Running head: EMERGING ISSUES: HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE 1
EMERGING ISSUES: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
9
Emerging Issues: Historical Perspective
Peter Odhiambo
Introduction to Public Policy Analysis – PAD 510
Strayer University
October 24, 2016

Emerging issues: Historical Perspective
Introduction
Immigration policy has been an ongoing subject of
congressional attention for many years and a topic of concern
for majority of U.S. citizens.50,000 slaves smuggled in the
United States became the first "Illegal Aliens" when foreign
slave trade became illegal in 1808. Prior to this period, the
authors of the US Constitution gave full protection to foreign
slave trade, which at that time was a major source of
immigration. They prohibited interference with the trade for
twenty years, and either the domestic slave trade or slavery
itself was interfered with, after the trade was made illegal by
Congress, at President Jefferson's invitation, when that period
expired. (Daniels, 2004). Today, the United States is
experiencing an influx of illegal immigration than any period in
its history. It is estimated that 850,000 new illegal immigrants
arrive in the country each year, with Mexico leading the pack
with 59% of the country's total (Center for Immigration Studies,
2015).
This paper discusses the historical perspective of the time when
the illegal immigration policy was implemented, highlighting
the problem and urgency of the policy and analyzing the social,
economic and political environments for the time the policy was
implemented. It further critiques the policy for its effectiveness
over time, as well as identifying emerging issues for further
policy development.
Discuss the historical perspective of the time when the policy
was implemented
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
captured Amnesty and enforcement as the two major facets of
this legislation. One of two stipulations was necessary for an
alien to be granted amnesty by IRCA. The applicants must have
resided in the United States continually since January 1982 or
had completed 90 days of agricultural work between May 1985
and May 1986. (Center for Immigration Studies, 2015).
Approximately 3 million people, comprising 94% of all

applicants, gained legal status through this initiative. The
illegal Immigrant Reform Act and Immigrant Responsibility Act
(IIRIRA)was passed by the Congress in 1996. The act beefed up
border controls by ensuring the engagement of more Border
Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Service Agents. A
border fence was planned for San Diego and severe
repercussions were increased for persons entering the country
illegally. With hopes of easing worksite enforcement, an
automated employment verification pilot program was created.
IIRIRA also allowed state police officers to enforce
immigration law using the 287(g) program. The increased
enforcement by IIRIRA did not bear much fruit due to poor
funding. There were a series of other small amnesties passed by
Congress in the 90's. Approximately 578,000 illegal aliens were
pardoned in 1994 and fine $1,000 each. This amnesty was later
renewed in 1997 and 2000. The Nicaraguan Adjustment and
Central American Relief Act (NACARA), was the second
amnesty passed in 1997. Approximately 1 million aliens, mostly
from Central America who had lived in the U. S. since 1995
gained legal status. The Haitian Refugee Immigration and
Fairness Act (HRIFA) passed in 1998 addressed the
discriminatory aspect of excluding Haitians from NACARA.
The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE), passed in
2000 was a mini-amnesty targeting those illegal aliens who
hope to become green card holders through marriage
employment or other categories, but due long line of people
ahead of them, were not near approval yet. This initiative was
aimed at tackling the growing backlogs that were the result of
the previous amnesties. This was at the expense of hopeful legal
immigrants waiting in line overseas.
In 2005 and 2006, two Acts were discussed by Congress, the
Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration
Control Act of 2005 (BPAIICA) and the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (CIRA). The former
(BPAIICA) was to be limited to enforcement and focused on
both the border and interior. The latter (CIRA) would have

