PSCI 346 01W Introduction to Public Policy

COURSE SYLLABUS: Summer II 2015

Professor: Dr. Jangsup Choi
Office Location: Social Science Building 161
Office Phone: 903-886-5314
University Email Address: [email protected]

Online Course Time Zone: U.S. Central Time

COURSE INFORMATION
Materials – Textbooks, Readings, Supplementary Readings
Textbook(s) Required
Kraft, Michael E. and Scott R. Furlong. 2015.
Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives (5th ed).
Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press. (ISBN: 978-1483345789).

Textbook Cover Photograph

Textbook Readings. Given the vast amount of information available in

the course, we will not have enough time to “cover” all of the readings in the
assigned book—chapter by chapter. Consequently, this course will depend
on you to complete all assigned readings and be prepared to discuss
them in online class in a timely manner. Please note that all assigned
readings are critically important for successfully completing exams and class
activities.

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Course Description
A course designed to familiarize the student with the problem solving
activities of government in such areas as pollution, poverty, unemployment,
taxation, education, health care, and technology.

This is an introductory course in American public policy. The purpose of this

course is to introduce students to some of the most current and salient
policy debates in the United States and give students the tools and
knowledge necessary to critically evaluate public policy issues.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course

1. Students will understand the essential elements of public policy.

2. Students will explain how American political institutions affect the
development and implement of public policy.
3. Students will analyze the effectiveness of public policy.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Instructional / Methods / Activities Assessments

All students are expected to comply with the following requirements.

1. Complete all course readings for each module of the course.

2. Regularly check the course site for announcement and updates.
3. Complete assigned readings.
4. Take each of the scheduled exams.
5. Participate fully in the class discussion.
6. Complete class activities.
7. Write reflection papers.
8. Students will respect their fellow classmates and the instructor. This
includes treating everyone with courtesy and respect in any and all
correspondence for the course. For more information on this subject,
please see the Student Guidebook.
9. All students will maintain the highest level of personal responsibility and
academic honesty. Academic dishonesty affects all individuals at the
University and accordingly will not be tolerated. For this class, academic
dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying
academic work. In particular, passing off work as your own that was
written by someone else, without proper citation or attribution, on either
exams or discussion assignments will be considered an act of
plagiarism. This holds true whether material comes from the textbook,
another publication, an internet source, or another student. Violations of
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 academic integrity/honesty while carrying out academic assignments
may, at the discretion of the instructor, receive a zero on the particular
work in question, receive an “F” in the course and may result in
significant administrative penalties.
10. Students will comply with any and all eCollege technical requirements in
terms of training, computer access, & Internet access.
11. Failure to complete two of any discussion, assignment, or activity will be
considered “excessive” absenteeism and the student will be
administratively dropped from the class.

GRADING
This course occurs in a digital learning environment designed in module
format. Each module runs around a week during which time you will be
expected to read assigned material, participate in discussions, complete
class activities, and take midterm exams. Each module opens and closes on
a certain date and once a module closes it will not be opened again.
Therefore you need to demonstrate a level of time management that allows
you to meet deadlines as posted.

Midterm Exams: 200 Points (40% of total course grade)

Exam Format
Students will take two midterm exams that feature 50 multiple choice
questions. 90 minutes are allotted for exam.

Exam Times and Dates

Midterm exams will be taken online and are scheduled on the dates listed
below. The midterm exam will begin at 11:59 PM on a Tuesday and will
close 48 hours later at 11:59 PM on Thursday.

Midterm Exam #1
Opens 7/21
Due 7/23
Covers Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5
Midterm Exam #2
Opens 8/4
Due 8/6
Covers Chapters 7, 8, 9, 11

Technical Issues: Students will take two midterm exams via the course
page. Students are responsible for testing the compatibility of their own
computers and software prior to starting the exam and must be sure to have
a high speed internet connection to eliminate the chance of technical
problems. Exams are timed and can only be taken once. Once the exam has
begun, the allotted time will begin counting down and students will not be
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able to “pause” or put the exam time on hold, even if they disconnect from
the course site or exam. Students should save their answers frequently by
clicking on the “Save Answers” button. Students should not click the “Submit
Test” button until they have completed the exam as it will not be possible to
re-enter the exam once the test has been submitted. Students who
encounter technical problems as a result of failing to comply with these
guidelines will not be given an opportunity to re-take or re-access an exam.
Any technical problems should be immediately referred to the help desk.

