Ocean County College
Professor's Syllabus
Professor's Name: Bradford Young
Course Title and Number: POLI 161 American Federal Government
Catalog Description: A survey of the origins and development of our national government and political
system in theory and practice.
Semester: Spring 2012
Office Location: BART 212
Phone Number: (732) 255-0400 x2218
E-Mail Addresses:
Primary:
Secondary:
bradford_young@portal.ocean.edu
byoung@ocean.edu
Office Hours: M & Th: 2:00p-2:30p, T & F: 11:00a-12:15p, 3:30p-4:00p
Other Meeting Times: To arrange a meeting with me in addition to the regularly scheduled office hours,
please contact me directly or contact the School of Social Science and Human Services (732) 255-0400 x 2210.
Required Text and other Materials:
1. Course 360 US GOV ACCESS CARD. ISBN 9781111764906
Course Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
 Describe the policy-making role of the Supreme Court.
 Compare and contrast Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint.
 Describe and evaluate the influences that effect the judicial decision making process.
 Analyze the limits of personal rights under the Constitution.
 Discuss the conflict between individual Freedom (Bill of Rights) and Equality (Equal Protection Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment).
 Describe and evaluate Affirmative Action as a public policy.
 Analyze the position of the Supreme Court on this program.
 Compare and contrast de facto and de jure discrimination.
 Describe and evaluate the factors that influence voter behavior.
 Analyze the impact of the American political parties on the policy making process.
 Describe the role of interest groups in American politics.
 Compare and contrast the legislative process of the House and Senate.
 Compare and contrast the roles of the president and Congress in the policy making process.
 Analyze and evaluate the role of the bureaucracy in the policy making process.
 Describe the powers of the presidency.
 Evaluate the influence of the person on the role of her/his institutional position.
General Education Goals Addressed in the Course
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To develop the ability to communicate effectively through reading, listening, speaking, and writing
To develop the ability to solve problems by collecting, organizing, and evaluating information
To develop the ability and moral sensitivity needed to make informed judgments concerning ethical
issues
To develop and demonstrate civic and social responsibility
Course Standards:
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I will use Ocean County College Online College (ecollege) for all electronic correspondence.
Assignments, quizzes and announcements will be posted at our course site.
Withdrawal from the class requires the completion of an OCC Drop/Add form.
Complete assignments carefully and submit them on time.
The above will reflect in your grade.
Attendance Policy: Since this is a distance education class, Ocean County College’s published attendance
policy is inappropriate. The student is expected to meet the deadlines established for the submission of all
assignments and quizzes.
Grading scale:
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
90 – 100
85 – 89
80 – 84
75 – 79
70 - 74
60 – 69
below 60
Statement of Plagiarism: Students should refer to the student handbook and review Policy #5180.
Plagiarism can be defined as a student presenting the work of someone else as the student’s own idea. This is a
serious offense.
Distance Education Student Behavior: Each student must maintain civility in all class-related
communication. After being warned of behavior that fails to meet this requirement, continued violations of
civility will result in the student being withdrawn by the instructor.
Evaluation of student:
Discussions (6)
Unit Quizzes (4)
Unit Assignments (9)
Presentations (3)
Final Exam (1)
25%
15%
30%
10%
20%
Details on all of these items are provided in the online class platform.
Course Outline:
Available in online class platform
Available resources and services: Smarthinking (ST) is a free online tutoring resource, available to all
Distance Learning students. You may access Smarthinking's free online tutoring for this course if you would
like extra help with the material in this class. You can access it by clicking on the Smarthinking icon on our
homepage. You will see simple instructions for logging on and then you’ll be linked in. It takes only a few
minutes. You’ll have an initial two-hour block of time, but you can always add more. Please send an email
detailing the need for additional time to Dr. Christine E. Kephart at ckephart@ocean.edu.
Statement of Accommodation: If there is any student in this class who has special needs because of
learning disabilities or other kinds of disabilities, please feel free to come and discuss this with me or a staff
member for Disability Services.
Disclaimer: Reasonable changes to this course outline may be made exclusive of course requirements,
course calendar, and grading procedures.
All individuals should not assume that anything received, sent, or stored in this course or in any course is
private. Students’ written work, assignments, and test results may be used anonymously for college assessment
purposes. Course content, support materials, and communications (including chats, discussions, emails, and
any other forms of communication) may be used for quality assurance purposes by authorized college
administrators.
Ask for help if you need it:
If you have difficulty in understanding any of the material or in keeping up with the class, please let me know
immediately. I am here to help you, but you must communicate your difficulties to me and seek help as soon as
the difficulties arise. Do not wait until late in the session to seek my assistance when it will be impossible to
catch up and improve a history of poor grades. For private help, my office hours are listed at the top of this
syllabus, or contact me via phone or email to set up an appointment.
Important Notes
Ocean Cruiser is the official email communication for students at OCC (firstname_lastname@portal.ocean.edu)
Failure to pay for this course may result in your being dropped for non-payment.