AMERICAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

MICHAEL RILEY, INSTRUCTOR

OFFICE HC 342

TELEPHONE, 918- 647-1270

E-MAIL, mikeriley@carlalbert.edu

I. THE CLASS:

American Federal Government on-line is designed to allow students the

opportunity to earn college credit on a weekly schedule of their own choosing. The course will consist of seventeen chapter assignments/quizzes, four tests, and computer-assisted individual and group participation.

II. ASSIGNMENTS: Each week, students will have assignments recommended for that week. These will consist of readings, course content exercises and reviews, quizzes, class participation and exams. Recommended weekly assignments are posted on the webct calendar, but students may work at their own pace so long as quizzes and exams are completed by the posted deadline and they keep up with class discussion posted on the webct bulletin board. It is recommended that students first read the chapter, and then prepare for the quiz by logging-on to webct and utilizing the course content resources provided. When the student is ready, they should then take the on-line quiz by clicking on the WebCT quiz icon.

III. TESTS: A total of four tests will be given which will cover the following four units:

Unit One……………….Chapters 1-5

Unit Two………………Chapters 6-10

Unit Three……………...Chapters 11-13

Unit Four……………….Chapters 14-17

All exams and quizzes will be given on-line through WebCT. Each exam will consist of fifty questions. Fifty minutes will be allowed to take the exam. The final is not comprehensive. Each exam will count 100 points for a total of 400 possible on all exams. A total of seventeen chapter quizzes will be given. Each quiz will consist of 25 multiple-choice questions. Each quiz is worth 25 points for a total of 425 points possible on all seventeen quizzes. Twenty-five minutes will be allowed to take a quiz, and two minutes are provided for "download time." If your modem or service provider is slow it may take longer than two minutes to download an exam, if this is the case you should take quizzes and exams at the CASC computer lab.. You should not wait until the last minute to take a quiz or exam because power outages or computer problems often cause students to miss deadlines. If you do miss a quiz or exam, you will be allowed to make-up as many as three quizzes and one exam at the end of the semester during the "Make-up days" marked on your WebCT calendar. If you miss more than one exam, you will receive a score of zero on the earliest one missed. If you miss more than three quizzes, you will receive a score of zero on the earliest ones missed but you will be allowed to make-up the last three.

IV. INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PARTICIPATION:

A major advantage of an on-line course over a simple correspondence course is the opportunity it offers for the student to communicate and interact both with the instructor and with other students in the class. Students will be expected to participate in the group discussions of each chapter using the discussions options offered by WebCT. A list of review words and phrases will be posted by your instructor for each chapter and for each unit to help you prepare for the quiz. You should choose one or two of the words or phrases from each word list, look them up in your textbook, and post the information you find on the bulletin board for the class to utilize in preparing for the quiz or exam. Students who receive the full 100 points possible for this ｽ of their participation credit will provide their classmates a minimum of thirty acceptable posts during the course of the semester. To receive participation credit for a bulletin board post a student must:

1. Choose one or two words or phrases that no one else has researched and posted. (If you choose to do two, put each one in a separate post)

2. Put the chapter and the word or phrase in the SUBJECT LINE of your post. (This allows your classmates to determine which words have been taken without opening each message.)

3. Somewhere in your post, you must include the page numbers from your book where you found the information. (This allows your classmates to quickly find the information if they want to read it themselves)

4. Post your information at least one day (24 hours) before the deadline for taking the test or quiz for that chapter or unit.

Students are also expected to participate by using the Contents resource provided by WebCT. The second ｽ or 100 points of your participation credit is based on the work you do here. This resource will greatly aid you in preparing for quizzes and exams. Although this work is not graded the computer monitors how much time you spend on the WebCT pages and counts the number of pages you study and read. Participation will be worth a total of 200 points, or 20% of your grade. Individually, students should budget enough time each week to complete each weeks assignment on time. Although the pace of each student is different, an average of four to six hours per week may be necessary to successfully complete most chapter assignments.

Under certain circumstances, the instructor may choose to administratively withdraw a student. Students who do not participate in class for an extended period may be dropped by the instructor.

V. GRADING: A total of 1025 points is possible in the following ways:

Quizzes, 425 points,

Tests, 400 points,

Participation, 200 points.

Letter grades will be determined using the following scale.

900 to 1025 points = A

800 to 899 points= B

700 to 799 points = C

600 to 699 points = D

Below 600 points = F

VI. WE THE PEOPLE by Thomas Patterson, 6th edition, McGraw Hill

Publishers, This book should be available in the CASC Bookstore.

If you have any problems e-mail me or come by my office.

Michael Owen Riley