Make Up Exams
If a student misses a midterm exam, that student will receive a grade of 0
for the exam. Make-up exams will only be granted at the discretion of the
instructor. Any request for a make-up exam must be made in writing and
include documentation explaining why the absence was legitimate. Such a
request must be received within 2 calendar days of the missed exam date,
unless the student is physically unable to submit such a request during that
time period. Legitimate reasons may include illness severe enough to require
professional treatment, death in the immediate family, participation in
University activities, and/or legal obligations. Technical problems with
accessing the course will not be considered a valid excuse for missing an
exam unless it can be shown that the problem is the fault of the eCollege
platform. Please note, these reasons do not guarantee that a make-up
exam will be given.

Make-up exams will be exclusively essay format.

Class Discussion: 100 Points (20% of total course grade)

This is the second graded component of the course and will consist of four
discussions. Topics for the discussion will be posted on Friday each week
at 9 AM. Each discussion thread will close at 11:59 PM on Thursday next
week. Regardless of the reason, there will be no make-up opportunities for
discussion assignments and students will not receive any credit for posts
made after the deadline.

The instructor will create a discussion thread topic for each discussion to
which students are expected to compile responses.

Students will be graded upon two criteria. First, students are expected to
submit an original response to the topic posted, answering all parts of the
topic (one original post requiring 150-200 words in length). Second,
students are expected to respond to the posts of other students in their
discussion group (two peer responses requiring 100 words each in length).
Students should engage in conversation with their group members in a
thoughtful discussion about the topic as well as their individual responses to

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the topic. These posts should not be made all on the same day during the
final hours of the discussion time line.

Students will receive a grade on each discussion assignment (Students who

do not participate will receive a 0). Grades will be based both upon the
quality of the content of a student’s posts, as well as the student’s
engagement with other students by responding to posts. Posts that do not
fully answer the questions or do not respond posted will not receive full
credit. Students who wait until the end of the time frame may receive a
grade penalty. Discussion Posts cannot be made up. No late work
accepted.

o Post your discussion answers to respond to the discussion questions

[Possible points (15 points x 4 Modules) = 60 points]
o Respond to classmates’ postings
[Possible points ((5 points x 2 responses) x 4 Modules) = 40 points]

Possible assigned points will be divided by the total number of discussion

questions. For instance, if there are two discussion questions in Module 3, 6
points will be assigned to original discussion for question #1 and remaining
6 points for questions #2. 4 points will be assigned to two responses for
question #1 and remaining 4 points to two responses for question #2.

See the Guidelines/Rubric for Discussion Answer and Guidelines/Rubric for

Responding Peer’s Posting for the evaluation criteria (Will be placed in Doc
Sharing under Course Document).

All content submitted for Discussion Assignments must be a student’s

original submission. Any material taken from another source, including the
textbook, should include a proper citation. Material which is copied or pasted
from any source will be considered plagiarism as discussed above in the
Course Policies and Procedures section.

Class Activities: 85 points (17% of total course grade)

You will have an opportunity to do a variety of class activities which will
include the best practices in American and Texas politics areas. More specific
information will be provided later.

o Complete class activity [Possible points (17 points x 5 Modules) = 85

points]

Reflection Paper: 100 points (20% of total course grade)

You will write two short reflection papers. Reflection paper will ask you to
write a specific topic and issue in the area of public policy. These will be a
good opportunity for you to explore policy issues. These papers are required
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to write 2-3 page, typed, with one-inch margins, in Times New Roman, 12-
point, double spaced. No late work will be accepted (also see in the Course
Policies and Procedures section). Instructions with details on reflection
papers will be distributed later.

o Write two reflection papers [Possible points (50 points x 2 papers) = 100
points]

Self-Assessment: 15 points (3% of total course grade)

You will assess your performance for each module.

o Complete self-assessment [Possible points (3 points x 5 Modules) = 15

points]

Summary of Assignments and Grading

How Point Total Percent of

Assignments
Many Value Possible Total
Midterm Exams 2 100 200 points 40%
Discussion 4 25 100 points 20%
Class Activities 5 17 85 points 17%
Reflection Paper 2 50 100 points 20%
Self-Assessment 5 3 15 points 3%
Total 500 points 100%

Grading Scale

Points Grade Standard

450-500 A Superior
400-449 B Above Average
350-399 C Average Performance
300-349 D Below Average
299 and Below F Unsatisfactory

Late Work
No late work accepted and work cannot be made up. Technical
difficulties of the student’s equipment or internet provider are not excused.
When such difficulties occur, students are expected to locate an alternative
source for submitting assignments, e.g., neighbor, work place, public library,
etc. Technical difficulties caused by the University or eCollege can be
excused provided the student obtains documentation from technical support.