given amnesty to a majority of illegal aliens already in the
country as well as dramatically increased legal immigration. No
compromise bill emerged despite the bills passing their
respective chambers. Another attempt with CIRA was made in
2007, which if succeeded, would have given amnesty to a large
majority of illegal entrants in the country and significantly
increased legal immigration and enforcement. Unfortunately,
CIRA, which was a bipartisan blessings in the Senate, was
widely unpopular with the American public. It failed to pass a
cloture vote as a result of unprecedented public pressure,
essentially killing it.
In 2010, Congress ended President Obama's DREAM Act which
would have granted illegal aliens, who had arrived in the United
States as minors, lawful residency status. In 2012, Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) was instituted
by the president. Under this Act, illegal alien "Dreamers" could
request for a two-year deferral of any action to remove them,
along with employment authorization documents. In 2013, a
"comprehensive immigration reform bill supported by the
president was again declined by Congress. This bill would have
probably ended the long controversy of illegal immigration. 11
million illegal aliens would have been granted legal status
including the "Dreamers". On November 19, 2014, President
Obama allowed about four million illegal aliens who are parents
to legal permanent residents and U. S. citizens to apply for a
three-year deferral of removal, along with employment
authorization documents. The stay of DACA beneficiaries was
also extended by three year and the number who could qualify
extended by 200,000. (Center for Immigration Studies, 2015).
In June 2016, The supreme court ruling on illegal immigration
shattered the hopes of over million illegal aliens who now stand
the risk of deportation. The categories of illegal aliens affected
were 3.5 million parents of U.S. citizens with over 5 years of
residence; 180,000 parents of legal permanent residents with
over 10 years residency, 205,000 disqualified by not eliminating
the age cutoff for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

program and 85,000 refused protection by not granting DACA
eligibility to arrivals through 2010. (Ehrenfreund, 2016)
Indicate the context or the problem of the day and the urgency
for the policy (why it is important).
It is best to look past the current crisis in order to understand
the illegal immigration problem in the United States. Mexico
provides a good picture given that Mexicans are the largest
national-origin group of undocumented immigrants in the
United States. While some economic and demographic causes
responsible for the problem have nothing to do with U.S. illegal
immigration policy, prior policies before DACA played a role in
exacerbating it. (Planas, 2014) North America was home to
Spanish colonizers almost a century before the first Anglo
settlers. Throughout 16th and 17th centuries, the colonizers of
North America set out on their expeditions from what is today
known as Mexico. These people, though working on behalf of
the Spanish empire, were not all Spaniards. They were mixture
of Spanish and indigenous heritage, including indigenous black
people. This group people known today as Mexicans have
populated North America much longer than English-speaking
people.
In the early 19th, Anglo settlers from newly independent United
States immigrated in large number to the Mexican territory of
Texas, often illegally, seeking land and opportunities for
commerce. At the time of the Mexican-American War, many
Mexicans lived on Southwest territory before the United States
won the war. The other reason was the fact the U.S. and Mexico
shared a common border, measuring almost 200 miles. Since the
19th century, Mexican national viewed the more prosperous
labor market just next door as attractive and migrated across the
border for short-term agricultural work. Under the Bracero
program, more than 4.6 million Mexicans immigrated legally to
the United States between 1942 and 1964 to work temporary
farm jobs. Congress capped the number of immigrant visas
available to Mexicans after shutting down the Bracero program,
despite the fact that the United States showed consistent

demand for Mexican labor. The Immigration and Nationality
Act of 1965 worsened the situation by prohibiting unskilled
Mexican laborers from receiving Legal Permanent Resident
visas. This tripled the number of undocumented Mexicans
caught crossing the border illegally between 1965 and 1970
(Rosenblum, Kandel, Seelke, & Wasem, 2012).
Social, Economic and Political Environments
On a typical day, about 88,000 foreigners arrive in the United
States through our borders and airports, most of who do not
intend to stay. 82,000 of these visitors (nonimmigrants) come to
the United States as tourists, business visitors, students, and
foreign workers. Another 2,200 are persons that the United
States has invited to join American society as permanent
residents, most them being immigrants and refugees. The
remaining 4,100 are unauthorized or illegal foreigners, some
who have entered legally as tourists and then stayed in the
United States, but most entered the country unlawfully by
dodging border patrol agents or using fake documents to outwit
border inspectors. (Duignan, 2003).
On one hand, the arrival of these visitors is celebrated by the
United States, acknowledging its immigrant heritage, telling the
story of renewal and rebirth brought about by these visitors. On
the flip side, since the days of the founding fathers, Americans
have worried about the economic, political and cultural effects
of newcomers. At one extreme are organizations that want to
reduce or stop immigration, such as the Federation for American
Immigration Reform (FAIR). This organization says that, “With
more than a million legal and illegal immigrants settling in
United States each year … it is evident to most Americans that
large-scale immigration is not serving the needs and interests of
the country. At the other extreme, the Wall Street Journal is
advocates a five-word amendment to the U.S. constitution:
“there shall be open borders”. According to the Wall Street
Journal, high level of immigration means more consumers, more
workers, and a larger economy with “new blood.
Objective Evaluation of DACA

