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Public Policy Syllabus, Fall, 2009 | ENST20701 | V. 1.1

Welcome to Public Policy for the fall 2009 semester. Your professor is Wayne Hayes, Ph.D. My office is G-231, my Ramapo College phone is (201) 684-7751, and my e-mail address dedicated to this course is wkhayes@gmail.com. Our class meets at 6:00 P.M. on Monday evening in Room ASB-135. Our course number is 40240. Public Policy is offered through the School of Social Science and Human Service of Ramapo College of New Jersey.

This course, organized around a dedicated Internet site, examines the processes that shape public policy in the United States, emphasizing environmental policy, economic policy, globalization, and sustainable development--and what it all means for you.

Goals ^

Two principal goals should direct your effort here:

1. The student should identify, explain, and apply key concepts and terms underlying the public policy process, grasping public policy as an unfolding dynamic.
2. The student should demonstrate a grasp of the global environmental policy to promote sustainability.

To guide our inquiry into the policy process, we will consider these basic questions:

1. What is public policy? How broad is its scope? How does public policy involve and impact us? Does the public policy making process work effectively?
2. How is the public policy agenda set? Who and what have been ignored? What is power? Who has it and who does not?
3. How is public policy formulated? What institutions and actors make policy? What are the limits of rational analysis? Of politics? How is policy ultimately authorized?
4. How is public policy implemented? How big and intrusive are government bureaucracies? How might the administration of programs be improved?
5. Who pays for public policy? What is the public policy budget? How are taxes raised and lowered and for whom? What was the recent tax reduction all about? What fiscal tools are used to steer national and global economies?
6. How do we assess the effects of public policy? How is it working? How do we know? Who are the winners and the losers?

Aspects of globalization and sustainability will be explained and discussed, consistent with the Ramapo College Mission Statement. Cases illustrating policy dynamics will be drawn from current events within the USA and around the world.

Course Resources ^

The course materials are:

1. The main text is my The Public Policy Web Site: http://www.oocities.org/profwork/pp/index.html. Frequently visit our schedule of class activities, an essential course resource. A running commentary will be linked from our Bulletin Board.
2. Lester R. Brown. Plan B 3.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2008. List price: $16.95.
3. Handouts and Internet links will provide ample support documents. These will be communicated through the Bulletin Board and the Schedule.
4. Keep tuned and informed: Digest a diverse menu of news media daily. Please enroll for a free on-line subscription to the New York Times.

Grading and Attendance ^

Grading will be based on the following distribution:

1. An essay covering the introductory material will count 16 points and will be due on October 12.
2. An in-class exam covering the policy cycle and current policy events carries 32 points and is scheduled for November 16.
3. A world sustainability policy research report will count 32 points and is due on or before December 21.
4. Attendance, participation, and experiential learning carries 20 points.

Grades will be scaled as follows: A = 93 and above; A- = 90 to 92; B+ = 87 to 89; B = 83 to 86; B- = 80 to 82; C+ = 77 to 79; C = 73 to 76; C- = 70 to 72; D+ = 67 to 69; D = 60 to 66; F < 60.

Attendance, of course, is mandatory. Perfect attendance will be rewarded with a bonus of two points. Missing a single session will be held as neutral. After that, every missed session will lead to a deduction of four points, since each class is a double session. Missing a significant portion of the class session, such as arriving late or leaving early, may lead to a pro rata deduction at the discretion of the professor. Absence for four classes can result in failure and requires that the student initiates consultation with the professor. Excused absences, counting as half an absence, may be granted for good cause, but may require documentation and should be arranged in advance whenever feasible. Holy days will be respected. The rules of academic integrity set forth in the Student Handbook will be enforced.

The timetable of class events is displayed in the course Schedule web page and will be updated as needed. Please consult the class schedule and the Bulletin Board before each class and come to class prepared.

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The Public Policy Cycle Web Site | © Wayne Hayes, Ph.D. | ™ ProfWork | whayes@ramapo.com
Initialized: 5/22/2001 | Last Update: 9/1/2009