This course promotes clear and effective communication by sharpening critical thinking and writing skills. The first unit is designed to change the way in which students think about writing--as a conversation rather than a solitary act. The second unit focuses on academic writing and explores the PWR-Writing or Power-Writing Method (PWR Pre-Write, Write, Revise). The remaining units will focus on the minutiae of good writing practices, from style to citation methodology. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Demonstrate mastery of principles of grammar, usage, mechanics, and sentence structure. Identify the thesis in another individual's essay. Develop a thesis statement, structure it in an introductory paragraph, and support it with the body of the essay. Organize ideas logically within an essay, deploying adequate transitional devices to ensure coherence, flow, and focus. Differentiate between rhetorical strategies and write with an awareness of rhetorical technique and audience. Differentiate between tones and write with an awareness of how tone affects the audience's experience. Demonstrate critical and analytical thinking for reading and writing purposes. Quote, paraphrase, and document the work of others. Write sentences that vary in length and structure. (English 001)

English 101 focuses on the analysis of basic human issues as presented in literature with an emphasis on analytic reading, writing and discussion, and on development of argumentative essays based on textual analysis, with attention to style, audience and documentation. By writing several analytical, thesis-driven essays which show engagement with and understanding of a variety of texts, students will practice the critical thinking, reading and writing skills which comprise an important component of college and university studies as well as clear, audience-appropriate communications in other professional settings.This class is comprised of a series of three units, each of which is centered around an essay assignment. For each unit, in addition to the essay itself, you‰ŰŞll be asked to respond to reading assignments and to complete exploratory writing assignments. You‰ŰŞll do a lot of reading and writing, and your instructor will ask you to respond to ideas from our texts, from specific assignments, and from each other. Login: guest_oclPassword: ocl

This survey chemistry course is designed to introduce students to the world of chemistry. In this course, we will study chemistry from the ground up, learning the basics of the atom and its behavior. We will apply this knowledge to understand the chemical properties of matter and the changes and reactions that take place in all types of matter. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Define the general term 'chemistry.' Distinguish between the physical and chemical properties of matter. Distinguish between mixtures and pure substances. Describe the arrangement of the periodic table. Perform mathematical operations involving significant figures. Convert measurements into scientific notation. Explain the law of conservation of mass, the law of definite composition, and the law of multiple proportions. Summarize the essential points of Dalton's atomic theory. Define the term 'atom.' Describe electron configurations. Draw Lewis structures for molecules. Name ionic and covalent compounds using the rules for nomenclature of inorganic compounds. Explain the relationship between enthalpy change and a reaction's tendency to occur. (Chemistry 101; See also: Biology 105. Mechanical Engineering 004)

Comparative politics is the systematic study and comparison of the world's political systems. The course begins by discussing the factors and categories of analysis that political scientists and important international institutions like the World Bank, NATO, and the United Nations use regularly; it ends by comparing and contrasting governments from five different regions of the world: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Define the chief characteristics of a nation state; Identify and explain various comparative methodologies used to compare various political systems; Distinguish between unitary, federal, and confederal governmental models; Compare and contrast political cultures in selected countries; Compare and contrast political socialization in selected countries; Describe and explain patterns of representation and participation in selected countries; Compare and contrast the roles and functions of political parties in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of interest groups in selected countries; Identify and explain governance and policy-making in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the executive in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the judicial branch in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the bureaucracy and the policy process in selected countries; Describe and explain the political economy and development in selected countries; Identify and explain political challenges and changing agendas in selected countries. (Political Science 221)

This course will introduce students to the field of computer science and the fundamentals of computer programming. No prior programming experience is required. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of the history of computing as well as fundamental hardware and software concepts; Demonstrate an understanding of the programming life cycle; Explain how the JVM translates Java code into executable code; Demonstrate an understanding of Object-Oriented Programming concepts; Demonstrate an understanding of basic Java concepts by writing simple programs; Demonstrate an understanding of logical and relational operators as well as control structures; Demonstrate proficiency in basic Java I/O techniques by writing small programs. (Computer Science 101; See also: Mathematics 302)

In this course, the student will first learn about waves and oscillations in extended objects using classical mechanics. The course will then examine the sources and laws that govern static electricity and magnetism. A brief look at electrical measurements and circuits will help establish how electromagnetic effects are observed, measured, and applied. These topics lead to an examination of how Maxwell's equations unify electric and magnetic effects and how the solutions to Maxwell's equations describe electromagnetic radiation, which will serve as the basis for understanding all electromagnetic radiation, from very low frequency radiation emitted by power transmission lines to the most powerful astrophysical gamma rays. The course also investigates optics and launches a brief overview of Einstein's special theory of relativity. A basic knowledge of calculus is assumed. (Physics 102; See also: Biology 110, Chemistry 002, Mechanical Engineering 006)

This course will survey physics concepts and their respective applications; it is intended as a basic introduction to the current physical understanding of our universe. In this course, the student will study physics from the ground up, learning the basic principles of physical law, their application to the behavior of objects, and the use of the scientific method in driving advances in this knowledge. This course focuses on Newtonian mechanics--how objects move and interact--rather than Electromagnetism or Quantum Mechanics. While mathematics is the language of physics, the student need only be familiar with high school-level algebra, geometry, and trigonometry; the small amount of additional math needed will be developed during the course. (Physics 101; See also: Biology 109, Chemistry 001, Mechanical Engineering 005)

This survey course can be used by students who are looking to take just one general overview course or by those who want to go on to more advanced study in any of the subfields that comprise the political science discipline, such as American politics, comparative politics, international politics, or political theory. The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the discipline's concepts, terminology, and methods and to explore instances of applied political science through real world examples. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Describe and evaluate the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority; Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state; Distinguish between traditional and behavioral approaches to the study of politics; Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political philosophy, political systems theory, and political economy; Describe and discuss the political socialization process; Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective; Discuss the nature of public opinion from a comparative perspective; Identify the different types of electoral systems and be able to assess the implications of those systems; Identify the role and functions of political parties; Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective; Describe and evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems; Describe and compare the essential features of at least three governments of Western Europe; Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments; Discuss the concepts of political development and problems facing developing nations; Discuss and explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, Marxist socialism, national socialism, fascism, and third world ideologies; Describe the origins, development, and principles of international law; Identify and assess the influence of major international organizations; Describe and analyze the causes of international conflict; Analyze current critical issues in international relationships. (Political Science 101)

This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of psychology. It begins with a short overview of the discipline's development and principal methodologies. The subsequent units are arranged around broad areas of research, including emotion, development, memory, and psychopathology. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify the steps of the scientific method and explain how this method applies to psychological research methodology and statistical analyses; Demonstrate an understanding of the general history of the field; Explain the nature versus nurture argument and the current status of thinking regarding gene-environment interaction; Identify the basic components and mechanisms of the major biological systems often studied in psychology; Demonstrate an understanding of the basic findings within a variety of areas of psychology, including sensation and perception, memory and learning, development, social psychology, and psychopathology. (Psychology 101)

This course covers descriptive statistics, the foundation of statistics, probability and random distributions, and the relationships between various characteristics of data. Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to: Define the meaning of descriptive statistics and statistical inference; Distinguish between a population and a sample; Explain the purpose of measures of location, variability, and skewness; Calculate probabilities; Explain the difference between how probabilities are computed for discrete and continuous random variables; Recognize and understand discrete probability distribution functions, in general; Identify confidence intervals for means and proportions; Explain how the central limit theorem applies in inference; Calculate and interpret confidence intervals for one population average and one population proportion; Differentiate between Type I and Type II errors; Conduct and interpret hypothesis tests; Compute regression equations for data; Use regression equations to make predictions; Conduct and interpret ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). (Mathematics 121; See also: Biology 104, Computer Science 106, Economics 104, Psychology 201)

This course introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of moral and political philosophy. Its primary focus is on the development of moral reasoning skills and the application of those skills to contemporary social and political issues. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Discuss several major theories of justice and morality, including utilitarianism, libertarianism, social contract theory, deontology, and the ethics/politics of virtue; Demonstrate how moral and political dilemmas are handled differently by each set of theoretical principles; Develop their analytical skills through interpreting the consequences of various moral principles and revising principles to correspond with their own conceptions of justice; Discuss the relationship between morality and politics; Formulate their own positions concerning moral and political principles, especially in regards to particular issues discussed in this course; Discuss the origins of western democratic politics and constitutional government; Address a range of difficult and controversial moral and political issues, including murder, the income tax, corporate cost-benefit analysis, lying, affirmative action, and same-sex marriage. (Philosophy 103)

