Graduate Courses in Public Policy

Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Pad 501 Public Economics and Finance II (4)
This course examines concepts in public finance and their applications in the design and development of public budgets. Topics include market failure and the role of government; budget institutions, structure, and processes; capital budgeting and cost-benefit analysis; and program evaluation. Prerequisites: Public Economics and Finance I and completion or concurrent enrollment in Data, Models, and Decisions II.

Pad 502 Human Resources Development (4)
A survey of individual/group behavior, organizational structure, controls, work design, and motivation is presented as a background. Leads to discussion of the major institutions, methods, and procedures that constitute public personnel systems (the merit system, career staffing, selection, training, position classification, compensation, and workforce planning.

Pad 503 Public Economics and Finance I (4)
This course examines the application of market mechanisms such as prices, profits, and information in allocating resources in major domestic policy areas. Topics include the economics of markets and firms; basic management and cost accounting; and the effects of alternative payment systems on agency behavior, output, and services. Prerequisite: Completion or concurrent enrollment in Data, Models, and Decisions I.

Pad 504 Data, Models, and Decisions I (4)
Introduction to computer-based tools for planning, policy analysis, and decision making. Topics include administrative and policy models in spreadsheets, dynamic models in difference equations and spreadsheets, making decisions with multiple criteria, resource allocation, probability and decision trees, data bases and information management, and telecommunications in local networks and the Internet. Prerequisites: Familiarity with word processing on either IBM or Macintosh platforms and good standing on the Department's mathematics diagnostic test.

Pad 505 (Crj 504, Pos 505, Ssw 504) Data, Models, and Decisions II (4)
A case-based approach to methods of data collection, statistical modeling, and analysis particularly appropriate to problems in public management and policy. Topics include case studies of data modeling and decisions in the public sector, data collection, exploratory data analysis, population and sampling distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression. Prerequisite: Data, Models, and Decisions I.

Pad 506 Foundations of Public Management (4)
An introduction to the theory and practice of public management. Topics include individual, group level, and organizational issues such as creating productive work environments, working within human resource systems, developing a learning organization, facilitating innovation, and managing across organizational boundaries. Cases and exercises will focus on practical applications of concepts covered. Prerequisite: Institutional Foundations of Public Administration.

Pad 507 Professional Applications I (2)
This Module normally is taken concurrently with Pad 500, Institutional Foundations of Public Administration. It emphasizes the early development of professional skills, the ability to work in teams, career planning, and an awareness of trade-offs in modern administration. Prerequisite: This course normally will be taken concurrently with Pad 500. A-E grading.

Pad 508 Professional Applications II (2)
This Module normally is taken during the later half of a student's core curriculum. It continues the focus on skill development introduced in Professional Applications I and synthesizes material presented throughout the core. Using simulations and other exercises, it requires students to address a significant, multifaceted managerial or policy problem. Prerequisite: Professional Applications I.

Pad 510 Introduction to Legislative Administration (4)
Introduces relevant literature in political science and public administration bearing directly upon legislative administration. Basic theoretical assumptions and methodological approaches will be discussed for understanding of current trends and issues. Includes legislative organization and management. Should be taken early in the program.

Pad 511 Special Topics in Public Administration
This class offers special topics that vary from year to year. Please refer to the current department schedule for current offerings under this number.

Pad 513 Topics in Information Resource Management (1-4)
Workshops provide students with an intensive focus on information resource systems, issues, practices and polices at the state and local levels of government. The emphasis will be on the most current research and practices in this rapidly changing environment. Individual workshop topics could include making information technology choices, managing records, information sharing, issues of intellectual property rights, information security, developing and managing web sites, and intergovernmental relationships in IT management.

Pad 518 (Pos 518) Regression Analysis (4)
This course will give students familiarity with multivariate regression analysis, including Ordinary Least Squares and other regression methods. Prerequisites: Pos 517 or Pad 505 or Pub 505 or equivalent

Pad 519 (Pos 519) Advanced Statistical Methods (4)
The course will give students familiarity with advanced statistical techniques currently used by political scientists. Topics may include a) advanced regression analysis; b) time series regression; c) categorical data analysis; d) maximum likelihood estimation; and e) other statistical techniques. Prerequisites: Pos 517 or Pad 505 or Pub 505 or equivalent

Pad 521 Issues and Practices in Program Evaluation (1-4)
Workshops will be concerned with a range of program evaluation methods or tools that are currently practiced, debated, or endorsed in the field. The emphasis is on the most contemporary public service environments in which program evaluations are conducted. Individual topics will include performance measurement, stakeholder input, outcome assessment methods, data collection issues, and other factors in the comprehensive program evaluation process.

