Course Syllabus

 

Course Name and Title: Political Science 180-American Government

Course Units: 3.0

Course Description: An introduction to the principles and problems of government, with particular attention to the American political system at all levels. Emphasis is on the human factor in politics and the realities of government at work. This course satisfies the state college requirement on the Constitution of the United States and California state and local government. Graded or Pass/No Pass option. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: POLS 110.

Advisory: Read and review ALL of the information in the course's website, starting at Orientation. It is very important for you to do so. You will not be able to participate in Module 1 until you have read and reviewed the 'Orientation' in it's entirety. Also read a copy of the U.S. Constitution prior to engaging in any of the course's eight (8) Modules.

Current Political Activity: What makes this course so interesting right now is the 'goins on' surrounding the November 2016 election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States, as well as the future of our nation's local, state, and federal governments. We will be engaging in numerous Discussions (exclusively online) about that election, as well as the 'happenings' in Congress, on Wall Street and the United States Supreme Court, and America in general ...just to name a few! If you've never been concerned about politics in America, this class will (hopefully) wake you up!

Fortunately or unfortunately depending upon your beliefs, political science is in no way a science at all. At best, it is a subjective discipline. It is more realistically politics mixed into government and human action. These are simply instruments of power or the perception thereof. And we’re not talking about “power to the people,” or even to the person, but actually to “The Prince” as described by Niccolo Machiavelli.
 
This course is an introduction to the principles and various issues and problems found in the American government at three levels: national, state and local. This course satisfies the state college requirement on the Constitution of the United States and California state and local government. Graded or Pass/No Pass option.
*Note: You can choose the Pass/No Pass option by submitting a Pass/No Pass Request Form to Coastline's Admissions and Records Office by a specified deadline determined by Coastline's Admissions and Records. Selecting the Pass/No Pass option, as well as the filing of the Pass/No Pass form, is exclusively your responsibility. For additional information and clarification contact Coastline's Admissions and Records.

The course emphasis will be on the human factor in politics, as well as the many realities of exactly how these governments work or don’t work, and why. This course will be somewhat intense in terms of time and information. I invite you to take advantage of Coastline Community College’s Student Success Center. Visit the Student Success Center's comprehensive web-site @ http://www.coastline.edu/services/student-success-center/. The Student Success Center offers students various tools for helping students succeed including, but not limited to, tutoring (face-to-face), study space for all major academic areas including writing, math, science, and accounting, study centers to study alone or in groups, and extended services such as embedded tutors and supplemental instruction. Tutoring is available at all four sites and online. For the latest schedule of walk-in services, visit @ www.coastline.edu/ssc or call 714-241-6184 x17420. Two very helpful contacts at the Student Success Center are Danny Pittaway and Josiah Golojuh.  

As part of Coastline’s effort to improve Distance Learning student’s success rates, Bob Nash, Associate Dean of Distance Learning & Professional Development recommends two courses that he presents. Bob Nash feels these courses are good for continuing students who are having technical difficulties and/or students who are generally struggling with the Distance Learning modality. Bob Nash considers the offering of these two courses is part of Coastline's effort to improve DL student success rates. The two courses Bob Nash recommends are: 
Education 107: Introduction to Distance Learning (1 unit, online)
Education 108:  How to Succeed in Distance Learning (1 unit, online)
For more information you may contact Bob Nash at (714) 241-6223.

Another resource to improve Coastline Community College's student's success rates is the Student Life Office. The Student Life Office Director is Nathan Brais. You can contact him by phone @ 714-241-6134, or via e-mail @ nbrais@coastline.edu
To find out what the Center offers click here. Nathan Brais also suggests that if you wish to find out how to get involved with Coastline's student government or clubs click here.  
Additionally, Coastline offers a course titled Counseling 105. To find out what services the course andCoastline's Counseling Department offers click here: For additional information contact Dr. Nicole Perrine at the Career Services Center. Her e-mail address is: nperrine@coastline.edu.

Lastly, your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of Coastline Community College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.  If you experience barriers based on disability, please contact Celeste Ryan, Instructor/Coordinator, Special Programs and Services at (714) 241-6214 ext. 17217 or cryan@coastline.edu. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, me, and Special Programs.  If you have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations, please contact Celeste Ryan for a confidential intake interview and application for services.
This course may be stressful to some just based upon the contracted time frame, but it is quite beneficial in completing an entire semester course in eight (8) weeks, while receiving the same amount of credits as a 16-week course does.

Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course successful students should be able to:
*Utilize political science theory and terminology to analyze how the national government of the United States and California state and local governments distribute political power, make laws and policies, and enforce or carry out these laws and policies.
*Utilize political science theory and terminology to assess the rights, liberties and obligations of U.S. citizens.

