POLSC232: American Government

Welcome to POLSC232: American Government. General information about this course and its requirements can be found below. 

Course Description: Introductory course on American politics, with an emphasis on its constitutional foundations, the electoral process and political participation, the decision-making process in Congress, the executive branch, and the federal courts.

Getting Started

After familiarizing yourself with the following course syllabus, log in or sign up and click the “Enroll me in this course” button near the top of the page. Once enrolled, navigate to Unit 1 of the course to read the Unit Introduction and Unit 1 Learning Outcomes. Links and instructions for all unit specific course resources will follow the introductory materials.

 

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Scores

In order to pass this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first attempt, you may take it again as many times as needed, following a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. You will only receive an official grade on your final exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, we recommend that you work through the materials in each unit. Throughout the course you may find practice quizzes or other assignments that will help you master material and gauge your learning. Scores on these assignments are informational only and do not contribute to your overall course grade.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered fully online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and to attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor Academy account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one, free of charge, here. Although you can access some course resources without being logged into your account, it’s advised that you log in to maximize your course experience. For example, some of the accessibility and progress tracking features are only available when you are logged in.  

If you plan to attempt the optional credit recommended final exam that accompanies this course, then you will also need access to a webcam enabled computer. A webcam is needed so that our remote proctoring service can verify your identity, which will allow Saylor Academy to issue an official transcript to schools on your behalf. Full details about remote proctoring for credit recommended exams can be found here.

For additional technical guidance check out Saylor’s tech-FAQ and the Moodle LMS tutorial.

Fees

There is no cost to access and enroll in this course. All required course resources linked throughout the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, activities, etc are accessible for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.

This course is also aligned to the College Board's CLEP® PREP exam. More information about the fees associated with that exam can be found below.

College Board CLEP® PREP Alignment

Saylor Academy provides these free materials as a means to help students prepare to take various CLEP exams. However, Saylor Academy cannot guarantee that anyone studying these materials or taking a Saylor Academy CLEP PREP course will pass a CLEP exam. As stated in the User Agreement, Saylor Academy makes no warranty, express or implied, on the ability of anyone to pass a CLEP exam after studying these materials. All risks are assumed by the test taker.

Knowledge and Skills Required: The American Government CLEP examination covers material that is most commonly taught in a college-level, introductory American government and politics course. Questions on the American Government examination require candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities in the approximate proportion indicated:

• Knowledge of American government and politics (55%-65%)
  
• Understanding of typical patterns of political processes and behavior (including the components of the behavioral situation of the particular actor) and the principles used to explain or justify various governmental structures and behaviors (30%-35%)
  
• Analysis and interpretation of simple data that is relevant to American government and politics (10%-15%)
  

The subject matter of the American Government examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic.

30%-35% Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy and Congress

• The major formal and informal institutional arrangements and powers
  
• Structure, policy processes, and outputs
  
• Relationships among these three institutions and links between them and political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion
  

15%-20% Federal Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

• Structure and processes of the judicial system, with emphasis on the role and influence of the Supreme Court
  
• The development of civil rights and civil liberties by judicial interpretation
  
• The Bill of Rights
  
• Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
  
• Equal protection and due process
  

15%-20% Political Parties and Interest Groups

• Political parties (including their function, organization, mobilization, historical development, and effects on the political process)
  
• Interest groups (including the variety of activities they typically undertake and their effects on the political process)
  
• Elections (including the electoral process)
  

10%-15% Political Beliefs and Behavior

• Processes by which citizens learn about politics
  
• Political participation (including voting behavior)
  
• Public opinion
  
• Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
  
• Political culture (the variety of factors that predispose citizens to differ from one another in terms of their political perceptions, values, attitudes, and activities)
  
• The influence of public opinion on political leaders
  

15%-20% Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy

• Federalism (with attention to intergovernmental relations)
  
• Separation of powers
  
• Checks and balances
  
• Majority rule
  
• Minority rights
  
• Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
  
• Theories of democracy

Time Commitment

While learning styles can vary considerably and any particular student will take more or less time to learn or read, we estimate that the "average" student will take 124.75 hours to complete this course. Each resource and activity within the course is similarly tagged with an estimated time advisory. We recommend that you work through the course at a pace that is comfortable for you and allows you to make regular (daily, or at least weekly) progress. It's a good idea to also schedule your study time in advance and try as best as you can to stick to that schedule.

