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JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

The City University of New York

445 W. 59th Street

New York, N.Y. 10019

PAD 739: Introduction to Policy Analysis

“That might be true, but it’s not what anyone believes.”

Department of Public Management

Professor: Dr. Wendy P. Guastaferro

Email: wpguastaferro@gmail.com

Office hours: on line and appointment by phone

****THIS IS AN ON-LINE COURSE—100% ON LINE. We will not meet in person

during the semester. You will need regular, quality access to your John Jay email, the course

website (http://www.pad739.wordpress.com) , and BlackBoard via John Jay.***

I. Course Description

Interpreting and solving complex problems are everyday activities for public administrators,

policy analysts and decision-makers, whether they are operating in international, regional,

national or local political environments. In this course students will be introduced to a

variety of techniques and perspectives that can be applied in real world public policy

situations. Becoming more flexible thinkers is essential to learning how to improve public

policy analysis, decision-making and management. Rigid, one-dimensional approaches to

understanding complex problems often stem from, among other things, constraints relating

to how we perceive time, space, dimension of problems, level of political response, form of

governance, and culture and/or gender.

II. Course Goals and Objectives

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right” –Henry Ford.

Goal #1: Participate in and contribute to the policy process

Objective: Develop knowledge of, and apply different policy process models to, various policy,

organizational and management topics

Objective: Be able to plan a research or policy analysis project that makes appropriate use of

empirical research tools such as data collection, sampling and statistical analysis

Updated: 1/29/2013

2/5/2013

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Goal #2: Analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions

Objective: Demonstrate reading, writing and analytical skills necessary for decision-making

Objective: Be able to define and diagnose decision situations, collect and analyze data, develop

and implement effective courses of action, and evaluate results

Goal #3: Articulate and apply a public service perspective

Objective: Identify how the values of diversity, equity, integrity, ethical conduct, efficiency,

effectiveness, and professionalism shape the formulation and implementation of public policy

Goal #4: Communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and

citizenry

Objective: Be able to organize and communicate information to a diverse and changing

workforce and citizenry by means of oral presentations, written documents and digital media

Goal #5: Apply professional and political knowledge and skills to public administration and policy

analysis

Objective: Demonstrate this ability

III. Course Communications

All e-mail communication will be to your jjay e-mail accounts. You must check this account

regularly to keep up with any course announcements.

We will be using the Blackboard course site and the WordPress site

(http://www.pad739.wordpress.com) for some readings, for downloading and uploading

assignments, and for other communications as needed.

We are a diverse group of adults working together to develop your analytical and communication

skills. To become empathetic, ethical and effective policymakers, you will need to be comfortable

working with, working in and communicating in diverse, often highly charged political

environments. Please be respectful and courteous of your colleagues in our course

discussions. Please feel free and encouraged to draw on your personal experiences in New York

City and elsewhere and in your professions when thinking about and analyzing the readings and

course content. Our lived experiences are fundamental in our professional development.

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IV. Required Texts & Readings:

Bardach, Eugene (2009). A Practical Guide to Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More

Effective Problem Solving (4th Edition). New York/London: Chatham House Publishers,

Seven Bridges Press, LLC.

Patton, Sawicki and Clark. (2013). Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning (3rd

edition).

Other readings/posts/articles as assigned.

You should also read or listen to the local and national news daily. The NY Times,

Washington Post, WNYC, NY1, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, ProPublica, and the PBS Newshour are all

reliable, quality news resources. …

Readings not in the required texts will be available on Blackboard or WordPress.

V. Course Requirements and Grading

Grading Scale

Grades will be calculated by dividing the total earned points by total possible points.

All numeric grades are translated to letter equivalents as follows: 93-100 (A); 90-92 (A-);

87-89 (B+); 83-86 (B); 80-82 (B-); 77-79 (C+); 73-76 (C); 72 or below (C-)

Assignments

You are expected to complete the course readings, as well as read the WordPress site and

participate meaningfully in weekly on-line discussions.

This class is structured to train you in the foundations of policy analysis and prepare you

for the Capstone. To that end, you will choose a policy topic for exploration over the

semester. I encourage you to choose something you would also be interested in working

on in the Capstone course. This course gives you the opportunity to begin research and

developing your analysis of that topic now.

There are 5 required assignments. Every student must complete each of these assignments.

There are also 3 or 4 additional assignments. These “Menu” assignments provide you with

options to fulfill the course requirements. Whether you have to do 3 or 4 “Menu”

assignments depends on the point values of the assignments you select.

Please see the ASSIGNMENTS section below. This doc has also been saved as a stand-

alone handout and can be found at the WordPress site under Course Info.

