PSCI 4311 202: The Constitution and Civil Lib < Texas A&M International University

PSCI 4311 - The Constitution and Civil Lib: The ConstitutionCivil Lib-WIN

Spring 2025 Syllabus, Section 202, CRN 26933

Instructor Information

Dr. Simon Zschirnt

Associate Professor of Political Science

Email: simon.zschirnt@tamiu.edu

Office: AIC 376

Office Hours:
MWF 10:30 - 11:30 and TR 12:00 - 1:00

Office Phone: 326-2619

Times and Location

TR 10:05am-11:25am in Bullock Hall 113

Course Description

WIN-Designation

This course is designated as a writing-intensive (WIN) course. In this course, writing will not only be the subject of study, but it will also serve as a method of learning. Students will learn how communication in written, oral, and visual forms change according to purpose and genre. Brainstorming, drafting, revising, and peer-workshopping are integrated into the course curriculum and are the required components of this writing-intensive course. The final Research Paper is the designated assignment for WIN assessment.

Additional Course Information

This course is designed to familiarize students with individual rights under the US Constitution. The course is divided into 6 sections and 28 subtopics.

Section I examines the role of the Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution and the individual rights that it guarantees. In this section we will examine the debates surrounding judicial review and competing approaches to constitutional interpretation. We will also examine the doctrines of substantive due process and nationalization of the Bill of Rights and how they have expanded the Supreme Court’s role as a protector of rights.

Section II examines rights to freedom of speech and expression under the 1st Amendment. In this section we will examine how the Supreme Court’s interpretations of constitutional protections for speech and expression have evolved over time and how the Supreme Court has distinguished between protected and unprotected speech and expression.

Section III examines the 1st Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty. In this section we will examine how the right to the free exercise of religion has been interpreted by the Supreme Court and how this interpretation has been driven by a distinction between religious belief and religiously motivated conduct. We will also examine how the 1st Amendment’s prohibition of establishments of religion has been interpreted by the Supreme Court and how this interpretation has sought to balance the need to avoid promoting religion with the need to avoid discriminating against religion.

Section IV examines the constitutional rights of criminal defendants. In this section we will examine how the exclusionary rule has given meaning to the Constitution’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures, how the right against self-incrimination has given rise to the “Miranda warning,” how the Supreme Court has interpreted the scope of the right to counsel, and how the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment has limited the application of the death penalty.

Section V examines rights to privacy. In this section we will examine why the Supreme Court has recognized a right to privacy despite the lack of any explicit textual basis for such a right in the Constitution and how this right has expanded personal autonomy in areas such as reproduction, marriage, and family life.

Section VI examines the constitutional meaning of equality. In this section we will examine how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the racial equality guaranteed by the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause has evolved over time and how the principles applied to cases of racial discrimination have also been applied to sex discrimination as well as other forms of discrimination.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course you should also have demonstrated through written assignments and class discussion:

Understanding of the rights protected by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 14th Amendments to the Constitution
Understanding of the different approaches to constitutional interpretation and how they have shaped the Supreme Court’s individual rights jurisprudence
The ability to apply this knowledge to understanding and evaluating contemporary debates over constitutional rights

Important Dates

Visit the Academic Calendar (tamiu.edu) page to view the term's important dates.

Textbooks

Group	Title	Author	ISBN
Required	Constitutional Law and Politics: Volume II: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (12th Edition)	David O'Brien and Gordon Silverstein	9780393893526

Grading Criteria

Your grade in this course will be based upon your performance on 3 in-class exams (70 points each), 3 case briefs (50 points each), a research paper (100 points), and 10 pop quizzes (4 points each).

There are a total of 500 points possible in the course. Letter grades will be assigned at the end of the semester based upon the following scale:

448 – 500 = A

398 – 447 = B

348 – 397 = C

298 – 347 = D

< 298 = F

EXAMS: Exams will consist of 3 or 4 essay questions. These will be drawn from a list of potential questions that will be made available for review prior to the exam.

EXAM SCHEDULE:

Exam #1 — February 25

Exam #2 — April 10

Final Exam — May 8

CASE BRIEFS: Case briefs will cover cases that will be discussed in class. Excerpts of the decisions in most (but not all) of these cases are in the textbook. In order to write an adequate brief, however, you should not rely exclusively upon the textbook and will need to read the entire decision. Thus, you should also find the full text in the United States Reports (the official reporter for Supreme Court decisions). These can be found on FindLaw, Justia, Oyez, and other websites. Your briefs should be about 4-5 pages in length and be submitted via Blackboard. They should be headed by the case’s full name and citation along with your name and university identification number. Briefs should contain 3 sections: Section I should be titled “Case Syllabus” and it should describe the parties, facts, statutes and/or constitutional provisions involved and the lower court ruling in the case. Section II should be titled “Court Holding” and should state the Supreme Court’s vote, explain its holding (ex. “…The statute was struck down as a violation of Article I, Section VIII in that it exceeded the scope of Congress’s authority to regulate interstate commerce…”), and provide a brief description of any concurring and/or dissenting opinions (ex. “…Justice Stevens dissented, arguing that Section VIII granted Congress ample authority because…”). Section III should be titled “Constitutional Doctrine and Theory” and it should explain how the decision established, reaffirmed, or altered constitutional doctrine (ex. “…In this case the Court abandoned its liberty of contract doctrine and began moving toward a different understanding of substantive due process…”).

REVISION: You will be given the opportunity to revise each of your case briefs in response to my feedback and to resubmit each brief once for a higher grade. Revisions must be submitted via email within 1 week of the grading of the first draft.

DISCUSSION: As part of your case brief assignment, you should be able to discuss your case and your reaction to it when it is covered in class. Therefore, if you are absent or unprepared if called upon on the day that your case is discussed, 5 points (10%) will be deducted from your final grade for that case brief.

CASE BRIEF SCHEDULE:

Case Brief #1 — February 4

Case Brief #2 — March 4

Case Brief #3 — April 15

RESEARCH PAPER: The research paper is an opportunity for you to learn more about the Supreme Court. Your assignment is to select any current justice and research their background, the circumstances surrounding their elevation to the Court, and their record as a member of the Court. Specifically, your research paper should include the following 5 sections:

An introductory section that presents your thesis and summarizes the main findings of your paper.
A brief biographical section (no longer than 2 pages) that discusses your justice’s life and career prior to their appointment to the Court.
A section that discusses your justice’s nomination and confirmation. This section should discuss the historical and political context in which the nomination occurred as well as the response to the nomination. In writing this section you should consult the transcripts of the Senate confirmation hearings as well as discussions and analyses of the nomination in major media outlets. What was the general tone of the hearings? What were the primary issues of interest to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee? How did interest groups respond to the nomination? How many senators voted against your justice’s confirmation and how does this compare to other nominations?
A section that discusses your justice’s judicial philosophy. This section should discuss the most important opinions that your justice has authored as a member of the Court and how legal scholars and other commentators have characterized your justice’s jurisprudence. Is your justice generally considered a liberal or a conservative? How would you describe your justice’s approach to important constitutional issues such as freedom of speech, privacy, race, religion, etc.? What other justice(s) does your justice align with most often? Has your justice’s jurisprudence evolved over time?
A concluding section in which you compare the statements and perception of your justice at the time of their confirmation with their subsequent record on the Court and draw your own conclusions regarding your justice. Has your justice’s record been consistent with the answers that they gave at their confirmation hearing? Has your justice’s record been consistent with the characterizations of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, interest groups, and the media? What does this say about the value of the confirmation process? Given your justice’s judicial philosophy and record, do you believe that your justice should have been confirmed?

Research papers should be 10-15 pages in length and are due May 1.

*** Any use of generative A.I. such as ChatGPT to write case briefs or research papers is prohibited. ***

POP QUIZZES: Because it is essential that you come to class every session and that you keep up with the assigned reading in the textbook, 11 pop quizzes will be administered over the course of the semester (your lowest score will be dropped). These quizzes will cover the reading assigned for that day and consist of 2 or 3 questions.

