Page 1 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO SCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AMERICAN NAT L GOV. (PSCI 2213) ONLINE COURSE SYLLABUS Fall 2014 Instructor: Mr. Nick Provencher Office: MCB 206 Email: Office Phone: 870-460-1189 /Virtual Hours: will also be considered virtual hours where I will address your comments and concerns. Through the duration of the course you can expect a response to your inquiries within 24 hours or by the close of business the following day. No Emails will be responded to after 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon. This creates a 48 hour gap on the weekend where the instructor cannot be reached. Please voice any and all concerns before this time. Online students are always welcome and encouraged to stop by the office during the posted hours, or make an appointment. Fall 2014 Schedule of for Mr. Provencher Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 8:10-9:00 9:10-10:00 (from 9:40) American (from 9:40) American (9:00-11:00) 10:10-11:00 National Government National Government 11:10-12:00 Law and Law and By Appt Only (12:00-2:00) (12:00-2:00) 12:10-1:00 Society Society (till 12:30) (till 12:30) 1:10-2:00 Research Methods (1:30-4:00) Research Methods (1:30-4:00) 2:10-3:00 (till 2:30) (till 2:30) (2:40-4:00) (to 2:40-4:00)
Page 2 3:10 4:00 * subject to change; students will be advised of any changes in writing. (Meetings outside of Office Hours will occur by appointment only). Point of Contact/ Communication: In order to maintain a reliable method of communication with me following the instructions below: You must have A valid UAM email account that you check no less than every other day. Because there are far too many ways to communicate these days (email, texts, facebook, etc) I ve decided to only use one of them for this course UAM email. USE YOUR UAM EMAIL ACCOUNT FOR ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO ME! DO NOT TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME IN ANY OTHER WAY, DO NOT USE BLACKBOARD S EMAIL FUNCTION. If your UAM email isn t working then it is imperative that you get it working. Course Description: PSCI 2213 American National Government 3 credits: 3 hours lecture Constitutional principles, political parties and public opinion, civil rights, organization and functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Prerequisites: None Required Texts: Charles C. Turner, D. Grier Stephenson, Jr., Robert J. Bressler, Robert J. Friedrich, Joseph J. Karlesky Introduction to American National Government 7 th Ed. ISBN: 9781618823915 BVT Publishing (2014) Course Objective: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of American Government, Politics, and Organization. Students, through this course, will gain an understanding of how the American political system works, what are the major institutions, who are the primary political actors, what are the main influences on the system, and how the system affects American policy. In addition, this new found understanding will help students become better citizens in their community. Student Learning Outcomes: By the conclusion of this course students will be able to discuss and evaluate political and policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels. They will establish critical thinking and writing skills that allows them to comprehend and formulate educated opinions on policy and legislation at all levels of government. Technical Support Contact Office of Academic Computing; phone 870-460-1663. Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Help Desk at fendley@uamont.edu or phone 870-460-1663. The computer section in the Library is open during regular Library hours. Visit this address to see when the Taylor Library is open: (http://www.uamont.edu/library/) Issues with Email: Contact the Office of Information Technology; phone 870-460-1036; open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. 4:30 p.m.