It may be useful to take a look at the time advisories at the beginning of each unit to determine how much time you have to complete each unit, and then set goals for yourself. This should help you plan your time accordingly. For example, Unit 1 should take you 18.5 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete Subunits 1.1 and 1.2 (a total of 11.5 hours) in week one, Subunit 1.3 (a total of 7 hours) on Monday and Tuesday of week two, and Subunit 2.1 (a total of 4.5 hours) on Wednesday night of week two.

Tips/Suggestions

Learning new material can be challenging, so below we've compiled a few suggested study strategies to help you succeed.

Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories as you read. This can help you differentiate and contextualize concepts and later provide you with a refresher as you study.

As you progress through the materials, take time to test yourself on what you have retained and how well you understand the concepts. The process of reflection is important for creating a memory of the materials you learn; it will increase the probability that you ultimately retain the information.

Although you may work through this course completely independently, you may find it helpful to connect with other Saylor students through the discussion forums or study groups. You may access the discussion forums at https://discourse.saylor.org.

Economics uses a variety of ways to express ideas. As you study each concept, think about how you might explain the principle using math, words, and/or pictures. Consider how the graphs relate to the words and how much information is contained in them. Be sure to take notes as you go along, because the final exam is comprehensive.

Pay special attention to unit 1, as it will lay the groundwork for understanding the more advanced, explanatory material presented in the latter units.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• differentiate between the various forms of government and democracy;
  
• analyze the various experiments with colonial government in the British colonies;
  
• discuss the issues, debates, and compromises that originated from the Constitutional Convention;
  
• describe the principles of separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism as manifested in the US Constitution;
  
• describe public opinion and how it is utilized as a barometer for measuring election results;
  
• define the major factors that influence an individual political socialization;
  
• describe the major ways in which Americans participate in the electoral process;
  
• analyze the role of the media in the American political system;
  
• explain the role and function of political parties;
  
• explain the process for electing congressional and presidential candidates to political office;
  
• explain how the Electoral College functions;
  
• assess the importance of incumbency in congressional elections;
  
• discuss the roles and functions of interest groups on the political process;
  
• explain the roles, duties, and functions of the US Congress;
  
• compare and contrast the inner workings of the Senate and the House of Representatives;
  
• explain the various factors that determine how a bill becomes a law.
  
• assess the role of congressional committees in facilitating the legislative process;
  
• explain the role and constitutional powers of the presidency, vice presidency, and the cabinet;
  
• explain how the bureaucracy functions as the implementation arm of the Executive Branch;
  
• explain the constitutional origins and structure of the federal court system and the Supreme Court;
  
• analyze the difference between the legal philosophies of judicial restraint and judicial activism;
  
• discuss the importance of judicial review as a power-checking mechanism on the other branches of government;
  
• assess the ways in which the judicial nomination process has become politicized over time;
  
• distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties;
  
• explain the various constitutional protections afforded to individuals in the Bill of Rights;
  
• trace the history of the civil rights movement and the expansion of civil rights to other disenfranchised groups;
  
• define public policy and explain the major steps in the policy-making process;
  
• explain the federal appropriations and budgetary process;
  
• explain the various theories of tax and spending policies and their methods of implementation; and
  
• trace the history and goals of economic, social, and foreign policy in the United States.
  

Throughout this course, you'll also see related learning outcomes identified in each unit. You can use the learning outcomes to help organize your learning and gauge your progress.

Suggested Prerequisites

In order to take this course, you should:

• have read the Saylor Student Handbook.