Faculty Syllabus
GOVT-2305 United States Government
Lane Seever
Credit Spring 2026
Section(s)
GOVT-2305-051 (16905)
LEC RRC ONL DIL
LEC W 3:00pm - 4:20pm RRC RRC1 1218.00
Course Requirements
US GOVERNMENT 2305 SYLLABUS SPR 2026
INSTRUCTOR: NORT SEEVER PHONE: 512-413-6441
E-MAIL lseever@austincc.edu OFFICE HOURS:WED 4:20—5:15 PM and as arranged
Section#051 SYN 16905 ONL
TEXT:
The textbook for this class is available online for free! It can be downloaded on the course BlackBoard page under the start here tab.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a Hybrid, meaning both online and in class, introduction to United States national government so there will be required class meetings and also class days where attendance will not be required, but it will be recommended as class discussions will add to the informat9ion provided in the textbook and online lectures. That said, it will be vital to your overall success to regularly log in to BlackBaord and to check your ACC email, watch/listen to the recorded lectures, read assigned materials as found in the course schedule. You are responsible for the material covered in readings and lectures and for being aware of and adhering to deadlines for assignments and tests.
COURSE POLICIES/EVALUATION
Grades will be determined by a point system as described below. Final grades will be determined per the usual scale for ACC courses: 90%+=A, 80-89% B, etc). All student work is expected to be turned in at the scheduled time. Tests will be given in the classroom during the term as noted on the class schedule. They will include both objective and essay questions. There will be no make-up tests. If a student should miss a test with prior notice to the instructor and valid reason, the points for that test can be earned on the final comprehensive exam. Otherwise a student will receive no points for the test. If a student should miss more than one test, then the second (or additional test grades) will be scored as a zero. No re-tests will be allowed for any reason. Students will be given out of class written assignments (Deep Dives and Discussion posts) in each unit which will be assigned in the PackBack app on the course BlackBoard page. There will be two Deep Dive essays and five Discussion posts (two questions posted that are related to the concepts under study in that unit and three reply posts to other students’ questions.) They will be due for submission to BlackBoard on the assigned day before the test that day is begun and late work will not be accepted for credit. It is the student’s responsibility to assure receipt to the instructor by the due deadline. There will be no opportunities for extra credit assignments, except at the possible discretion of the instructor due to current events. The students will also be provided with study guides for the tests on the course BlackBoard page in each Unit Content tab as well as other aids for student learning.
DEEP DIVES TWO PER UNIT (50 PTS.) 150 PTS.
TESTS ONE PER UNIT (200 PTS.) 600 PTS.
FINAL EXAM (400 PTS.) 400 PTS.
DISCUSSIONS (5 PER UNIT) (100 PTS.) 100 PTS.
1250 PTS.
The final exam will be optional for students. Students who find themselves on the border of the next higher grade or who wish to improve their grade to the next level may wish to take the exam to take advantage of any extra points earned. Those who do not take the exam will be graded on a maximum point amount of 85050.
ATTENDANCE
Students will be encouraged to attend all scheduled class meetings at RRC and also use Blackboard for class lectures/resources and the PackBack app for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, and collaboration. Student success is highly dependent upon effectively utilizing the in person and video lectures as information which may not be presented in the text will be presented during in person and video sessions. Class video lectures will be most often based upon the assumption that you have completed the reading assigned. Lectures will develop and enhance concepts that may or may not have been found in the reading. Expecting the instructor to outline the class session in an individual message to you is not realistic.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY
It shall be the students’ responsibility to monitor progress throughout the semester and to initiate withdrawal if needed. If you need to withdraw, the instructor should be notified as soon as possible. Students who are not attending and/or not making progress in the course MAY be withdrawn by the instructor after a warning notice is sent to the student via email. Students are encouraged to be aware of the withdrawal deadline found in the ACC course catalog and online (April 27). If you are not withdrawn from the course, then a grade will be assigned based upon points earned in the course. Furthermore, no incompletes shall be given unless a valid reason is approved in advance by the instructor and department chair.
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY/ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but it not limited to, cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarism (using another person’s words or arguments without attribution), and collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for any course requirement).
If the student commits any of the above actions, the instructor will seek disciplinary action in the form of an academic penalty (which may include an assignment grade of zero or a course grade of “F”). Such disciplinary action will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class discussion forums at a time frame consistent with having read the assigned chapters in the text and viewed the video lectures associated with the topics of the discussions. Discussion responses will be submitted to the PackBack app in a forum for each unit and they will be graded based on a “curiosity score” of at least 45 for each posting. These assignments may be completed at any time prior to the test date for full credit with full completion of the discussion assignment. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, particularly about political ideas, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. Students may not only disagree with each other, but they may find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics. It is the instructor’s hope that these differences will enhance discussions and create an atmosphere of reflection where the students and instructor are encouraged to learn from each other. Student grades will not be adversely affected by beliefs expressed in class or on assignments relative to controversial topics, but respect of all views on course topics shall be expected.
No use of generative AI is permitted outside of the use of the PackBack app and related documented AI resources . The PackBack app will likely be showing real time suggestions for your submission which you can use or ignore at your own discretion. Meaning a student’s paper and paper content should be generated by the student and should reflect the student’s own original ideas. Using AI to generate your entire paper will be considered an act of plagiarism and will be subjected to the Academic Dishonesty process of ACC. This includes, but is not limited to text, audio, visual, graphics and artwork. You will receive an alert in PackBack if your submission rises high on their analysis of AI text and you are encouraged to make reasonable text changes to lower that AI assessment. However, if you did not use any AI assisted resources for your paper (be aware that resources such as Grammarly are AI assisted) and receive a high AI score in PackBack, simply send me an email describing the exact procedure you used for composing your assignment and I will then do a manual AI check from resources other than PackBack. If you are an experienced and capable writer your text may be identified as AI even though you did not consult an AI resources, so do not be overly concerned in such cases.
Failure to follow this policy will result in a violation of the Academic Dishonesty Policy of ACC.
Broader use of some AI that is acceptable includes spell and grammar check technology. If you want to use a form of AI not covered explicitly in this policy you must consult with me and have an agreement before submitting any assignment.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
SCHEDULE OF EXPECTATIONS SPRING SEMESTER 2026
(See the study guide and unit outline for each unit for specifics of course elements.)
DATE TOPIC(S) READING
JAN 20 Background, Basic definitions CH. 1
21 Governments and Conflict/Democratic Theory/Constitution CH. 2
24 Federalism CH. 3
29 Civil Rights and the Constitution CH. 1
FEB 1 Due Process Rights
8 Equal Protection and the 14th Amendment CH. 16
12 Unit 1 Assignments and Test due date
14 Nature of the Federal courts CH. 14
23 Political Participation/Party systems CH. 4,6
MAR 2 Campaign Finance/Primary Elections
9 Interest Groups/General elections CH. 5,7
12 Unit 2 Assignments and Test 2 Due
23 Organization/Structure of Congress CH. 9
29 Committees/Passage of Bills/Congress Issues and Evaluation
APR 4 Presidential Availability/Style CH. 10
8 Presidential Elections/Strategy
13 Presidential Roles/Neustadt analysis of Presidential power 21 Nature of Foreign Policy CH. 13
30 Power in IR/Deterrence
MAY 7 Unit Three Assignments and Test 3 Due
14 FINAL EXAMINATION (Optional)
Students Are encouraged to complete reading assignments by the dates above to be able to meet expectations for preparations for written assignments and test dates which are included above. Note that the due dates for assignments and tests are not negotiable unless you encounter a serious medical emerganecy and notify me before the due date.
The schedule above is subject to change as needed by the progress of the class, but will be avoided unless absolutely needed. Students will be given advance notice of any changes in the due dates of assignments or tests. Any changes will be announced in class and posted as a Blackboard Announcement (or other resource faculty is using to communicate).
Office Hours
W Th 12:00 PM - 12:01 PM RRC or Online via Zoom
NOTE Class 16905 OH-- RRC in the classroom after class Class 34138-- Zoom Thursday 7:45-8:45 Class 16891-- Zoom Th 10:20-11:20Published: 01/16/2026 16:04:14