Page 3 The Student Handbook for Distance Education is available at the following link: http://www.uamont.edu/academiccomputing/ MINIMUM TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS: For minimum technology requirements, visit: http://kb.blackboard.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageid=38830689 Example: Access to a working computer with Internet capability. Operating System: Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Macintosh OS X Hardware: 256 MB of RAM, 1GB free hard disk space Microsoft Office 2007 recommended Connection to the Internet: (broadband connection, such as RoadRunner, Satellite Internet or DSL, is preferred). Broadband connections are recommended for assessments. Grading Policy Grading Scale: A= 90 100 B= 80 89 C= 70 79 D= 60 69 F= 59 and below 12 Chapter Quizzes- 60% (5% each) Comprehensive final-40% Total= 100% T=.60(CQ) +.40(CF) Special dates of concern: SESSION FIRST CLASS DAY LAST CLASS DAY LAST DAY TO DROP WITH A W Full Term (1) August 20 December 12 October 29 August 20 (Wed) First day of classes. August 22 (Fri) Last day to register or add classes. September 1 (Mon) Labor Day Holiday. Offices and classes closed. October 29 (Wed) Last day to drop a session 1 class or withdraw from the term. Grade(s) will be W. November 3 (Mon) Nov 14 (Fri) - Preregistration for Spring 2015 November 27-28 (Thurs-Fri) - Thanksgiving Holiday. Offices and classes closed. December 5 (Fri) - Last day of classes. Attendance The completion of your quizzes and exams will be counted as attendance. If you fail to take your quizzes or exam you will be counted as absent and receive no points for the assignment. Chapter quizzes: There will be twelve online graded chapter quizzes. The first quiz will be over your syllabus. Quiz two will be over chapters one and two of your book. After that each quiz will cover one chapter of your book. Before you take each quiz, read the chapter at least twice and make sure to outline the chapter. You may use your book to answer
Page 4 each quiz question. After you ve taken each quiz and it has been graded, print out a copy of it. Trust me, this is important as the final exam will be closed book but each question will come from the chapter quizzes*. *Quizzes will be posted at the beginning of the week and must be completed by the following Sunday at 12:00 Midnight. YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO TAKE A QUIZ. STUDY HARD! GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. In order to be fully prepared before you take the quiz I would recommend reading the chapter twice. I would also recommend outlining the chapter for easier reference. Each quiz is timed. I believe I have given ample time to answer each question correctly, but only if you are already familiar with the information in the chapter. You will not have enough time to look for each answer cold. Final Exam: The final exam will be proctored at the UAM testing center. In order to accommodate your schedule, you will be given the entire week of finals to take your final exam but it must be taken on campus. Finals are scheduled for the week of Dec. 8 th -12 th. You will need to set up an appointment directly with the testing center at 870 460-1454 or email Laura Hughes at hughesl@uamont.edu. Do not contact me for an appointment or show up to my office to take the test! The testing center can only accommodate a few students at a time. This means that you will need to contact the testing center no later than Dec 5 th to make an appointment. Remember, you must begin taking the test two hours before the testing center closes, therefore the latest appointment you can make will be for 2:30 pm. Student Conduct Statement Students at the University of Arkansas at Monticello are expected to conduct themselves appropriately, keeping in mind that they are subject to the laws of the community and standards of society. The student must not conduct him/herself in a manner that disrupts the academic community or breaches the freedom of other students to progress academically. Academic Dishonesty 1. Cheating: Students shall not give, receive, offer, or solicit information on examinations, quizzes, etc. This includes but is not limited to the following classes of dishonesty: a. Copying from another student s paper; b. Use during the examination of prepared materials, notes, or texts other than those specifically permitted by the instructor; c. Collaboration with another student during the examination; d. Buying, selling, stealing, soliciting, or transmitting an examination or any material purported to be the unreleased contents of coming examinations or the use of any such material; e. Substituting for another person during an examination or allowing such substitutions for oneself. 2. Collusion: Collusion is defined as obtaining from another party, without specific approval in advance by the instructor, assistance in the production of work offered for credit to the extent that the work reflects the ideas of the party consulted rather than those of the person whose name in on the work submitted. 3. Duplicity: Duplicity is defined as offering for credit identical or substantially unchanged work in two or more courses, without specific advanced approval of the instructors involved.
Page 5 4. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as adopting and reproducing as one s own, to appropriate to one s use, and to incorporate in one s own work without acknowledgement the ideas or passages from the writings or works of others. For any instance of academic dishonesty that is discovered by the instructor, whether the dishonesty is found to be cheating, collusion, duplicity, or plagiarism, the result for the student(s) involved will be a zero from the assignment, and possible termination from the course. The student(s) will also be referred to the administration to determine if any additional action is needed.