Schedule of Topics and Assignments

Day	Date	Agenda/Topic	Reading(s)	Due
Tue	1/21	Introduction
Thu	1/23	1) The Power of Judicial Review 2) Constitutional Interpretation — Key Terms/Case: • Interpretivism • Judicial review • Legal formalism • Legal realism • Non-interpretivism • Originalism • Textualism • Marbury v. Madison	Chapter 1, Introduction, Section A, pp. 31-45 and 50-59, and Section B
Tue	1/28	Substantive Due Process — Key Term/Cases: • Liberty of contract • The Slaughterhouse Cases • Lochner v. New York • Coppage v. Kansas • Adams v. Tanner • Adkins v. Children's Hospital • West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish • Griswold v. Connecticut • DeShaney v. Winnebago County	Chapter 3, Section B
Thu	1/30	The Nationalization of the Bill of Rights — Key Term/Cases: • Incorporation • Barron v. Baltimore • Hurtado v. California • Palko v. Connecticut • McDonald v. Chicago	Chapter 4, Introduction and Section A
Tue	2/4	The Historical Evolution of the Right to Freedom of Speech — Key Terms/Cases: • Bad tendency • Clear and present danger • Incitement to imminent lawless action • Schenck v. United States • Dennis v. United States • Brandenburg v. Ohio	Chapter 5, Introduction and Section A	CASE BRIEF #1
Thu	2/6	1) Fighting Words 2) Libel/slander — Key Cases: • Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire • New York Times Co. v. Sullivan • Cohen v. California • Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. • Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell	Chapter 5, Section B, pp. 519-43, and Section C
Tue	2/11	Obscenity — Key Cases: • Stanley v. Georgia • Miller v. California • Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton • Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition	Chapter 5, Section B, pp. 478-519
Thu	2/13	1) Commercial Speech 2) Symbolic Speech — Key Cases: • West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette • United States v. O'Brien • Bigelow v. Virginia • Bates v. State Bar of Arizona • Texas v. Johnson • 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island	Chapter 5, Sections D and H
Tue	2/18	1) Hate Speech / Hate Crimes 2) The 1st Amendment and Media Regulation — Key Term/Cases: • Prior restraint • Near v. Minnesota • Red Lion Broadcasting Company, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission • New York Times Co. v. United States • Globe Newspaper v. Superior Court for the County of Norfolk • R.A.V. v. St. Paul • Wisconsin v. Mitchell • Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union • Virginia v. Black	Chapter 5, Section B, pp. 544-72, and Sections E, F, and G
Thu	2/20	Freedom of Association — Key Cases: • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama • Roberts v. United States Jaycees • Boy Scouts of America v. Dale • Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta	Chapter 5, Section I
Tue	2/25	EXAM #1
Thu	2/27	The Free Exercise of Religion — Key Cases: • Reynolds v. United States • Sherbert v. Verner • Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith • Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah • Locke v. Davey	Chapter 6, Introduction and Section B
Tue	3/4	The Disestablishment of Religion (1) — Key Terms/Cases: • Accommodationism • Strict neutrality • Strict separation • Engel v. Vitale • Abington School District v. Schempp • Lemon v. Kurtzman • Marsh v. Chambers • Lynch v. Donnelly • Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet • Zelman v. Simmons-Harris • Van Orden v. Perry	Chapter 6, Section A, pp. 718-71 and 775-89	CASE BRIEF #2
Thu	3/6	The Disestablishment of Religion (2) — Key Cases: • Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District • Rosenberger v. University of Virginia • Carson v. Makin • Kennedy v. Bremerton School District	Chapter 6, Section A, pp. 772-75 and 789-808
Tue	3/11	No Class
Thu	3/13	No Class