Why On-line?
On-line courses allow instructors to use a variety of learning activities that are not viable in the traditional classroom environment. On-line courses increase student engagement and interaction (extrovert – classroom, introvert – online). A student can “speak” anytime, unlike in a 'brick and mortar' classroom setting, and everyone is given a chance to 'talk'. With less face to face time, on-line courses give students increased flexibility and convenience. A student can have more time to formulate her or his responses so that online Discussion Forums can produce more meaningful discussions relevant to the course material. Students are active (rather than passive) learners as they 'listen' less and 'do' more. It must be emphasized, however, that one must be vigilant in managing time away from the classroom in a new and different way, exclusively online.

How to succeed in this on-line course
There are many resources Coastline offers that you may find beneficial. Coastline requires all new students to participate in an online orientation. If you have yet to participate in Coastline's online orientation I highly recommend you do so. Simply visit this link: www.coastline.edu/students/orientation/.
Additionally, you may find the following recommendations helpful as well:
*You cannot procrastinate. If you have that bad habit, you most likely will not be able to keep up with the fast pace of this course.
*Your computer becomes outdated when it no longer does what you need it to do or want it to do. It is recommended that you possess and/or have access to state of the art computer equipment.
*You need to be a fast learner. Because the course is exclusively online, fast paced, and void of the cushion (face-to-face contact with classmates and instructor) a brick and mortar course offers, you need to be a taskmaster at working alone, and meeting deadlines.
*School must be important to you...period.
*Buy a big calendar, post it where it is easily visible, and refer to it every day.
*If you have questions relating to the course, ask your instructor and your classmates for answers.
*Join a study group.

Etiquette

I recommend you read a 7-page document titled Student Code of Conduct & Disciplinary Procedures. Read the document here:  Again, be mindful that ALL course work, e-mails, Discussion Forum Web Conferences, and any other forms of communication with your classmates and your Instructor is done exclusively online. So, the bottom line on course etiquette is: Respect yourself and others. Treat others as you wish and expect to be treated.

Required Course Materials-Textbooks:
Textbook #1:
Title: Government Matters-American Democracy in Context Edition: 1st Edition
Author: John Anthony Maltese, Joseph A. Pika, and W. Phillips Shively
Publisher: McGraw Hill Higher Education

Here's what Textbook #1 looks like: 

Textbook #2:
Title: California State and Local Government
Author: Craig Scarpelli
Publisher: McGraw Hill Higher Education

Here's what Textbook #2 looks like: 

The two required textbooks are available as a bundle (ISBN# 9781259345555) for this course at Coastline's Bookstore or via the Publisher.

Resources to help you succeed
*Chapter Learning Objectives, Chapter Summaries, Chapter Outlines, and Key Terms for Chapters 1 through 18 in Textbook #1 are available for your review in the Course Lessons.
*PowerPoint presentations for Chapters 1 through 18 in Textbook #1 are available for your review in the Course Lessons.
*Future Readings and Resources for Chapters 1 through 18 in Textbook #1 are available for your review in the Course Lessons.
*Recommended (only) Websites to Visit, Recommended (only) Videos to View, and Recommended (only) Articles to Read are available in the course's eight Modules.

Links to help you succeed

California Government Home Pages
Governor’s Office
State Assembly
State Senate

United States Documents
U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights

United States Government Home Pages
U.S. Congress
House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
U.S. Supreme Court
White House

Political Science Information
Political Science Resources
American Political Science Association

Writing Resources
Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab

Accessibility to Course
If you need a screen reader and you use a Mac computer, you may find this link (Voice Over) quite useful. And for you PC users, here's a link (NVDA) you may find quite useful. Additionally CANVAS offers a guide that goes over some additional accessibility features in CANVAS. Here's the guide's link.

Grading

You will be evaluated in various ways via your participation in the course's exclusively on-line activities and assignments which include eight (8) Discussion Forum Web Conferences (DFWC's), six (6) on-line Quizzes, an online multiple choice Mid-Term Examination, a Midterm Examination Essay, an online multiple choice Final Examination, and a Final Examination Essay.
Note: The multiple choice questions on Quizzes #1 through #6 and the Midterm and Final Examinations M/C Questionnaires are drawn exclusively from information presented in Textbook #1. The Midterm Examination Essay questions are drawn exclusively from information presented in Textbook #1’s Chapters 1-9. The Final Examination Essay questions are drawn exclusively from information presented in all of Textbook #2’s reading material.
Your final grade in the course will be based the number of points you accumulated during the 8-week course on the aforementioned eighteen activities/assignments. It is your responsibility to monitor your performance in the course.


