Issues in Terrorism

Master of Science in Homeland Security

HS 680

Breyer State University

Professor: Ed Piper, MS

Syllabus

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Issues in Terrorism, a course in the curriculum for the Degree, Master in Homeland Security.

This course focuses on the history, behavior, goals and motivations of terrorism.

It also focuses on planning, characteristics, group structure, knowledge exchange and proliferation between terrorist organizations. An additional emphasis is placed on terrorist's capabilities and intentions. Finally, this course will require students to write a book report on concerns about terrorist attacks from Iran .

TIME FRAME: This is a five-semester hour course. This course is allotted 10 weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the 10-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded five semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: Countdown to Terror. Congressman Curt Weldon. Regnery Publishing Company Washington DC. 2005: ISBN # 0-89526-005-0.

* The other text is a free PDF File entitled: The Military Guide to Terrorism in the 21st-century. August 15, 2005 Unclassified. It will be sent to you the first week of class.

This text may be found at your local bookstore. Your local bookstore most often will order them as a special order for you. Or, you may the book online from:

	» Click Here to Enter
» Additional Student Resources at StudyTactics

EXAMINATIONS: There are two short essay examinations for this course, a mid-term exam and a final exam. The mid-term exam covers Chapters 1-6 in the PDF File The Military Guide to Terrorism in the 21st-century, Contemporary Security Management. The final exam covers Annexes A-G.

The mid-term examination must be taken by the end of the 5th week in the course.

The final examination must be taken by the end of the 10th week in the course.

Both exams are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course. The examinations are "open book" short essay objective type. You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive your email address. I will then program your access in. You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and PASS WORD to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your answers. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom write your short essays. You should also email your essays to me. I will grade them and email your grades back to you

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. Our classroom for this course has a "chat" room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: My name is Ed Piper. I hold a Master Degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University. I have over thirty years of experience in intelligence, security, law enforcement, training and academia. I am President of Homeland Security Consultants, Inc. I have served on the faculties of Webster University Graduate School and George Washington University. I currently serve on the faculties of Johns Hopkins University, Norwich University, Breyer State University and Canyon College.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand the breath and scope of terrorist history, behavior, goals and motivations.
2). Evaluate the level of ability of terrorists to develop knowledge exchange and proliferation between terrorist's organizations.
3). Learn about terrorist capabilities and their intentions.
4). Understand the intentions of Iran regarding terrorist attacks on the U.S.

ASSIGNMENTS: For specific assignments, please click on the link "Assignments"

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at EDPIP@aol.com.

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