POLS101

    August 1, 2024

STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.

POL101 Introduction to Political Science (3 hours)

Introduction to Political Science explains foundational principles of the field. Students will learn the purpose of political science, common terms and concepts, and subfields. Among these are introductions to political philosophies and ideologies, comparative systems of government, and international relations. The course also examines the professional and academic fields to which a political science degree is relevant.

  1. Explain the purpose of political science
  2. Identify participants in a political system
  3. Differentiate types of policy and government output
  4. Discuss common theories of international relations
  5. Compare and contrast political systems
  6. Analyze competing political ideologies

POLS101 is a week by week course that is completely online.

  1. Lesson Notes
  2. Web resources and assigned readings
  3. Students also must have access to the internet and Microsoft Office. Alternatively, Openoffice.org’s productivity suite is compatible with Microsoft.
  4. Portfolium https://portfolium.com/login

Grades for this course will be based upon the evaluation tools below:

Grade Instruments:% of Final Grade
1.  Weekly discussions60%
2.  Topic selection and outline10%
3.  Final Presentation30%
 100%

Forums

Discussion forums are opportunities to demonstrate knowledge of required readings and to apply them to current events appropriately.

Note: Satisfactorily meeting forum minimum requirements will result in a grade of a C or higher (A, B, or C). It is not a guarantee that an A will be earned.

Assignment and Forum Submission Deadlines:

The initial response to the forum question is due Friday at 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time each week. Replies to classmates’ posts are due Sunday evening at 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time. Assignments and the portfolio are due 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time of their respective weeks. For each day a submission is late, it is penalized 10% of the maximum grade.

Citation and Reference Style

Chicago/Turabian formatting is standard for political science, but any formal citation style is acceptable, such as APA and MLA.

Forum discussions do not require formal citations, but sources should be named when used.

Plagiarism Penalty: Assignments that contain plagiarized element may be awarded a final grade of zero and a report of plagiarism to the university. Subsequent violations may result in failing the capstone.

Visit the APUS library for assistance in research, citations, and writing.

WeekTopicLearning ObjectivesReadingsAssignment
  1  What Political Science Is  CO 1Week 1 Lesson Week 1  Forum 1
2Political ParticipationCO 2Week 2 Lesson Week 2Forum 2
3Policy and Government OutputCO 3Week 3 Lesson Week 3Forum 3
  4  Ideology  CO 6Week 4 Lesson Week 4Topic Selection and Outline Assignment
5Comparative SystemsCO 5Week 5 Lesson Week 5Forum 5
6The U.S. SystemCO 5Week 6 Lesson Week 6Forum 6
7International RelationsCO 4Week 7 Lesson Week 7Forum 7
8Careers in Political ScienceCO 1-6Week 8 Lesson Week 8Final Presentation

Please see the Student Handbook to reference all University policies. Quick links to frequently asked question about policies are listed below.

Drop/Withdrawal Policy Plagiarism Policy

Extension Process and Policy Disability Accommodations Grading Scale

Netiquette

Online universities promote the advancement of knowledge through positive and constructive discussion. Incidents personal attacks or overtly offensive language will not be allowed in class.

Humor Note: Despite the best of intentions, written jokes and especially satire are sometimes misinterpreted or taken seriously. While humor is welcome, you may wish to add emoticons or some other tip to let everyone know you’re kidding: ;-), : ), J

The online library is available to enrolled students and faculty from inside the electronic campus. This is your starting point for access to online books, subscription periodicals, and web resources that are designed to support your classes and generally not available through search engines on the open web. In addition, the online library provides access to special learning resources, which the University has contracted to assist with your studies. Questions can be directed to librarian@apus.edu.

  • Charles Town Library and Inter Library Loan: The university maintains a special library with a limited number of supporting volumes, collection of our professors’ publication, and services to search and borrow research books and articles from other libraries.
  • Electronic Books: You can use the online library to uncover and download over 50,000 titles, which have been scanned and made available in electronic format.
  • Electronic Journals: The university provides access to over 12,000 journals, which are available in electronic form and only through limited subscription services.
  • Tutor.com: AMU and APU Civilian & Coast Guard students are eligible for 10 free hours of tutoring provided by APUS. Tutor.com connects you with a professional tutor online 24/7 to provide help with assignments, studying, test prep, resume writing, and more. Tutor.com is tutoring the way it was meant to be.

To view library guides, see: http://apus.libguides.com/index.php

Assignments are submitted to Turnitin.com, which analyzes submissions for potential plagiarism.

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