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Since this course is being offered via the Internet, you will have numerous opportunities to use the World Wide Web to explore in depth topics of interest and special concern to you.

While each student is expected to gain a mastery over a set of common primary learning objectives, you will also be able to customize your studies to meet your own individual needs, by choosing secondary learning objective exercises which match your own concerns and interests.

The Arizona Constitution
This module will explore the definition of a constitution, examine how Arizona’s constitution relates to the U.S. Constitution, compare Arizona's constitution with other state constitutions, and analyze in detail some interesting features particular to Arizona’s constitution.  We will pay especially close attention to the guarantees of direct democracy enshrined in Arizona's constitution, including the rights of initiative, referendum and recall.

The Judiciary
A comprehensive exploration of the structure of Arizona's judiciary, including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Courts, and Justice of the Peace/City Courts. Issues such as the relationship between state and Federal courts, the selection of judges, and the expanding jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace courts will be discussed in detail.

The Executive Branch
Examines the responsibilities of the major executive branch offices, including the Governor, the Attorney General, the Corporation Commission, the Secretary of State, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Treasurer, and the State Mine Inspector.

The Legislative Branch
This module explores the structure of the Arizona Legislature, qualifications for legislators, term limits, apportionment and legislative districts, the lawmaking process, and the role of lobbyists in influencing legislation.

Political Parties and Elections
We will investigate the nature of political parties in Arizona, discuss the types of elections in Arizona and analyze some recent elections results, and analyze the decline in party membership among Arizona voters.

Finances
We will explore the state budget, examining sources of revenue, priorities for spending, and the priorities assigned to various state services in the competition of budget resources.  We will also consider how the budget reflects the social values and priorities of the citizens and legislators who create it.

Local Government and Current Issues
This final module explores the numerous local governmental entities which directly affect our lives.  You will also have the opportunity to explore current political issues and, if you so desire, to participate in the political debate surrounding them.

Students Taking this Course for Transfer Credit

Assignments and Grading

For those of you taking this course for college credit and expect to use the hours toward a degree program, (probably in education), it is recommended that you take this class for a grade. If you choose to take the pass/fail or credit/no credit option, please be certain that the institution you intend to transfer to will accept a pass/fail or credit/no credit grade.

Please notify the instructor if you decide to take this course for credit only, otherwise it will be assumed that you are seeking a letter grade for course work.

Each module of the course has associated with it a series of assignments. These assignments, for the most part, are relatively uniform from module to module.  The main assignments are as follows: reading of assigned material, completing any Learning Exercises assigned within each lesson, taking the self-graded tutorial quizzes at the end of each lesson, taking and submitting the graded module review quiz, and finally completing a minimum number of secondary learning objective exercises chosen from among the options presented at the end of each of the eight modules.

Grading for the course will be as follows:

Module Review Quizzes and Learning Exercises
These questions and assignments are clearly stated in each module, and directions should be relatively easy to follow.

Final Exam
This exam is an open computer test. The objective is to find all of the right answers, basically using all the means at your disposal. This test is similar to a scavenger hunt, except that you will be hunting through the course materials and the Internet to find the answers to true/false questions presented in the exam.

Secondary Learning Objective Exercises
The primary learning objectives of each unit will be met through learning exercises, module review quizzes, and the final exam.  However, there are also a number of Secondary Learning Objective Exercises listed within each module.  All modules have at least three secondary learning objective exercises; some have more.  These secondary learning objective exercises provide you with the opportunity to focus on the specific issues that you find the most interesting. You are required to complete a total of four secondary learning objective exercises of your own choosing by the time you complete the course.  I think that you will find these to be very enjoyable.
Please be sure to send me evidence that you have completed each one, such as a copy of a letter; brief explanation; email attachment; etc.