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| Course Description: | This course is intended
only for those who have completed their Bachelors degree and need to
fulfill Arizona’s state requirement concerning the U.S.
Constitution. It is not intended to transfer to another college or
university, but only to fulfill the state requirement.
This course will survey the philosophical roots and origins of the Constitution as well as investigate the process of its development and its essential features, structure and meaning. Since this course is being offered via the internet, you will have numerous opportunities to use the World Wide Web to explore topic of interest to you in depth beyond the requirements of the course. 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.
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| Topics to Be Covered: | Philosophical Roots
It is important to understand some of the philosophical roots and origins of the Constitution. This module will explore some of the contributions of important social and political philosophers as they relate to the development of the Constitution. Pre Constitutional Era The Constitution was not created out of a vacuum, but out of a series of historical events and circumstances. Here we will look at some of these conditions and relate them to the eventual development of the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention has been a focus of many a scholar. A brief overview of the convention will be conducted. The focus will be on political and not historical issues. Constitutional Amendments Here we will investigate the changing nature of the Constitution by looking at the amending process and some of the changes the Constitution has undergone. Federalism Our system of government that emerged out of the structure of power provided by the Constitution is called federalism. Here we will explore the nature of federalism. Supreme Court and the Constitution Much of the actual meaning attributed to the U.S. Constitution has been through Supreme Court opinions. The process of court decision making and selected Supreme Court cases will be examined. Modern Issues and Concerns The Constitution and our system of government, federalism, are continually evolving. That is, our system is dynamic and not static. This module will illustrate this and give you an opportunity to reflect on modern federalism, and current Constitutional issues as they relate to you.
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| Assignments and Grading: | 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
of any learning exercises assigned within each lesson, submitting the
module review quiz, submitting a final exam, and the completing of
secondary learning exercises chosen from the options presented at the
end of each of the modules.
Grading for the course will be as follows: Module Review Quizzes – 30% Each of the modules will have a quiz at the end. The quizzes are a series of questions that you will need to answer using the information provided. They are all short answer quizzes that will be submitted through email. Final Exam – 25% The final exam will be an "open" computer exam. The objective, of course, is to find all of the right answers using any means at your disposal. This test is similar to a scavenger hunt that will require you to review the course material and use some of the provided links to find the answers. Secondary Learning Assignments- 25 %Each of the units has a series of secondary learning exercises that are intended to allow you to explore personal issues and concerns related to the course. You will need to complete four of these of your choosing. You will need to submit "proof" that you have completed each one. Usually this would mean through email that would describe what you have completed, or as an attachment or copy of the completed work. Posting in Chat Rooms – 20% The course will have an asynchronous chat room that means that you will be provided with an opportunity to post your thoughts in a location where others can read them and react. This chat room is not "live", but really a discussion room where you will be required to write on a topic. The requirement is that you post, or write, on at least one topic and react or respond to one other student’s posting. The length of your initial posting should be at least 200 words, and your response to a posting at least 50 words. You will find this assignment located in the final module
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Grades/Transcripts
This course will be graded only as a Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit. This means that if you complete the course with a minimum of 70%, then you will be given a P for Pass. No letter grades will be assigned. The Arizona Department of Education does not require a grade, and a P will be sufficient to meet the state requirement. Once you have finished I will send your grade to the registrar's office. You will need to contract them in order to request a transcript. The registrar's office has been very kind to accept phone requests, and you can contact them at: (520) 524-7663 or 7664 or 7665. You can also drop by one of NPC's various locations and fill out a transcript request form.
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