Plagiarism includes (but not limited to) the taking or paraphrasing of an idea, opinion, theory, spoken or written word, of another, and passing it off as your own, without proper citation, referencing, and declaration that this material originated outside of your own work. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty and engaging in it can have serious consequences. Read Coastline's Academic Honesty Policy here. Turnitin.com and other resources are in place to reduce or eliminate academic dishonesty. Students who object to having their work reviewed by Turnitin should not take this class. To learn more about Turnitin, go to: http://turnitin.com/ The best way to reduce and/or eliminate academic dishonesty is to not engage in it. You will not receive any credit (partial and/or full) on any course work containing any language absent of proper citation and/or cobbled together or paraphrased sentences or paragraphs belonging to another that is absent of proper citation. Any course work you submit as your work shall be your work and your words alone. 

Note: Self Plagiarism.

Credit will not be given for any work that is not yours, nor will credit be given for any work containing cobbled together or paraphrased sentences or paragraphs you submit in this current course that you and/or another submitted in any other course, including any course I am presenting or have presented. It is imperative you properly credit your sources. Citations must be MLA (Modern Language Association of America) format or included in bibliographical entry(s) at the end of your work.
For further assistance you may contact Coastline’s Librarian, Elizabeth Horan. Her e-mail address is: Library@coastline.edu. Her phone number (direct line) is (714) 241-6117. You can also text or call her at (714) 696-1573 (Google Voice).

Extra Credit
The course does not offer or consider any extra credit assignments/work.

Student Learning Contract
One of the first things that you must do is to submit a Student Learning Contract. This can be done online. Thoroughly read and answer each agreement statement. At the bottom of the page, select the "Submit Student Learning Contract" button. All students must submit a Student Learning Contract to participate in the course and must submit the Student Learning Contract no later than 11:59 p.m. end of Week-1 of the semester in order to participate in the course. Any student failing to submit the Student Learning Contract by that Due Date will be dropped from the course by the Instructor.

Self Introduction
During the course's first week, go to the course Website and use the Student Introduction section in the Discussion Forum and post a short biography about yourself for the benefit of your fellow classmates. Identify yourself by stating your full name (First name and Last name as you registered in the course with). If you wish, include your interests, the reason for taking this course, and a photo of yourself (photo is optional).

 

Do Not Procrastinate
ALL course work has Due Dates/Times (Pacific Standard Time). You are in charge of completing the course work, and it is your responsibility to be mindful of the course work's Due Dates, as well as the time allotted to complete the course work. To stay organized, create a Due Date timetable for yourself.

You can avoid getting behind if you DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. Let me make it clear that ANY LATE, INCOMPLETE, AND/OR MISSING COURSE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ANY course work submitted through an e-mail and/or an attachment(s) thereof will not be accepted for evaluation or credit. I do not accept technology failure as an excuse for any late, incomplete, or missing course work. Unless CANVAS itself has network problems, internet connectivity problems on your end are exclusively your responsibility. I have no control over CANVAS. I only have control over course content. If you need technical assistance contact Coastline's Tech Support directly @ (714) 241-6282. I only have control over course content. If you need technical assistance contact Coastline's Tech Support directly @ (714) 241-6282.
Note: An alternate pathway to log into Canvas is available at this website:
https://coastdistrict.instructure.com/login/canvas. The website requires your college email as user name and a password that you set up. The instructions to do this are also offered at the Canvas Support page at http://www.coastline.edu/canvas/.
To guarantee your work is submitted by the Due Date, completely familiarize yourself with how to operate/navigate through CANVAS before you engage in any course work. Do not wait until the last few days, hours, or minutes before the Due Date expires to submit your course work. Please note that to engage in and submit ANY course work to be considered for credit you will need to enable pop-ups in your browser. This is how the system will alert you when you are getting close to being logged out.

Discussions
Eight Discussions will be posted during this 8-week course. Your engagements in each respective Discussion, and the points you'll achieve on each respective Discussion will be evaluated by, and based on, three criteria: Organization, Content, and Interpretation. Each Discussion has a seven (7) day/one hundred-sixty-eight (168) hours engagement time frame. Each Discussion's time frame starts when it is posted on the aforementioned Mondays at 12:01 a.m. and each Discussion ends seven (7) days (one hundred-sixty-eight (168) hours later on the following Sunday at 11:59 p.m. 
Note: Be sure to read the entire Discussion Due Date Timetable document and the Discussion Guidelines documents. The links to the documents are provided below.
Consider Discussions as the equivalent of class members in a 'brick and mortar' classroom discussing and/or debating an issue(s). You should respond to all eight (8) of the Discussions.
Post your initial responses to each respective Discussion proposed questions within the first four (4) days (ninety-six (96) hours) of the respective Discussion's Start Date. Be sure to identify yourself by your first and last name as you are registered in the course.
Note: You will only receive half credit if your initial responses to each of the respective Discussion's proposed questions are posted after the aforementioned first four (4) day time-frame.
During the remaining three (3) days the respective Discussion is open, respond to a minimum of four (4) of your classmate's initial posts. Discuss what you agree with, or what you do not agree with in your classmate's initial posts, and why. In your responses to classmate's initial posts, be sure to identify them (and yourself) by first and last names.

