Distance Education Online
Orientation—Welcome Statement
Government 2306
CRN 72548
Texas Government and Politics
Delivered via EAGLE ONLINE COURSE SITE
Houston Community College
Fall, 2015
Second Start 12-Week Term
September 21, 2015-December 13, 2015
Professor John Ben Sutter, J.D.
Professor’s Greeting
Welcome to Texas Government on line. Our class meets on line only
and students never, ever have to come to a campus unless they
choose to use HCCS computers—which I recommend—to take exams.
First and importantly: YOU MUST HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE
CLASS AT THE LATEST BY SEPTEMBER 29, 2015. You are to log into
the Eagle Online course site early in the semester. THIS orientation
page is NOT Eagle Online…it is NOT the course site! Just because you
are reading this does not mean you have logged into our class and
participated in the class. Just because you completed the orientation
does not mean you have logged into the class. Reading this does not
constitute participation in the class. You must log into our class on
EAGLE ONLINE in order to meet the participation requirement. If
you do not do that during the first week of class, or at the latest by
September 29, 2015 (the “Official Day of Record” for attendance in
the course) the college will drop you from this class and I will not
reinstate you under any conditions. This is not negotiable. I
know if you log in, I know when you are on the computer logged into
the course. I know how long you are in our class on line. So, reading
this does not constitute logging in. If you do not log into the Eagle
Online course Web site before the end of the work day on September
29, 2015, the college—not me—will drop you. I will not reinstate you
under any conditions.
On the first day of class students can log-in to their course(s) by
clicking the green "Go to Class Room" button on the DE
Orientation page (one for each class) OR by going to
EO2.hccs.edu. The class will open during the day on the first day
of class which is September 21, 2015.
Second and importantly. All students are responsible for reading and
understanding the DE Student Handbook, which contains policies,
information about conduct, and other important information. For the
DE Student Handbook click on the link below or go to the DE page on
the HCC website.
The Distance Education Student Handbook contains policies and
procedures unique to the DE student. Students should have reviewed
the handbook as part of the mandatory orientation. It is the student's
responsibility to be familiar with the handbook's contents. The
handbook contains valuable information, answers, and resources,
such as DE contacts, policies and procedures (how to drop,
attendance requirements, etc.), student services (ADA, financial aid,
degree planning, etc.), course information, testing procedures,
technical support, and academic calendars. Link to handbook: DE
Student Handbook.
Third and importantly. Your required textbook for your Texas
government, Govt2306, class is, Practicing Texas Politics, by Brown,
Langenegger, Garcia, Lewis, Biles, Rynbrandt, and Reyna, 2015-2016
Edition/16th Edition (often referred to as “Brown, Texas Politics”) in
combination with an access code for MindTap, an electronic site for
the textbook and ancillary materials for the book. Both are required
for the course and are sold at the HCC Bookstore or directly from the
publisher at a special package price.
PURCHASE FROM THE ONLINE HCC
BOOKSTORE WEBSITE:
Go to the HCC Bookstore:
http://hccs.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores
/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=19561&cata
logId=10001&langId=-1
Click on “Shop All Textbook Options” which will
take you to the page “FIND COURSE
MATERIAL.” You’ll see four columns with pulldown boxes : Term, Department, Course,
Section.
Under “Term” select “Fall 2015.” Next, the
right, under “Department” pull down and scroll
down and select “GOVT.” Next, to the right,
under “Course” pull down and scroll down and
select “2306.” Then under “Section” scroll
down and pick your section number (CRN
72548).
Your required textbook is PRACTICING TEXAS
POLITICS, by Brown, 2015-2016
Edition/16th Edition, and you will purchase
as part of the package price the access code to
the publisher’s online “MindTap” site for the
textbook which has a variety of review
material, practice tests, exercises, and study
guide. You MUST have this as part of the
textbook package which is a special price for
HCC student when bought on-line or in person
from the HCC Bookstore. IF you purchase the
textbook from an oncampus HCC Bookstore,
call your HCC campus bookstore and make sure
they carry the Brown Texas textbook. Not all
campus bookstores stock it. Call the next
nearest campus bookstore to see if they have it
and then get the book. IF you’re in a campus
HCC Bookstore and the clerk says that they
don’t have Brown’s “Practicing Texas Politics”
but tell you that another book is THE textbook
you need, don’t buy it. You need Brown’s
“Practicing Texas Politics”.
PURCHASE ONLINE FROM THE PUBLISHER,
CENGAGE:
You may also purchase the access code for
MindTap (which gives you access to the Brown
TEXAS POLITICS eBook) or a combination
package of printed book and access code for
MindTap directly from the publisher, Cengage.
One more purchasing option: You can purchase
the MindTap instant access code alone directly
from www.cengagebrain.com for $76.00 for
your American government HCC textbook
(Brown, TEXAS POLITICS). This is $40 cheaper
than buying the bundle in the bookstore with
the code and the bound, printed text. This is a
great value for students as MindTap contains
the full e-book along with all of the other study
tools and resources.
