UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

INSS685A Syllabus

Course Title Special Topics: Issues in E-Government
Term TERM 1, 2004/2005
Education Center DIST-ED_EUROPE_GRAD
Faculty Member Jan Cameron - jcameron@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

SAXMUNDHAM HEALTH GROUP
Lambsale Meadow
Saxmundham
Suffolk
IP17 1AS
UK

Email Address:
jan@prof2u.com

Students are free to contact me before term to discuss this class.

Consultation:

24 / 7 via the WebTycho class or via email

Required Texts and Readings:

Congressional Internet Caucus. (1998-2002). Briefing book outline: E-Government. Retrieved July 8, 2004 from http://www.netcaucus.org/books/egov2001/.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington D.C.: Author.

Supplementary Readings:


Multiple URLs will be assigned during the course. 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). Public Administration Review, the lead journal in the discipline, is especially useful for this course.

Course Description:

This course introduces the basic concepts of using innovative technologies in public service environments and brings together key elements of the public administration and management information systems programs. Students will review strategic management models used to develop e-government projects, employ the best online resources, and obtain proficiency in a critical area of public service.

Course Goals:

As the primary course for the Certificate in E-Government and an elective in both the M.P.A. and the M.S. in Management Information Systems, this course introduces:
  1. The theory and practice of e-government,
  2. The mandate for e-government,
  3. The practicalities of transforming government services from the traditional models to the delivery of local, national and global public services via the World Wide Web and the Internet, and
  4. The challenges and opportunities inherent in such transformation.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand the basic concepts of e-governance and the use of information systems in government,
  2. Summarize issues and policies pertaining to e-democracy and the US and global digital divide,
  3. Analyze case studies in e-government,
  4. Apply strategic planning models to the development of e-government projects,
  5. Present summaries of issues and policies around citizen access and the provision of governmental e-services,
  6. Understand the human and technological resource issues,
  7. Be aware of the legal, ethical and privacy implications of e-governance,
  8. Analyze and critique literature related to e-government, and
  9. Understand and critique principles of government website design.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
 
A 90% +
B 80 – 89%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70% F(a) or regular non-attendance F(n)


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 at 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, you are required to complete:

Midterm examination------------15%
Group research/presentation----20%
Conference participation-------15%
Literature review--------------30%
Final examination--------------20%

Description of Course Requirements:

Participate in classroom discussions: you are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours of additional for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.

Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.

Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.

Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing 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 though to be included on a comprehensive exam.

Course Schedule:


Week    Dates                   Topic
=====   ==============          ===========================================
1       Aug 29 -Sep 04          Introduction 

2       Sep 05 - 11             Realizing the Promise of Digital Government

3       Sep 12 - 18             The Mandate for E-Government

4       Sep 19 - 25             Public Demand

5       Sep 26 - Oct 02         Elements of Transformation 

6       Oct 03 - 09             Civic Engagement

7       Oct 10 – 16             Challenges and Opportunities 

8-9     Oct 17 – 30             MID TERM BREAK

10      Oct 31 - Nov 06         Challenges and Opportunities (cont)

11      Nov 07 - 13             Security

12      Nov 14 - 20             Records Management

13      Nov 21 - 27             Digital Divide

14      Nov 28 - Dec 04         Mirror, Mirror on the Web

15      Dec 05 - 11             Exam Review

16      Dec 12 - 17             FINAL EXAM 

Academic Policies:

The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and 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:

About Your Instructor:
Although I have taught part-time for UM for over a decade, my “day job" is as the Practice Director of a Health Center within the British National Health Service. I have also a strategic I.T. role within the Primary Care Trust (the parent organization), and act as an I.T. advisor both to them and to the other General Practices in the area. In addition, I am a director and company secretary of a small independent Healthcare business. I have been involved with the planning and practice of e-government as it relates to the health service for nearly 5 years.
 
My MBA (Warwick) was undertaken mainly by Distance Education whilst in full-time employment - which I hope helps me to empathize with students taking DE classes! My first degree was in Mathematics and Computer Science which was funded by a full IBM scholarship.


Last updated by Jan Cameron: July 7, 2004, 12:27 am
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule