Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | POS-1010-VO01 - Introduction to Political Science

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

David White
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Philip Crossman

General Education Requirements

VSCS Social Sciences

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

A survey and analysis of political phenomena in both theoretical and functional aspects. Focus will be on developing a critical understanding of concepts, institutions, values and processes of government and politics.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe methods used to study government and the political process.
2. Describe the various political systems in relation to their cultural and historical environments.
3. Explain various political structures, methods of classifying them, and factors contributing to their form and effectiveness.
4. Identify and distinguish among the units of government such as the military, the courts, the executive branch, and the legislature.
5. Name and describe factors that contribute to the power, authority and legitimacy of political systems.
6. Describe factors affecting the political processes in various national settings.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Spring 2024 textbook details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

POS-1010-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Methods:

• Weekly Discussion Assignment

• Weekly Diary Assignment

• Midterm and Final essay assignments

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria:

I will be grading your work based on a point system. This will consider your responses to my weekly Discussion Group questions and the discussions with your classmates, your Diary entries, and your mid-term and final essays. The total point breakdown looks like this:

• Responses to Discussion Assignment questions and responses to your classmates: 30 points

• Responses to Diary Assignment questions: 30 points

• Midterm essay: 20 points

• Final essay: 20 points

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Structure

For this class, our week will start on Tuesday and run through the following Monday. Each week you will have reading in both your text book, Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues, and two discussion forum assignments. Typically, you will begin by posting a response to a question I pose. You will read the responses posted by your classmates in the next phase and respond to one or more of their posts. Your final post of the week is a "Diary" entry, which lets you present your learning in a more creative, less formal format.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Attendance Policy:

Regular participation in the discussions & diary components of this class and timely submission of your mid-term and final essays are completion requirements for courses at CCV. Please be aware that missing more than three (3) discussion & diary assignments will result in a non-satisfactory grade. If you anticipate that life circumstances may cause you to miss an upcoming assignment, please communicate with me immediately so we may consider alternative means for you to complete the necessary assignments.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity