PAF 101 Syllabus

NRHS Fall 2014

Mr. Robbins

PUBLIC AFFAIRS 101:INTRODUCTION TO THE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC POLICY
This course is offered by Mr. Robbins, an Adjunct Faculty member of the Public Affairs program of the MaxwellSchool at SyracuseUniversity. Mr. Robbins has been trained by Professor Bill Coplin, Director of the Public Affairs Program, College of Arts and Science and the MaxwellSchool. At SU, PAF 101 fulfils a social science and critical reflection requirement for the College of Arts and Science core. This course fulfils the NYS requirement for Participation in Government, and you can earn 3 credits through SU.

You improve your skills in the following 10 basic skill sets throughout the course:

  1. Taking Responsibility
  2. Developing Physical Skills
  3. Communicating Verbally
  4. Communicating in Writing
  5. Working Directly with People
  6. Influencing People
  7. Gathering Information
  8. Using Quantitative Tools
  9. Asking and Answering the Right Questions
  10. Solving Problems

You will be able to define and apply the following concepts required for public policy analysis.

  1. Become willing and able to “do good” effectively
  2. Define and identify the components of public policy issues.
  3. Identify a social problem and come up with a proposed public policy to deal with it.
  4. List the benefits and costs of a proposed public policy.
  5. Develop benchmarks to assess the impact of your policy on societal conditions.
  6. Analyze the political factors and develop strategies to implement a proposed public policy.
  7. Identify essential features of major current public policy issues.

PAF 101 introduces you to research skills that you will use throughout your college career and the rest of your life.

PAF 101 is divided into five parts. For each part, you will submit a module paper. The papers consist of exercises that you will download from the PAF 101 web page ( module must be typed following the correct format; neatness, grammar, spelling, punctuation and attention to detail are of the utmost importance. Class time will be used for lectures, outside speakers, group exercises and current events assignments.

MODULE DUE DATES AND WEIGHTS:

Module 1 (Chapter 1) / 9/25/14 / 135 points
Module 2 (Chapters 2 - 4) / 10/23/14 / 155 points
Module 3 (Chapters 5 & 6) / 11/10/14 / 140 points
Module 4 (Chapters 7 & 8) / 11/26/14 / 130 points
Module 5 (Chapters 9 - 11) / 12/19/14 / 140 points

REQUIRED MATERIALS (all provided):

-Coplin, William D.The Maxwell Manual for Good Citizenship. Croton on Hudson: Policy Studies Associates, 2007.

-Coplin, William D.How You Can Help: An Easy Guide to Doing Good Deeds in Your Everyday Life.New York: Routledge, 2000.

- Coplin, Bill. Skills Win: A Playbook for Career Success. Sogna Entertainment, 2013

REGULATIONS AFFECTING GRADES

You can earn a 100 (plus NRHS grade weighting) by handing in perfect papers on time, participating in class, completing all class work, homework and current events assignments and fulfilling the community experienceand outside speaker requirements. The following rules should be carefully read and followed because they will directly affect your grades.

1) ONLINE REQUIREMENTS SyracuseUniversity requires that you take a pre-test during the first five days of the course and a post-test during the last five. In addition, your final summary paper (Exercise 11.1), which is part of Module 5, must be sent to Syracuse during the last week of class.

2) FINAL PRESENTATION During the final two weeks, each team will present to the class a summary of their work over the semester. This will be explained in detail later. (25 point assignment)

3)COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE Each student will complete a community service experience of five hours and a one page reflection paper described on the website. Failure to complete the experience before the last week of class will result in a loss of 30 points from your module 5 grade.

4) OUTSIDE SPEAKER Each group must arrange for an outside (of NRHS) expert or “player” to speak to our class about your societal problem. This will be explained further later. Failure to bring in a speaker will result in a loss of 30points from your module 5 grade. This can be done anytime (except the last week of class) after module two is turned in; waiting until the last few weeks of class is very risky (cancellations, conflicts, snow days, etc.) To allow sufficient time for class discussion, speakers cannot be scheduled on consecutive days, nor more than two per week. Plan ahead. In addition,5 pointswill be deducted from module 5 if you do not send a written thank-you to the speaker.

5)EXTRA CREDITThe only bonus points possible are for 1) creating and administering a survey as part of module 3 (15 pts. maximum added to the module); 2) attending a town or school board meeting and writing about it and reporting to the class (10 pts. max. added to any one module); 3) attending a meeting held by a group that is working on your societal problem e.g. a governmental body or lobby or public interest group and writing about it and reporting to the class (15 points max. added to any one module); or 4) taking steps beyond the module requirements that lead to your proposed public policy actually being implemented in some fashion. This will be further explained (20 pts. max.added to module 5). Note: the four extra credit categories can only be utilized once each.

6)CHEATINGStudents must hand in their own work. Collaboration in research is permitted as long as there is not even the slightest evidence of direct copying or paraphrasing. Collaborating students should not be using the same articles, websites, or books.

7)NO INCOMPLETES If your work is not finished by the last day of class, a zero for the unfinished work will be averaged into the grade. A grade of incomplete will not be given. No exceptions to this rule.

8)LATE PAPER POLICY There is ample time to complete all assignments if they are begun on time. Modules are due in class on the due date. Five points will be taken off if they are handed in later that day. Ten points will be taken off for each additional day. Many parts of the modules are team exercises; plan accordingly. Most point deductions can be avoided by simply leaving ample time to proofread your modules. Problems with a teammate failing to do his/her part should be discussed with that person early, then with Mr. Robbins if necessary, well before the due date. Once the due date has arrived, it is too late for that module.

“Excuses due to computer and printer problems are not accepted”

9) OTHER REQUIREMENTS FROM MR. ROBBINS:

  1. Completion of all current events assignments
  2. Participation in class discussions and a willingness to stay abreast of current events
  3. Periodic updates to class by each group
  4. A dash of style and a sense of humor

I understand that this course, which often results in college credit, requires following the requirements in the syllabus created by Professor Coplin at SyracuseUniversity and Mr. Robbins at NRHS. I have read the syllabus and understand the expectations. (Please call Mr. Robbins with any questions at 942-3300 x4904.)

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