The purpose of this class is to provide an introduction to the basic foundations, behavior, institutions, and policies of American government and politics. Students will experience the dynamics of American government while acquiring basic skills and knowledge that will serve as foundations for further study in social science in general and political science in particular. Since this is a web based course, I have included some flexibility in the overall schedule. However, since there is no classroom it is imperative that the student stay in contact with the instructor via the Blackboard Discussion Boards (preferred method since most students tend to raise the same questions) or email (given denial of service viruses do not assume the each email you send will reach the instructor in a timely manner ... that is why I suggest the Discussion Boards as the primary method of communications ... I check them at least twice a day during the week and at least once a day over the weekends if at all possible). We will work out any remaining details as we go along, but for the most part all you need to successfully complete the course will be found on Blackboard.

Think of this course as one based on acquiring the necessary points for the grade you desire. In other words, you are not required to complete each of the ninety-six assignments found on Blackboard for this course; all you need is enough points for the grade that you want. I use a 400 point grade scale, where: 360 to 400 = A; 320 to 359 = B; 280 to 319 = C; 240 to 279 = D; and anything less constitutes an F. I have programmed, however, 700 points worth of work so you have a considerable "margin for error" and also many choices in terms of which assignments to complete. Simply accumulate the number of points for the grade you desire and you’re golden. While the discussion board section on class participation stays open all semester, the exercises posted under the Assignments section on Blackboard (simulations, debates, and roundtables) do not. Specific assignments begin shutting down on the 6^th of June at 5:00pm. In general, all assignments have a Friday @ 5:00pm due date. So while they are all open at the beginning of the semester, consult the dates posted on the Assignments folders for specific due dates. A couple of grading matters to keep in mind; I don’t employ a curve and I don’t accept late work, so plan your work schedule accordingly in terms of the latter point. Since this is a web based course make sure your PC is in working order and that you have no outstanding ISP issues. The only time I will even consider accepting late work is if you provide me with written documentation from an objective third party concerning your problem or issue. I’ve been doing internet courses for over ten years now and have come to the conclusion that the excuse of net or PC problems is just the 21^st century equivalent of the "dog ate my homework"! For the record, the previously mentioned 700 points are divided as follow: 115 class participation points, thirty-two simulation exercises at five points each for a total of 160 points, twenty-one debates at ten points each for a total of 210 points, and forty-three roundtable assignments at five points each for a total of 215 points.

A very big difference between this on-line version and a regular introductory class is the lack of lectures and immediate follow-on objective (multiple choice, true-false, etc) quizzes and exams per course part or section. I’m essentially using an "Open University" model of pedagogy for this course whereby the student simply follows the format provided for the material and works independently toward completing the assignments. I will not be standing over you in a sense and telling you when to submit your work in a traditional manner (other than noting the four course part due dates). If you work well independently than you should do well in this class; however, if you need firm deadlines and someone pushing you to complete the assigned tasks I suggest you find another course In short, I set the framework and you follow; much discretion is granted the student under this approach. You will, for example, have to read the relevant chapters in the main text without the "threat" of a "pop" quiz or the inevitability of a normally scheduled exam (but after all, you are paying for this course; you are the so-called "customer"...so why would you not??). There are many self-help quizzes contained in this course, however, none count towards your final grade (just the previously noted items). They are simply included as quick assessment tools; consider them as extensions to the chapter study guides.

I strongly encourage that you make use of all the course resources … and there are many … but remember that most of your points are earned via the Simulation (S), Debate (D), and Roundtable (RT) exercises. For your protection I strongly recommend that you prepare all your essays in a word processing program (preferably MS Word) and then copy and paste them into the appropriate response boxes; that is, do not send me your work via email. Do not work directly in the response boxes without adequate backup and save this backup or files until after you receive your final grade. One thing you will note about the assignments in general is that there are really no correct answers, just well informed opinions so keep this in mind when developing your work (this is the main reason why I require citations). For example, do not waste time in redoing the simulations in order to get the scripted best response … I’m not interested in that anyway … just your rationale, basic question response, and citations as noted in those instructions (your initial choices are usually the best anyway). While the simulations are interactive, the debates and roundtables are not; they are video programs in which you acquire information to complete specific assignments. As noted in all the instructions, proper citations are required; without them no points will be earned for either entire exercises or sub-tasks and by proper I mean one of the following three formats … no alternate formats are accepted. You do not need to provide many, one or two will do per essay but all must be correct in order to receive credit. In other words, it is an all or nothing grade when it comes to citations. Keep in mind that citations are not references; if you don’t know the difference, simply ask. References are used in a general sense such as in a "List of Works Consulted" and posted at the end of a particular response. Given the rather open ended nature of most of the essays, the primary means for me to determine the strength of your argument lies in the inclusion of appropriate citations … and you do not need to look beyond the main text or this summer’s pre-election booklet by Shea and Reece. Citations are specific evidence, in the form of direct quotes, paraphrases, and acquired facts, that are integral parts of a given sentence; as such, I expect to find such citations included at the end of each appropriate sentence and in the required format. If I see them at the end of your essays, chances are you are missing the point especially when I can determine that they should have been placed at the end of a previous sentence.