Note: You will not receive any credit for engagements posted after the respective Discussion has closed.

Discussion's Due Dates Timetable and Guidelines

Discussion Due Dates Timetable. Discussion Guidelines. 

List of Assignments
Keep track of scores you achieve. Check to be sure you are completing all required assignments:
Quizzes #1 thru #6 up to 10 points each = up to 60 Points
Discussions #1 thru #8 up to 10 points each = up to 80 Points
Midterm Examination M/C = up to 50 Points
Midterm Examination Essay = up to 50 Points
Final Examination M/C = up to 50 Points
Final Examination Essay = up to 50 Points
Total=340 Points

Grading scale
Total Possible Points = 340
306 and up = A
272 to 305 = B
238 to 271 = C
204 to 237 = D
203 and below = F

Quizzes
There are six Quizzes. The Multiple Choice questions on each respective Quiz are drawn from information provided in Textbook #1. Each Quiz consists of ten (10) multiple choice questions worth one (1) point each.
There are no previews, reviews, or retakes of the respective chapter quizzes. Know the reading material and be thoroughly familiar with CANVAS before you take any of your six (6) Quizzes. When you are ready to take a Quiz, make sure, double check that you are opening the Quiz you are intending to take. When you open up any of the six Quizzes, whether by mistake or not, that constitutes taking that Quiz. To guarantee your six (6) Quizzes are completed by their respective Due Dates, don't wait until the last few days, hours, or minutes before the Due Date expires to complete your six (6) Quizzes.

Examinations
The Mid-Term Examination Multiple Choice (M/C) Questionnaire taken on line is worth 50 points (Each question is worth 1 point each). The Final Examination Multiple Choice (M/C) Questionnaire taken on line is worth 50 points (Each question is worth 1 point each).
There are no previews, reviews, or retakes of the Midterm Examination M/C Questionnaire and/or Essay or the Final Examination M/C Questionnaire and/or Essay. Know the reading material and be thoroughly familiar with CANVAS before you take your Midterm and Final Examinations.
When you are ready to take your Midterm and Final Examinations M/C questionnaires, make sure, double check that you are opening the M/C Examination you are intending to take. If you open up either of those Examinations by mistake or not, that constitutes taking the Examination (either one and/or both of them).
The answer(s) you submit for your Midterm and Final Examination Essays shall be your work and yours alone, written in your own words, so properly credit your sources. The completed Midterm and Final Examination Essays are worth up to fifty (50) points each respectively. The Midterm and Final Examination Essays are not timed but do have Due Date as stated above. Note: The Final Examination's Essay questions are drawn exclusively from the material presented in textbook #2 by Scarpelli and your essays (answers) are to be based exclusively on that material only.

Quiz and Examination Due Dates
Quiz and Examination Due Dates Timetable.

 

 

Recommended (only) Exercises-Articles to Read-Videos to View-Websites to Visit

The recommended (only) exercises, articles to read, videos to view, and websites to visit published in this course are recommended only. They are not a required or graded activity-assignment and have no bearing on the final grade you will achieve in the course. Rather, they are availed to you, as well as any interested person, with the purpose of helping you, and them, to better understand the complex issues that impacts your (and theirs) daily life. The issues will include, but not be limited to, local, state, and federal budgets-expenditures, tax policies, legal reforms, land and waste cleanup efforts, political-social problems, quality of life concerns, our climate…and more!

Dropping the Course
You are responsible to complete OR officially withdraw from the course. If for some reason(s) you are no longer interested in the course, or you have not kept up with course Assignments/Activities, or you are not satisfied with your performance in the course, it is your responsibility to inform Coastline's Admissions and Records and file with them an official drop request prior to the course's final withdrawal date (as determined by them) to avoid receiving a failing grade in the course.
Note: You may be dropped from the course by the Instructor if you do not weekly participate in and complete all of the required course assignments-activities of any single week.

Summary
Review the course's Website and Syllabus often. Some of the above information may change, so don't just print this out and not go back to see what may have changed. If you have read this Syllabus, send me an e-mail no later than 11:59 p.m. last date to add the class informing me you have and request five and seven-tenths points for doing so. This offer expires at 11:59 p.m. on the last date to add the class.

Note:
The course syllabus is as an educational contract between the instructor and students. At times, changes may be made to the syllabus as deemed necessary for errors or updates. Students will be notified in a timely manner of any syllabus changes via the course site Announcements. Learn to set your notification preferences in CANVAS, such as via email or text.

Good luck in the course,
MB