GOVERNMENT 2306 SYLLABUS (44177)
Course Title: Texas Government
Course Description: Government 2306 is designed to introduce students to the politics of government at the state and local levels. This course is fully transferable to other colleges and universities with a “C” course grade. Government 2306 focuses on the origin and development of the
Texas constitution, structure and powers of state and local government, federalism and intergovernmental relations, political participation, the election process, public policy, and the political culture of Texas.
Instructional Materials: Texas Politics, 12 th
Edition, by Charldean Newell, David F. Prindle and
James Riddlesperger; 2013 Cengage Learning, ISBN-10: 1111833060 ISBN-13: 9781111833060
Grading and Examinations: There will be four exams (including the Final) consisting of multiple choice and essay questions. Your exam grades will comprise 75% of your final grade.
The remaining 25% of your grade will come from your group discussion projects. Your lowest exam grade will be dropped. All of your assignments will be graded on the following scale:
A = 90 ‐ 100%
B = 80 ‐ 89%
C = 70 ‐ 79%
D = 60 ‐ 69%
F = Below 60
Scholastic Dishonesty: HCCS students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by HCC System officials against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. "Scholastic dishonesty" includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. Cheating

on a test includes but is not limited to: Copying from another student's test paper; using unauthorized materials during a test, unauthorized collaboration with another student during a test; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of a test; and bribing another person to obtain a copy of a test. 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.
Services to Students with Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability
Support Services Office.
For questions, please contact Donna Price at 713.718.5165 or the Disability Counselor at your college.
HCC-Northwest ADA Counselor: Northwest ADA Counselor - Mahnaz Kolaini - 713.718.5422
HCC Course Withdrawal Policy: If you feel that you cannot complete this course, you will need to withdraw from the course prior to the final date of withdrawal (3/30/2015). If you do not withdraw by this date and you have stopped coming to class, you will receive an FX. A note of caution: Students who take a course for the third time or more must now pay significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. At HCC, it is an

additional $50 per credit hour. If you are considering course withdrawal because you are not earning passing grades, confer with your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework, test-taking skills, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring or other assistance that might be available.
EGLS
3
(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.
Core Objectives
The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) mandates that the core curriculum must ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life. Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.
Students enrolled in GOVT 2306 core curriculum courses will complete assessments designed to measure the following core objectives: o Critical Thinking Skills
—to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information o Communication Skills
—to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication o Personal Responsibility
—to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making o Social Responsibility —to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making
Government Program Student Learning Outcomes
1.
Identify and describe the institutions of the State of Texas government.
2.
Identify and evaluate information sources for political news, data, and opinion.
3.
Analyze the effects of the historical, social, political, economic, and cultural forces on politics and government.
4.
Recognize and assume the responsibilities of citizenship by developing one’s critical thinking skills, engaging in public discourse, and by obtaining information through the news media.

Course Outline and Tentative Schedule
The following is an outline of our course activities and a tentative schedule of those activities.
1/23/2015: Introduction
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1
1/30/2015: The Constitutional Setting of Texas Politics
Assigned Reading: Chapter 1 and 2
2/6/2015: Theories of American Federalism
Assigned Reading: Chapter 1 and 2
2/13/2015: Examination I
2/20/2015: The Texas Legislature
Assigned Reading: Chapters 6, 7, and 8
2/27/2015: The Executive Branch in Texas
Assigned Reading: Chapters 6, 7, and 8
3/6/2015: The Judiciary
Assigned Reading: Chapter 9
3/13/2015: Examination II
3/27/2015: Civil Liberties
Assigned Reading : Chapter 10
4/3/2015: Civil Rights
Assigned Reading : Chapter 10
4/10/2015: Examination III
4/17/2015: Political Parties and Elections
Reading Assignment: Chapters 4 and 5
4/24/2015: Local Government and Public Policy in Texas
Reading Assignment: Chapters 11 and 12

5/1/2015: Public Policy
Assigned Reading: Chapters 13
Final Exam Date: TBD