Pad 523 (Inf 523, Isp 523) Fundamentals of Information Management in Public Administration (1-6)
This course consists of three five week modules teaching basic skills in information management. Topics include: introduction to programming, data structures, and overview of data base applications. In addition, students may elect up to three additional modules chosen from topics such as UNIX and networking, UNIX software development tools (for students who already have significant prior programming), introduction to programming in C and new directions in information science. Prerequisite: Pad 504 or equivalent.

Pad 524 Systems Thinking and Strategy Development (4)
The course presents a set of concepts and tools for thinking through complex system-wide problems that challenge government managers’ability to design and manage cross-agency and intergovernmental policies and programs. Students will learn to diagnose and solve complex system-level problems by applying systems thinking and strategic planning tools to case examples.

Pad 530 (Pub 530) Intergovernmental Relations, Federalism and Public Policy (4)
This seminar seeks to examine the ways in which various aspects of intergovernmental relations affect the adoption and implementation of public policy. The course will focus on the actors in the intergovernmental system and the modes of behavior that have been developed to manage the disparate agendas at play. It will provide an overview of the theoretical literature in federalism and intergovernmental relations and establish linkages to public policy concepts and approaches. This course will also include attention to experience of other federal countries as well as the U.S.

Pad 541 Local Government Financial Management (2)
Study of financial management practices and problems in smaller jurisdictions: counties, towns, small cities, and school districts. Covers revenue sources, borrowing, debt management, disbursement procedures, accounting controls.

Pad 550 Foundations of Government Information Strategy and Management (4)
Introduces the interaction of policy, management, and information technology in the design, operation, and evaluation of government operations and public services. Relies heavily on case studies to illustrate how these domains play out in multiple settings and across sectors -- public, private, and not-for-profit. Prerequisites: Pad 500, Pub 522, or Permission of Instructor.

Pad 560 Technical Writing and Communications in Government (2)
Aimed at sharpening the individual skills of public administrators. Included are techniques of report writing, visual aid design, and oral presentation.

Pad 561 Government Grant and Proposal Administration (2)
Techniques of grant and proposal preparation, project control and evaluation. Liaison between federal and local government is emphasized.

Pad 562 Questionnaire Design and Applications (2)
Design and data evaluation techniques for the beginner. Emphasis is upon item preparation, population selection, form design, and knowing the strengths and limitations of results.

Pad 564 Ethics in Public Administration (4)
The ethics of managerial behavior in government and organization, ethics codes and their implementation, ethical issues arising from the influence of administrators on public policy. Course procedures include readings, discussion, and student projects to relate ethics concepts to case studies or research findings.

Pad 600 Legal Environment of Public Administration (4)
Survey of aspects of public law and legal methodology of particular concern to public administrators. The origins of doctrines associated with American constitutionalism and the rule of law, and the basic constitutional framework and concepts conditioning American public administration. Analysis of current issues emerging from the growth of the administrative process within this framework, involving the delegation to, nature of, and exercise of discretionary powers by administrators, related questions of administrative organization, and the limits placed on exercise of discretionary powers through judicial review and other devices for holding administrative agencies accountable and responsive to the traditional values of democratic government.

Pad 601 (Pub 521) Historical Analysis and Public Policy (4)
The class introduces masters students to the unique approach of historians who tackle contemporary policy issues. It aims to demonstrate how historical analysis can be useful in understanding policy challenges. Students will see that the historical approach is especially suited to particular challenges, such as discovering long-term patterns in government institutions that are likely to shape policy outcomes.

Pad 602 Public Administration and the Political Process (4)
The relationship of public administration to the political process, with primary reference to American institutions and experience. The ways in which the political sector conditions bureaucratic activity and of the mechanisms, including judicial review, which keep administration responsible and responsive. The role of administration in the policy process and in the determination of the public interest is stressed.

Pad 607 Concepts and Issues of Public Administration (4)
Basic ideas of American public administration including the politics-administration dichotomy, 'principles of public administration,' science and decision making, participation and decentralization, and Weberian bureaucracy. Current selected topics such as administrative regulation, collective bargaining in government, federal relations, accountability, and corruption. M.P.A. students should obtain consent of instructor.

Pad 608 Readings in Legal and Political Environment (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics and problems of the legal and political environment.

Pad 609 Public Employees and the Law (4)
Legal issues affecting public employees, with consideration of the constitutional and statutory context of public employment, including first amendment freedoms, due process protections and equal protection of the law. Such issues as employee discipline, political activity of public employees, liability and privacy issues also covered. Prerequisite: Pad 600 or Pos 628.

Pad 610 Organizational Theory and Behavior (4)
The mainstreams of thought about the structuring of cooperative effort in organizations, from the origins of formal theory to the recent contribution of the behavioral sciences. Course objectives are to gain familiarity with the literature and leading concepts, to increase understanding of processes and issues in organizational life, and to develop analytical skills pertaining to organizational change. Study is based on broadly selected reading and descriptive case studies.

Pad 611 Decision Making in Government and Administration (4)
Rational decision theory and decision-making practice as illustrated by case materials. Topics covered may include: the economic concept of utility and maximization; the analytic problems of modeling and uncertainty; the psychological considerations of individual preferences and risk-taking behavior; the organizational and political context of decisions and its effect on agency choice; and current trends in public decision-making structures.

Pad 612 Nonprofits and Public Policy (4)
This course examines the intersection of nonprofit organizations and public policy. Issues include: government-nonprofit policy relationships; tax policy related to tax exemption, market-based commercial activities, and charitable contributions; and current policy debates such as the role of nonprofits in policy advocacy and the role of faith based organizations in social service provision

Pad 613 Issues in Not-for-Profit Management (4)
Examination of a broad range of management issues relevant to not-for-profit organizations. Topics include: differences between public, private, and not-for-profit management; governance and boards of directors; strategic planning and human resource issues in not-for-profits; resource development; sector convergence and competition; and the government/voluntary sector relationship.

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Pad 614 Managerial Leadership in the Public Sector (4)
This course focuses on managerial leadership in the public sector from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Participants will have opportunities to explore their strengths and weaknesses as managerial leaders and to develop skills in these areas. In addition, several current theories of leadership will be examined as the basis for determining the requisite skills of managerial leaders. Prerequisite: Pad 610.

Pad 615 Strategic Planning and Management (4)
Strategic planning and strategic management theories, issues, and techniques. Topics under strategic planning include environmental scanning, organizational assessment, futures research and forecasting models, methods for analyzing organizational culture, goal-setting techniques, and mission/strategy development. Strategic management topics include approaches for implementation of strategic plans, strategic issues management, analysis of managerial and production systems, and management by objectives (MBO) systems. Prerequisites: Pad 504 and Pad 505.

Pad 616 Operational Planning and Control (4)
Course covers theories, issues, and techniques of management control. Topics cover management control theory and the role of controls in strategic management, work measurement, statistical and non-statistical sampling methods, performance auditing, selected cost accounting techniques, operational budgeting, statistical process control, and project management systems, such as PERT and CPM. Prerequisites: Pad 504 and Pad 505.

Pad 617 (Wss 617) Equal Employment Opportunity (4)
Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (EEO-AA) from historical, legal, administrative as well as normative perspectives. Primary emphasis placed on EEO-AA in the public sector employment. Prerequisite: Pad 500 and PAD 506, or permission of instructor.

Pad 618 Public Personnel Administration (4)
Discussion of issues in public personnel administration, including such topics as merit staffing, classification and compensation, performance appraisal, affirmative action programs and labor-management relations. Both federal and New York State personnel systems are covered. Prerequisite: Pad 502 or permission of instructor.

Pad 619 Current Issues in Public Personnel Administration (4)
Seminar consideration of selected problems in public personnel administration with focus on comparison of the approaches, findings, and results of major efforts at improvement of American governmental personnel systems. Prerequisite: Course in public personnel administration or consent of instructor.

