Texas Government 2306 Spring 2011 Blinn College- Bryan Campus SYLLABUS

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1 Texas Government 2306 Spring 2011 Blinn College- Bryan Campus SYLLABUS Section: C7 MW 4:15-5:30pm A125 Instructor: Patrick Gilbert Office Location: A141 Office Phone: Office Hours: MW 3:00-4:00 and by appointment Webpage: COURSE DESCRIPTION: Government 2306 consists of a study of the organization, functions, and administration of state and local government including a study of the state constitution. The primary factors considered relate to the three branches of government (Judicial, Executive, Legislative), historical documents (Constitution), events that shaped our state and current events. Three credit hours. PREREQUISITES: Appropriate score on the THEA test or alternate test or completion or READ 0306 with a grade of C or better. CORE CURRICULUM COURSE: This is a Core Course in the 42-Hour Core of Blinn College. As such, students will develop proficiency in the appropriate Intellectual Competencies, Exemplary Educational Objectives, and Perspectives. The URL for the Blinn College Core Curriculum web site is: COURSE OBJECTIVES AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successfully completing Government 2306, students should have a working knowledge of the following: Discuss the political culture and the economic, social, ethnic, and geographic diversity of the state. Trace the development of the current Texas Constitution. Examine local government, federalism, and intergovernmental relationships. Determine the role of ideology and political parties in Texas. Determine the role of interest groups and individual political participation in Texas. Explain the structure, roles and functions of the Texas executive branch, including state agencies. Identify the primary components of the Texas legislature, its major functions and its effectiveness. Analyze the structure, functions and effectiveness of the Texas court system. Evaluate policy formulation and implementation. Evaluate fiscal policy matters such as taxing, spending, and budgeting. 1

2 TEXTBOOK (Required): Brown, L.C., Langenegger, J.A., Garcia, S.R., Lewis, T.A., & Biles,R.E. ( 2009). Practicing T exas Politics, update. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co. ISBN-13: AMERICANS with DISABILITIES ACT STATEMENT: In order to receive accommodations on exams or assignments, proper documentation must first be provided to the Office of Disability Services. Contact an ADA representative to set up an accommodations meeting at or Students must then present this documentation to the instructor as soon as possible so that accommodations may be arranged. CIVILITY STATEMENT: Members of the Blinn College community, which includes faculty, staff and students, are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all aspects of campus life. Blinn College holds all members accountable for their actions and words. Therefore, all members should commit themselves to behave in a manner that recognizes personal respect and demonstrates concern for the personal dignity, rights, and freedoms of every member of the College community, including respect for College property and the physical and intellectual property of others. If a student is asked to leave the classroom because of uncivil behavior, the student may not return to that class until he or she arranges a conference with the instructor: It is the student's responsibility to arrange for this conference. ATTENDANCE: The College District believes that class attendance is essential for student success; therefore, students are required to promptly and regularly attend all their classes. Each class meeting builds the foundation for subsequent class meetings. Without full participation and regular class attendance, students shall find themselves at a severe disadvantage for achieving success in college. Class participation shall constitute at least ten percent of the final course grade. It is the responsibility of each faculty member, in consultation with the division chair, to determine how participation is achieved in his or her class. Faculty will require students to regularly attend class and will keep a record of attendance from the first day of class and/or the first day the student's name appears on the roster through final examinations. If a student has one week's worth of unexcused absences during the semester, he/she will be sent an by the College requiring the student to contact his/her instructor and schedule a conference immediately to discuss his/her attendance issues. Should the student accumulate two week of unexcused absences, he/she will be administratively withdrawn from class. Class Number of missed classes Required action by Instructor MWF 3 (1 week of absences) Warning from Blinn College MW / TR 2 (1 week of absences) Warning from Blinn College MWF 6 (2 weeks of absences) Withdrawn from course MW / TR 4 (2 weeks of absences) Withdrawn from course 2

