Faculty Contact Information:
Faculty Contact Information:
Archie J. Twitchell, DPA
Mailing Address: 18735 Martin?s Landing, Germantown, Md. 20874
Email Address: atwitche@cs.com
Telephone and fax: 301 528 7968 | |
Consultation:
Consultation:
On line as necessary. | |
Required Texts and Readings:
Texts used exclusively in this course:
Anderson, J.E. (2000). Public policymaking (5th ed.). Houghton Mifflin.
Dye, T.R. (2002). Understanding public policy (10th ed.). Prentice Hall.
Text used in multiple courses:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington DC: Author. | |
Supplementary Readings:
| Each instructor has his or her preferences for supplementary reading material that may be added here. In addition, all graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
| A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the PA Webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~pa). The Public Administration Review is the lead journal in the discipline and is especially useful for this course. | |
Course Description:
| Prerequisites: Undergraduate economics and American political science or American government, and PUAD 501 or PUAD 502, or permission of the Program Director. Focuses on the analysis of costs and benefits in the selection of public policy choices. Students analyze public policy alternatives, factors, and processes involved in policy development, including the rulemaking that occurs after legislative enactment of public programs. | |
Course Goals:
| As a required course in the policy track of the M.P.A., this course develops analytical skills necessary to the study of public policy. Students learn to apply a variety of common theoretical and conceptual approaches to policy development and policy analysis. | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
- Analyze public policies using standard conceptual and theoretical models.
- Evaluate policy options based on various assumptions of policy formulation and implementation.
- Investigate the relationships between historical and current policy proposals on the public agenda.
- Utilize electronic and technological solutions to accomplish policy analysis.
- Utilize electronic resources to find primary source documents, data, statements on best practices, and research articles related to policy analysis.
- Develop and present viable policy recommendations or proposals.
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Grading Information:
GRADING SCALE:
- A = 400-360
- B = 359-320
- C = 319-280
- F = Below 280.
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog. Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, grades for the course will be based on four performance criteria:
- Midterm examination-----100 points
- Final examination-------100 points
- Term paper--------------100 points
- Participation-----------100 points
- Total-------------------400 points
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Description of Course Requirements:
Examinations are essay type and are submitted on line. The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully pass the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as if they were to be included on a comprehensive exam.
The requirements for the term paper include:
Length: between 10- 20 pages
Topic: research subject selected by the student for its learning value
Standards: The APA manual
Voluntary - submit a paragraph describing the topic accompanied by an outline. I will comment within the week.
The paper is due by midnight Oct. 2
Grading standards include an evaluation of the quality of English and the quality of the analysis.
Each student is expected to response substantively to each assignment posted in the conferences or in study groups. Fifty participation points are available each tern. The number of participation points earned is determined by the number of responses divided by the total opportunities available. Fifty multiplied by this percent equals the points earned.
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Course Schedule:
Course Schedule: Reading designated as follows:
D = Dye A = Anderson W = web site C = cases
Week #, Session Dates, Reading Assignments
1. June 14-19 Getting organized, introductions, intro to public policy A-1, D-1,2
2. June 20-26 A-2,W-www.whitehouse.gov The President's Management Agenda 3. June 27-July 3 A-3, D-3,12
4. July 4-10 A-4
5. July 11-17 D-7,8
6. July 18-24 A-5 W- www.cbo.gov (Analysis of tax reductions) www.omb.gov (Projected revenues, deficits)
7. July 25-31 Midterm Exam
Term break Aug. 1-14
8. Aug. 15-22 D- 4
9. Aug. 23-28 D-5 Web site references on welfare (www.hhs.gov)
10. Aug. 29 Sept 4 D-6 Education policy
11. Sept. 5-11 A-7 D-14 www.census.gov (demographics)
12. Sept. 12-18 www.dod.gov (Explore strike first doctrine)
13. Sept. 19- 25 A-8
14. Sept 26-Oct. 2 Wrap, paper due by midnight Oct. 2
15. Oct. 3-9 Final exam due by midnight Oct. 8 | |
Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
| Dr. Twitchell earned his BA in History/Government, and his Masters and DPA are in the field of Public Administration. Dr. Twitchell served as a city planner and then as city manger for a total of 15 years. As a consultant to the National Association of Counties he prepared an assessment of the Impact of State Energy Codes on county government. That was followed by a three year stint as the program manager for a federal program where the mission was to develop the impmentation program for a national energy code. Thus, he has more than 20 years experience drafting local, state and national policies and assessing their impact. | |