Course Professor Term Meetings

GOVT 2107.0I1 Federal and Texas Constitutions Dr. Gregory S. Combs Fall 2011 - First 8-Week Session Online at canvas.instructure.com (see below for details)

Professors Contact Information Email Address Office Location Office Hours gcombs@utdallas.edu GR 3.610 (Please email me before coming by) Mondays, 10:00am - 11:30am (or by appointment)

Teaching Assistants Contact Information Name Email Address Office Location Office Hours Whitney Manzo wmanzo@utdallas.edu GR 3.516 Mondays & Wednesdays, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

General Course Information Course Description This online course includes consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. Pre-requisite: Permission of the department required. Enrollment limited to students who have already completed a minimum of 6 semester hours of GOVT courses but have yet to satisfy the statutory requirement for study of the federal and state constitutions. We will use chapters 2 & 20 from the following book. (I will provide the chapters in electronic format, there is no need to buy the book merely for this course). Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore Lowi, and Margaret Weir. We the People: An Introduction to American Politics, Eighth Texas Edition. ISBN 9780393149579. Note: The textbook has a website for the aid of students: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/we-the-people8/texas/ Here, you will find outlines, vocabulary exercises, and self-diagnostic multiple choice questions covering each chapter. This online course is located at: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/138729

Required Texts & Materials

Course Policies You should carve out sufficient amounts of time over the next 8 weeks to complete your reading assignments, discussions, quizzes, and the paper. It is critical that you login to Canvas and complete these items by their due dates. Grade Allocation: 40 % -- Two Chapter Quizzes 40 % -- Research Paper - (5-7 pages) 20 % -- Online Discussions Grading Scale: Grade percentages will be translated into the final letter grade for the course as follows: A+: 97-100 B+: 87-89 C+: 77-79 D+: 67-69 A: 94-96 B: 84-86 C: 74-76 D: 64-66 F: 59-less A-: 90-93 B-: 80-83 C-: 70-73 D-: 60-63 We will only use Canvas by Instructure for this course; we will not use the Universitys eLearning/Blackboard site.

Grading Criteria

Canvas by Instructure

Canvas is a technology based learning aid. Because of this, occasional, brief outages are possible. In general, it is strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last minute to take your quizzes. According to Murphys law, problems occur when least convenient. Procrastinate at your own risk. If you are unfamiliar with Canvas or need help, please contact the professor or visit the following website for specific assistance: http://support.instructure.com Quizzes -- Each chapter has a related online quiz that you must complete in Canvas. Each quiz is available for a limited time. Any missed quizzes garner a zero score. You will have two chances to successfully complete each quiz, and you will have 45 minutes to complete it once you start it. Quizzes are open book / open notes, so you may refer to your book or other materials while you take the quizzes, however the time limit will be a factor so you should only attempt a quiz once you are adequately prepared. There are no make-up quizzes. Sharing your quiz answers or discussing the content of quizzes with other students constitutes cheating and is subject to punishment as per University standards and practices. Research Paper You must write a 5-7 page research paper to successfully pass this course. More details are available on the courses Canvas site. Discussions and Participation Active participation in each of the online discussion forums is an important requirement for this course. Regular and frequent postings to the discussion forums are required. I expect each of you to read the course material and be conversant. Be prepared to write fluently on topics relevant to the discussion. Please remember the basic courtesies when disagreeing with others. Civility and mutual respect not only with me, as the professor, but also with your fellow students is positively mandatory. If you cannot conduct yourself as a responsible, civil adult, you will be referred to the appropriate University administrative department and may suffer penalties as a result.

Course Requirements

Student Citizenship

Course Assignments Schedule

Date Assignments Notes

Sept. 2 Sept. 9 Sept. 16 Sept. 23 Oct. 15

Chapter 2 Quiz Discussion on Flexible Const. Chapter 20 Quiz Discussion on Texas Con-Con Paper Topic Discussion Research Papers Due

Quiz no longer available after 5pm today Postings are unacceptable after 5pm Quiz no longer available after 5pm today Postings are unacceptable after 5pm Postings are unacceptable after 5pm Late papers are penalized 10 points every 24hrs late, effective at 5:01 pm today

Additional UTD policies regarding student conduct and discipline, academic integrity, email use, withdrawing from class, grievance procedures, incomplete grades, disability services, religious holy days, and resources to help you succeed can be found at: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies