Policy, Finance and Budgeting for Public Administration
MPA 1st year core, Spring 2012    Syllabus Draft 2 26 12

Tuesdays 6-10pm   Location: Sem II X1105; X1105 (Saturday, 6/9).
Seminar Rooms:  Sem II,   (Larry),  (Lee),   (Doreen)

Faculty		     Email				Phone	Office	       Office hours
Larry Geri	 geril@evergreen.edu			x 6616   Lab I 3002   By appt.
Lee Lyttle	 lyttlel@evergreen.edu			x 6678   Lab I 3011   4:00-5:45p & by appt.
Doreen Swetkis  swetkisd@evergreen.edu 		x 5320	 Lab I 1015   By appt. 

Moodle Website: http://academic.evergreen.edu/; also accessible through my.evergreen.edu. Under heading “2011-2013 Fall, Winter, Spring,” choose: MPA Cohort 11-12.

             “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”-- Mohandas K. Gandhi 

TESC MPA Mission Statement: Our students, faculty and staff create learning communities to explore and implement socially just, democratic public service. We think critically and creatively; communicate effectively; work collaboratively; embrace diversity; we value fairness and equity; advocate powerfully on behalf of the public; and imagine new possibilities to accomplish positive change in our workplaces and in our communities. 
Spring 2012 Course Description:
The final class in first year core will provide an introduction to policy analysis, policymaking, budgeting, and financial management.  These topics and related skills are fundamental to public administration.  We engage in policy analysis to rigorously examine public problems and critique possible solutions; try to craft our preferred solutions into effective laws and programs through a mastery of the policymaking process; generate (through taxes) then allocate public funds to these programs and track how these funds are spent.  Ultimately, budgets reflect a society’s policy choices—or at least the choices made by legislators in behalf of society.  As public administrators, we may be pulled in at any point in this process, so it is necessary to have reasonably strong skills in each of these areas.  
Learning goals for the quarter.  Students will gain: 
1.  Knowledge of a variety of models describing the policy process;
2.  An understanding of differing approaches to policy analysis, and the ability to apply them;
3.  Improved understanding of the complex nature of public problems in several policy arenas;
4.  An understanding of basic budgeting skills, models, and tax policy;
5.  An introduction to financial management;
6.  Improved analytical and writing skills. 

Expectations
Students
•	Attend every class; be on time. Participation includes speaking in class, listening to others, taking notes, completing class interactive exercises, and listening to and dialoging with the guest speakers. If an absence is unavoidable, seminar faculty must be notified prior to a class and/or seminar absence. After one absence per quarter, make-up work may be assigned at faculty discretion, on a case-by-case basis. Makeup work must be completed by the end of the quarter in question to ensure full receipt of course credit. 
•	Comply with TESC Student Conduct Code: student conduct code.
•	Writing is expected to be of the highest quality, clear with accurate grammar and spelling.  Students are encouraged, and may be required, to work with the Writing Center.
•	Students will receive 6 graduate credits at the completion of the course if all course requirements have been satisfactorily completed. No partial credit will be awarded. Incompletes will not be offered. Credit denial decisions will be made by the faculty team. Denial of credit for two terms of core may result in expulsion from the MPA program. Plagiarism (i.e., using other peoples’ work as your own), failing to complete one or more assignments, completing one or more assignments late (without having made arrangements before the due date), or multiple absences may constitute denial of total credit. Unexcused absences or lack of academic work may result in no credit at the discretion of the faculty. Students will also be evaluated based upon their progress towards the learning goals that will be assessed from classroom, seminar, and assignment performance. The faculty team makes decisions for no credit when necessary, based on absence or failure to meet academic course requirements. 
•	Students are required to have an Evergreen e-mail account for communication about class work and to participate in program list serves and Moodle.
•	Computer and Internet access are required to complete course work outside of class.
•	Cell phones may be on but ringers need to be off during seminars and presentations. 
•	Having respect for others is fundamental to having open, educational dialogue.  All students are expected to support and contribute to a well functioning MPA classroom learning community. Behavior that disrupts the learning community may be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal from the MPA program.
•	This quarter students are required to complete a summative self-evaluation that covers the first year of the program. This evaluation must be submitted for inclusion in their transcript. This written self-evaluation and a seminar faculty evaluation are required for credit, and will be discussed along with faculty evaluations of students at the evaluation conference. (Students may elect to submit faculty evaluations to Program Secretaries, lab2support@evergreen.edu.) 
•	Reflect upon, integrate, and demonstrate learning in class participation and in assignments.
•	Hard copies of all assignments should be submitted on respective due dates.
•	Students are expected to take advantage of College resources to maintain academic standards.

Faculty
•	Faculty members are expected to conform to the expectations above, as appropriate, be prepared for class, responsive to student questions, and to promptly return student work.
•	Faculty members can be expected to be reasonably available to students.

Books:
Bardach, E. 2008. A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving. 3rd Edition. CQ Press. 978-0872899520
Hacker, Jacob and Paul Pierson.  2010.  Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer--and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class.  New York: Simon and Schuster. Hardcover—1416588698.

Kingdon, John. 2003.    Alternatives, Agendas, and Public Policies.   New York: Longman/Addison-Wesley. Paperback.  ISBN:  0673523896. 
Rubin, Irene.  2010.  The Politics of Public Budgeting.  Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.  Paperback.  ISBN: 9781604264616. 

Shafritz & Hyde. (carry over from last two quarters)

Stone, D. 2001. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, 3rd  Edition. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN: 978-0393976250

Readings:  (all will be posted to the class Moodle site)
Cameron, Kim. 1994.  “Strategies for Successful Org. Downsizing” Human Resource Management.  Summer. 
Congressional Budget Office. 2012.  “BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: FISCAL YEARS 2012 THROUGH 2022.”  Washington, DC: CBO.  http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/126xx/doc12699/01-31-2012_Outlook.pdf

Congressional Budget Office 2011. "CBO’s 2011 Long-Term Budget Outlook June 2011"
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/122xx/doc12212/06-21-Long-Term_Budget_Outlook.pdf
Guo, Chao.  May/June 2007.  When Government Becomes the Principal Philanthropist: The Effects of Public Funding on Patterns of Nonprofit Governance. Public Administration Review.  
National Conference of State Legislatures. 2007. Principles of a High-Quality State Revenue System. On Moodle or at: http://www.ncsl.org/?TabId=12673#sources. 

OFM Priorities of Government Process.  Review this document about the POG process (also on Moodle) (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/pog/documents/2008teamguide_tollgateI_and_II.pdf), then go to this page and view (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/pog/) the process schematic and a few of the Statewide Result Areas. 

WA Budget process OFM Feb 2012.pdf (in Moodle)
Wilkinson, Will.  2009.  “Thinking Clearly About Economic Inequality.”  Policy Analysis, 640, July 14th. 
Other readings TBD
Course Resources for Your Reference: 
US Congressional Budget Office:  www.cbo.gov
Public Financial Management blog http://blog-pfm.imf.org/pfmblog/
OECD Member Budget Links: http://www.oecd.org/EN/document/0,,EN-document-287-9-no-23-20455-287,00.html
Selected Statistics for United States Government: http://www.fedstats.gov/
U.S. Fiscal Forecast on-line http://www.ourfiscalfuture.org/
Association for Budgeting and Financial Management http://www.abfm.org/
National Association of State Budget Officers www.nasbo.org
American Association for Budget and Program Analysis www.aabpa.org
Citizen’s Budget Commission http://www.cbcny.org/
Government Finance Officer’s Association http://ww.gfoa.org/
Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/
University of New Mexico, Handbook on State-Tribal Relations.  Available at: https://repository.unm.edu/dspace/handle/1928/2742 
Washington Office of Financial Management:  http://www.ofm.wa.gov/

Assignments  All assignments must be submitted on time.  Late submission of assignments may be accepted upon prior approval from faculty.  As in Winter quarter, turn in a paper copy on the assignment due date to your seminar faculty.  
Seminar papers.  Write seminar papers for the readings assigned for weeks 1, 7 and 10. Use the same format required during fall and winter quarters. 
Assignment 1.  Kingdon’s classic text depicts the so-called “policy windows” model of public policy, perhaps the most well-known of the many models that have been developed to “explain” how public policies are crafted in the U.S. The chapter from Geri and McNabb summarizes several other such models.  For this assignment, select a public policy with which you are familiar.  How well does the Kingdon model describe the events that led to its enactment?  Is there another model that describes this process more effectively?  Why are scholars in the field of public policy so focused on modeling the process? 3-4 pages, double-spaced.  Due April 10th.
Assignment 2.  Stone presents many dilemmas facing the development and implementation of policy. Pick a dilemma identified in Policy Paradox and link it to your own organizational experience.  Two-three pages, double-spaced.  DUE April 17th.
Assignment 3.  Research and write a policy memo on a policy problem of your choice.  Start with a policy “arena” in which you have an interest (e.g., energy, or education), then narrow your topic to a particular policy problem (e.g., should the state of Washington immediately close the TransAlta coal plant in Centralia?) Your memo should provide an overview of the policy arena and specific problem, briefly identify stakeholders, discuss arguments (both pro and con) about the policy, and identify likely impacts, including budgetary considerations.   As with other memos, it should be addressed to a specific decision maker, begin with a summary, and be clear about its goal—which is usually to persuade.  In most cases, policy memos provide a clear recommendation reader towards supporting, rejecting, or amending the policy. It is meant to provide quick, concise and clear information for decision- makers.  2-3 pages, single-spaced.  DUE April 24th. 
Assignment 4.  Analyze the budget case provided, using the case analysis approach. 3-4 pages, double-spaced.  DUE May 1st.  
Assignment 5.  Use Excel (or any spreadsheet program of your choice) to prepare two spreadsheets.  The first should be a one-year operating budget for a nonprofit organization (imaginary or real) or government department/agency.  Show your assumptions about service expenditures and personnel costs for your organization.  The second should be a balance sheet for the organization that shows Assets (by category), Liabilities and fund balances.  (Example spreadsheets will be posted on the course website). DUE May 8th.
Assignment 6. The Cameron article suggests an approach to organizational downsizing.  Write a short (2-3 pages, double-spaced) paper in which you recommend how an organization you know well could best implement a budget cut of 10-15 percent.  Is the Cameron model well suited to this situation?  Are there other approaches that might work better for this particular organization?   DUE May 29th. 
Assignment 7.  State Budget Analysis. Many state governments are struggling as their state economies are slowly recovering from the Great Recession.  But states are at different phases of economic recovery and are reacting to their budget challenges in a variety of ways.   Select a state other than Washington and perform a thorough analysis of its state budget and overall operations.  Describe its revenue system, and compare it to the “Principles of a High Quality State Revenue System” model.  What does it do well, and where is it weak? What are the major categories of expenditure?  How would you characterize the scope and approach of state government—limited? Expansive?  Are the state’s budgeting practices “run of the mill,” or do they use more cutting edge approaches such as Washington’s “Priorities of Government?”  Is there any sense of the state identifying and emphasizing strategic priorities?  Finally, what is the overall state of their budget at this time—what size deficit (or surplus if they’re lucky) is projected, and what approaches are being considered to manage or reduce it?  What is the state’s long-term fiscal outlook?  Our goal is for each student to cover a different state; we will have a state “sign up” early in the quarter.  Seven to ten pages, double-spaced.   DUE Saturday, June 9th.  Prepare a poster summarizing the results of your analysis (additional details on this assignment will be provided in class). 