Tue	3/18	1) The Right Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures 2) The Right Against Self-Incrimination — Key Term/Cases: • Exclusionary rule • Mapp v. Ohio • Miranda v. Arizona • Harris v. New York • Michigan v. Tucker • Nix v. Williams • United States v. Leon • Missouri v. Seibert • Utah v. Strieff	Chapter 7, Introduction and Section F, and Chapter 8, Introduction and Section A
Thu	3/20	1) The Right to Counsel 2) The Right Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1) — Key Cases: • Gideon v. Wainwright • Argersinger v. Hamlin • Solem v. Helm • Ewing v. California • Graham v. Florida	Chapter 9, Introduction and Section A, and Chapter 10, Introduction and Section A
Tue	3/25	The Right Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment (2) — Key Cases: • Furman v. Georgia • Gregg v. Georgia • Coker v. Georgia • McCleskey v. Kemp • Atkins v. Virginia • Roper v. Simmons • Kennedy v. Louisiana • Baze v. Rees	Chapter 10, Section B
Thu	3/27	The Origins and Historical Evolution of the Right to Privacy — Key Cases: • Meyer v. Nebraska • Pierce v. Society of Sisters • Skinner v. Oklahoma • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama • Katz v. United States • Terry v. Ohio	Chapter 11, Introduction
Tue	4/1	Rights to Reproductive Freedom — Key Terms/Cases: • Penumbra • Substantive due process • Griswold v. Connecticut • Roe v. Wade • Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey • Gonzales v. Carhart • Dobbs v. Jackson Woman's Health Organization	Chapter 11, Section A
Thu	4/3	Rights to Marriage and Family — Key Cases: • Meyer v. Nebraska • Pierce v. Society of Sisters • Belle Terre v. Boraas • Moore v. East Cleveland • Zablocki v. Redhail • Michael H. v. Gerald D. • Troxel v. Granville • Obergefell v. Hodges	Chapter 4, Section B, and Chapter 11, Section B, pp. 1348-53
Tue	4/8	Rights to Medical and Sexual Privacy — Key Cases: • Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health • Washington v. Harper • Washington v. Glucksberg • Lawrence v. Texas	Chapter 11, Section B, pp. 1353-81
Thu	4/10	EXAM #2
Tue	4/15	The 14th Amendment and Racial Discrimination (1) — Key Terms/Cases: • Separate but equal • State action doctrine • Strauder v. West Virginia • The Civil Rights Cases • Plessy v. Ferguson • Buchanan v. Warley • Shelley v. Kraemer • Sweatt v. Painter • McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents	Chapter 12, Introduction and Section A	CASE BRIEF #3
Thu	4/17	The 14th Amendment and Racial Discrimination (2) — Key Cases: • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka • Green v. County School Board of New Kent County • Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education • Milliken v. Bradley • United States v. Fordice • Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1	Chapter 12, Section B
Tue	4/22	Affirmative Action — Key Term/Cases: • Strict scrutiny • Regents of the University of California v. Bakke • Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. • Grutter v. Bollinger • Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action • Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College	Chapter 12, Section C
Thu	4/24	The 14th Amendment and Sex Discrimination — Key Term/Cases: • Intermediate scrutiny • Geduldig v. Aiello • Craig v. Boren • Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney • Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County • United States v. Virginia • Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan	Chapter 12, Section D, pp. 1554-83
Tue	4/29	The 14th Amendment and Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation — Key Cases: • Romer v. Evans • United States v. Windsor • Obergefell v. Hodges • Pavan v. Smith	Chapter 12, Section D, pp. 1584-1643
Thu	5/1	1) The 14th Amendment and Discrimination on the Basis of Wealth 2) The 14th Amendment and Discrimination on the Basis of Citizenship and Immigration Status — Key Cases: • Graham v. Richardson • San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez • Cabell v. Chavez Salido • Plyler v. Doe	Chapter 12, Section D, pp. 1646-70	RESEARCH PAPER
Thu	5/8	FINAL EXAM

