{"id":2776,"date":"2023-08-23T06:24:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T10:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/?page_id=2776"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:30:28","slug":"psc221-state-local-government","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/?page_id=2776","title":{"rendered":"PSC221 – State & Local Government"},"content":{"rendered":"

PSC221 – State & Local Government:<\/strong>\"side3b\"<\/p>\n

This page contains the information for PSC221 – State & Local Government at QCC.<\/p>\n

I. EXCERPTS FROM THE SYLLABUS
\nA. CONTACT INFO
\nCollege Email: jlimanek@qcc.mass.edu
\nPersonal Email: proflimanek@gmail.com<\/p>\n

B. TEXTS:
\nBowman & Kearney, State and Local Government: The Essentials, Sixth Edition, Wadsworth Publishing ISBN-13: 978-1111341497
\nNOTE: you may use any previous edition back to the 4th Edition for this course if you can find a copy online.<\/p>\n

C. ASSIGNMENTS:
\nExams:
\nTo make the content more manageable, the course will be divided into four sections. For each section, there will be one exam given upon completion. Each exam will only contain material from the preceding section. Meaning, none of the exams will be cumulative.
\n\u2022\tExams #1, #2, & #3 will each count as 15% of your final grade.
\n\u2022\tExam #4 (final) will count as 35%
\nThe exams will be multi-faceted, consisting of matching, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short-essay questions. All students enrolled in the course must be present on the day of the exams to receive full credit. Penalties may be applied for all work not completed when assigned (10 points for every \u201cclass\u201d day until it is completed). <\/p>\n

Research Paper:
\nAdditionally, there will be a short college-level research paper (approximately 6-8 pages in length), which will count as 20% of your grade. For grading procedures, please refer to the \u201cpaper\u201d section of my website for the specific details of this assignment. The paper will be due on the second to last week of class. It will be submitted via email – no hard copies will be accepted. Topics for your paper are due by the third week of class. This may be submitted via email, but final approval will occur during class. Penalties will be imposed if either is late without prior approval by the professor. <\/p>\n

Extra Credit:
\nThere are three ways for all students to earn extra credit throughout the term.
\n#1 Quizzes \u2013 There MAY be pop quizzes randomly given throughout the term. You must be present to receive credit. No make-ups for missed quizzes will be offered because quizzes are graded as extra credit.
\n#2 Homework \u2013 Homework assignments will be given throughout the term. Typically these involve answering the chapter review questions from within your textbook or reader. Grades for these assignments will be counted as quiz points.
\n#3 Additional Written Assignments \u2013 Opportunities for extra written assignments may be offered if deemed appropriate.
\nAll extra credit points will be totaled and added to your current average throughout the term. The impact of these points are significant \u2013 for every five points earned, your average will increase by one point. By the conclusion of the term, most classes will have the opportunity to add as much as two grade points if all extra credit work is completed in proper fashion. <\/p>\n

Generative AI Use – For the purposes of this course, no use of generative AI in any form is permitted. Intellectual honesty is vital for fair evaluation of work. All work submitted must be the student\u2019s own, completed in accordance with the College\u2019s academic honesty policy. Students may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software with the exception of Grammarly for grammatical editing only. All work in which the use of generative AI is suspected will be graded as a zero. <\/p>\n

D. ATTENDANCE POLICY:
\nAttendance:
\nYou are required to come to class on time every scheduled meeting. However, there may be times when situations arise which are beyond your control. With that in mind, I will allow you to miss either FOUR<\/strong> (if class meets twice per week) or SIX<\/strong> (if class meets three times per week) classes per term without penalty. You will be penalized 3 points<\/strong> off of your final average for each absence over the allowed limit. <\/p>\n

For example, if you miss two classes more than you are allowed, 6 points will be deducted from your final grade. So, hypothetically, a B of 85 will become a C+ of 79.<\/p>\n

