1. Unit 1 Seminar: Overview and Expectations for the Course Introduction to Policymaking Dr. David Thomason Kaplan University

2. Welcome to the Course A little about the instructor. Tell us who you are and why you enrolled in the course? What are your goals at Kaplan?

3. Getting Around the KU Classroom Announcements- I frequently post announcements on the Home Page of the Course. Make sure you read this regularly. DocShare- Unit Seminar Power points, documents and readings, things of interest, are in this area. Dropbox- this is where you will submit all of your assignments. I will only accept assignments through the Drop Box (School Policy). Gradebook- you can see your grades here and you should always make sure your grades are up to date and reflect your grade for that specific assignment. Seminar- Obviously you made it to the seminar. The seminars are archived and you can go back and listen to them. Webliography- we will have a webliogoraphy built up throughout the course, based on discussions and seminars. Check this regularly as new links are posted.

4. Course Requirements Seminars Discussion Forums Assignments Readings Involvement

5. Seminars- How To Utilize this Resource- 8 Seminars Seminars are not simply lectures. Seminars are the place where you can interact and discuss. Participate. Get involved. School of Legal Studies requires I moderate the seminar. So, some of your comments will not make it to the message board. Not a reflection of the comments, it just may be that we need to move on to a new topic. What if you miss a Seminar? You can make up for it by turning in a 2 page summary of the conversation. This is due by the end of the week you missed the Seminar. Let me know if you are going to miss a seminar. Seminars are invaluable tools. Make good use of them. Points add up! Don’t miss!!

6. Discussion Forums Really, the discussion forum is the heart and soul of the interactive experience at KU. You must post at least 4-5 comments per discussion thread. If a week has more than one topic, you will need to post 4-5 per topic, for a total of 8-10. Comments should be substantive points and not simply things like: “I like your answer.” Or “Good idea. Thanks.”

7. Written Assignments Quality writing is an essential element for success in public policy and public administration. The assignments this term will assist you in crafting your writing skills. It is crucial that you spend time on these assignments. Focus on developing your skills as a writer and you will succeed in this class and other courses in our program. Assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. of each Week. So, they are due on 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday night. Not turning your paper in on time is a problem. Make sure you get it in. If you cannot meet this deadline, you must let me know prior to the deadline.

8. Readings and Involvement Success in this class will come by remaining involved and staying up with the readings. Don’t get behind. But, if you do get behind, don’t give up! Let me know if you need assistance and I’m happy to help you out. I want you to do well in this course!

9. Ways Students Get Behind in the Class I wanted to discuss how you can avoid getting behind in the class. This course and all courses at KU take discipline. But you can do it with a little planning before hand. Dan Ariely- Predictably Irrational

10. Additional Tips to Doing Well in the Class Do not procrastinate. Make a plan and stick to it. Lay out each week and set your own deadlines for completing work. Stay involved in the discussion forums, seminars, and readings. Get to know your classmates and talk to them about problems with assignments. Get to know your professor! He’s really not that bad a guy (well, I guess that depends on who you ask. Don’t ask my wife!).

11. Textbooks and Coverage These books are located in the Doc Sharing and Reading sections: Textbook Information Milakovich, M.E. & Gordon, G.J. (2009). Public administration in America (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Hacker, D. (2009). Rules for writers. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

12. COURSE OUTCOMES Course Outcomes: Upon successfully completing this course, you should be able to: Assess stakeholder impact, with attention to the institutional roles of science, bureaucracy, and ethics in environmental policy Analyze the process of developing public policies Analyze the impacts of proposed environmental policies Convey policy analysis results General Education Outcomes: In addition, the following General Education outcomes are assessed during this course: GEL 1.1 - Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard American English GEL 8.2: Use principles of sound reasoning.

13. Overview of each Unit in the Term Let’s go through the syllabus and look briefly at each unit:

14. Public Policy- Defining and Conceputalizing What is public policy? – Public policy is the input, context, environment, output, and consequences of political decisions on a particular area or subject, with a finite amount of resources available.

15. Public Policy is Multi-Faceted A very dry definition! So, what does it mean? Simply, it is professional involvement in a political and public matter. It is also political, economic, and social involvement. It is public decision making. Should public policy remain non-political, apolitical, or political? There are many theories around this issue.

16. Public Administration/Public Policy The key to understanding this issue is the role that “public” plays in the equation. To what extent should administrators and policymakers encourage, activate, and engage members of the public? To what extent should administrators and policymakers limit involvement from members of the public?

17. Careers in Public Administration American Society of Public Administrators online career center at PublicServiceCareers.org aids offers the comprehensive and useful information about careers in the field. PublicServiceCareers.org

18. Some Examples of Careers in Public Administration/ Public Policy Working on a Children’s Health Insurance Coverage Policy for Statewide Enrollment. Launching an Environmental Awareness Campaign for a City Recycling Campaign. Developing a Budget Analysis of a State Agency to Present in front of the State Legislature. Running a data analysis of public school performances to determine whether certain schools require additional guidelines and structure. Working with regulatory personnel to oversee certain professions.

19. Some Key Questions to Consider for the Entire Term Are public administrators different from managers in the private sector? What responsibilities are central to a public policy and public administrators role? Are efficiency, transparency, openness, and effectiveness possible to obtain simultaneously in public policy? What values are priorities for a public administration and public policy? What are the ethical and legal limits of decision making for the public good? What is the public and how is it defined? How is the responsibility of fiscal management a factor in public decisionmaking?

20. Debating Advocacy vs. Analysis Can you think of specific elements of either one from the readings? What separates analysis from advocacy? Are their overlaps between the two terms?