Congress has vastly increased the resources devoted to
immigration enforcement for the past two decades. By any
measurable standards, the number of Border Patrol Agents,
miles of fencing, drones and surveillance coverage, the U.S.
border with Mexico should be far more secure than ever. Since
2004, Border Patrol personnel have doubled to more than
21,000, more than 650 miles of fencing have been built, and the
border is draped with ground sensors and aerial surveillance. In
an effort to deter further illegal immigration, the federal
government has also ramped up interior enforcement of
immigration laws, doubling the number of removals annually
over the past decade, mandating the use of employment
verification for government contracts, and increasing workplace
audits. United States spends more on immigration enforcement
than all other federal law enforcement missions combine. A
recent study by the Migration Policy Institute found that $18
billion was spent on illegal immigration enforcement in fiscal
year (FY) 2012(Roberts, Alden, & Whitley, 2013).
The American public remains skeptical about the effectiveness
of immigration enforcement, despite efforts in place discussed
above. Two-thirds of Americans believe the border is still not
secure, according to a recent survey. The first reason for the
public’s skepticism is that the U.S. government has done very
little to measure, evaluate its enforcement efforts and has not
made public the results of the small amount of analysis that has
been done internally (Roberts, Alden, & Whitley, 2013). As far
as border enforcement is concerned, Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) releases only a single output number; the total
arrests, or apprehensions, made by Border Patrol agents of
unauthorized crossers in the vicinity of the border. Other
relevant enforcement metrics related to illegal entry at the ports
are not reported.
Conclusion.
The emerging illegal immigration issues that warrant further
policy developments are data quality, costs and benefits,
services and management improvement and immigration control.

Data quality relates to counting the number of immigrants,
developing estimates of subgroups of immigrants, and
projecting trends in immigration. The second issue focuses on
the financial effect of immigrants. It considers the monetary and
fiscal intergovernmental consequences of immigration policy
and its effect on labor, health and education. The third area,
services and management improvement, deals with questions
such as how the flow of immigrants is managed and whether it
could be managed efficiently. Finally, under immigration
control, a question of enforcement, emphasis be place not only
on legal but also illegal immigrants.
References
Center for Immigration Studies. (2015, December). Historical
Overview of Immigration Policy. Retrieved October 21, 2016,
from Center of Immigration Studies:
http://cis.org/ImmigrationHistory
Daniels, R. P. (2004). Guarding the Golden Door: American
Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882. New York: Hill
and Wang.
Duignan, P. J. (2003, Septemeber 15). Making and Remaking
America: Immigration into the United States. Retrieved October
22, 2016, from Hoover Institution:
http://www.hoover.org/research/making-and-remaking-america-
immigration-united-states
Ehrenfreund, M. (2016, June 13). Here's Who is Affected by the

Supreme Court's Big Ruling on Immigration. Retrieved October
20, 2016, from The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/23/her
es-who-is-affected-by-the-supreme-courts-big-ruling-on-
immigration/?tid=a_inl
Planas, R. (2014, August 25). These are the Real Reasons
Behind Illegal Immigration. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from
The Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/25/undocumented-
mexicans_n_5709141.html
Roberts, B., Alden, E., & Whitley, J. (2013). Managing Illegal
Immigration in the United States: How Effective is
Enforcement. New York: Public Printers.
Rosenblum, M. R., Kandel, W. A., Seelke, C. R., & Wasem, R.
E. (2012). Mexican Migration to the United States: Policy and
Trends. Congressional Research Service.
Syllabus for ELT-308
INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Industrial Electronics is the study of devices, circuits, and
systems primarily used in automated manufacturing and/or
process control. Topics covered include solid state devices for
industrial applications, sensors, AC and DC motors, motor
control circuits, and programmable logic controllers.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, you should be able to:

