Intersession

AMERICAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Intersession Class
Course: POLS 1113
Credit hours: 3
Instructor: Gary Rutledge
Office: 219K (Baird Hall)
Phone: 918-343-7800
E-mail: rutledge@garyrutledge.com
Website: http://www.garyrutledge.com

IMPORTANT! RETAIN THIS SYLLABUS FOR REFERENCE THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A study of the American political system at the national level, process of government, democratic theory and development of the Constitution, citizen participation through voting, interest groups and political parties

Course learning objectives Understand specified meanings of democracy, theoretical background and practices of western democracy. Understand the role of interest groups in political systems. Understand the role of parties in the American political system and describe the American party system. Understand	Program Goals Supported in B.S in S. S. /A.A. in S.S. To develop a level of competence in the core discipline(s) of the social sciences to allow for further inquiry and study.	How Evaluated Through class discussions, written assignments, case studies, quizzes/exams
Understand part government plays in the everyday life of the citizen. Understand the ways that voting, elections, and political campaigns link citizens to government in a democracy.	To prepare students to function successfully in a society that is heading toward globalization and becoming more culturally diverse	Through class discussions, written assignments, case studies, quizzes/exams
Understand controversial issues that have profound implications for the way men and women perceive themselves. Recognize the ways in which a scientific approach can be used to formulate an understanding of the observable world.	To equip students with the academic skills necessary to successfully address increasingly complex, multidisciplinary problems in the social sciences.	Through class discussions, written assignments, case studies, quizzes/exams
Work collaboratively with other students.	To equip students with the academic skills necessary to successfully address increasingly complex, multidisciplinary problems in the social sciences.	Through class discussion and case studies posted to on-line threaded discussion
Express ideas orally, in writing, and online	To equip students with the academic skills necessary to successfully address increasingly complex, multidisciplinary problems in the social sciences.	Through class discussions, written assignments, case studies, quizzes/exams

PREREQUISITES
College-level Reading and Writing skills will be required for successful completion of this course. Basic computer skills, such as the ability to handle e-mail, a search engine, and a word processor will be essential. The student should be able to create, save, and copy and paste documents.

TEXT AND OTHER MATERIALS
Berman, Larry, and Bruce Allen Murphy. Approaching Democracy. 2009, 7th Edition, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
ISBN: 0-205-77847-X

COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the conclusion of this course, the student will have:
* An understanding of, and appreciation for, our democratic form of government, and the unique relationship between the Federal, State, and local governments
* An understanding of the workings of government agencies
* An understanding of the citizen's responsibilities to, and individual rights under, our form of government
* An enhanced appreciation for the citizen's obligation in the process for selecting capable public officials
* A working knowledge of United States foreign affairs and the political nature of the world
* An appreciation of the United States Government through comparison with the governments of other nations
* A better understand the broad application to the U.S. Constitution to the lives of American Citizens and to other members of the global community.

INSTRUCTORS WEBSITE INTERACTIVE WORK SCHEDULE
The heart of the Website is an interactive Work Schedule and its calendar. The calendar contains a weekly schedule of work with appropriate links to learning tools in the Website. The site is also interactive in that students can use it to communicate privately or openly with other students and the instructor. Quizzes, Wrap-Up Assignments, the Midterm, and Final are submitted directly into the Website on or before the due dates shown on the Work Schedule Calendar.

INSTRUCTORS WEBSITE GRADE PAGE
Students with proper ID numbers may view a current summary of their grades from any computer. Grades should be checked often for posting accuracy and grade average.
To check your grades:
Go to: www.garyrutledge.com
Click on "Grades"
When master grade page opens, click on the appropriate button for your class.
Scan down class grade page for your ID# and grades
Column headings are abbreviations of the unit assignments and will be in the same sequence as course calendar.

UNIT/SUBJECT QUIZZES
On-line multiple-choice quizzes are due according to the due date on the Government Work Schedule for each unit/subject of work. All online quizzes are open book. The quiz program should not time you out. Pay no attention to the clock. If you should get timed out, click on your "Back" button and retrieve your page. If you should have difficulty, just email me and I will correct the situation.

WEB ASSIGNMENTS
Short written essay assignments (Wrap-Ups) are due according to the due date on the Government Work Schedule for each unit/subject of work. These short essay assignments will be submitted directed to the Gary Rutledge Learning site (GRLS) with links provided in the GRLS Work Schedule. Web Assignments less than the required length will have one letter grade deducted.

MIDTERM EXAM
A midterm multiple-choice exam of approximately 40 multiple choice questions will be due according to the due date on the Government Work Schedule. The Midterm quiz is open book.

FINAL MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAM
A comprehensive final exam of approximately 50 multiple choice questions will be due according to the due date on the Government Work Schedule. Most of questions will come from the chapters covered since mid-term; however, some questions will be scattered over the fist chapters as well. The Final quiz is open book.

NOTEBOOK
An important learning techniques in college is the taking of notes that can be used later in the preparation of papers and the study for exams. A spiral notebook will be required in which you will keep daily notes of all course activities. Each day you will begin a new page with notes of lectures, readings, discussions, films, and etc. Begin each day with the date and title of the notes to follow, such as "lecture notes" or "reading notes". All notes should be maintained in this notebook, (do not turn in loose pages).

METHOD OF EVALUATION
The grading scale is 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-0=F. Grades will accumulate from a combination of written web assignments, multiple choice chapter quizzes, on-line case studies, multiple choice midterm, written midterm web assignment, multiple choice final exam, written final web assignment, and in some cases outside class projects for extra credit.

FINAL SCORE TO BE DETERMINED AS FOLLOWS
On-line Quizzes: 25%
Web Assignments: 40%
Final On-line Multiple-choice Exam: 15%
Notebook: 10%
Participation/Attendance grade: 10% (1 absence = 50, 2 absences = 0)

ATTENDANCE
Good attendance is essential in a class of this nature and will be checked at each class meeting. Assignments and lectures build upon each other from one class to the next. An absence makes completion of assignments difficult. Absenteeism exceeding 10% during the course will be considered excessive. After any absence, the student is responsible for obtaining any class assignments and lecture notes from a classmate.

LATE ASSIGNMENTS
A deduction of one letter grade may be assessed to any work submitted late. Late work will be accepted only at the discretion of the instructor on a case by case basis.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own, including: direct quotation without both attribution and indication that the material is being directly quoted, e.g. quotation marks; paraphrase without attribution; paraphrase with or without attribution where the wording of the original remains substantially intact and is represented as the author’s own; expression in one’s own words, but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of reasoning, facts, processes, or other products of the intellect where such material is learned from the work of another and is not part of the general fund of common knowledge.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Rogers State University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to educational programs and services. Any student who has a disability that he or she believes will require some form of academic accommodation must inform the professor of such need during or immediately following the first class attended. Before any educational accommodation can be provided, it is the responsibility of each student to prove eligibility for assistance by registering for services through Student Affairs.

Students needing more information about Student Disability Services should contact the Director of Student Development in the Office of Student Affairs at Rogers State University, 1701 W. Will Rogers Blvd., Claremore, OK 74017 (918) 343-7707.

WITHDRAWAL STATEMENT
It is hoped that no one will ever have to withdraw: however, if unforeseen circumstances force a student to withdraw from the course, the student should initiate an official withdraw through the registrar's office. Do not just quick submitting work. Without an official withdrawal an "F" will be the only result. Non-performance does not constitute official withdrawal.

CHANGE OF STUDENT INFORMATION
Notify your college registrar and your instructor immediately if any of your student data should change such as your address, telephone number. E-mail address. This information must be accurate for proper and timely communications.

CHANGE OF SYLLABUS INFORMATION
At the instructor's discretion procedures and policy are subject to change at any time.