Online Course Syllabus POL 1113: American National Government Fall 2015 Instructor Information Name & contact: Marija Naumoski (MA, University of Central Oklahoma). All inquiries must be sent via UCO's email address. Email: mnaumoski@uco.edu. I will respond to all messages within 48 hours on Monday through Friday. Messages sent over the weekend will receive replies the following workweek. Marija Naumoski has graduated with her Master's Degree in 2012 at the University of Central Oklahoma. Marija is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Community College. Course description: This course is an introductory analysis of the origin, structure, and functions of the United States national government. Course Objectives: A successful completion of this course will require that a student achieves average or better fundamental knowledge of American government, factual information, understanding of concepts, and critical analysis of some of the major problems and issues that have confronted the Republic since its beginnings. Course Text and MindTap: Gateways to Democracy: The Essentials (with MindTap Political Science Printed Access Card), 3rd Edition. ISBN-10: 1-285-85291-5; ISBN-13: 978-1-285-85291-1 You will be using MindTap for this course. MindTap is an online learning solution designed with the intention to stimulate your engagement. Please, access MindTap by following the specific instructions I have emailed you. You need to have this sheet when you are prompted for the MindTap key. Course Requirements All Assigned Work Must Be Completed. In order to pass the course you must complete the entire problem sets, quizzes, article critiques, research paper and final exam. Failure to complete any of these course requirements will result in your receiving an F for the course. Readings (14 chapters): Once you are in MindTap you will be able to do the readings online as well as from your textbook. Every week there is a topic and a chapter that will be covered. You must keep up with the material. MindTap Weekly Focus Activities (one per chapter): After reading the chapter, each week, AND before you take the weekly quiz in MindTap; you are required to take the MindTap problem sets. Cumulatively, the problem sets account for 25% of your grade. The problem sets are due at the end of each week (usually Sunday before midnight). MindTap Weekly Quizzes (one per chapter): For every chapter you must take a short quiz comprised of multiple-choice questions that test your knowledge of the readings. Cumulatively, the quizzes account for 25% of your grade. There will be a fixed time frame to take the quizzes (they must be completed by the 1
following Sunday at 11:00 pm) so please pay attention to it. The MindTap weekly quizzes are due at the end of each week. Article Critique: Submit it via Dropbox in D2L. Each student will select one article from a credible news source or scholarly journal and will write a 2-3 pages (typed & double-spaced) critique and analysis of the contents. The critique accounts for 10% of your grade. Note: Anything less than 2 complete pages will be penalized! In addition, the paper should primarily be in the form of a critique and NOT an informed summary. Cite the article and any additional sources that you may have used on your work-cited page. Articles have to relate with government somehow (war, policy, abortion, right-to-die, etc.). The article critique is due October 5 th. As for the formatting, please see the Instructions for Written Assignments listed below. Important: Three weeks before the actual due date of the paper, I will ask each of you to choose the topic for this assignment. You need to email me your Article Critique topic before September 7 th, 2015. The topic may be just a word or two, or a sentence describing what specific issue interests you. After I approve your topic, you will proceed with finding an article under that topic. Finally, you critique that article. Research Paper: Submit it via Dropbox in D2L. Each student will write 4-page (type & double-spaced) research paper on a particular Supreme Court decision. You do not make the choice yourselves! I will randomly assign each of you with a particular Court decision. This assignment accounts for 15% of your grade. To be fair to the majority of the students who get their work in on time, assignments submitted after the due date will be penalized a letter grade for each late day. Note: Anything less than 4 complete pages will be penalized! While you must cite sufficient references to make your paper convincing, this assignment requires a minimum of six references from outside sources. The research paper is due November 16 th, 2015. Papers will be graded on topic selection, format, grammar, writing style, research documentation, research quality, content delivery, and analysis. As for the formatting, please see the Instructions for Written Assignments listed below. Midterm Exam: The midterm exam covers Chapters 1-7 and accounts for 10% of your grade. It will be available for you in Week 8 of the semester, in MindTap. It will be timed and it will become available on October 12 th, 2015. Everyone must take it by October 18 th, 2015. Final Exam: The final exam is comprehensive and accounts for 15% of your grade. It will be available for you in the last week of the semester, in MindTap. It will be timed and it will become available for everyone to take it in the last week of the semester starting December 7 th, 2015. Everyone must take it by December 11 th, 2015. Instructions for All Written Assignments Submit your paper with a cover page and work cited page One-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) Use 12-point Times New Roman only Last name with page numbers should be placed in the top right hand corner of the paper (e.g. Naumoski 1) Use MLA format which you can find beginning on pg. 601 of your text The use of block quotes is unacceptable for any written paper, nor the excessive use of regular quotes, unless I approve it Unless there are exceptional circumstances which can be documented (e.g. death in immediate family or personal illness accompanied by a doctor s note, college-sponsored activity, etc.), late papers will be penalized 10 points per day, not class period, if the professor decides to accept it. 2
