Faculty Contact Information:
Dr. J.E.D. Riggs
PSC 9 Box 3018
APO AE 09123
email: jriggs@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
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Consultation:
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One Half-Hour before class and by appointment.
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Required Texts and Readings:
Texts used exclusively in this course:
Denhardt, R.B. & Grubbs, J.W. (2003) Public administration: An action
orientation (4th ed.). Belmont, CA : Thomson Wadsworth.
Stillman, R.J. (2005). Public administration: Concepts and cases (8th
ed.). Boston: Houghton Miflin.
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 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.
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Recommended Journals:
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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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Prerequisite: Undergraduate American political science or American Government or permission from the Program Director. A survey of the fundamentals of public administration, management strategies and management techniques at the national, state, and local levels.
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Course Goals:
As the introductory course in the M.P.A. program and a prerequisite to the certificate in E-Government, this course introduces and analyzes:
- Discipline and practice of American public administration.
- Role of government in general and public administrators in particular in a democratic society.
- Basic institutions of American government.
- Development of the administrative state.
- Component partsof public administration.
- Current standards and best practices in public sector management.
- Major theories, models, and concepts of public administration
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
- Analyze
case material, web sites, public law, and research articles related to public administration
- Investigate
the relationship between historical and current issues in public administration
- Utilize
electronic resources to find primary source documents, data, statements on best practices, and research articles related to issues in public administration
- Develop and present
written and oral arguments, case studies, and/or research papers on current issues in public administration that make reference to and build on factual and expert information
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90%
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 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.
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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 complete a:
Midterm Examination = 35%
Final Examination = 35%
Term Paper = 30%
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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. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: 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.
Complete two 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.
Specifically in this course, you will be required to complete a midterm and final examination. The midterm will fall on the Sunday afternoon of Weekend Two and will cover all readings and lectures from the first weekend through the readings and lectures of Saturday of Weekend Two. The Final examination will consist of all readings and lectures from Sunday morning of Weekend Two through the end of the term.
In addition, each student is required to write a theme paper investigating a current problem in Public Administration. Since this is a survey course, the list of topics available is virtually endless.
The student's paper should answer the following questions:
1. Why is this area in PA a problem?
2. What is the background of this problem? Why did it develope?
3. What is its current status?
4. What are some potential solutions (if any)?
By the morning of Sunday, Weekend Two, I expect to see from each student a brief term paper topic sheet outlining three things:
1. The Paper Topic: (e.g. Problems in State and Local Government financing)
2. The Approach: (e.g. Analysis of Supreme Court decisions on Eminent Domain cases).
3. A sample bibliography of sources to be used.
The finished paper must be formatted in the APA style, and must be in my hands no later than the day of the final examination. Failure to turn in work at that time will result in an automatic 20% reduction in the paper's value.
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Course Schedule:
Course Readings and Lecture Topics:
WEEKEND 1.
Readings:
Denhardt: chps 1-3/ Stillman: Readings 1-1, 2-2, 5.
Topics:
1. The Structure of Federalism.
2. The Impact of Politics.
3. Intergovernmental Relations.
4. Public Policy Analysis.
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WEEKEND 2.
Readings:
Denhardt: chp 5./ Stillman: Readings 8, 12, 13.
TOPICS:
1. Public Budgeting (Legislative Perspective).
2. Public Budgeting (Executive Perspective).
3. Expenditure Analysis.
4. MIDTERM EXAMINATION.
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WEEKEND 3.
Readings:
Denhardt: chps 6, 8/ Stillman: Readings 11, 14.
TOPICS:
1. The Development of Organization Theory.
2. Organizational Behavior.
3. Human Resource Management.
4. (Same Topic Continued).
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WEEKEND 4.
Readings: (NONE)
TOPICS:
1. Development of Labor Law.
2. Collective Bargaining and Unions.
3. Technology in Government.
4. 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. J.E.D. Riggs is Collegiate Professor of Public Management with The University of Maryland/Bowie State University. He has taught in the Maryland System since 1993.
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