Pad 620 Methods of Management Science (4)
Introduction to some of the major concepts in the field of management science. Topics include linear programming through sensitivity analysis and duality, an introduction to formal decision theory, and an introduction to simulation. Computer applications are stressed throughout. Students make use of existing computer packages (BASIC) but are also required to write their own programs. Students complete problem sets and case studies that stress the applications of these techniques to problems of management in the public sector. Prerequisites: Pad 504 and Pad 505.

Pad 621 Quantitative Methods in Public Administration (4)
General introduction to the use of principal analytical methods in the making of administrative decisions. May include special topics in operations research, decision theory, or multivariate statistical analysis (e.g., multiple regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis). Typical applications of quantitative analysis and the development of models rather than on computational techniques. Prerequisites: One year of college mathematics and Pad 505 or equivalent.

Pad 622 Methods of Public Policy Analysis (4)
Application of quantitative methods to current public policy problems. A term project, conducted in teams and involving the use of quantitative methods is required. Involves reading and discussions of philosophy and methodology, class presentations of projects in process, interim written progress reports, and a final project report. Goals are the policy-analytic experience itself and increased sophistication in the application of qualitative methods. Prerequisites: At least two 600-level courses in policy analysis methods.

Pad 623 Management Information Systems (4)
Introduction to the design of mechanisms for gathering, storing, retrieving, and analyzing information needed by organizations. Emphasizes alternative techniques and the merits of applying those techniques to particular information handling problems. Areas to be studied may include manual and automated processing; general purpose and single purpose systems; batch processing and time-sharing, system evaluation and modification procedures.

Pad 624 Simulating Dynamic Systems (4)
Introduction to the basic principles underlying dynamic feedback systems. The principles underlying growth, exponential decay, and sigmoid growth. Students construct computer models of social systems with examples drawn from economic, urban, sociological, and biological systems. Prerequisite(s): Pad 504 and Pad 505 or consent of the instructor.

Pad 625 Bargaining and Negotiation (4)
Survey of theories of bargaining and negotiation, with emphasis on the use of analytic and quantitative methods to help understand and facilitate negotiation processes. Extensive use of simulation, exercises, role playing, and cases.

Pad 626 Evaluation of Public Sector Programs (4)
The practice of program evaluation in the public sector is the focus of this course. Topics covered include both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, data collection, conduct of evaluation in an organizational setting, and utilization of evaluation results. Prerequisite(s): Pad 504 and Pad 505 or permission of instructor.

Pad 627 Cost-Benefit Analysis (4)
Economic analysis used in the design and evaluation of government programs, with emphasis on applications. Topics include cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, efficiency considerations in program design, and measurement of the distribution and incidence of program effects. Prerequisite: Pad 503 or equivalent.

Pad 628 Readings in Research Methodology (4)
Individual directed reading programs in selected topics and problems of research methodology.

Pad 630 Topics in Information Management for Nonprofits (1-4)
This course covers unique issues faced by nonprofit organizations related to emerging technology issues. Students will examine policy, management, and technical requirements related to the development and use of information technology to support nonprofit organizational management. In addition to studying the conceptual underpinnings of information management in the nonprofit sector, participants will be trained in specific technology and management tools to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Pad 631 (Aps 631) Economics of Education II (3)
This course examines K-12 education policy from an economic perspective. Economic principles are applied to issues of resource allocation, finance, and the behaviors of key stakeholders. Topics include: models of student achievement with particular focus on the role of resources, school finance, teacher labor markets, and the effect of various forms of school choice. Prerequisites: Pad 503, Aps 602, or

Pad 632 Group Dynamics in Organization (4)
Development of analytical skills in two-person and small-group bureaucratic situations. Emphasis is placed on psychological concepts of perception, motivation and attitude formation. Interpersonal phenomena, such as role structuring and exchange processes, are explored. Use is made of experiments and role playing in seminar environments.

Pad 633 Organizational Analysis and Development (4)
Development of skills to analyze large scale organizational problems likely to be encountered by administrators and researchers. Emphasis is on sociological concepts of process, normative networks, exchange, task, and role structure. The development of organizational theory, as well as relationships between behavioral and rational model systems, are also explored. Use is made of case studies and ongoing research in bureaucracies.

