Faculty Contact Information:
Professor: Dr. William Beck
Telephone messages - Kapaun Air Station UMUC Office:
DSN 489 - 6438
Commercial: 0631 - 536 - 6438
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Consultation:
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Electronic mail: wbeck@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
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Required Texts and Readings:
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Text used exclusively in this course:
Mikesell, J.L. (2003). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Text used in multiple courses:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington D.C.: Author.
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Supplementary Readings:
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All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC on-line library at "http://www.umuc.edu/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.
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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.
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Course Description:
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Prerequisites: Undergraduate economics and American political science or American government, and PUAD 501, or permission of the Program Director. Covers concepts, principles, and practices, and their specific application to the development of resources in support of programs and the allocation of these resources against the demands at national, state, and local levels. The student evaluates performance budgeting, PPBS, and zero-base budgeting.
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Course Goals:
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As a required course in the management track of the M.P.A., the purpose of this course to provide graduate students with an understanding of the nature of public sector budgeting and the role of public finance economics in shaping the economy of the United States or other developed nations.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to:
- Evaluate the size and growth of government expenditure
- Critique the budget process in the U.S.,
- Apply cost-benefit analysis to determine the relative merits of government capital expenditure projects,
- Assess the economic effects of government revenue options and their structures and administration,
- Develop a better idea of how governments administer their debt, working capital, and pension funds, and
- Utilize concepts of the budgeting process to analyze case studies and current events.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90 - 100%
B 80% – 89%
C 70% – 79%
F Below 70%
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, available online or in your local Education Center.
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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:
Participate in classroom discussions 10%
Write graduate level papers or case studies 40%
Orally/visually present prepared material 20%
Complete mid-term/final examinations 10%/20%
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Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
Write a graduate level paper: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. 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. This means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material.
Complete mid-term and final examinations: 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.
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Course Schedule:
The following schedule is our plan, but it is subject to change.
Each class will begin at 0900 and end no later than 1600.
Initial meeting, Saturday, 4 June 2005:
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
Orientation to subject
Text Chapters 1 and 2
Second meeting, Sunday, 5 June 2005:
Text Chapters 2 and 3
Third meeting, Saturday, 18 June 2005
Text Chapters 5 and 7
Fourth meeting, Sunday, 19 June 2005
Text Chapters 7 and 8; Mid-term Examination
Fifth meeting, Saturday, 9 July 2005
Text Chapters 9 and 15; Term Paper Topic Due
Sixth meeting, Sunday, 10 July 2005
Text Chapters 15 and 16
Seventh meeting, Saturday, 23 July 2004
Text Chapter 12; term papers due; begin presentations
Final meeting, Sunday, 24 July 2005
Complete presentations; final examination
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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.
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Faculty Bio:
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Dr. Beck has over 25 years experience teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. He has published articles and written books in several academic areas. He has taught business, economics, mathematics, and statistics courses for the University of Maryland University College in Europe and Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy, a Master of Arts from the University of Michigan, and a PhD from the University of Colorado.
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