Tentative Class Schedule: Subject to Change
DATE	TOPIC/ACTIVITIES	READINGS	DUE	
Week 1
4/3	 Intro to Public Policy
•	Review Syllabus
•	Lecture
•	Seminar	Readings: 
Stone, Policy Paradox (Ch. 1-10)
Policy case, TBD	Seminar Paper	
Week 2
4/10
	Theories of the Policy Process
•	Lecture/Workshop
•	Seminar	Readings:
Kingdon, Agendas, Alts and Public Policy (All); Geri & McNabb, “Making Public Policy in the U.S.”	Assignment #1:
Larry’s assignment	
Week 3
4/17
	Policy Analysis, Policy Design
•	Lecture/Workshop
•	Seminar	Readings: 
Stone, Policy Paradox, Ch. 11-15 
Bardach,  Practical Guide to Policy Analysis (All)	Assignment #2: Policy Dilemma	
Week 4
4/24
	Public Budgeting 
•	Lecture/Workshop 
•	Seminar	Readings:
Rubin, Chapters 1-4; Budgeting section from Shafritz & Hyde; NASBO.org	Assignment #3:
Policy Memo
	
Week 5
5/1
	Budget  Analysis  
•	Lecture/Workshop: Federal Budget Game
•	EXCEL workshop	Readings:
Rubin, Chapters 5, 7, 9; OFM POG documents; “Principles of a High Quality State Rev. System”; WA budget process OFM Feb. 2012; Theater Budget Case	Assignment #4:
Budget Case analysis	
Week 6
5/8	Taxing, Spending, and Deficit Anxiety 
•	Lecture/Workshop
•	Seminar	Readings:
Rubin, Chapter 6; CBO 2012; Budget Game on-line: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/budget_hero/	Assignment #5:
Spreadsheet	
Week 7
5/15
	Critical Stuff: Financial Management & Monitoring for Public and Nonprofit Agencies
•	Lecture/Workshop	Readings: 
Rubin, Chapter 8; Nonprofit financial definitions ; Guo article; TBD 
	Seminar Paper	
Week 8
5/22	Nonprofit Accounting:  What You Need to Know 
•	Lecture/Workshop	Readings:
What you need to know as a board member (Moodle)	Absolutely nothing due	
Week 9
5/29	Budgets and Organizational Survival in a Financial Crisis 
•	Lecture/Workshop
•	Seminar	Readings:
Cameron article; TBD
	Assignment #6	
Week 10
6/5	Federalism and the Policy-Budget Nexus: power, politics, decision
•	Lecture/Workshop
•	Seminar	Readings:
Pierson and Hacker, Ch. 1-6;
Wilkinson, “Thinking Clearly About Economic Inequality” 	Seminar paper	
Saturday
June 9
9a-5p	Course Wrap-Up
•	Film/Discussion
•	Poster Presentations
•	Seminar	Readings:
Pierson and Hacker, Ch. 7-10	Assignment #7:
Poster;  Budget Analysis Paper