3 There are three forms of excused absences recognized by the institution. 1. Observance of religious holy days. The student should notify his/her instructor(s) no later than the 15th day of the semester concerning specific date(s) that the student will be absent for any religious holy day(s). 2. Representing Blinn College at an official institutional function. 3. Military Service (active duty). The drop date for this semester is Friday, April 15th No food or drinks in the classroom. Students are expected to dress in a clean, modest, and acceptable manner. Blinn College does not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or collusion. Procedures for dealing with these acts are outlined in the Scholastic Dishonesty Policy. STUDENT ACCOUNTS: Students have been issued a Blinn College account, which can be accessed at Follow the link to set up your account. All official communications will be through this address. ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY: All the functions of all personal electronic devices designed for communication and/or entertainment (cell phones, pagers, beepers, ipods, and similar devices) must be turned off and kept out of sight in all Blinn College classrooms and associated laboratories. Any noncompliance with this policy will be addressed in accordance with the Blinn College civility policy (Administrative Policy). Additionally, any communication understood by the instructor to be in the nature of cheating will have consequences in accordance with this Blinn College policy section regarding academic dishonesty [FLB (Local)]. Students exempt from this policy section include, active members of firefighting organizations, emergency medical services organizations, commissioned police officers, on-call employees of any political subdivision of the state of Texas, or agencies of the federal government. Exempted students are expected to set the emergency-use devices on silent or vibrate mode only. COURSE OUTCOMES 1. Students will become knowledgeable about the basic elements of Texas government. 2. Students will understand the bureaucratic structure. 3. Students will be able to apply the information learned to their own personal interactions with the Texas government. COURSE REQUIREMENTS and GRADING POLICY: This course will consist of three exams, a writing assignment, quizzes, a course project, and a comprehensive final exam. The quizzes will be given sporadically and in varying forms. Quizzes are the required class participation grade. All exams will be given in class. Questions for the exams and quizzes will stem from the lectures, notes, and readings. Make-up exams will be scheduled by consulting with the instructor upon returning to class. If the exam is not completed within one week upon returning, the student will receive a grade of zero on that particular exam. 3

4 The grading criteria and scale for the course is listed below: Exams- Avg. x.40 Writing Assignment- Score x.10 Quizzes- Avg. x.15 Project- Score x.15 + Final Exam- Score x.20 Final Grade A= % B= 80-89% C= 70-79% D= 60-69% F= 0-59% COURSE MATERIALS In addition to the course text you will need a total of 4 scantrons to use on the exams throughout the semester. In addition, you will need paper, pens, pencils, and a red pen. WRITING ASSIGNMENT Due: April 6th A writing assignment will be given to gauge your knowledge and comprehension and critical thinking of the course material. More information will be given in class. PROJECT Due: April 20th For the course project you may choose from several options. The purpose of this project is to have you interact with your government and as a result become knowledge about how it operates. Listed below are some ideas that you may use. If there is something else that you would like to do, please consult me first for approval. You are more than welcome to turn your project in before the deadline. Whatever your choice, you must turn in a 1-2 page description. If you choose to write a letter a copy of it will suffice. For those who decide to attend a meeting, you must provide the meeting agenda also. At the end of the semester these will be presented to the class. Options: Write a letter to a local or state official Attend a meeting of the local government (City Council, Commissioners Court, Blinn College Trustees, etc.) Meet with a government official Read a book written by or about a current or former Texas government official and write a short review Review a state agency Research and write about a government official past or present Etc. (other ideas must be approved first) COURSE SCHEDULE With the exception of week 1, you are required to complete the readings before the week begins. This will ensure that you will be prepared to participate in the class discussions. *The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus. 4

5 Weekly Topics Covered Week 1 (January 17 th & 19 th ) MLK Holiday / Introduction to Texas Government & Chapter 1 Week 2 (January 24 th & 26 th ) Chapter 2 - Federalism / Texas Constitution Week 3 (January 31 st & February 2 nd ) Chapter 3- Local Government Week 4 (February 7 th and February 9 th ) Review and Exam 1 this week Week 5 (February 14 th & 16 th ) Chapters 4 & 6 Political Parties & Interest Groups Week 6 (February 21 st & 23 rd ) Chapter 5- Public Participation Week 7 (February 28 th & March 2 nd ) Chapter 7- Legislative Branch Week 8 (March 7 th & March 9 th ) Review and Exam 2 this week (Spring Break March 14 th & 16 th ) NO CLASS!! HAVE A SAFE WEEK!! Week 9 (March 21 st & 23 rd ) Chapter 8- Executive Branch Week 10 (March 28 th & 30 th ) Chapter 9- The Bureaucracy Week 11 (April 4 th & 6 th ) Chapter 10- Judiciary Branch Week 12 (April 11 th & 13 th ) Chapter 11- Fiscal Policy Week 13 (April 18 th & April 20 th ) Review and Exam 3 Week 14 (April 25 th & 27 th ) Present course projects Week 15 (May 2 nd ) Course Review FINAL EXAM Monday, May 9 th 3:15-5:15 The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government. -Sam Houston 5