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Students should always have a back-up in mind for unexpected glitches in
technology.

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS
Because this is an online course, all students must meet the following
technology requirements to successfully complete this course.

• To fully participate in online courses, you will need to use a current, Flash
enabled browser. For PC users, the suggested browser is Internet
Explorer 9.0 or 10. For Mac users, the most current update of Firefox is
suggested.

• You will need regular access to a computer with a broadband Internet

connection. The minimum computer requirements are:
o 512 MB of RAM, 1 GB or more preferred
o Broadband connection required courses are heavily video
intensive
o Video display capable of high-color 16-bit display 1024 x 768 or
higher resolution

• You must have a:

o sound card, which is usually integrated into your desktop or
laptop computer
o speakers or headphones.

• Depending on your course, you might also need a:

o webcam
o microphone

For courses where interactive tools are used, like VoiceThread or Class
Live Pro, headphones are suggested for use with recording and playback.
We recommend a webcam with an integrated microphone, such as the
Microsoft LifeCam Cinema. All devices should be installed and configured
before class begins.

• Both versions of Java (32 bit and 64 bit) must be installed and up to date
on your machine. Java can be downloaded at:
http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

• Current anti-virus software must be installed and kept up to date.

• You will need some additional free software for enhanced web browsing.
Ensure that you download the free versions of the following software:
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 o Adobe Reader
o Adobe Flash Player

• At a minimum, you must have Microsoft Office 2013, 2010, 2007 or Open
Office. Microsoft Office is the standard office productivity software utilized
by faculty, students, and staff. Microsoft Word is the standard word
processing software, Microsoft Excel is the standard spreadsheet
software, and Microsoft PowerPoint is the standard presentation software.
Copying and pasting, along with attaching/uploading documents for
assignment submission, will also be required. If you do not have Microsoft
Office, you can check with the bookstore to see if they have any student
copies.

• For additional information about system requirements, please see:

https://secure.ecollege.com/tamuc/index.learn?action=technical

ACCESS AND NAVIGATION

Pearson LearningStudio Access and Log in Information
This course will be facilitated using Pearson LearningStudio, the learning
management system used by Texas A&M University Commerce. To get
started with the course, go to: http://www.tamuc.edu/myleo.aspx.

You will need your CWID and password to log in to the course. If you
do not know your CWID or have forgotten your password, contact
Technology Services at 903.468.6000 or [email protected].
It is strongly recommended that you perform a “Browser Test” prior to the
start of your course. To launch a browser test, login to Pearson
LearningStudio, click on the ‘myCourses’ tab, and then select the “Browser
Test” link under Support Services.

Pearson LearningStudio Student Technical Support

Texas A&M University Commerce provides students technical support in the
use of Pearson LearningStudio.

Technical assistance is available 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.

If at any time you experience technical problems (e.g., you can't log in to
the course, you can't see certain material, etc.) please contact the Pearson
LearningStudio Help Desk, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The student help desk may be reached by the following means 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.

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 • Chat Support: Click on 'Live Support' on the tool bar within your
course to chat with an Pearson LearningStudio Representative.

• Phone: 1-866-656-5511 (Toll Free) to speak with Pearson

LearningStudio Technical Support Representative.

• Email: [email protected] to initiate a support request with

Pearson LearningStudio Technical Support Representative.

Accessing Help from within Your Course: Click on the 'Tech

Support' icon on the upper left side of the screen inside the course. You will
then be able to get assistance via online chat, email or by phone by calling
the Help Desk number noted below.

Note: Personal computer problems do not excuse the requirement to

complete all course work in a timely and satisfactory manner. Each student
needs to have a backup method to deal with these inevitable problems.
These methods might include the availability of a backup PC at home or
work, the temporary use of a computer at a friend's home, the local library,
office service companies, an Internet cafe, or a bookstore, such as Barnes &
Noble, etc.

Policy for Reporting Problems with Pearson LearningStudio

Should students encounter Pearson LearningStudio based problems while
submitting assignments/discussions/comments/exams, the following
procedure MUST be followed?