All citations must be in a parenthetical format such as (Fiorina et al, p, 123); in other words the format is (author’s last name and page number) including the parentheses. Footnotes/Notes are not accepted for credit. Based on previous experience, these citations assume one of three formats.

1. Most students simply use the two course books when citing so the format is either (Fiorina et al, p. 123) or (Shea and Reece, p. 65). Under no circumstances are you to omit the author’s last name and go with just the page number … even if you just mentioned the author’s name. In other words, if you simply use the main text for all your citations and place them in this format … (Fiorina, p. #) … this will be fine; no outside sources are necessary. Remember, include the parentheses and place such cites at the end of each relevant sentence. For this reference and the next do not cite more than two pages at a time. I want specific page numbers that I can look up and not general references to a bunch of pages in order to reveal the specifics of your various positions; multiple page citations simply work against this objective so break them down. Regardless of various style considerations, for purposes of this class your citations from the two course books must be in this format and no other so as I previously stated don’t even think about taking short cuts and dropping the author’s name even when you mention his name at various points in your work. If I don’t see (Fiorina et al, p. #) or (Shea and Reece, p. #) it doesn’t count.

3. Internet citations are the third format; in this case I want you to embed in your essay the very specific web page/URL that you utilized. As with all citations, place these at the very end of each appropriate sentence and not at the end of your essays. In short, I also want these in a parenthetical format with no exceptions. If I can’t "click" on these cites and bring up the specific page that you utilized (and not general indices or search engines) they don’t count. Again, I don’t see a need for such citations but some students just love to use them and include them in their work. Do not, however, use Wikipedia or any of the associated cites as a formal source. I will not recognize them given the rather open nature of their code, so Wikipedia citations are not valid. Remember, it is your responsibility to post these citations correctly so be sure to test them once you have posted them to Blackboard. If you haven’t done this before consult tech support or follow my instructions. Go to the top of your browser and copy the specific URL by right clicking and selecting "Copy" from the menu, paste that address into your essay and move your cursor to the last character of that address and tap your space bar. Your word processing program and Blackboard (you may need to repeat this last step once you post to Blackboard depending on your software) will automatically produce the link (it should turn blue and get underlined). This last method is actually a piece of cake once you do it a couple of times but be sure to test what you embed.

And last but not least, do you own work. If I find similar work posted by more than one student, all parties will simply get an F" for their final grade. In short, I have zero tolerance for cheaters and firmly believe that it robs the honest student of the integrity of their work and time. Though I rarely find this to be an issue with students taking a web based class, I must state my policy for the record. Once you get into the routine of completing the various assignments, I think you will find that the temptation to even think about such shortcuts will go out the window. If you do the work in the proscribed manner, I believe that you will find that this course is not all that difficult. Though I’m a bit specific in this syllabus, my intention is simply to provide answers in anticipation of questions that have been consistently raised over the years. If I have not addressed a particular concern, please raise such questions on-line and most of all if you run into problems be sure that you consult with me sooner rather than later. I will even review your work in advance of a deadline and in time for you to make corrections if you contact me at least two days before a course part goes off-line. Keep in mind that all course assignments are open from the start but close on the following dates: Part One: June 6^th, Part Two: June 13^th, Part Three: June 20^th, and Part Four: June 27^th all at 5:00pm.

I strongly suggest that you post your work well in advance of the due dates/time … at a minimum, at an hour or so before the actual web page section shuts down at 5:00pm. If you decide to make changes, all you need to do is clear your attempt on Blackboard (BB) and repost your entire assignment; that is, even if you only redo one question or part you must repost the entire assignment because BB erases all previous responses and they cannot be recovered. Obviously with this in mind there is no "best of test taking"; once you redo an assignment the previous grade is lost and cannot be recovered. Be sure that you read the specific instructions for each of the three types of course assignments: simulations, debates, and roundtables since they do vary in terms of objectives as well as particulars.

The on-line Discussion Board is the closet item available for this class that simulates some of the give and take in classroom banter between the instructor and the students. Last semester, my traditional 110 class posted nearly two thousand messages. Given that we as a nation are in the mist of a presidential campaign, I’m sure that we will have mush to chat about. However, I prefer if the students take the initiative in this respect. I don’t want to dominate the "Board" so plan to be assertive. If you post at least two substantive as opposed to perfunctory responses or questions per week, preferably with accompanying web links or attachments, not only should you earn the one hundred points for this assignment, you could even earn beyond that number since I don’t "cap" points for the DB or for that matter the "Debate" assignments. Both the Simulation and Roundtable assignments are rather straight forward so they are "capped" at five points each. If you take the time to complete the Debate assignments in a comprehensive fashion it is certainly possible to earn more than the ten points initially assigned to those exercises.

For the most part, you get to work at your own pace in this class ... many students simply have unique schedules, work-habits, personal concerns, families, etc. so I will not adhere to a formal framework with the exception of the four course part due dates. When the university requires a grade report at the end of the session, you will receive a grade ranging from an "A to an "F"; I have no intention of automatically assigning "Incomplete" grades but instead will simply use the "F" grade. "Incomplete" grades will only be assigned in response to unusual circumstances, with short deadlines, and what I will deem to be sufficient written documentation. So plan to complete your work by 5:00pm on Friday June 27^th – the deadline for completing your part four assignments and the posting of any last minute discussion items. This class web page goes off-line at that time and date.