Even if a student can provide documentation, your professor has full discretion in determining whether or not to accept the late paper. Evaluation and Grading Final Exam (Dec. 7-11) 15% Weekly Wrap It Up Quizzes (MindTap, 1/chapter) 25% Weekly Focus Activities (MindTap 1/chapter) 25% Midterm Exam (Oct. 12-18) 10% Article Critique 10% Research Paper 15% Total 100% Grade Scale: 100-90% A; 89-80% B; 79-70% C; 69-60% D; <60% F. Grade Computation: I round up at 0.5 and down at 0.4 (e.g., a final score of 89.5 earns an "A." A final score of 89.4 earns "B"). Course Policies 1. You have enrolled in an online class. You are required to have immediate access of a reliable and compatible online system. This course will be conducted using D2L and it will not meet face-toface. You will access MindTap as instructed in a specific document you shall receive at the beginning of the semester. MindTap is mandatory. 2. All Work Must Be Completed or Students Will Fail the Course. In order to pass the course, you must complete all the problem sets, all the quizzes, the article critique, the research paper, and the final exam. If you fail to complete any of the mentioned required assignments, you will receive an F for the course. 3. No make-ups for quizzes: In order to be fair to everyone, all students are required to take the quizzes within the scheduled times. The quizzes and final exam will be timed, so pay attention to the length of time you have to complete them. Make-ups are NOT permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. death in immediate family or incapacitating illness) and the student notifies the instructor BEFORE the quiz or exam time period has expired. Exceptional circumstances will require written documentation of that circumstance. I reserve the right to determine what constitutes an exceptional circumstance and whether a make-up quiz or exam will be granted. 4. Late assignments: To be fair to the majority of the students who get their work in on time, late discussion responses and the research paper will be marked down 10% for each late day. 5. Meeting and corresponding with your professor: In D2L, the Course Q&A will be used for all questions. If you have a specific question that pertains to your grade please email me. I will post all course-related information in the Course Q&A. Please have in mind that course questions and email typically will be answered within 48 hours. However, weekend emails will not be answered until the following workweek. 3
6. Participation Policy: The course has been structured into sessions that follow the typical format of a traditional classroom environment with the coursework to be completed in online D2L course. While your participation is vital to the success of the teaching and learning environment in any course, it is critical in the online environment. Each section has been structured to follow the same format. Quizzes, problem sets, the final exam, the article critique, and the research paper all have deadlines. YOU MUST KEEP UP! Failure to complete your assignments on time will result in course failure. In the online environment, I expect to "see" your presence and quality activity in each session. You must plan to spend time in the online course each week. According to Regents' policy, at the undergraduate level, this means that for each hour in class, a student is expected to spend at least three (3) hours doing homework. For a three credit hour class, a student is expected to spend nine (9) hours a week doing homework. (OSRHE II-2-34) 7. Coursework Standards: All written assignments are expected to meet college level standards of proficiency. Please pay attention to spelling, grammar and style. As for the formatting, please see the Instructions for Written Assignments listed below. 8. Academic dishonesty: Includes but is not limited to the "giving" and "taking" of improper assistance in examinations and assignments; not adhering to correct procedures for identification of sources in reports and essays and all creative endeavors; intentional misrepresentation; cheating; plagiarism; and unauthorized possession of examinations. The UCO Student Code of Conduct provides further details. 9. Plagiarism. When a student submits any assignment for a course (written, oral, videotape, audiotape, photograph or web site), the student will submit entirely original work or will properly cite all sources utilized in the preparation of the assignment. Without proper citation, the student is guilty of plagiarism, which is not tolerated at UCO. 10. UCO subscribes to the "TurnItIn" plagiarism prevention service (turnitin.com). Students agree by taking this course that all required assignments may be subject to submission for a "TurnItIn" textual similarity review for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com restricted access reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. UCO UCOnnect Statement: The University of Central Oklahoma News and Networking Educational Communication Tool is a secure web site providing UCO students, faculty, and administrative staff with up-to-the minute campus communications. UConnect provides single log-on connections to check grades and schedules, add or drop classes, and access online course information. It's the official communication tool of the university, so students are expected to use their UConnect and/or D2L account regularly to remain current on campus information and activities and to receive e-mail communication from faculty and administrative offices. For additional information or help with your connection, contact Technology Support at 974-2255. Preparing for online learning with D2L: D2L is UCO's online learning system. The online learning may be a new experience for you. I would recommend that you go to the orientation page: http://www.uco.edu/cece/orientation_d2l2/ to familiarize yourself with D2L. The D2L Student Support at this page will also help you with tips for navigating D2L. Accessing the course: You can access this course in two ways: at learn.uco.edu, or through UCO s UCONNECT system. Go to learn.uco.edu or http://uconnect.uco.edu and log in with your UCONNECT user ID and password. Online problems: I am not an IT professional and I cannot be a resource for course technology issues. If you encounter any technology problems with this course, please contact Technology Support at 405-974- 4
2255 for help, or visit the UCO help desk online at: Help Desk. If you are unable to log in, contact Technology Support at 405-974-2255 as soon as possible. ADA Statement Regarding Special Accommodations: The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations must contact the assistant director of Disability Support Services (DSS) in room 309 of the Nigh University Center or by telephone at 405.974.2549. It is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor as soon as possible after the DSS has verified the need for accommodations to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion Incompletes. Incompletes are allowed in very limited circumstances and require an advance agreement between student and professor concerning timelines for completion of coursework. See syllabus attachment. The Department s Policies. Students are responsible for all information in the Student Code of Conduct. This can be accessed at: http://www.uco.edu/student-affairs/conduct/forms-andpublications/code.asp Expectations Expectations of students - I expect you to: Log in into the course page every day Check your e-mails daily Keep up with the material covered every week Complete your MindTap quizzes and problem sets on time every week Produce an article critique and research paper with your own work and submitted on time Abide by the standards of academic honesty and student code of conduct Seek help (instructor, Course Q&A ) when you don t understand a topic Aspire to enjoy learning about politics and government you can do it and I ll do everything in my power to help you! Expectations of the instructor - You can expect me to: Provide comprehensive learning material on time every week Provide an ongoing Course Q&A forum, check it at least three times a week and respond to student postings Create quizzes and exams that reflect the stated learning expectations for the course Grade your work fairly Reply promptly to all your inquiries Be of help Show you how important government is by using real examples Do my best to get you to appreciate and enjoy politics! 5