1. Students must report the problem to the help desk. You may reach the
helpdesk at
2. [email protected] or 1-866-656-5511
3. Students MUST file their problem with the helpdesk and obtain a
helpdesk ticket number
4. Once a helpdesk ticket number is in your possession, students should
email me to advise me of the problem and to provide me with the
helpdesk ticket number
5. At that time, I will call the helpdesk to confirm your problem and
follow up with you

PLEASE NOTE: Your personal computer/access problems are not a

legitimate excuse for filing a ticket with the Pearson help desk. You are
strongly encouraged to check for compatibility of your browser BEFORE the
course begins and to take the Pearson LearningStudio tutorial offered for
students who may require some extra assistance in navigating the Pearson

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LearningStudio platform. ONLY Pearson LearningStudio based problems are
legitimate.

Internet Access
An Internet connection is necessary to participate in discussions and
assignments, access readings, transfer course work, and receive feedback
from your professor. View the requirements as outlined in Technology
Requirements above for more information.

myLeo Support
Your myLeo email address is required to send and receive all student
correspondence. Please email [email protected] or call us at 903-468-
6000 with any questions about setting up your myLeo email account. You
may also access information at https://leo.tamuc.edu.

Learner Support
Go to the following link One Stop Shop- created to serve you by attempting
to provide as many resources as possible in one location.
Go to the following link Academic Success Center- focused on providing
academic resources to help you achieve academic success.

COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT

It is very important to go to this online course 4-5 times each week to:

1. Read new announcements

2. Check your university email
3. Review activities and assignments
4. Check the schedule of activities and assignments
5. Communicate as needed with your instructor and class members.

Submitting assignments
You are responsible for attaching the correct assignment to the correct folder
in the Dropbox. Once you submit your assignment, you should always click
on the Outbox to make sure the assignment is there. You can tell if it is
attached in at least two ways: (1) touch the little document icon (symbol for
an attachment) with your cursor and the name of your document will appear
or (2) click on the little icon and actually open and view the document.
Submitting an incorrect document, a blank document, or no document is
counted as failure to complete the assignment on time.

Each assignment or work should include your name in the content. Also
make your computer file name, when attaching to the Dropbox, using your
last name and a specific assignment (i.e., Choi Activity1.docx).
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Announcements
Announcements are posted often in the course. When you go to the course,
you should first read any announcements that have been posted since you
were last in the class.

Email Correspondence
Email from me is sent to your University email account. It is important to go
to MyLeo mail regularly to check for messages.

If you need to contact me, email is the best way to reach me. Please send
your message with your first and last name so I know who you are. Unless
otherwise announced, I will do my best to respond within 48 hours except
weekends.

COURSE AND UNIVERSITY

PROCEDURES/POLICIES
Student Conduct
All students enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common
decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a positive learning
environment. (See Code of Student Conduct from Student Guide Handbook).
Students should also consult the Rules of Netiquette for more information
regarding how to interact with students in an online forum:
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

Texas A&M University-Commerce will comply in the classroom, and in online

courses, with all federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination and related
retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability,
age, genetic information or veteran status. Further, an environment free
from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression will be maintained.

ADA Statement

Students with Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination
statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with
disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students
with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for
reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability
requiring an accommodation, please contact:

Office of Student Disability Resources and Services

Texas A&M University-Commerce
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Gee Library- Room 132
Phone (903) 886-5150 or (903) 886-5835
Fax (903) 468-8148
[email protected]

COURSE SCHEDULE
Module 1 (July 13 – July 16)
Course Introduction and Study of Public Policy (Chs. 1, 2)

Class Activity #1

Module 2 (July 17 – July 23)

Analyzing Public Policy (Chs. 3, 5)

Exam #1
Class Activity #2
Discussion #1

Module 3 (July 24 – July 30)

Issues and Controversies in Public Policy 1
1. Economic and Budgetary Policy (Ch. 7)
2. Health Care Policy (Ch. 8)

Class Activity #3
Discussion #2
Reflection Paper #1

Module 4 (July 31 – August 6)

Issues and Controversies in Public Policy 2
1. Welfare and Social Security Policy (Ch. 9)
2. Environmental and Energy Policy (Ch. 11)

Exam #2
Class Activity #4
Discussion #3

Module 5 (August 7 – August 13)

Issues and Controversies in Public Policy 3
Foreign Policy and Homeland Security (Ch. 12)

Class Activity #5
Discussion #4
Reflection Paper #2

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√ Many class activities, discussions, exams, and reflection papers are due at
11:59 PM on Thursday.

√ Please note that the instructor reserves the right to change any part of
this syllabus as needed over the course of the semester. Any and all changes
will be announced.

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