University/College Policies

Please see the University Policies below.

COVID-19 Related Policies

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, please refer to the Student Handbook, Appendix A (Attendance Rule) for instructions.

Required Class Attendance

Students are expected to attend every class in person (or virtually, if the class is online) and to complete all assignments. If you cannot attend class, it is your responsibility to communicate absences with your professors. The faculty member will decide if your excuse is valid and thus may provide lecture materials of the class. According to University policy, acceptable reasons for an absence, which cannot affect a student’s grade, include:

Participation in an authorized University activity.
Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family.
Illness of a dependent family member.
Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s presence.
Religious holy day.
Illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.
Required participation in military duties.
Mandatory admission interviews for professional or graduate school which cannot be rescheduled.

Students are responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to faculty members within seven calendar days of their absence and return to class. They must substantiate the reason for the absence. If the absence is excused, faculty members must either provide students with the opportunity to make up the exam or other work missed, or provide a satisfactory alternative to complete the exam or other work missed within 30 calendar days from the date of absence. Students who miss class due to a University-sponsored activity are responsible for identifying their absences to their instructors with as much advance notice as possible.

Classroom Behavior (applies to online or Face-to-Face Classes)

TAMIU encourages classroom discussion and academic debate as an essential intellectual activity. It is essential that students learn to express and defend their beliefs, but it is also essential that they learn to listen and respond respectfully to others whose beliefs they may not share. The University will always tolerate different, unorthodox, and unpopular points of view, but it will not tolerate condescending or insulting remarks. When students verbally abuse or ridicule and intimidate others whose views they do not agree with, they subvert the free exchange of ideas that should characterize a university classroom. If their actions are deemed by the professor to be disruptive, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action (please refer to Student Handbook Article 4).

TAMIU Honor Code: Plagiarism and Cheating

As a TAMIU student, you are bound by the TAMIU Honor Code to conduct yourself ethically in all your activities as a TAMIU student and to report violations of the Honor Code. Please read carefully the Student Handbook Article 7 and Article 10 available at https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml.

We are committed to strict enforcement of the Honor Code. Violations of the Honor Code tend to involve claiming work that is not one’s own, most commonly plagiarism in written assignments and any form of cheating on exams and other types of assignments.

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own. It occurs when you:

Borrow someone else’s facts, ideas, or opinions and put them entirely in your own words. You must acknowledge that these thoughts are not your own by immediately citing the source in your paper. Failure to do this is plagiarism.
Borrow someone else’s words (short phrases, clauses, or sentences), you must enclose the copied words in quotation marks as well as citing the source. Failure to do this is plagiarism.
Present someone else’s paper or exam (stolen, borrowed, or bought) as your own. You have committed a clearly intentional form of intellectual theft and have put your academic future in jeopardy. This is the worst form of plagiarism.

Here is another explanation from the 2020, seventh edition of the Manual of The American Psychological Association (APA):

“Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, idea, or images of another as your own; it denies authors or creators of content the credit they are due. Whether deliberate or unintentional, plagiarism violates ethical standards in scholarship” (p. 254). This same principle applies to the illicit use of AI.

Plagiarism: Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotations marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own words. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the discussion section of someone else's article, the person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important for the health of intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a study originated. If authors do know, however, they should acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications (p. 11). For guidance on proper documentation, consult the Academic Success Center or a recommended guide to documentation and research such as the Manual of the APA or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. If you still have doubts concerning proper documentation, seek advice from your instructor prior to submitting a final draft.

TAMIU has penalties for plagiarism and cheating.

Penalties for Plagiarism: Should a faculty member discover that a student has committed plagiarism, the student should receive a grade of 'F' in that course and the matter will be referred to the Honor Council for possible disciplinary action. The faculty member, however, may elect to give freshmen and sophomore students a “zero” for the assignment and to allow them to revise the assignment up to a grade of “F” (50%) if they believe that the student plagiarized out of ignorance or carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive in order to earn an unmerited grade; the instructor must still report the offense to the Honor Council. This option should not be available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students, who cannot reasonably claim ignorance of documentation rules as an excuse. For repeat offenders in undergraduate courses or for an offender in any graduate course, the penalty for plagiarism is likely to include suspension or expulsion from the university.
- Caution: Be very careful what you upload to Turnitin or send to your professor for evaluation. Whatever you upload for evaluation will be considered your final, approved draft. If it is plagiarized, you will be held responsible. The excuse that “it was only a draft” will not be accepted.
- Caution: Also, do not share your electronic files with others. If you do, you are responsible for the possible consequences. If another student takes your file of a paper and changes the name to his or her name and submits it and you also submit the paper, we will hold both of you responsible for plagiarism. It is impossible for us to know with certainty who wrote the paper and who stole it. And, of course, we cannot know if there was collusion between you and the other student in the matter.
Penalties for Cheating: Should a faculty member discover a student cheating on an exam or quiz or other class project, the student should receive a “zero” for the assignment and not be allowed to make the assignment up. The incident should be reported to the chair of the department and to the Honor Council. If the cheating is extensive, however, or if the assignment constitutes a major grade for the course (e.g., a final exam), or if the student has cheated in the past, the student should receive an “F” in the course, and the matter should be referred to the Honor Council. Additional penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the university may be imposed. Under no circumstances should a student who deserves an “F” in the course be allowed to withdraw from the course with a “W.”
- Caution: Chat groups that start off as “study groups” can easily devolve into “cheating groups.” Be very careful not to join or remain any chat group if it begins to discuss specific information about exams or assignments that are meant to require individual work. If you are a member of such a group and it begins to cheat, you will be held responsible along with all the other members of the group. The TAMIU Honor Code requires that you report any such instances of cheating.
Student Right of Appeal: Faculty will notify students immediately via the student’s TAMIU e- mail account that they have submitted plagiarized work. Students have the right to appeal a faculty member’s charge of academic dishonesty by notifying the TAMIU Honor Council of their intent to appeal as long as the notification of appeal comes within 10 business days of the faculty member’s e-mail message to the student and/or the Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement. The Student Handbook provides more details.