· CO1 Explain the operation of commonly used input and output
devices for discrete control in industrial manufacturing systems.
· CO2 Develop a relay ladder logic control circuit that would
meet given sequential process control requirements.
· CO3 Analyze the operation of various solid state devices for
industrial applications.
· CO4 Design and analyze selected industrial electronic circuits
using operational amplifiers and linear integrated circuits.
· CO5 Design and analyze industrial electronic circuits using
SCRs, TRIACs, and other thyristors.
· CO6 Classify different sensors used in automated
manufacturing applications and explain their operation.
· CO7 Select the appropriate sensor given the parameters for a
sensing application and integrate the sensor using effective
design practices.
· CO8 Explain the operation and characteristics of the various
types of DC motors.
· CO9 Analyze the operation of various types of DC motor
control circuits.
· CO10 Explain the operation characteristics, and industrial
applications of the various types of AC motors and AC motor
drive systems.
· CO11 Analyze the characteristics, operation, and industrial
applications of special-purpose motors.
· CO12 Classify various types of programmable logic
controllers (PLC) and describe their characteristics, operation,
and industrial applications.
· CO13 Classify various PLC programming languages and
describe their characteristics.
· CO14 Develop a PLC ladder logic diagram for a given process
control application.
COURSE MATERIALS
You will need the following materials to do the work of the
course. The required textbook is available from the University's

textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Required Textbook
· Rehg, James A., & Sartori, Glenn J. (2006). Industrial
Electronics.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
ISBN-13: 9780132064187
COURSE STRUCTURE
Industrial Electronics is a three-credit online course, consisting
of six modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives,
study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
· Module 1: Input and Output Devices for Discrete Control
· Module 2: Solid State Devices in Industrial Applications
· Module 3: Thyristors and Sensors
· Module 4: DC Motors and Control Circuits
· Module 5: AC Motors, Variable Speed Drives, and Special
Purpose Motors
· Module 6: Programmable Logic Controllers
ASSESSMENT METHODS
For your formal work in the course, you are required to
participate in online discussions, complete written assignments,
take module quizzes, and take a midterm exam and a final exam.
See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Discussion Forums
This course requires you to participate in six graded discussion
forums. There are also one ungraded but required introduction
forum in Module 1.
Online Discussion Grading Rubric.
Written Assignments
You are required to complete six written assignments. The
written assignments draw on questions and problems at the end
of each chapter from the textbook.
When preparing your answers, please identify each exercise
clearly by textbook chapter and exercise number. Be sure to
include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course
name and code and the
semester and year in which you are enrolled. To receive full
credit for your answers, you must show all work and include
complete solutions.
Quizzes
You are required to complete six unproctored online module
quizzes. Each quiz includes only twenty True or False questions
that are related to the topics covered in the module. You will
have 30 minutes to complete each quiz. It is highly
recommended you review the self-check exercises and complete
the written assignment before you take the quiz.
Examinations
You are required to take two proctored online examinations: a
midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams require that you
use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer
to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online
Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course
Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking

online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are
strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of
the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course Web site.
Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of your
midterm and final exam week.
Midterm Examination
The midterm exam is two hours long and covers modules 1 to 3
of the course. It consists of 28 multiple-choice questions and 5
matching questions.
Final Examination
The final exam is two hours long and covers modules 4 to 6 of
the course. It consists of 21 multiple-choice questions, 4
matching questions, and 3 short essay questions.
Both the midterm exam and final exam are closed book exams
and no calculator is allowed.
Syllabus for ELD-311
MICROPROCESSORS

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces microprocessors and microcontrollers
and goes on to provide in-depth, hands-on coverage of their use
in automation systems. It employs the Arduino open source
hardware and software for imparting instruction. A
comprehensive training kit is used to interface simple digital
and analog components as well as complex modules utilizing
industry standard buses. The course culminates with a project
demonstrating a multitasking control application on an AVR
microcontroller.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO1 Describe the architecture and organization of
microprocessors and microcontrollers.
CO2 Explain main features of the AVR microcontrollers.
CO3 Examine the Arduino open source hardware and software
systems.
CO4 Program the UNO board using the Arduino IDE.
CO5 Use a breadboard to connect components and modules to
the UNO board.
CO6 Develop sketches to perform simple input and output
operations.
CO7 Use the UNO board to control motors and servos.
CO8 Develop sketches to attach more complex modules.
CO9 Demonstrate communication with the UNO board.
CO10 Demonstrate interfacing with industry standard SPI and
I2C buses.
CO11 Describe the AVR hardware and timer interrupts.
CO12 Utilize the Arduino IDE to control an LCD display.
CO13 Describe diverse applications of AVR microcontrollers.
CO14 Use the UNO board to program standalone AVR
microcontrollers to make simple autonomous

