Course

Course Summary
Credit Type:
Course
ACE ID:
ACPE-0072
Organization's ID:
POLS101
Organization:
Alternative Credit Project Ecosystem
Location:
Online
Length:
This is a self-paced online course
Dates Offered:
Credit Recommendation & Competencies
Level Credits (SH) Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate 3 American Government
Description

Objective:

The course objective is to provide context, history, and insight into the American Government; understand how the founders created a democracy based upon the ideals of liberty, equality, and self-government; explore how the government is structured and how it operates; examine the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) that make up the system of checks and balances; and explore the constitution as a foundation for the government of today and as a changing, living document meeting the needs of contemporary America.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Understand their lasting influence on the nation's politics
  • Explain how these rights and liberties are achieved through politics
  • Understand the division of political power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government
  • Evaluate how the policies of the United States reflect the nature of its political system and its people, and why they tend to be piecemeal and reactive
  • Examine the ideas that the United States was founded upon
  • Distinguish between civil rights and civil liberties
  • Explore how citizens participate in public affairs during elections and through intermediaries such as political parties, interest groups, and the media and the way Americans think politically, and describe the effect their opinions have on government
  • Recognize the relationships between the people and the government
  • Compare and contrast the structures of the federal, state, and local governments

General Topics:

  • American political culture
  • Constitutional democracy
  • Federalism
  • Civil liberties
  • Civil rights
  • Public opinion and mass media
  • Voting and party systems
  • Interest groups
  • Getting elected to congress
  • Congressional governance
  • The President and the bureaucracy
  • The judiciary
  • Public policy
  • State and local politics
Instruction & Assessment

Instructional Strategies:

  • Audio Visual Materials
  • Computer Based Training

Methods of Assessment:

  • Examinations
  • Quizzes

Minimum Passing Score:

70%
Supplemental Materials