San Jacinto College (online)

Summer 10 week 2015: GOVT 2305 - Federal Government (online course)

Instructor: John M. Osterman Jr.
Office Phone: 281-476-1501 x 1295
Office Location: Central Campus C3.123.A
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: john.osterman@sjcd.edu (This is the absolute best way to reach me.)
Introduction:
Thank you for taking this course.
You must be comfortable using a computer. It is imperative that you be able to use e-mail,
Microsoft Word, Web browsers, search engines, and follow instructions well enough to take
exams.
You may need Adobe Reader. If you do not have a copy of Adobe on your computer, it can be
downloaded from www.adobe.com. You may need Firefox, a Web browser, it can be downloaded from
www.firefox.com.
Course Description:
GOVT 2305 Federal Government (Federal Constitution and Topics)
This course is an introductory survey of the United States political system. Topics include origin and
development of the U.S. Constitution; structure and powers of the national government including the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches; federalism; political participation; the national election process;
public policy; civil rights and civil liberties. Prerequisites: Reading level 7, Writing level 7 (3:3-0)

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
1. Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of our federal system.
3. Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the
federal government.
5. Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties
6. Analyze the election process.
7. Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens
8. Analyze issues and policies in U.S. politics.

Course Requirements and other important information:

Check Announcements daily.
Check your e-mail daily.
Update your e-mail address when it changes.
Put your Course Information in the subject line of all e-mails. Do not put anything else in
the subject line other than the Course Information as described below.
For example, if you are taking GOVT 2305-706, put GOVT 2305-706in the subject line of
the e-mail. Failure to do this will result in not getting a response from me.
Sign your e-mails with your first and last name as it appears in our computer system.
When corresponding with your instructor you should always be polite, kind, and
courteous. Write to me as if I were standing in front of you.
If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) disconnects you, you must retake the assessment/quiz.

If you have a slow or unreliable ISP, I will not make exceptions for you.
If your computer crashes, you must retake the assessment.
If you are disconnected by your ISP you will find Attempt in Progress in place of a numeric
grade. You will need to retake the assessment/quiz. Immediately e-mail your instructor and
explain what happened. DO NOT delay.
When you retake an assessment/quiz it will be different. Each assessment/quiz is randomly
generated. No two students will take the same assessment/quiz. Failure to e-mail your
instructor when you receive Attempt in Progress will result in a grade of zero.
Never, ever click SAVE when you take an assessment/quiz. It is not necessary. If you are
disconnected or the test fails to submit, you are required to start from the beginning.
If you go over the time limit on any assessment/quiz, your average on that assessment/quiz
will be deducted five points for each minute over the limit. For example, if you go over the
time limit by two minutes and score 80 percent on an assessment/quiz, your average will be
reduced to 70 percent. You should immediately e-mail your instructor when you go over
the time limit in order to have your grade adjusted. You will receive a Needs Grading
in place of a grade until I recalculate the grade. It would be helpful to offer an explanation,
and make clear it was not intentional.
If you do not understand something, you should e-mail your instructor.
Give me 24 hours to respond to your e-mail unless it is the weekend, a holiday, or outside my
work schedule. If I have not responded to you within 24 hours then I may not have received
your e-mail. Dont assume I received your e-mail and that I am ignoring you. E-mail me
again. I will not respond to e-mail outside of my work schedule. If you wait until the last hour
of the course before the deadline for turning in all assessments and you get locked out of the
exam, your grade will be the average of the questions you answered.