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ASSIGNMENTS. Remember this is a 100% online course. All assignments are due electronically, via the Word Press course page, or Blackboard. Due dates can be found at p.3 below. There are required assignments that all students must complete. The remaining assignments are presented in a “menu” format where students will select assignments they are most interested in and that total at least 90

points. Please review the following carefully. I will put a video post on our WordPress site walking you through it.

Required Assignments EVERYONE COMPLETES

THESE

Brief description Point value

Assignment 1 Focus:

Knowledge, Skills, Recall, Understanding

Twitter and video introduction

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Assignment 2 Focus: Knowledge, Skills, Recall,

Understanding

Eli Pariser TED lecture and Quizzes 1 and 2 on Patton et al Chapter 1 and 2

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Assignment 3

Focus:

Weekly Class Participation (14 weeks starting Feb 4)

Meaningful contributions to Twitter, Discussion

Boards, on WordPress site. I cannot stress it enough: meaningful contributions.

140

Assignment 4 Presentation on policy issue

Focus: Problem Solving

Due at end of semester; details to follow.

100

Assignment 5 Professor / Student Meetings

2 during the semester Will occur on video chat or instant messenger as you

begin working on your MENU assignments.

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Student’s Choice Assignments

Menu of Assignments 6 – 8 or 9 (whether you have 3 or 4 assignments will depend on point values)

You will select a combination of assignments that are most meaningful to you.

You need to select assignments that will total 90 points at a minimum

At least 2 assignments must be from different focus areas

Due dates are set by the professor, see calendar below

All assignments require incorporation of course texts and materials

Additional, specific information for each assignment will follow

Two examples:

You may select A, B, and C = 90 points (focus areas: 2 Knowledge and 1 Synthesis). Or

You may select B, F, G, and J = 95 points (focus areas: 1 Knowledge, 2 Analysis, and 1 Synthesis)

Menu Item Brief description of assignment Point Value of Assignment (need to be able to earn minimum 90 points total)

A) Quizzes

Focus: Knowledge, Skills, Recall,

Understanding

Quizzes on Patton’s chapters 3-9. Must

complete 5 of 7 quizzes. See calendar below for additional information.

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B) Quotes

Focus: Knowledge, Skills, Recall,

Understanding

You will receive 1-2 quotes I have selected from the readings. You will post a discussion

question and comment to get the class talking. You will monitor the posts and keep the discussion moving forward. Challenge: how do you move past people giving bland, “yeah I

agree” sorts of responses? (Because those are not acceptable!)

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C) Poster or exhibit Focus: Synthesis and creative

thinking

Create a poster or exhibit that illustrates your understanding of the first half (through March 22) or the last half (April 1 thru May) of the semester’s key course topics, issues, or ideas.

Apply at least 3 points from course readings.

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D) Policy Slogans in the

Media Focus: Application and

performance

Select a slogan/key message from a current

policy issue/debate. Determine the intended audience, identify an idea/product/service or objective the quote was meant to promote, analyze why the point was persuasive or not.

Apply at least 3 points from the readings in address points above.

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Menu Item Brief description of assignment Maximum Point Value of Assignment

(need to be able to earn 90 points total)

E) Analytic Memo

Focus: Analysis and Critical Thinking

Students will engage in activities that

constitute a critical analysis. You will break the process down into component parts or roles and assess each component.

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F) Dialogical Thinking Focus:

Analysis and Critical Thinking

Students will identify a debated/controversial policy issue, analyze a source on the topic (an article, video, etc.), assess the persuasiveness

of the piece.

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G) Graphic Organizer Focus: Synthesis and Creative

Thinking

Create graphic organizer that converts complex information into a meaningful display.

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H) Insights-Resources-Application (IRAs)

Focus: Application and

Performance

In conjunction with an assigned reading, students develop responses to these three

components: new perceptions or understandings (Insights), a resource they have found that amplifies the reading’s

themes or information (Resources), and an example from the student’s own experiences.

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I) Directed Paraphrase

Focus: Application and Performance

Students select 2 important public policy principles, theories, concepts, or arguments

that are complex or are typically conveyed using highly specialized vocabulary into simpler language that will be understood by a designated audience.

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J) Popular Press Critique

Focus: Analysis and Critical

Thinking

The purpose is to compare the information that the general public would normally

see with what we know is accurate according to academic sources. Your task is to first summarize what you find in the two sources. Next you are to analyze the portrayal

of the policy issue in the popular press article by using course resources and the other academic source as your “expert” against

which you evaluate the popular source. Do not spend the entire paper summarizing your original source. The goal is to evaluate critically the portrayal of the policy issue.

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DUE DATES

QUIZZES.

*The exception to this schedule is the Quizzes. Quizzes are 10 questions worth 1 point each, completed

via Blackboard. You must earn 80% or above on each quiz (not the average of all quizzes). Quizzes will

only be released to students who select this option and are due by Monday at midnight of the week

the chapter will be assigned. On Tuesdays, all students will have access to the quiz questions for even

more learning!