Pad 634 Seminar on Judgment and Decision-Making Behavior (4)
The social/psychological literature related to the cognitive processes of information integration and judgement is intended to provide both a better understanding of decision-making behavior in administrative settings and an improved ability to make administrative judgements. Applicability to human resource problems is stressed. Prerequisite: Pad 611 or consent of instructor.

Pad 635 (Hpm 615, Pub 635) Health, Safety and Environmental Regulation (4)
Presents a political and economic assessment of risk regulation policies as they have developed for air and water pollution, work place risks, auto safety, drug regulation and nuclear power. Prerequisite: Hpm 501 or consent of instructor.

Pad 636 Cultural Analysis of Organization (4)
Exploration of the cultural approach to organizational analysis: theory and methods from anthropology, sociology, and history that focus on the subjective experience of organization members. Students complete a study in which these theories and methods are applied to a public, private or non-profit organization. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Pad 637 Social and Organizational Networks in Public Policy, Management, and Service Delivery: Theory, Methods, and Analysis (4)
The concept of “network”has become central to many discussions of public policy, management, and service delivery. Yet the use of the term is rarely backed with strong theoretical and empirical analysis of actual social networks. This course is designed to explore the theoretical underpinnings of the concept “networks,”to introduce the basic methods needed to collect and analyze network data, and to compare findings generated with network methods with standard social and economic analysis.

Pad 638 Readings in Administrative Systems and Behavior (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics and problems of administrative systems and behavior.

Pad 639 Executive Skill Development (4)
Development of the personal and professional skills necessary for effective management in a demanding work environment. Because the purpose of the course is personal skill development, the learning process is highly experiential and effective. A high premium is placed on participation and on assuming responsibility for self in the learning experience.

Pad 640 Financial Management and Policy (4)
An examination of financial management techniques for the nonprofit organization. Practices to be studied include fiscal planning, legal requirements, IRS regulations, pricing, operational planning and control, strategic planning, fund raising, and marketing.

Pad 641 Basic Governmental Accounting (4)
Survey of governmental accounting principles and procedures for persons without prior formal instruction in accounting. Included are such topics as account classification, cash and accrual accounting, appropriation and program accounts, cost estimation from accounts, development and analysis of financial statements, and the uses of accounting information for managerial decision making. Prerequisite: Pad 501 or permission of instructor.

Pad 642 Proseminar in Public Budgeting (4)
Special topics and current applications in public budgeting and finance. Topics may include financial management in the courts, financial information systems, computer applications, capital budgeting, health finance, and current developments in public finance. Prerequisite: To be determined by instructor.

Pad 643 Governmental Finances (4)
Presents basic criteria for evaluating governmental fiscal policies. Impact of the government on efficient allocation of resources, fair distribution of wealth, and the maintenance of full employment growth. Various revenue sources, such as taxes, user changes, and borrowing, are discussed and analyzed, as are various expenditures by federal, state, and local governments. Prerequisite: Pad 503.

Pad 644 (Hpm 648) Health Care Finance (4)
Examines major policy and implementation issues in the financing of health care, particularly the poor. Among the topics addressed are health cost containment, Medicaid, long term care, AIDS, and the provision of care to the uninsured. Prerequisites: Pad 503 and Pad 505 (or equivalent).

Pad 645 (Eco 534) Public Choice (3)
Introduction to economic models of social choice. The course emphasizes the methods and consequences of arriving at collective decisions using alternative political mechanisms. Topics will include models of voting, representative government, political parties and bargaining, bureaucratic behavior, and preference revelation.

Pad 646 Governmental Fiscal Management (4)
Governmental accounting systems, public auditing, and control with an emphasis on their role in the execution of public policy. Topics which may be covered include: treasury, cash flow, debt management, the revenue system, and the establishment of regulations governing purchasing and procurement.

Pad 647 Development Finance (4)
The interaction of budgetary policies of taxation, borrowing, and expenditure with economic development is discussed. Emphasis is on the potential uses of fiscal instruments in assisting development in less developed economies and revitalizing the declining regions in advanced economies. Draws upon theoretical and empirical research as well as case studies. Prerequisite(s): Pad 503 or equivalent, Pad 665 desired.