NOTE: While I do my best to keep an accurate tabulation of attendance throughout the term, any penalty incurred for missing more classes than allowed will not be deducted until your final average in totaled.
\nOn the other hand, you will receive a bonus of 3 points if you are actively present for every scheduled class session. This too will be added to your final average.<\/p>\n

Due to the constraints of missing too many classes, YOU WILL FAIL THIS COURSE<\/strong> if you miss more than either EIGHT<\/strong> (if class meets twice per week) or TWELVE<\/strong> (if class meets three time per week) scheduled meetings.<\/p>\n

NOTE: because I allow you to miss TWO WEEKS of classes without penalty, there will be no \u201cexcused\u201d absences granted under any circumstance unless you are granted a medical leave of absence from the college or you are involved in a college-related event (ex. away game; nursing practical, etc) . So, be sure to use your absences wisely.<\/p>\n

It is your responsibility to see if you missed anything. Be sure to check with either me or your classmates after class to find out any important info you may have missed. Due to time constraints, you must schedule an appointment with me to review any missed notes. NOTE: if your absences results in you missing a quiz, you will not be granted a makeup because a) quizzes in almost every class amount to extra-credit points and b) I typically review the answers when the quizzes are collected. <\/p>\n

Attendance \u2013 Tardies
\nPlease arrive on time. I almost always begin the moment your class is scheduled to start. As you will see, several things occur at the start of class: a) I will check attendance, b) I give a quiz, c) I will present items of importance to the class such as exam dates or assignments, and\/or d) I will review the major points from the previous session. <\/p>\n

Generally, no penalty will be applied if you arrive to class late. The only time you will receive a penalty is if your tardiness is habitual. If you are frequently late, you will first receive a personal warning. Thereafter, every two tardies will count as an absence.<\/p>\n

If you are late, it is your responsibility to check-in at the conclusion of class to ensure that your presence was noted. If you fail to do so, you may be marked absent. It is also your responsibility to see if you missed anything. Be sure to check with either me or your classmates after class to find out any important info you may have missed. Due to time constraints, you must schedule an appointment with me to review any missed notes (same as if you were absent). NOTE: if miss you tardiness causes you to miss a quiz, you will not be granted a makeup because a) quizzes in almost every class amount to extra-credit points and b) I typically review the answers when the quizzes are collected. <\/p>\n

For Exam#1
\nLecture I: Introduction; What is Government?<\/a>
\nLecture II: Federalism: Design, Operation, & Evolution<\/a>
\nAdvantages and Disadvantages of Federalism<\/A><\/p>\n

For Exam#2
\nLecture III: Relationship between the States & Local Governments<\/a>
\nLecture IV: Constitution of the Commonwealth<\/a>
\n The Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1629<\/a>
\nThe Body of Liberties 1641<\/a>
\nThe Charter of the Provence of Massachusetts Bay 1691<\/A>
\nConstitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1780<\/A>
\nLecture V: State Legislatures; The Massachusetts General Court<\/a>
\nGeneral Court: Bill to Law Chart<\/A><\/p>\n

For Exam#3
\nLecture VI: Governors<\/a>
\nLecture VII: State Judiciary<\/a>
\nLecture VIII: State Bureaucracy<\/a><\/p>\n

For Exam#4
\nLecture IX: Elections; Citizen Participation; & Local Politics<\/a>
\nLecture X: Political Parties & Interest Groups<\/a>
\nLecture XI: Local Government<\/a>
\nRights of Citizens & Taxes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PSC221 – State & Local Government: This page contains the information for PSC221 – State & Local Government at QCC. I. EXCERPTS FROM THE SYLLABUS A. CONTACT INFO College Email: jlimanek@qcc.mass.edu Personal Email: proflimanek@gmail.com B. TEXTS: Bowman & Kearney, State and Local Government: The Essentials, Sixth Edition, Wadsworth Publishing ISBN-13: 978-1111341497 NOTE: you may use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2776","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2776"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3172,"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2776\/revisions\/3172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cx1pro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}