embedded systems.
CO15 Demonstrate multitasking applications on the UNO
board.
COURSE MATERIALS
You will need the following materials to do the work of the
course. The required textbook is available from the University's
textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Required Textbook
· Blum, J. (2013). Exploring Arduino: Tools and techniques for
engineering wizardry. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN-13: 978-1118549360
Textbook Companion Website
Required Lab Kit
Arduino UNO R3 Starter Kit is required for lab assignments and
the final project. It is available online from multiple vendors.
The customized kit for this course has to be ordered from
RIAspire at: http://riaspire.com/shop/kits/ultimate-uno-r3-diy-
starter-kit/ultimate-uno-r3-diy-starter-kit/.
When placing your order, you must enter the coupon code,
STUVIRGINIA, to get a customized kit for the course. For
questions about the kit, you can email them directly at
[email protected].
COURSE STRUCTURE
Microprocessors is a three-credit ,online course, consisting of
six modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study
materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
· Module 1: AVR Microcontrollers and Arduino

Course objectives covered in this module: CO1, CO2, CO3,
CO4
· Module 2: Simple Digital and Analog I/O
Course objectives covered in this module: CO5, CO6
· Module 3: Connecting Devices
Course objectives covered in this module: CO7, CO8
· Module 4: Communications Interfaces
Course objectives covered in this module: CO9, CO10
· Module 5: Hardware and Timer Interrupts
Course objectives covered in this module: CO11, CO12
· Module 6: Simple Automation Systems
Course objectives covered in this module: CO13, CO14, CO15
ASSESSMENT METHODS
For your formal work in the course, you are required to
participate in online discussions, complete written assignments,
submit lab reports, and take a midterm exam and complete a
final project. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Discussion Forums
This course requires you to participate in six graded discussion
forums. There is also one ungraded but required introduction
forum in Module 1.
Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the
course modules. The purpose of the discussion forums is to help
make the connection between the course concepts and the goals
of the course. In discussion posts, you express your opinions

and thoughts, provide support and evidence for the position(s)
you take on a subject, and have the opportunity to ask questions
and expand on insights provided by your colleagues. Active
participation is vital to your overall success in this course.
Click to review Online Discussion Grading Rubric.
Written Assignments
You are required to complete six written assignments. The
written assignments draw on the Study Materials in the
modules.
When preparing your answers, answer all questions and cite and
document all sources of information with an appropriate APA
format. Be sure to proofread your work carefully for correct
spelling, grammar, and clarity of expression.
Lab Assignments
You are required to complete six lab assignments. The lab
assignments require you purchase an Arduino UNO R3 Starter
Kit. For each lab assignment, you will be asked to complete
several exercises and then write a lab report with a video
demonstration.
The lab report should list all the major procedures required to
complete each of the exercises including a cover sheet,
objective, procedure, discussion/conclusion, and Arduino
sketches.
The video demonstration should provide a visual record of the
results obtained in each exercise. You are also required to use a
video editor to combine all the clips into one video file for each
lab assignment before you submit the video to the course
website. For guidelines to record and merge video clips, check
Record, Merge, and Upload Your Videos.

More details and guidelines for the lab assignments are
explained in each module.
Midterm Examination
For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exam, refer
to the study guide available in the Examinations section of the
course Web site.
You are required to take a proctored online midterm
examination. The midterm exam requires that you use the
University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the
Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student
Handbook (see General Information area of the course website)
for further information about scheduling and taking online
exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are
strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of
the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course website.
Consult the Course Calendar for the official date of your
midterm exam week.
Midterm Examination
The midterm exam is 90 minutes long and covers Modules 1
through 3 of the course. It consists of multiple-choice questions
that are based on module readings and activities.
The exam is a closed book exam and no calculator is allowed.

