American National
Government 2302--Web

Instructor:	Dr. Brian K. Dille
Office:	Deaderick Hall 209
Office Phone:	915/335-6592
Fax:	915/335/6860
E-mail:	bdille@odessa.edu
Surface Mail:	Odessa College 201 West University Odessa, Texas 79764
Office Hours:	Mon/Wed/Fri: 8:30-10:00 a.m., 11-11:30 a.m. Tuesday/Thursday: 9-9:30 a.m.
Blackboard:	Click here to go to the Blackboard login page and click on "Create Account" and fill in all fields in Section 2 with asterisks and ALL of Section 3.  Choose a User Name and Password that you will remember--and write them down!!  Provide your phone number in Section 4 and click on "Submit" in Section 5. (This is necessary for you to be able to log-on and take your on-line exams.) Then find "Course Catalog" and search and click on "American National Government 2302:--click "Enroll" --you will see the Self-Enrollment form.  To enroll successfully, you will need to type in the class Access Code: "Supremes".   Click on "Submit" and you should be in.  From this point on, you will only need to login each time, click "Courses", then "Government 2302", and you will be in my course for test-taking, assignments, announcements, etc.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To present the basic concepts of politics that will better enable you, the student, to understand American and Texas government and politics.

2. To motivate you, the student, to take an interest in and understand issues and problems facing the United States, Texas, and Odessa or city which you live in.

3. To stimulate you, the student, to exercise your privileges and obligations as a U.S. citizen, through participation in local, state, and national political activities.

DROP POLICY

You are responsible for dropping this class if you quit doing the work. The instructor will not do so . Failure to drop results in an F.

We will have four discussion group topics in this course. The discussions are not 'at will' but are considered an integral part of your learning.  The selected topics will be posted online with specific instructions and due date. You will receive a grade for your discussion and responses to the other students' comments. Please see the discussion topics for detailed instructions. To enter into the discussion area you will go to Blackboard.   You must participate in all four discussion topics.  At the end of the discussion period, you must post your final "Summary" of the discussion topic on Blackboard.  Click on the "Communication" button and then on the "Discussion Board" and then on "Send Files" to post all assignments.  Please follow the instructions as given.  If you have any questions, please contact your instructor.

There will be four exams, each worth 100 points. They will consist of two parts: objective, multiple choice, and matching; and essay. Possible essay questions will be provided from each of the units to aid in your study. A 200 point final exam will be given all objective questions. You must schedule the final exam to be taken on the assigned day in either the OC Testing Center or a secure testing facility. Arrangement must be approved by the instructor.

I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE A VALID REASON FOR MISSING AN EXAM. YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO TAKE A MAKE-UP FOR AN INVALID REASON.

MAKE-UP EXAMS AND QUIZZES

If you are unable to take a test during the assigned time period, you need to contact the instructor ASAP. Failure to do this will result in a loss of a letter grade on the exam. Otherwise, there are no make-ups. I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE IF YOUR REASON FOR MISSING AN EXAM IS INVALID AND IF I SUSPECT IT IS, YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO TAKE A MAKE-UP.

Four discussion topics will be posted and mandatory for all students to participate in as part of the discussion grade. Each question will be worth up to 50 (fifty) points. Discussion topics will be posted for a total of two weeks and your responses are due by the Friday of the second week.

Four Internet assignments will be required. Each will be worth a total of 50 (fifty) points. Two of the mandatory Internet assignments are listed--one from Unit 1 on Civil Liberties and one from Unit 2 on Civil Rights.  The other two Internet assignments can be selected from any of the others assignments listed under web activities.

Unit objective sheets are included in the lecture notes.  They will serve both as guide to what the instructor considers important from the texts, lecture notes, research, and discussions, and what the student is expected to know at the completion of the unit. They will also serve as a good study guide for the exams because the exam questions will be drawn from these objective sheets.  Exam questions will be taken from the items contained in the unit objective sheets.

Additional projects (research papers, book reports, etc.) beyond those assigned are optional. Topics or book must receive instructor approval. A written description must be submitted by the seventh week of class ( ). Projects are due one week before the last scheduled class  A "Project Handout" explaining specific rules to follow and describing how the project will be graded will be posted on line. A project does not and cannot be substituted for a test grade. The project grade will be counted as an additional grade to be averaged in with all other grades.

Ten points for a current voters card will be given and added to your total point count before the course grade is averaged.

Online exams and papers are basically open book.  However, I would prefer that you attempt to complete them without using the text or lecture notes.  Exam taking should be done alone and not a collaborative effort performed with other students in the class or who have previously taken the class.  Cheating or plagiarism will result in the grade of 0. Remember, on your essays and papers, cite your sources and URL sites.

OPTION 1: Work in a candidate’s or party’s campaign and hand in a 2-3 page-typewritten report of the work done, knowledge learned, and conclusions drawn.

OPTION 2: Work for an interest group and contribute your time and efforts to their cause and activities - letter writing, picketing, lobbying, petition drives, etc. (A list of interest groups - including local ones - are posted outside my office, DH 209.) Hand in a 2-3 page-typewritten report of the work done, knowledge learned, and conclusions drawn.

Arrangements must be made in advance,
with prior instructor approval.

As to which option is chosen and what campaign or interest group is being worked with and the instructor must be able to verify hours worked, for whom, and the nature of the work. A letter from the candidate or the organization you worked for must be mailed to the instruction for verification.

 

FORMAT FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS--WEB ASSIGNMENTS & DISCUSSION TOPIC SUMMARIES

• All Assignments are to be posted in Digital Drop Box or sent to me by email as an attachment

• All assignments must be written in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.  

When posting an assignment in the Digital Drop Box (or emailing it to me as an
attachment in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect), please include the following
information in the body or text of your assignment and use the following format:

1. Name
2. Last 4 numbers of your soc. sec. number (ex.: #0138)
3. Unit # (ex. 1)
4. Type of Assignment (ex.: web or discussion Summary)
5. Title of Assignment (ex.: ACLU)
6. Date Submitted (ex.: Jan. 17, 2003)
7. Course (ex.: Govt. 2302 Web)

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