Lone Star College-Tomball

Behavioral Sciences, Business, Humanities and Social Sciences Division

History 1302: UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1877

As of: 1 October 2009

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:        

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A survey of U.S. history from the end of Reconstruction to the present. Special emphasis is placed on the emergence of the United States as a world power and our subsequent assumption of international responsibilities. Other topics will include westward expansion, industrialization, immigration, World War I, World War II, the subsequent Cold War, Vietnam, and the collapse of the Soviet Empire.  
 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AND/OR MATERIALS:

EVALUATION:

ANGEL Quiz - A brief quiz to insure the student understands the basic functions of this course management system.

Introduction exercise - Each student gives a brief self introduction.

Outside Participation - Respond to two assigned learning objectives for each chapter of the text book.

Class Participation - There will be three to five participation assignments, worth 10 points each, consisting of questions related to a subject discussed in class. The responses to the assigned questions will be submitted to the instructor on-line. The remainder of the participation points will come from daily participation in class as follows:

The instructor will have a deck of cards containing students names. At the beginning of each class the instructor will shuffle the cards and then draw the cards one at a time, asking a question of the person whose card is selected. Questions will cover the reading assignment for that day and the lecture material from the previous class. If you answer the question correctly you will receive 4 points. If you answer the question incorrectly you will receive 0 points. If you are absent when your name is called you will receive a penalty of 5 points.

Quizzes - There will be an open book quiz on each chapter of the text book. These quizzes will be taken on-line outside of class.

Map Test  -  100 questions identifying points from maps

LETTER GRADE ASSIGNMENT:

The course grade will be calculated by dividing the total points earned by the total points possible

Attendance Policy:

 ·         Regular and punctual attendance is expected. A seating chart will be kept, and attendance will be noted at the start of class by visual inspection. The instructor will work out a seating chart based upon your answers to the student survey.

·         If you are late, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor at the end of the class session.  Otherwise, you may be recorded as absent.

·         If you are absent, the cause of the absence is not normally relevant. You are permitted four days absence from class without penalty.  Each absence in excess of three will reduce your course grade by one letter.

·         Exceptions to the attendance policy will be allowed in cases of severe medical problems or emergencies of comparable gravity if verifiable documentation is supplied in a timely fashion, but such exceptions are at the discretion of the instructor.

ASSIGNMENTS:

All assignments are to be completed and submitted to the instructor on the scheduled due date.  No late assignments will be accepted.

Make-up Exams:

 Students are expected to sit for examinations with their class. If you miss an in-class exam, you MUST take the following steps:

• Contact the instructor within 24 hours of the scheduled examination time in person, by phone, by e-mail, by voice mail, or via a letter or by message. If you fail to leave any message, it will be assumed that you have left the class, and you will receive a course grade of "F" unless you drop the course prior to the last day of withdrawals [“W” Day].  In short, making prompt contact with the instructor is your responsibility.
• On the first day that you return to class after the scheduled examination time, request permission in writing to make up the examination. A full explanation and documentation of your absence must accompany all requests. Note that vacation or other discretionary travel is not an acceptable excuse for missing any test. Make-up grades will not be available until the day of Test III.
• The instructor reserves the right to either have the student write a make-up test at the Assessment Center, or complete an individualized written assignment in lieu of the missed test. In the later case, the individualized written assignment will be due on the last day of class.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

Withdrawal from the course after the official day of record (see current catalog) will result in a final grade of “W” on the student transcript and no credit will be awarded.  Prior to the official day of record, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a request for withdrawal from any course.

If you are considered a first-time college student, a new law was passed in Fall 2007 that limits to six the number of courses you may drop (withdraw with a grade of "W") while enrolled at any Texas public institution of higher education.  A first time college student is a student not currently enrolled in high school and who has never taken a college or university course anywhere at any time.

If you consider dropping this course during the semester, you might want to go to advising prior to dropping and get information about the Six-Drop Rule.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

The Lone Star College System upholds the core values of learning:  honesty, respect, fairness, and accountability.  We promote the importance of personal and academic honesty.  We embrace the belief that all learners – students, faculty, staff and administrators – will act with integrity and honesty and must produce their own work and give appropriate credit to the work of others.  No fabrication of sources, cheating, or unauthorized collaboration is permitted on any work submitted within the District.

Consequences for academic dishonesty to be determined by the professor, or the professor and Academic Dean, or the professor and Chief Student Services Officer can include but are not limited to:  1.)  having additional class requirements imposed, 2.) receiving a grade of zero or “F” for an exam or assignment, 3.)  receiving a grade of “F” for the course, 4.)  being withdrawn from the course or program, 5.)  being expelled from the college district.

SOFTWARE PIRACY: 

Law strictly prohibits unauthorized copying of software purchased by LSC-Tomball for use in laboratories.  The LSC-Tomball administration will take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone violating copyright laws.

COMPUTER VIRUS PROTECTION:

Computer viruses are, unfortunately, a fact of life. Using the diskettes on more than one computer creates the possibility of infecting computers and diskettes with a computer virus. This exposes the computers of the college, your personal computer, and any others you may be using to potentially damaging viruses. The college has aggressive anti-virus procedures in place to protect its computers, but cannot guarantee that a virus might not temporarily infect one of its machines. It is your responsibility to protect all computers under your control and use and ensure that each diskette you use, whenever or wherever you use it, has been scanned with anti-virus software. Since new viruses arise continually, your anti-virus software must be kept current. And, since no anti-virus software will find every virus, keeping copies of data (backups) is extremely important.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT:

It is the policy of the Lone Star College System to provide equal employment, admission and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

Lone Star College System strives to provide an excellent learning environment free from harassment or intimidation directed at any person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability.  Any form of harassment will not be tolerated.

SCANS MATRIX:

The U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) has researched and listed the skills and competencies that make up the know-how employees will need for workplace success.  You can view the SCANS skills that are included in the course objectives at the Lone Star College System web site at:

http://www.lonestar.edu and follow links.

THE  LSC-TOMBALL LIBRARY HOURS AND PHONE:   

The phone number is 832-559-4211. 

THE LSC-Tomball ASSESSMENT CENTER:

The phone number is 281-357-3698

THE LSC-WILLOW CHASE ASSESSMENT CENTER is located in Rm. 117, next door to the library:

The phone number is 281-401-5314 please call for Summer/Holiday hours or operation.

GUARANTEED GRADUATE POLICY:

Lone Star College System guarantees that graduates of its Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Applied Science and all Certificate programs, providing under certain circumstances, additional education and training tuition free to students lacking appropriate mastery of specified competencies.  For additional information, refer to the Lone Star College System catalog. 

FOR ADVISING ON THIS PROGRAM OR OTHER AREAS AT LSC-TOMBALL CONTACT:

o      Social Science Department: Nancy Kral, nancy.kral@lonestar.edu, 281-351-3371

o      Division Dean, Eric Wildman, eric.wildman@lonestar.edu, 281-351-3342

Tentative Lecture Outline:

 Requirements and due dates for assignments are provided in LSC-Online ANGEL in the calendar. The REFERENCE CHAPTERS column lists textbook chapters from The American Story.