Students can search within CengageBrain by
entering “Brown Texas Politics MindTap” or
pick the exact product by using the ISBNs for
the Gere textbook’s MindTap instant access
code: Geer “Gateways to Democracy”
MindTap IAC ISBN13: 9781305084643
Textbook Choices for students at
www.CengageBrain.com; Tech Support for
MindTap and textbook at
www.cengage.com/support, Cengage Learning
Technical Support for Students: 1.800.990.8211
Other important information.
Contacting your professor: When students email, they must use
their HCC STUDENT MAIL ACCOUNT or their emails will not be
answered. Do not use the Eagle On-Line system to email the
professor. Use your HCC student email. The subject line of your email
must contain the five digit section number and the course number or
your professor will not answer the email.
Grades: Grades are your responsibility, not mine. Do not ask me to
pass you or boost or bump your grade. Your grades are not
negotiable. You will have five course grades, with the lowest of the
five dropped by the professor. The remaining four grades at the end
of the semester will be totaled and divided by four to calculate your
final grade. There are four exams and a writing assignment section
grade.
No Make-Ups…No “Do-overs”: There are no make up exams. Period.
You have one week to take each of your exams on line, on the day and
location of your choosing, 24 hours a day. You will have your exam
dates on your full course syllabus. These dates will not change unless
in an emergency. And the change, under those circumstances will be
for the entire class. No changes in dates whatsoever for individual
students. There is no way to take a make up exam, reopen an exam
unless there is an HCC problem with EO and you submit a ticket to the
professor noting that problem from the EO/HCC technical support
staff. NO MAKE UP EXAMS, NO REOPENED EXAMS, NO “DO-OVERS”
otherwise, even if your Internet provider or computer kicks you off
the Internet. I cannot check with your Internet provider or examine
your computer as to the circumstances in your service interruption
computer failure. If you request more time or a make up, I have to
give everyone a make up because everyone in this course is treated
equally. If you sit down to take a timed exam, you must complete the
exam. You cannot log in and out and back in. You cannot retake an
exam. You cannot have an exam reopened. If you lose your electricity
during an exam—that is the exam you will drop. Do not take the
exams during an electrical or thunderstorm. Check the weather radar
before you start your exam. Check your local television channels on
line for weather. If your Internet connection goes down in your
apartment when the wind blows, go up to your nearest campus and
take the test in lab. Do not ask your professor to reopen an exam. It
isn’t going to happen. This is not negotiable.
Incompletes: If something happens and you require an Incomplete
Grade (I) for the semester then you need a written request for that
incomplete grade. You are also going to need to prove why you are
requesting it. If you require an incomplete due to illness, your
instructor needs a doctor’s note. If you need an incomplete grade
because of bereavement, your instructor requests proof of the death
in your immediate family. (No, I am not kidding. When I was in law
school, my Mother in law died. I had to prove it by turning over the
contract for payment to the funeral home to prove that I needed an
incomplete grade so I could bury her and help my husband.) You
make a request out of a special need, then you will need to prove it
because that is how the workplace in your future will treat you.
There is no extra credit: There are four exams and a writing
requirement. They are ALL mandatory. No exceptions. The lowest
of the five grades will be dropped. If you miss an exam, that is
the grade that will be dropped. Four grades count toward your
average grade for the semester.
Textbook: As stated above, the required for 2306 Texas Government
is the 2015-2016 edition of Practicing Texas Politics by Brown, et. al.
This is the only department authorized textbook and the only book
required for this course. No other book is acceptable. The instructor
will not recommend any other book or edition. Do not ask. You must
purchase it from the HCC Bookstore or directly from the publisher. If
you use something else, you will not have access to the “MindTap”
publishers textbook Web site. The exams will be drawn from this
textbook and no other textbook. If you don’t read this book, you risk
failing the course. Can you get by without this book? You do so at
your own risk and the instructor is not responsible for content from
any other book. Will test questions be drawn from any other source?
Yes—tests will come from this textbook and some on-line sources
that are assigned on the syllabus and posted on the Eagle Online Web
site or “MindTap”. You should purchase, as part of your textbook
purchase, access to the publisher’s Web site that accompanies the
textbook. That site is called “MindTap.”
You’ll do well in this class…IF: If you keep up with your reading. If
you make notes, write out reviews from your notes, if you do practice
exams, if you stay on schedule, if you study in a comprehensive and
disciplined manner, if you get started early on your writing work, if
you form study groups—on-line or in person—with your fellow
student, and, if you stay in touch with me (via e-mail) with questions
and concerns. I am here to help you, to explain material and concepts
you don’t understand, to help you study and learn more effectively.
But remember, I can't help you if I don't know you have a problem (I
do not have a crystal ball and I don’t read tarot cards). I will help as
best I can if you tell me what your problems are!
If, during the semester, you find that I have made an error on the
syllabus or the exams or you think I have, don’t be shy. Let me know
about it. I appreciate your candor and your heads-up to me will not
only help you but everybody in class. I make errors, but I won’t let
any error I make in our class effect you negatively... as long as I know
about the error.
Please complete take care to complete this entire orientation,
particularly the material Distance Ed has up for you on how to use
Eagle Online. Read my preliminary syllabus. And don’t hesitate to
write me at johnben.sutter@hccs.edu if you have any questions. I will
help you if you ask for help. If I don’t hear from you, if I don’t know
you need help, I cannot help you. Help me help you.
You can do well. It takes work, but you can do it.
Good luck this semester.