Faculty Contact Information:
Dr. J.E.D. Riggs
PSC 9 Box 3018
APO AE 09123
EMAIL: smartguy53@yahoo.com
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Consultation:
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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 (5th 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 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.
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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 UMUC Library Website. 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 parts of public administration.
- Current standards and best practices in public sector management.
- Major theories, models, and concepts of public administration.
- Differences between public and private sector management.
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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.
- Assess emerging difficulties in federal state relations.
- Differentiate between various schools of federalism.
- Identify key elements of public policy design.
- Classify critical methods of policy analysis and evaluation.
- Define the current judicial limitations to governmental power.
- Explain the mechanics of the budgetary process.
- Recognize the methodology of the major schools of budget preparation.
- Summarize the latest trends in public personnel policy.
- Distinguish differences among private and public sector unions.
- Identify the key features of the collective bargaining process.
- Access new E-Government technologies.
- Comprehend the depth and dimensions of governmental ethics.
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Grading Information:
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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, your grade will be determined by the following things:
Midterm Examination: 30 points.
Final Examination: 30 points.
Policy Paper: 20 points.
Participation: 20 points
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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 10-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 encouraged to familiarize themselves with UMUC-Europe/BSU standards for plagiarism, as all papers are subject to being sent in to turnitin.com for authentication
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.
Specifically in this class you must take a midterm and final examination, both administered online. The midterm will fall on the fifth week of class, while the final will fall on the tenth week of class.
In addition, you are expected to produce an original policy paper of no fewer than 15 pages. This paper will be of a current or proposed policy of your choosing. In this course we will be examining virtually every aspect of Public Administration from Intergovernmental Relations to Policy Formation, to Public Personnel Policy and Governmental Theory. The list of possible policies you can write about is virtually endless.
Choose a policy and write about the following things:
1. Why did this policy get proposed? Who (or what) caused this to become an issue?
2. Who are (were) the principal voices in support of this policy?
3. Who oversees this policy?
4. What does the policy purport to do?
5. Is is successfull? Why or why not?
By the week of the midterm I expect all of you to email me with your policy choices. Do not proceeed until you hear back from me. All papers are due by the beginning of the tenth week of class. Late papers will not be accepted.
In addition, please note that 20% of your total grade is participation. Every week's classroom will be open ONLY for THAT week. It will be closed at the end of the that week. I do this in order to keep the momentum of the class moving. experience teaches that if I don't close off the class each week, some people will post to classrooms from three or four weeks earlier. If you miss posting for a week, you will not be permitted to email your reponses to me later. ALL responses are posted in the classroom and nowhere else.
If you wish to make maximum points, please remember a few things:
1. Make your posts complete answers. Do not post a simple reply to the questions asked.
2. Post replies to the postings of your classmates (Please don't ask how many postings you are to make -- you're all adults -- do your best). These replies should be more than just a simple gesture like, "I agree with you completely," or, "Nice job." They should indicate an awareness of the points the poster makes, and a detailed response.
3. Please -- do not wait to post until Sunday night. Post earlier in the week so that you are sure to get a reply from both your classmates and me.
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Course Schedule:
Week 1:
Introduction to Public Administration Theory.
Readings: Denhardt -- 1,2. Stillman: Reading 1:1, Reading 2.
Week 2:
Intergovernmental Relations.
Readings: Denhardt -- 3. Stillman: All of section 5.
Week 3:
Designing Organization.
Readings: Denhardt -- 5. Stillman: NONE.
Week 4.
Planning.
Readings: Denhardt -- 6. Stillman: Sections 7, 8, 12.
Week 5.
MIDTERM EXAMINATION. PAPER TOPICS DUE THIS WEEK
Week 6.
BREAK WEEK.
Week 7.
Budgeting.
Readings: Denhardt -- 7. Stillman: Section 12.
Week 8.
Human Resource Management.
Readings: Denhardt -- 8, 9. Stillman: NONE.
Week 9.
The future of Public Administration.
Readings: Denhardt --12. Stillman: Section 14.
POLICY PAPERS ARE DUE AT THE END OF THIS WEEK.
Week 10.
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. JED Riggs is Collegiate Professor of Public Management with the University of Maryland and has taught in the Maryland System since 1993.
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