Use of Work in Two or More Courses

You may not submit work completed in one course for a grade in a second course unless you receive explicit permission to do so by the instructor of the second course. In general, you should get credit for a work product only once.

AI Policies

Your instructor will provide you with their personal policy on the use of AI in the classroom setting and associated coursework.

TAMIU E-Mail and SafeZone

Personal Announcements sent to students through TAMIU E-mail (tamiu.edu or dusty email) are the official means of communicating course and university business with students and faculty –not the U.S. Mail and no other e-mail addresses. Students and faculty must check their TAMIU e-mail accounts regularly, if not daily. Not having seen an important TAMIU e-mail or message from a faculty member, chair, or dean is not accepted as an excuse for failure to take important action.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to download the SafeZone app, which is a free mobile app for all University faculty, staff, and students. SafeZone allows you to: report safety concerns (24/7), get connected with mental health professionals, activate location sharing with authorities, and anonymously report incidents. Go to https://www.tamiu.edu/adminis/police/safezone/index.shtml for more information.

Copyright Restrictions

The Copyright Act of 1976 grants to copyright owners the exclusive right to reproduce their works and distribute copies of their work. Works that receive copyright protection include published works such as a textbook. Copying a textbook without permission from the owner of the copyright may constitute copyright infringement. Civil and criminal penalties may be assessed for copyright infringement. Civil penalties include damages up to $100,000; criminal penalties include a fine up to $250,000 and imprisonment. Copyright laws do not allow students and professors to make photocopies of copyrighted materials, but you may copy a limited portion of a work, such as article from a journal or a chapter from a book for your own personal academic use or, in the case of a professor, for personal, limited classroom use. In general, the extent of your copying should not suggest that the purpose or the effect of your copying is to avoid paying for the materials. And, of course, you may not sell these copies for a profit. Thus, students who copy textbooks to avoid buying them or professors who provide photocopies of textbooks to enable students to save money are violating the law.

Students with Disabilities

Texas A&M International University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal education opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Office of Student Counseling and Disability Services located in Student Center 126. This office will contact the faculty member to recommend specific, reasonable accommodations. Faculty are prohibited from making accommodations based solely on communications from students. They may make accommodations only when provided documentation by the Student Counseling and Disability Services office.

Student Attendance and Leave of Absence (LOA) Policy

As part of our efforts to assist and encourage all students towards graduation, TAMIU provides
LOA’s for students, including pregnant/parenting students, in accordance with the Attendance Rule (Section 3.07) and the Student LOA Rule (Section 3.08), which includes the “Leave of Absence Request” form. Both rules can be found in the TAMIU Student Handbook (URL: http://www.tamiu.edu/studentaffairs/StudentHandbook1.shtml).

Pregnant and Parenting Students

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, harassment based on sex, including harassment because of pregnancy or related conditions, is prohibited. A pregnant/parenting student must be granted an absence for as long as the student’s physician deems the absence medically necessary. It is a violation of Title IX to ask for documentation relative to the pregnant/parenting student’s status beyond what would be required for other medical conditions. If a student would like to file a complaint for discrimination due to his or her pregnant/parenting status, please contact the TAMIU Title IX Coordinator (Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201 University Boulevard, KLM 159B, Laredo, TX 78041,TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857) and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office, U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600). You can also report it on TAMIU’s anonymous electronic reporting site: https://www.tamiu.edu/reportit.