If you select the Quizzes assignment you must complete 5 of the following 7 quizzes by midnight:

Quiz 3 Chapter 4 Monday Feb 18

Quiz 4 Chapter 5 Monday Feb 25

Quiz 5 Chapter 3 Monday March11

Quiz 6 Chapter 6 Monday April 1

Quiz 7 Chapter 7 Monday April 8

Quiz 8 Chapter 8 Monday April 15

Quiz 9 Chapter 9 Monday April 22

ASSIGNMENT # Description Due date

1 Twitter / Video Intro Monday Feb 4, midnight

2 Eli Pariser / Patton Ch 1 & 2 quizzes **Ch 1 & 2 quizzes postponed until Dr. G. has access to Blackboard**

Monday Feb 11, midnight

3 Weekly participation Evaluated every Tuesday

4 Policy Presentations May 9 and May 16 *Students will have to assess other students’ presentations--

the due date for these reviews is Weds May 22

5 2 Meetings w. Dr. G. As scheduled.

6 Student’s Choice * Monday March 4

7 Student’s Choice Monday March 25 **This is the Monday of Spring Break. Assignments are

accepted early.

8 Student’s Choice Monday April 15

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Student’s Choice (only if you have 4th “menu” assignment)

Monday April 29

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Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable academic accommodations

if determined eligible by the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS). Prior to granting

disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of

a student’s eligibility from the OAS which is located at L66 in the new building (212-237-

8031). It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the office and to follow the

established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Statement of College Policy about Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's ideas, words or artistic, scientific or

technical work as one's own creation. Using the ideas or work of another is permissible

only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct

quotations, require citations to the original source.

Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not

necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism.

It is the student's own responsibility to recognize the difference between statements that are

common knowledge (which do not require documentation) and restatements of the ideas of

others. Paraphrase, summary, and direct quotation are acceptable forms of restatement, as

long as the source is cited.

Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult

with their instructors. The Library has free guides designed to help students with problems

of documentation.

VI. Course Outline

**Students should expect to spend at least 1-1.5 hours per week on readings/posts/blogs etc.

as indicated by Dr. G. via Twitter, WordPress, or email.

Jan 28 Introduction / getting set up on line (Assignment 1 due 2/4/2013)

Feb 4 Introduction to Policy Analysis

Readings: Bardach, “Introduction”

Patton et al., Ch.1, “The Need for Simple Methods of Policy Analysis”

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Feb 11 Policy Analysis Process and Analyst

Readings: Bardach, Appendix A, “Specimen Of A Real-World Policy Analysis”

Patton et al., Ch.2, “The Policy Analysis Process”

Feb 18 Step One: Problem Framing

Readings: Bardach, “Step One: Define the Problem”

Bardach, Appendix C, “Understanding Public and Nonprofit Institutions:

Asking the Right Questions”

Patton et al., Ch. 4, “Verifying, Defining and Detailing the Problem”

Feb 25 Step Two: Establishing Evaluation Criteria

Readings: Bardach, “Step 4: Select the Criteria”

Patton et al., Ch.5, “Establishing Evaluation Criteria”

March 4 Establishing Evaluation Criteria

Readings: Readings TBD.

March 11 Using Evidence in Policy Analysis

Readings: Bardach, “Step Two, Assemble Some Evidence” and Part II, “Assembling

Evidence”

Patton et al., Ch.3, “Crosscutting Methods”

March 18 Using Evidence in Policy Analysis

Readings: TBD, but likely series of articles/reports on policy issue allowing us to

compare whether solutions are analogous, replicable, etc., as well as

evidence that supports them

March 25 SPRING BREAK

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April 1 Step 3: Selecting Alternatives

Readings: Bardach, Step Three, “Construct the Alternatives”

Patton et al., Ch. 6, “Identifying the Alternatives”

Bardach, Appendix B, “Things Governments Do”

April 8 Step 4: Analyzing Alternatives

Readings: Bardach, Steps Five and Six, “Project the Outcomes” and “Confront the

Trade-Offs”

Patton et al., Ch. 7, “Evaluating Alternative Policies”

April 15 Step 5: Making a Recommendation

Readings: Bardach, Steps Seven and Eight, “Decide!” and “Tell Your Story”

Patton et al., Ch. 8, “Displaying Alternatives and Distinguishing Among

Them”

April 22 Implementation Considerations

Readings: Bardach, Part 3 “Smart (Best) Practices” Research: Understanding And

Making Use Of What Look Like Good Ideas From Somewhere Else”

p.109-123.

Patton et al., Ch. 9, “Monitoring and Evaluating Implemented Policies”

April 29 TBD.

May 9 Final presentations – Group 1

May 16 Final presentations – Group 2

May 22 Last day to submit review of other students’ presentations (details to follow)