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Government 2302 -American National, State and Local: Course Syllabus Fall 2010–HCCS Katy Campus
Professor: Jennifer Mobley
E-mail: Jennifer.Mobley@hccs.edu
Classes
Government 2302-092(48274) Meets On the Katy Campus, Tues/Thurs 12:30-2:30 P.M. Classroom 217
COURSE DESCRIPTION: 3 Credit Hours.
A Government 2302 is the second of a two part course designed to introduce students to the politics of government in America at the
national, state and local levels. This course is fully transferable to other Texas colleges and universities. Government 2302 will
address the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government at both the national and state levels; policymaking, civil
liberties and civil rights .
COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
 This course is designed to acquaint the student with the U.S. and Texas governmental institutional arrangements and mechanisms
and the essential fundamental expectations of American/Texas citizens.
 The premise for this information is to challenge the student to question the nature and purpose of government. This new
awareness should expose the impact government legislation has on Americans and our global neighbors; as well as motivate the
individual, to draw his own conclusions concerning various governmental policies and inspire his involvement in the process.
THE CLASS FORMAT: will contain a mixture of lecture and discussion, and reading and topical writing application.
TEXTBOOK REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE:
Tannahill, Neal. American and Texas Government: Policy and Politics. 10th Edition. Boston: Pearson Longman, 2010.
STANDARD GRADING:
 There will be 3 exams (33%)
--The 3rd and final exam will be comprehensive
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There will be 1 major writing assignment (33%)
--Topics and format will be discussed in class
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There will be daily reading quizzes (33%)
-- The student is expected to be prepared to take the quiz at the beginning of class. Don’t be late – quizzes cannot be
made up.
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Grade Scale: 90-100=A; 80-89.9=B; 70-79.9=C; 60-69.9=D; 0-59.9=F
--There will be no extra credit, dropping, curving or rounding of grades.
BE AWARE: Concerning student discipline information:
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Adult behavior is expected. Disruptive behavior/activities that interfere with teaching and/or learning will not be tolerated.
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ALL CELLPHONES AND ALL OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES MUST BE TURNED OFF UPON ENTERING MY
CLASSROOM. Note that “off” does not mean vibrate.
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Students are expected to attend class with their textbook and to be prepared to take notes at each class meeting.
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*The last 10 minutes of class is usually a gold mine for important info/notes - don’t be in a hurry to “pack up”
If these topics warrant further discussion or explanation come see me.
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Students with Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who
needs to arrange reasonable accommodations for the classroom and/or testing must contact the appropriate HCC Disability Support
Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by
the Disability Support Services Office. Students who are requesting classroom and/or testing accommodations must first contact the
DSS office for assistance prior to the beginning of each semester:
Academic Honesty, Plagiarism, and Collusion: HCC policy states "Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on
a test, plagiarism, and collusion. Cheating on a test includes copying from another student's test paper; using, during a test, materials
not authorized by the person giving the test; collaborating with another student during a test without authority; knowingly using,
buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an un-administered test; or bribing another person
to obtain a test that is to be administered. ‘Plagiarism’ means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged
incorporation of that work in one's own written work for credit. ‘Collusion’ means the unauthorized collaboration with another person
in preparing written work offered for credit.
In simplified terms, cheating is: (1) taking unchanged passages (or slightly edited) from another person's writing and portraying them
as one's own; (2) submitting a paper that includes paraphrases of another person's writing without giving credit; (3) having someone
else write your paper for you; (4) copying or using another person's work during in-class writing or testing; (5) the unauthorized use of
electronic devices during in-class writing or testing; and (6) violating testing rules. Keep in mind also that whether you are cheating
or not, not following testing or writing rules properly, such as communicating with your neighbor or using a cell phone during a test
will be construed as cheating. This is not an exhaustive list of the forms of cheating on written work. If you are in doubt, consult your
instructor.”
Attendance/Withdrawal Policy: “HCC policy provides that students may be dropped after missing more than six hours of class
time. Each situation will be the decision of the professor and considered singularly.
STUDENTS: Please understand that instructors may not withdraw you on the grade sheet or in any way after the HCC policy
withdrawal date. Please check the handbook or the academic calendar for further information concerning date deadlines for
the current semester.
Additional Withdrawal Information: “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. Also, the state of Texas has passed a new law limiting new students (as of
Fall 2007) to no more than six withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree.”
Students may withdraw from one or more of their classes online beginning Monday, July 26th. It is still strongly advised that the
student receive counsel from instructional and counseling faculty prior to dropping any class. The student will no longer be required
to “see” someone before they will be allowed to drop. The student will be provided information related to the implications and
possible consequences of dropping their courses.
The following will occur when a student selects the “drop” option during an enrollment request: 1) Students will be required to select
a drop reason in order to complete the withdrawal request (the drop reason will cue whether the dropped course will count toward the
6 drop rule or not). 2) Students will be invited to click on several links to learn more of the implications of dropping on the 6 drop rule
(http://imc02.hccs.edu/gcac/drop.htm), on veterans, on financial aid, and on international students. 3) Students will be required to
acknowledge the implications of withdrawing from a class.
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EXAMS: Please Read The Following Section Very Closely:
 Exam dates are given with advance notice. Students should be prepared promptly at the beginning of class.
 Exam questions will be objective and drawn from both the text and class lectures-take notes!
 ALL students are expected to be in attendance for exam day. Check your syllabus, and I will always confirm exam dates
in class. I reserve the right to allow (or not) any make up exams.
How to do well on exams in this course?
Unlike some of your past experiences, I will not cover every bit of information contained in the texts in class. A major requirement of
this course is “reading and application.” This strategy is to encourage you to read, think and apply new information independently.
We will be covering a lot of material this semester. If you find you are struggling, come see me as soon as you need help; the end of
the semester is generally too late.
Keep up with reading assignments and take good notes. I do not make day-to-day reading assignments, so please use the syllabus
to keep up with me in class. I welcome you to stop me and ask questions or discuss a topic you are unclear about. I do have classes
thru the day but in between I am yours and we are certainly not limited to those hours.
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:
Look for “course information” from me by checking the HCCS Learning Web. You will find this on the www.HCCS.edu\NW
Campus\learning web: enter Jennifer Mobley as your professor. Look under course documents for Government 2301. **I reserve
the right to alter the syllabus to control the pace of the class. This will include one assignment to be done online**
Week 1: Tues 9/28
Discussion of the syllabus… then begin
CH 10 Congress
Week 2: Tues 10/5
Ch 11 The Presidency
Week 3: Tues 10/12
CH 13 Federal Courts
Week 4: Tues 10/19
CH 12 Federal Bureaucracy
Week 5: Tues 10/26
Tuesday Exam 1
CH 14 Economic Policymaking
Week 6: Tues 11/2
*Paper Due Thursday
CH 15 Civil Liberties Policymaking
Week 7: Tues 11/9
CH 16 Civil Rights Policymaking
Week 8: Tues 11/16
CH 25 The Texas Legislature
Week 9: Tues11/23
Tuesday Exam 2 ***THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!
*** *Note: Last Day for Administrative Withdrawal 11/23 @ 4:30
Week 10: Tues 11/30
Week 11: Tues 12/7
CH 26 The Executive Branch of Texas
CH 27 The Judicial Branch of Texas
Last day of class is Thursday 12/10
******* 3rd and FINAL EXAM – To be announced – Finals Week December 13-19
*Course/transcript grade available to students on the HCCS website: 12/24