Syllabus for ELD-302
DIGITAL ELECTRONICS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Digital Electronics is a course of study in applied digital logic
using electronic digital circuits. Students will learn about
digital electronic fundamentals including number systems, logic
gates, Boolean algebra, logic families circuit design, flip-flops,
combinational and synchronous logic circuit design, logic
minimization techniques (Karnaugh maps, Quine-McCluskey),
counters, shift registers, encoders and decoders, multiplexors
and demultiplexors, interfacing, and microprocessors.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, you should be able to:
· CO1 Explain the important concepts, components, and tools of
digital electronics.
· CO2 Demonstrate the ability to convert from one number
system to another and to perform basic arithmetic operations.
· CO3 Demonstrate the ability to convert numbers using
specialized codes including Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) code,
Gray code, and the American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII) code.
· CO4 Demonstrate the operation of logic gates and illustrate
each logic gate symbol.
· CO5 Construct logic truth table for each logic gate and
produce timing diagrams for any specified input waveform.
· CO6 Apply basic laws of Boolean algebra and the Karnaugh
map to simplify a Boolean expression.
· CO7 Write a Boolean output expression for any combinational
circuit.
· CO8 Utilize full-adders to implement multibit parallel adders.
· CO9 Demonstrate how a comparator can determine if two
binary numbers are equal or unequal.
· CO10 Design a logic circuit to decode any combination of bits
and apply an encoder to a specific application to convert
information to a coded form.
· CO11 Compare and contrast the symbolic symbols for the set-
reset, D-type, J-K latches, and flip-flops.
· CO12 Compare and contrast the proper output for each
possible input combinations for the set-reset, D-type and J-K
latches and flip-flops.
· CO13 Identify and differentiate between synchronous and
asynchronous counter circuits.
· CO14 Differentiate between serial in/serial out, serial
in/parallel out, parallel in/serial out, and parallel in/parallel out
shift registers and how they operate.

· CO15 Identify various memory and storage used in digital
electronics.
COURSE MATERIALS
You will need the following materials to do the work of the
course. The required textbook is available from the University's
textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Required Textbook
· Floyd, Thomas L. (2009). Digital Fundamentals (10th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
ISBN-13: 978-0132359238
Required Software
· NI Circuit Design Suite (package), with NI Multisim, version
10 or above, from National Instruments.
Note: NI Circuit Design Suite is a Windows-based product and
will not run on Macs. You can run this software and other
Windows software on your Mac using Apple's Boot Camp
technology or third-party virtualization tools like Parallels or
VMWare Fusion. These tools make it possible to run Mac OSX
and a Windows operating system side by side. This solution will
require a Windows license.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Digital Electronics is a three-credit online course, consisting of
six modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study
materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
· Module 1: Introduction, Number Systems. Operations, and
Codes

· Module 2: Logic Gates
· Module 3: Boolean Algebra and Logic Simplification
· Module 4: Combinational Logic and Combinational Functions
· Module 5: Latches, Flip-Flops, and Timers
· Module 6: Counters, Shift Registers, Memory, Storage, and
Microprocessors
ASSESSMENT METHODS
For your formal work in the course, you are required to
participate in online discussions, complete written assignments,
submit virtual lab reports, take module quizzes, and take a
midterm exam and a final exam. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Discussion Forums
This course requires you to participate in six graded discussion
forums. There are also one ungraded but required introduction
forum in Module 1.
Online Discussion Grading Rubric.
Written Assignments
You are required to complete six written assignments. The
written assignments draw on even-numbered exercises from the
textbook. For each assignment, answer all assigned exercises,
and show all work.
When preparing your answers, please identify each exercise
clearly by textbook section and exercise number. Be sure to
include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course

name and code and the
semester and year in which you are enrolled. To receive full
credit for your answers, you must show all work and include
complete solutions.
Virtual Lab Reports
You are required to complete four virtual lab reports. The lab
reports require you use Multisim software to run simulations
based on system application activities at the end of chapters,
and then write a lab report based on your observation of the
software simulations.
Quizzes
You are required to complete six module quizzes. Each quiz
includes only True or False questions. The number of questions
in each quiz ranges from 12 to 30 based on the chapters
covered.
Examinations
You are required to take two proctored online examinations: a
midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams require that you
use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer
to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online
Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course
Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking
online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are
strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of
the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course Web site.
Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of your
midterm and final exam week.
Midterm Examination
The midterm exam is two hours long and covers modules 1 to 3

of the course. It consists of fifty multiple-choice questions.
The exam is open book, but not open notes. In this regard you
are permitted to use only the authorized textbook. However, you
are not allowed to consult a solutions manual, notes of any kind
(including graded or ungraded activities), or any other reference
sources or sources of information. The use of blank scratch
paper for doing math calculations is permitted during online test
administrations.
Note:You are permitted to use a calculator (scientific, graphing,
or financial) but may not use a calculator on a phone, PDA, or
any similar device.
Final Examination
The final exam is two hours long and covers modules 4 to 6 of
the course. It consists of fifty multiple-choice questions.