POL 101 (Tu/Th 8:00-9:30 AM)

American Political Institutions

Fall 2008

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Syllabus

• Contact Information

• Course Description

• Course Goals

• Required and Recommended Course Materials

• Assignments and Grading

• Assignments Schedule

• Navigating Mypoliscilab

Contact Information

• Dr. Bryan Reece, Professor of Political Science

• Office: Academic Affairs Office

• Phone: (562) 860-2451 x2219

• E-mail: breece@cerritos.edu

• Office Hours (see semester schedule on Reece home page)

Course Description

In the course of this semester we will contrast democratic ideals with American politics, discussing the extent to which the U.S. is realizing or not realizing these ideals.  In carrying out this task, we will analyze the American public, five major American political institutions (the mass media, political parties, interest groups, elections, and public opinion polling), the three American governing institutions (the executive, legislative and judicial branches).

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Course Goals

I have structured this course with some specific instructional goals in mind. Through this course, it is my hope that students gain:

• an understanding of American democratic ideals.

• an understanding of the major documents, institutions, actors, policies and issues in American politics at the federal, state and local levels.

• an understanding of the public policy making process in the US.

• skills and knowledge necessary for analyzing American politics according to the ideals of American democracy.

• skills necessary for critical thinking.

• skills that improve abilities to apply technology to the learning process.

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Required Course Materials 

The text you will be using for this course is Government in America (13th edition) by George Edwards, Martin Wattenberg and Robert Lineberry.

You are also required to purchase access to Mypoliscilab 2.0 (MPSL) for this course. MPSL is the online supplement associated with the text and holds additional content that is required throughout the term.

You may purchase used copies of the text; however, you must purchase a unique (new) Mypoliscilab booklet for the course. I recommend that you look for a shrink-wrapped package in the bookstore. A shrink-wrapped package includes the book and the Mypoliscilab booklet in one unit. Make sure you purchase a new MyPoliSciLab booklet. A used one that has already been registered will not work again.

To save some money, the Government in America text including all Mypoliscilab content can be purchased as an e-book at almost half the price of the traditional hard copy book. This can be purchased online at http://www.ablongman.com/mypoliscilab/first-time-students-cc.html. Click on "I need to buy access" and follow the instructions from their if you want to purchase the e-book. Note: you will need the course ID number (reece48889) and you will NOT be purchasing a physical copy of the book. With the e-book, you will need to read the text online or print it out on your own printer.

All written materials submitted in digital format (e.g., emailed attachments) must be submitted in Microsoft Office Word OR Rich Text format.

Students are required to have access to a computer with an Internet connection and multimedia capabilities. You must be able to go online with the computer and watch or listen to streaming media files. A significant amount of work in this class will be done online. You may use the campus computers available to students in various computing labs (e.g., Computer Assisted Instruction Lab) or any other computer (work computer, home computer, etc.). If you plan to use campus computers, you will need to purchase headphones in order to hear audio and video files.

Students must also have an email account to complete this course. If you do not already have an account, you can get a free email account through online services such as Hotmail and Yahoo (see www.hotmail.com or www.yahoo.com).

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Assignments and Grading

Your final grade in this course will be based on the following:

Chapter Readings

Each week you will be required to read from the text and take a corresponding chapter exams online. Once you have purchased the required text and corresponding Mypoliscilab booklet, you will have all the materials you need to complete this course.

Videos and Activities

Each week you will be required to watch at least one video and complete at least one online activity. Each will have a corresponding quiz online.

PoliSci News Review

Each week you will be required to read the PoliSci News Review. This is a summary of the news posted to mypoliscilab each week. You will also be required to take the corresponding online quiz each week.

Essay OR Video Production Assignment

You may choose between the essay assignment or the video production assignment (MyDemocracy Project). Both assignments are due on April 4 , 2008. Handouts for both assignments will be provided in class. 

In-Class Exams

Three in-class exams will be administered during the semester. The exams will be multiple choice based exams with approximately 100 questions.

Weighting of Exams and Assignments

• Online Chapter Exams = 10% of Final Grade

• Online Video and Activity Quizzes = 10% of Final Grade

• PoliSci News Review Quizzes = 10% of Final Grade

• Essay OR Video Production Assignment = 20% of Final Grade

• In-Class Exams = 50% of Final Grade

Calculating Your Grade

To calculate or track your performance in this course, use the following formula:

• Average Score of Chapter Exams (see grade book) x 0.10 ____________

• Average Score of Video and Activity Quizzes (see grade tracker) x 0.10 ____________

• Average Score of PoliSci News Review Quizzes (see grade book) x 0.10 ____________

• Essay OR Video Production Assignment Score (see grade book) x 0.20 ____________

• In-Class Exams (see grade book) x 0.50 ____________

Add all the points together. If you have 90 of more points, you will receive an A in the course. If you have 80 or more, you will receive a B. If you have 70 or more, you will receive a C. If you have 60 or more, you will receive a D. If you have less than 60 points, you will fail the course.

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Assignment Schedule

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Registering and Navigating Mypoliscilab

The Mypoliscilab booklet comes with comprehensive registration and navigation instructions. To register for this course you need to use the Course ID # of reece48889. All other information regarding navigation can be found in the Student Starter Kit that comes with Mypoliscilab. The starter kit will tell you how to find and use all online resources. Look specifically for information related to:

• Chapter Quizzes

• Roundtables and Debates and Quizzes

• The Weekly News Review and Quizzes

• Chapter Activities and Quizzes

• Course Assignments

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