Text:
The college bookstore carries a text published by McGraw-Hill called We the People, Federal
Government, by Thomas Patterson, 11th Edition for GOVT 2305 which has an access code. I will NOT
be giving you assignments out of this text; however, you are welcome to use it as a resource.
Supplemental Resources: I provide access to free resources through my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/OstermansGovernmentCourses
Grading Criteria: (All assessments/quizzes must be completed by NOON, August 13.)
1. There is one assessment over the syllabus, which is mandatory. It will be treated like the other
assessments discussed above. You must not backtrack when taking an assessment. You must
complete the assessment once you begin. You must complete the syllabus assessment first
and score 100% before you may proceed to the next assessment. The remaining
assessments will not appear until you have scored perfectly on the syllabus assessment.
The syllabus assessment is worth 10 percent of your grade.
2. There are 10 Topics in this course. Each Topic has a corresponding assessment/quiz.
Assessments/quizzes may or may not have the same number of questions. You have 30
minutes to complete each Assessment/quiz. Assessments/quizzes may be multiple choice and

true/false. You are to take all 10 assessments/quizzes. This will constitute 40 percent of your
overall grade. Failure to take an assessment will result in a grade of zero. You must not
backtrack when taking an assessment. You must complete the assessment once you begin.
3. Discussion Board Assignment. There will be one (1) discussion board assignment. You must
create a unique thread. An explanation of what you are expected to write will accompany the
assignment. This will constitute 20 percent of your overall grade. Failure to complete the
discussion board will result in a grade of zero.
4. There is one written assignment, which must be turned in by: LAST DAY TO DROP:
TUESDAY, JULY 28.

Failure to turn it in on time will result in a grade of zero. This will constitute 20 percent of
your grade. There will be no extensions on this assignment no matter how clever or desperate
the excuse. See the file under written assignment for further instructions. The assignment
must be submitted as an attachment in Word or PDF, not Works. If it is not in Word or PDF, it
will not be graded. No late papers will be accepted.
http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/pdf/CriticalThinking.pdf
5. There is one comprehensive Final Exam worth 100 points which has 50 questions worth two
points each. This will constitute 10 percent of your grade. You have two hours to complete the
final exam. You must not backtrack when taking an assessment. You must complete the
assessment once you begin. The final exam is mandatory. Failure to complete the final exam
will result in a zero on the exam. The final exam will be completed by NOON, August 13.
To prepare for your assessments, you should:
Read the material in the recommended text.
Read or watch other material found in the course documents section of Blackboard.
Schedule a time to take the assessments when you will not be bothered.
Plan to take the assessments over the entire semester rather than at the end of the semester.
Important Dates and Schedule:
(All assessments/quizzes must be completed by NOON, August 13.)
LAST DAY TO DROP: TUESDAY, JULY 28.
Grade Determination: (examples in parenthesis)
1 Syllabus Assessment = Maximum 10 points/percent for this item toward your grade.
(Score: 100) x 0.1= 10 (0.1 means 10%)
10 Topic Assessments/quizzes = Maximum 40 points/percent for this item toward your grade.
(Score: 72) x 0.4 = 29 (0.4 means 40%)
1 Discussion Boards 20% = Maximum 20 points/percent for this item toward your grade.
(Score: 70) x 0.2 = 14 (0.2 means 20%)
1 Written Assignment = Maximum 20 points/percent for this item toward your grade.
(Score: 85) x 0.2 = 17 (0.2 means 20%)

1 Final Exam = Maximum 100 points/percent for this item toward your grade.
(Score: 75) x 0.1 = 7.5 (0.1 means 10%)
(SA) 10 + (TA) 29 + (DB) 14 + (WA) 17 + (FA) 7.5= 76 (B)
Grade Scale:
90 to 100.A
80 to 89.B
70 to 79.C
60 to 69.D
Below 60 .F
The tens digit determines the grade. 89.9 is a B. 78.45 is a C. There is no rounding.
Withdrawing from the course:
If you have decided to drop this course, you must execute the withdrawal. I will not drop you
from the course.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND HELPFUL HINTS:
1. If you are normally disconnected from your ISP after a few minutes of inactivity, make
arrangements to prevent this BEFORE you take an assessment.
2. NEVER EVER click the save button while taking an assessment.
3. Study the Course Content/Course Materials area thoroughly.
4. Its a good idea to print the Course Content/Course Materials information. Mark important
passages in your text. Know where to find material. Remember!! The quizzes are open
book/open note.
5. If you have questions, contact your instructor BEFORE taking an assessment.
Ultimately, the purpose in taking this course is to educate you in order to become a better citizen,
worker, and person.