TAMIU advises a pregnant/parenting student to notify their professor once the student is aware that accommodations for such will be necessary. It is recommended that the student and professor develop a reasonable plan for the student’s completion of missed coursework or assignments. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (Lorissa M. Cortez, lorissam.cortez@tamiu.edu) can assist the student and professor in working out the reasonable accommodations. For other questions or concerns regarding Title IX compliance related to pregnant/parenting students at the University, contact the Title IX Coordinator. In the event that a student will need a leave of absence for a substantial period of time, TAMIU urges the student to consider a Leave of Absence (LOA) as outlined in the TAMIU Student Handbook. As part of our efforts to assist and encourage all students towards graduation, TAMIU provides LOA’s for students, including pregnant/parenting students, in accordance with the Attendance Rule and the Student LOA Rule. Both rules can be found in the TAMIU Student Handbook (https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml).

Anti-Discrimination/Title IX

TAMIU does not discriminate or permit harassment against any individual on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity in admissions, educational programs, or employment. If you would like to file a complaint relative to Title IX or any civil rights violation, please contact the TAMIU Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity/Title IX Coordinator, Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201 University Boulevard, Killam Library 159B, Laredo, TX 78041,TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857, via the anonymous electronic reporting website, ReportIt, at https://www.tamiu.edu/reportit, and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office), U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600.

Incompletes

Students who are unable to complete a course should withdraw from the course before the final date for withdrawal and receive a “W.” To qualify for an “incomplete” and thus have the opportunity to complete the course at a later date, a student must meet the following criteria:

The student must have completed 90% of the course work assigned before the final date for withdrawing from a course with a “W”, and the student must be passing the course;
The student cannot complete the course because an accident, an illness, or a traumatic personal or family event occurred after the final date for withdrawal from a course;
The student must sign an “Incomplete Grade Contract” and secure signatures of approval from the professor and the college dean.
The student must agree to complete the missing course work before the end of the next long semester; failure to meet this deadline will cause the “I” to automatically be converted to an “F”; extensions to this deadline may be granted by the dean of the college. This is the general policy regarding the circumstances under which an “incomplete” may be granted, but under exceptional circumstances, a student may receive an incomplete who does not meet all of the criteria above if the faculty member, department chair, and dean recommend it.

WIN Contracts

The Department of Biology and Chemistry does not permit WIN contracts. For other departments within the college, WIN Contracts are offered only under exceptional circumstances and are limited to graduating seniors. Only courses offered by full-time TAMIU faculty or TAMIU instructors are eligible to be contracted for the WIN requirement. However, a WIN contract for a course taught by an adjunct may be approved, with special permission from the department chair and dean. Students must seek approval before beginning any work for the WIN Contract. No student will contract more than one course per semester. Summer WIN Contracts must continue through both summer sessions.

Student Responsibility for Dropping a Course

It is the responsibility of the student to drop the course before the final date for withdrawal from a course. Faculty members, in fact, may not drop a student from a course without getting the approval of their department chair and dean.

Independent Study Course

Independent Study (IS) courses are offered only under exceptional circumstances. Required courses intended to build academic skills may not be taken as IS (e.g., clinical supervision and internships). No student will take more than one IS course per semester. Moreover, IS courses are limited to seniors and graduate students. Summer IS course must continue through both summer sessions.

Grade Changes & Appeals

Faculty are authorized to change final grades only when they have committed a computational error or an error in recording a grade, and they must receive the approval of their department chairs and the dean to change the grade. As part of that approval, they must attach a detailed explanation of the reason for the mistake. Only in rare cases would another reason be entertained as legitimate for a grade change. A student who is unhappy with his or her grade on an assignment must discuss the situation with the faculty member teaching the course. If students believe that they have been graded unfairly, they have the right to appeal the grade using a grade appeal process in the Student Handbook and in the Faculty Handbook.

Final Examination

All courses in all colleges must include a comprehensive exam or performance and be given on the date and time specified by the Academic Calendar and the Final Exam schedule published by the Registrar’s Office. In the College of Arts & Sciences all final exams must contain a written component. The written component should comprise at least 20% of the final exam grade. Exceptions to this policy must receive the approval of the department chair and the dean at the beginning of the semester.

Mental Health and Well-Being

The university aims to provide students with essential knowledge and tools to understand and support mental health. As part of our commitment to your well-being, we offer access to Telus Health, a service available 24/7/365 via chat, phone, or webinar. Scan the QR code to download the app and explore the resources available to you for guidance and support whenever you need it. The Telus app is available to download directly from TELUS (tamiu.edu) or from the Apple App Store and Google Play.