer.
Quizzes: There will be several random unannounced quizzes. The quizzes are relatively easy
(as long as you study the assigned reading); the test questions will be more demanding. Missed
quizzes may not be made up. Why not? Because:
1.
I will give the answers to that day’s quiz immediately at the end of each quiz.
2.
I cannot coordinate separate make-ups for so many quizzes to so many students.
3.
Part of the rationale for the quizzes is to reward you for being in class, on time, and
prepared to participate in discussion; allowing make-ups would defeat that result.
4.
You will have a small number of free quizzes as I will only count your top 5 quizzes as
part of your average.
Additional Assignments: Throughout the semester you may be given a number of additional
assignments that could include writing exercises, computer simulations, and research
assignments. These assignments, if any, will be announced in class.
Final Examination: A final exam on the material covered during the semester will be taken
during the final class period. The final exam will consist of multiple choice questions that will
account for at least 50 percent of the total value of the final exam. The final exam may also
include essay questions. Essay questions, if any, will account for no more than 50 percent of the
value of the final exam. The number of questions on the final and the proportion of the questions
that are multiple choice and essay will be announced in class at least one week before the final
exam. Again, the questions will be drawn from both the reading material and material discussed
in class
The final exam is mandatory and will not be dropped.
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Final Grade: Seventy (70) percent of the final grade is based upon the semester tests and the
final exam. This portion of the grade will be determined by adding the three highest semester test
grades plus from the comprehensive final exam and dividing by four.
Twenty (20) percent is based on quizzes.
Ten (10) percent of the final grade is based on the mandatory written assignment.
The final grade thus will be calculated as follows:
Semester Tests/Final Exam X 0.7 + Quizzes X 0.2 + Written Assignment X 0.1
The final grade will be based on the following scale:
89.50-100.00
79.50-89.49
69.50-79.49
59.50-69.49
00.00-59.49
A
B
C
D
F
WARNING: I DO NOT CURVE AND I DO NOT ADD POINTS TO YOUR GRADE AT
THE END OF THE SEMESTER BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENT POINTS, I DROP YOUR LOWEST GRADE AND I
ROUND.
IV.
Classroom Policies:
Classroom Behavior: This is a college class and you are here to receive a university education.
Your success depends on the effort you put into this endeavor. Accordingly, there are certain
expectations that I will have of you during the semester—the most important of which is that you
conduct yourself in a professional manner. Therefore, you will need to adhere to the following
rules:
1.
Be on time to class
2.
Turn off your cell phone before I walk into class
3.
No food or eating in the classroom
4.
No talking or passing notes to your classmates during class
Honesty Code: As a student at Houston Community College, you are expected to exhibit
honesty, integrity and high standards in your academic work. Members of the college
community benefit from an open, honest educational environment. We are all responsible to
encourage and promote academic integrity, a code of moral and artistic honesty. Students should
refer to the Student Handbook for policies and procedures on Cheating and Plagiarism.
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You will not be allowed to receive assistance from classmates or use notes, books, etc. on any of
the exams. Cheating during any part of an exam will result in a zero (0) for that exam. A zero
received for cheating on an exam will not be dropped as the lowest exam score and it will
be used in computing your final grade. Cheating on an exam will also result in disciplinary
proceedings. Do not discuss the exam with students who have not taken the exam.
THE POSSESSION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES DURING EXAMS WILL BE CONSIDERED
PROOF OF CHEATING.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism includes the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged
incorporation of that work in one's own written work. Collusion includes the unauthorized collaboration
with another person in preparing written work.
Tardiness: Do not be late for class. It is very disruptive to your classmates. Do not expect me
to repeat instructions or other assignments when you arrive late. It is your responsibility to
get all assignments and announcements from your classmates.
Exams start at the beginning of class. Students that arrive late for an exam will have only the
time of that class period to complete the exam. If you are more than twenty (20) minutes late
you will not be allowed to take the exam.
Absences: Students are required to regularly attend all lecture periods. You may be dropped
from the class if your absences exceed those allowed under the college catalog.
It is your responsibility to obtain any missed notes or announcements from your classmates or
from the class web site. In other words, do not call me or email me with questions regarding test
times or what you missed while you are out (this is particularly true if you make it a habit of
missing class). When in doubt refer to the course schedule for material to be covered on each
exam.
EGLS3 (Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System):
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is
necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated time near the end of the
term, you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to
instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be made available to your professors and
department chairs for continual improvement of instruction. Go to www.hccs.edu/egls3 for
more information.
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