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a fundamental understanding of the principles of macroeconomics. Macroeconomists study how a country's economy works and try to determine the best choices to improve the overall wellbeing of a nation. Typical topics include inflation (the overall level of prices), employment, fiscal policy (government taxing and spending), and money and banking (interest rates and lending policies). By studying macroeconomics and understanding the critical ideas and tools used to measure economic data, the student will have a better perspective on the issues and problems discussed in contemporary economics. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Discuss key macroeconomic concerns, including national income accounting, saving and investment, and market forces; Describe the determinants of total output and the ways to measure nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as real GDP; Compare and contrast definitions of total employment and unemployment, the three forms of unemployment, and inflation; Explain different ways of computing the general movement in prices, and define the relationship between inflation and unemployment; Explain the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply; Analyze the government's role in the economy and examine how it uses its fiscal policy and monetary policy to influence macroeconomic variables in order to enable macro and micro economic stability; Describe the mechanics of money supply in detail. They will specifically be able to identify different types of money; explain the money creation process, the money multiplier, and the process of interest rate determination; and discuss the role of the Federal Reserve System and its tools of monetary policy; Identify and analyze major theories of economic growth; Analyze various strategies for developing of less-developed nations; Present the concepts behind international trade. (Economics 102; See also: Business Administration 201)

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the principles of microeconomics. At its core, the study of economics deals with the choices and decisions that have to be made in order to manage scarce resources available to us. Microeconomics is the branch of economics that pertains to decisions made at the individual level, i.e. by individual consumers or individual firms, after evaluating resources, costs, and tradeoffs. "The economy" refers to the marketplace or system in which these choices interact with one another. In this course, the student will learn how and why these decisions are made and how they affect one another in the economy. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Think intuitively about economic problems; Identify how individual economic agents make rational choices given scarce resources and will know how to optimize the use of resources at hand; Understand some simplistic economic models related to Production, Trade, and the Circular Flow of Resources; Analyze and apply the mechanics of Demand and Supply for Individuals, Firms, and the Market; Apply the concept of Marginal Analysis in order to make optimal choices and identify whether the choices are 'efficient' or 'equitable'; Apply the concept of Elasticity as a measure of responsiveness to various variables; Identify the characteristic differences amongst various market structures, namely, Perfectly Competitive Markets, Non-Competitive Markets, and Imperfectly Competitive Markets and understand the differences in their operation; Analyze how the Demand and Supply technique works for the Resource Markets. (Economics 101; See also: Business Administration 200)

This course will present a comparative overview of world history from the 17th century to the present era. The student will examine the origins of major economic, political, social, cultural, and technological trends of the past 400 years and explore the impact of these trends on world societies. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Think critically about world history in the early modern and modern eras; Assess how global trade networks shaped the economic development of Asia, Europe, and the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries; Identify the origins of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe and assess the social and political consequences of these movements for the peoples of Europe; Identify the origins of the Enlightenment in Europe and assess how Enlightenment ideas led to political and social revolutions in Europe and the Americas; Identify the origins of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and assess how these intellectual and economic movements altered social, political, and economic life across the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries; Compare and contrast how European imperialism affected the states and peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the 19th century; Identify the origins of World War I and analyze how the war's outcome altered economic and political balances of power throughout the world; Identify the origins of totalitarian political movements across the globe in the 1920s and 1930s and assess how these movements led to World War II; Analyze how World War II reshaped power balances throughout the world and led to the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global superpowers; Assess how decolonization movements in the 1950s and 1960s altered political, economic, and social relationships between the United States, the nations of Europe, and developing countries throughout the world; Assess how the end of the Cold War led to political and economic realignments throughout the world and encouraged the growth of new global markets and systems of trade and information exchange; Analyze and interpret primary source documents from the 17th century through the present, using historical research methods. (History 103)