ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY

ALBANY, GEORGIA

MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

 

PADM 5301: COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title:                             Public Budgeting

Course Number:                       PADM 5301.01

Course Credits:                        3 Semester Hours

Semester Offered:                     Spring Semester, 2010

Class Meetings:                        Tuesdays, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Location:                                  Simmons Hall, Room 211 (or as announced)

Instructor:                                 Dr. Bruce Neubauer, Simmons, Room 307

                                                229-430-4872, bruce.neubauer@asurams.edu

Office Hours:                            Daily 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and by appointment.

Course Home Page:                  http://www.robertcat.net/neubauer/spring2010/padm5500/index.html

                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Required Textbook:     

                                    Public Budgeting Systems 8th, by Lee, Johnson and Joyce

 

Supplementary Readings:          Additional materials and/or Web sites may be assigned.

                                                                                                                                                            ______

 

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

PADM 5301 -- This course surveys the role of government budgets in determination of policy in administrative integration and control of government operations, in intergovernmental relations and in relation to the private economy.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

 

The objectives of this course are for students to gain a basic understanding of public budgeting in the United States from both a practical and a scholarly perspective.  Upon completion of the course students should be able to explain the budget cycle, the roles and motivations of various participants, and understand the intent of various attempts to reform public budgeting in the United States.  Upon completion students should be able to explain the purposes of various public budgeting documents and to use Microsoft Excel to participate meaningfully in local budgetary processes.

 

MEANS OF COURSE DELIVERY

 

The presentation and discussion of course content will be accomplished using a hybrid model of traditional classroom meetings and asynchronous online learning.  This means of delivery of educational services reflects Goal Four of Albany State University's strategic plan, which is to provide and maintain state of the art information technology that will support the University's mission and goals, including instructional excellence.   

 

The means by which course objectives will be achieved include readings, classroom presentations by instructor and students, classroom discussion, computer lab assignments, writing assignments and assessment by examinations.  Each course activity and deliverable is intended to contribute to the technical insights relevant to the responsibilities of non-technical public and nonprofit managers.

 

TEACHING METHOD

 

The course will include both theory and application.  The class will meet regularly in the traditional classroom.  There will be substantial use of the Internet to supplement traditional learning methods through a blended (hybrid) approach to learning.  This course includes computer lab assignments.  Examinations are a combination of types of questions intended to assess both comprehension of facts and the critical thinking skills necessary to participate in budgetary processes.

 

QEP PARTICIPATION

 

This course is a QEP (Quality Enrichment Program) writing enhanced course.  The University's QEP initiative is intended to encourage and support the use of innovative writing assignments across the entire campus.  Selected writing assignments in this course may be reviewed by others who are administering the QEP program.  We may be asked to complete some surveys or other work for the QEP program as a part of our learning experiences together.  There may be some in-class writing assignments associated with the QEP initiative that may not be included in the calculation of the course grade.  Questions regarding the QEP program can be addressed to Dr. Joyce Cherry.  The spirit of our QEP program is that writing takes many forms including opportunities to use emerging Web 2.0 applications being made available by Google and other companies.  You each may be asked to get a free Google e-mail account in order for us to be able to use one or more of the new technologies that Google is making available for discussion forums and other forms of collaborative writing.

 

CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY

 

Class attendance is mandatory at Albany State University.  The ASU attendance policy states that: “All students are expected to be in class on time for all class meetings.  Attendance begins the first day of class and all students are expected to remain in class for the entire class period unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor.  Absenteeism cannot exceed the credit hours for the course.  This means if a class meets two times per week, a student cannot miss class more than two times during the semester without suffering a substantial penalty.  Excessive absences may result in the instructor lowering the grade earned by one letter grade, e.g. “A” to “B” or “D” to “F”.  Students should contact the instructor in advance regarding any foreseen instances of absence, tardiness, or early departure.  Students must provide valid documentation by the next class meeting for excused absence.

 

CLASS AND COURSE CANCELLATION/MODIFICATION POLICY

 

The instructor reserves the right to make modifications to the course syllabus and requirements that are in the best interest of the learning environment.  Students will be notified in a timely manner of any such modifications.  Moreover, in the event a class meeting needs to be cancelled, the instructor will make every effort to notify students via email or telephone.  The topics missed during this class will be rescheduled or an independent class assignment given.

 

UNIVERSITY WRITING REQUIREMENT

 

Albany State University has a writing reinforcement policy.  Writing is integral to teaching and learning in all disciplines.  Writing activities in this course will be evaluated and may include a variety of in-class and out-of-class writing assignments and forms of essay writing required on examinations. 

 

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT STATEMENT

 

Albany State University does not condone sexual harassment.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

 

Albany State University is an equal opportunity agency of the State of Georgia and as such does not discriminate against students on the basis of race, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or family status.

 

DISABILITY AND ACCESS STATEMENT

 

Albany State University offers the Disability Student Services Program to ensure equal opportunity education to all students with disabilities.  All eligible students with disabilities must have equal access to student programs, facilities, activities, and services.  Students may contact the ASU Disability Student Services Program at (229) 430-4667 for appropriate disclosure and accommodation procedures.

 

CLASSROOM STANDARDS

 

Students are to adhere to all university policies on attendance, punctuality, make up tests, plagiarism/cheating, withdrawal from class, incomplete grades and final examinations. Please refer to the student handbook, graduate catalog, and any departmental and program guidelines.  In class, respectful and professional conduct is required towards all.  Use of cell phones and ringing of cell phones and pagers in the classroom are not allowed. Audio and/or video recordings of class sessions are not permitted.  Students may not sell notes of class presentations.

 

COURSE DELIVERABLES

 

The following items are required course deliverables.  Details will be provided.

 

·        Lab assignment 1

·        Lab assignment 2

·        Lab assignment 3

·        Lab assignment 4

·        Lab assignment 5

·        Writing assignment

·        Midterm examination

·        Comprehensive final examination

 

STUDENT EVALUATION AND FINAL GRADE

 

There is an opportunity to earn 1000 points in the course.  Course grades will be based upon the following translation of numeric scores to letter grades. 

A         900 to 1000 points
B          800 to 899 points
C         700 to 799 points
D         600 to 699 points
F          < 600 points

 

Lab assignment 1

10%  (100 points)

Lab assignment 2

10%  (100 points)

Lab assignment 3

10%  (100 points)

Lab assignment 4

10%  (100 points)

Lab assignment 5

10%  (100 points)

Writing assignment

10%  (100 points)

Midterm examination

20%  (250 points)

Comprehensive final examination

20%  (250 points)

 

A higher grade on the final examination will substitute for a lower grade on the midterm examination. 


REVISIONS TO SYLLABUS AND/OR COURSE CALENDAR

 

As instructor, I reserve the right to make reasonable changes in the syllabus and course calendar with appropriate notice. The current syllabus for this course will be available on the course website.  Revisions to this syllabus and/or the course calendar will be announced in class, with appropriate notice, and will be reflected in the edition of the syllabus and the calendar available on the web.