Faculty Contact Information:
Dr. J. E. D. Riggs
PSC 9 Box 3018
APO AE 09123
email: smartguy53@yahoo.com
|
|
Consultation:
One-Half hour before class, and online 24/7.
SPECIAL NOTE: Face-2-Face class dates are April 10 through April 15. Classes Begin at the Heidelberg High School, starting on April 10 at 18:30. Future locations will be discussed at that time.
|
|
Required Texts and Readings:
|
Texts used exclusively in this course --
O'Toole, L. J. Ed. (2000). American intergovernmental relations, (4th ed.). Washington, DC. CQ Press.
Peterson, P. E. (1995). The price of federalism. Washington, DC. The Brookings Institute.
Text used in multiple courses:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.). Washington DC: Author
|
|
Supplementary Readings:
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at www.ed.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.
USEFUL WEBSITE: http://www.aspanet.org
|
|
Recommended Journals:
|
A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed in the UMUC library.
|
|
Course Description:
|
Prerequisite: Undergraduate American political science or American government. Focuses on the complexities and inadequacies of the federal-state-local system; with conflicts and cooperation between the three levels; with changing roles of government; with the development of structures, processes, and management to strengthen the intergovernmental system and improve performance; and with increasing student problem-solving and managerial capabilities.
|
|
Course Goals:
As a required course in the management track of the MPA, this course analyzes the challenges of managing programs within federalist systems of government. Upon completion of this course, participants should have an understanding of the:
- history of the federalism.
- significant legislation pertaining to IGR.
- unique problems of state government.
- challenges and promises of local and regional governments.
- crisis of state and local budgeting.
- impact of the courts on IGR.
- alternative funding arrangements of state and local activities
- probable future of intergovernmental relations.
|
|
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify the primary grant mechanisms.
- Compare and contrast the distinct phases of IGR.
- Delineate intergovernmental “tax domains.”
- Differentiate between the primary IGR policies
- Explain intergovernmental policy overlap issues.
- Identify new areas of state and local finances.
- Develop new models for revenue estimation.
- Implement new methods of revenue collection and disbursement.
- Identify the means of circumventing balanced budget amendments.
- Detect the major problems facing state and local governments.
- Develop strategies for avoiding costly social service litigation cases.
- Identify sources of grant money at state and nation levels.
- Write a grant proposal.
- Apply governmental policy objectives more effectively.
- Implement new laws pertaining to Equal Opportunity.
- Generate appropriate charts, tables and graphs.
|
|
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.
|
|
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 30%
Midterm Examination (In Class) 20%
Final Examination (online) 40%
|
|
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. Moreover, all students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with current UMUC-Europe/BSU policies regarding plagiarism, as all class papers are subject to being submitted to turnitin.com for authentication.
Because of the concentrated format, this class will be conducted by different standards. All readings are to be completed before the start of the face-2-face portion of the course begins. Please not the breakdown of the grade given above. ten-percent of the grade will be based on classroom participation. This means that you will be expected to participate in all discussions held in the online WebTycho classroom before the start of face-2-face classes.
In addition, you will be expected to complete two exams: a midterm exam to taken on Sunday Afternoon of face-2-face classes; and a final exam, to be completed afterward online. The respective values of these exams are given above.
And finally, you will be expected to complete an original 20 page paper on Intergovernmental Relations. You may choose the topic. But before proceeeding, you must clear the topic with the instructor by presenting a topic sheet to the instructor (either online before the start of class, or on the first day of face-2-face classes).
This topic sheet will contain three pieces of information:
The actual topic: (e.g. The economic impact of sports franchises on local finances).
The approach: (e.g. A case study comparing two cities).
A sample bibliography of sources to be used.
The paper and the final exam are to be submitted by Thursday of the final week of the term. Late submissions will be docked 10% of the values of the paper. You will find submission portals for each in the Assignment Folder of your classroom.
|
|
Course Schedule:
Before the start of face-2-face classes, students are required to have completted all readings from both texts. We will conduct classes from Tuesday through Sunday, and cover the following topics.
TUESDAY:
The History of the Federal System. Why Federalism? How has it evolved over the centuries? What is its current shape?
WEDNESDAY:
Federalism and Regulatory Policy. How has increased emphasis on regulatory activity affected the federal system?
THURSDAY:
Distributive Federalism. What are the carrots and sticks of the federal system? How do they impact states and cities?
FRIDAY:
Redistributive Federalism. Since the rise of the "Positive State," How have redistributive programs been parcelled out between the various levels of government?
SATURDAY:
Fiscal Federalism. How has federalism impacted Intergovernmental Finance? How are local governments helped and harmed by these innovations?
SUNDAY:
The future of federalism. What are the current challenges, and future prospects of the federal system?
SUNDAY AFTERNOON:
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
|
|
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:
|
Dr. JED Riggs is Collegiate Professor of Public Management for Bowie State University/UMUC. He ha taught in the Maryland system since 1993.
|
|