Pad 648 State and Local Fiscal Systems (4)
Application of analytic methods to state and local government fiscal problems with special reference to New York State. Included is a survey of state and local fiscal systems in the country, detailed analysis of the major state and local revenue sources and expenditure categories, and economic and administrative issues in intergovernmental relations. Prerequisite: Pad 501 and Pad 503.

Pad 649 State-Local Fiscal Relations (4)
Seminar focusing on an examination of systems of state financial assistance to and fiscal supervision of municipal finances, including principles, methods, and techniques employed (such as budget and accounting systems, technical assistance, and balancing of special and general interests).

Pad 650 Building a Case for IT investments in the Public Sector (4)
This course presents a formal methodology for making IT investment decisions including problem definition, stakeholder analysis, process analysis, best and current practices, technology awareness, and case building. Students will engage in a project with a university or government customer to build a business case for a new IT investment. Prerequisites: Pad 500, Pub 522, or permission of instructor.

Pad 651 Labor Relations in the Public Sector (4)
Examination of historical, legal and political aspects of labor relations in the public sector. Different facets of labor relations, including collective bargaining, arbitration, equal employment opportunity; particular attention is given to the nature and appropriateness of unionism in the public sector. Prerequisite: Pad 502 or permission of instructor.

Pad 652 Seminar on Information Strategy and Management (1-4)
Leaders from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, private companies, and research organizations discuss their perspectives on the field of information strategy and management. Seminar is intended to be taken in conjunction with Pad 550 or 650. Prerequisites: Pad 500, Pub 522, or permission of instructor.

Pad 656 (Hpm 649) Health Care Cost Containment
Examination and evaluation of programs and proposals to limit the growth of health care costs. The causes of increases in health care costs and such topics as health maintenance organizations and managed care, reimbursement systems, regulation of technology and provider supply, and various global budgeting schemes will be addressed. The consequences of cost containment for health care access and quality will also be examined. Prerequisites: Pad 644 and Hpm 541 or permission of instructor.

Pad 658 Readings in Public Finance (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics and problems of public finance.

Pad 662 Methods of Public Policy Analysis (4)
Develops an appreciation of the approach and techniques of 'systems analysis.' The context is that of the making of 'policy decisions.' Emphasizes the use of examples to illustrate the theoretical and procedural points being made.

Pad 663 (Pos 663, Pub 663) Comparative Policy Systems (4)
This seminar investigates why some industrial societies have addressed challenges such as economic management and social welfare more effectively than others. It compares both policies and institutional structures charged with implementation in countries including France, Japan, and Britain. Privatization and prospects for international cooperation are explored.

Pad 664 (Pos 553) Politics in Developing Countries (4)
Examines theories and practice of development to understand the persistence of poverty in the less developed world. Assesses major international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations. Pad 665 (Pub 665) Biodiversity, Conservation and Public Policy (1-4)
This course is a survey of approaches to domestic environmental politics, planning and public policy analysis that pertain to conservation biology and environmental policy. In this course, we will review economic, political and legal approaches to politics and policy analysis. In discussions, students will explore strategies for introducing ecological information and conservation needs into the public forum.

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Pad 666 (Pos 666, Pub 666) International Environmental Policy (4)
Considers alternative explanations for global environmental dilemmas, including population growth, poverty and runaway technology and the way in which each factor has shaped environmental policy.

Pad 667 (Pos 667, Pub 667) Politics of Environmental Regulation (4)
Evaluation of environmental regulation in the United States and considers the response of political and administrative institutions to complex problems such as toxic wastes. Comparative perspectives on Western and Eastern Europe and Japan.

Pad 668 Readings in Comparative and International Public Administration (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics and problems of comparative and international administration.

Pad 675R Topics in Public Policy Advocacy (4)
This course examines an array of public policy advocacy strategies, including organizing, public education, and lobbying. Depending on the semester, applications will be to various policy sectors, e.g. issues of concern to women, children, and families, the environment, or health care. In addition to covering material on legal, structural, and strategic issues involved in advocacy, the course will examine conceptual underpinnings to understand advocacy as it impacts nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and the legislature.

PAD 675S Topics in Public Policy Advocacy (4)
This class is taught on a non-traditional schedule - see schedule for dates and times.
This class examines the development of public policy from the perspective of the independent nonprofit sector of the community. Of particular importance is how policy initiatives percolate from the grass roots.  As a result, how we define grass roots is critical to the framing of issues  and  to the strategies chosen.  Consequently, conceptions of intersectionality (e.g. understanding how gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and class interact in shaping socio-political perspectives), are key to how issues are shaped and how they can be used to divide natural constituencies.

Additionally we will examine the politics of organizing.  By using the overarching issue of violence against women by male intimate partners, we will see how organizing around this issue has implicated divergent positions regarding democracy, autonomy and state accountability within the "Battered Women's Movement (BWM)"   Moreover, issues of race and class inclusivity are constant questions that challenge organizations that are part of the BWM.  We will deconstruct these questions as we attempt to understand the dynamic nature of building a politic from the grass roots that is reflected in the non-profit organizations that allegedly represent women in general and battered women in particular.

In attempting to grapple with these questions we will focus on law and political theory as it informs how we choose issues and how we structure ourselves.  Consequently, we will examine issues of agency and autonomy and conceptions of state intervention into the lives of women.  These issues will be parsed from litigation and the works of legal, political and social theorists.

Other Information:  Preparatory reading assignments will be required in advance of the first session.  Permission required for registration.  Please contact Alison Olin at 442-3898 or abs@albany.edu. Please be prepared to describe relevant coursework/experience. 

 Pad 680 Seminar in Legislative Administration (4)
The problems and techniques and alternate administrative structures for administering the legislature and providing legislative support services, including, for example, the preparation of the legislative budget, administration of legislative personnel, scheduling and coordination of hearings, routing of bills, procurement of supplies and handling of archival materials. Original research project on a current problem of legislative administration is required.

Pad 681 Legislative Research (4)
Designed to enable students to develop skills in the utilization of methods of legal research, with particular reference to legislative staff work. Techniques of bill drafting and writing bill memoranda and reports. Use of standard legislative documents. Includes other research techniques in fact-finding and analysis appropriate for legislative research.

Pad 682 Program Seminar in Urban Land Use Policy and Regulation (4)
Consideration of the policy-making process as it relates to the physical and social development problems of urban areas; concepts of community analysis and forecasting; the interaction of technical analysis and politics in the formation of planning policy.

Pad 683 Program Seminar in Managing Local Government (4)
Student research on problems and processes of managing local governments. Topics may include human resources for financial management and design or evaluation of public service programs. Research involves field studios in municipal or county governments and builds on courses previously taken in management and urban policy areas. Public officials are invited to discuss and critique student projects.

Pad 684 Seminar in Urban Policy Analysis (4)
Field analysis of administrative problems in an Albany metropolitan area community; identification of policy alternatives and probable consequences of action programs; survey of social science research methods useful to urban administrators.

Pad 688 Administrative Systems (Consulting Process) (4)
Analysis through a live case study of the various elements of the administrative process as applied to a major project. Designed to provide students with an opportunity to integrate their knowledge of administration and to solve field problems.

Pad 689 Readings in Urban Development (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics and problems of urban development.

Pad 690 Regulatory Administration (4)
The reasons for the growth of administrative regulation, regulatory agencies and processes, the nature of their formal legal and informal powers, organization, and procedures, and of their relationships with legislatures, chief executives, courts, and interest groups, including consumer interests. Emphasizes the constitutional, legal, administrative, and political issues raised by the growth and nature of regulatory administration and agencies, and proposals for change as reflected in critiques and recommended reforms in major studies made under private, and federal and state governmental auspices.

Pad 695 Readings in Public Management (4)
Individual directed reading program in selected topics, issues and problems in the area of public management.

Pad 697 Guided Research (1-4)
Close individual guidance by a faculty member in the application of verbal and numerical research methods for the purpose of answering an administrative question, Students design a plan of research and gather, evaluate, organize, and report information on a substantive problem of interest to themselves and the faculty member. The resulting research is expected to be as nearly of professional quality in form and content as possible given the resources available and the background preparation of the student. In general, the research is reported in a colloquium open to all students and faculty. This course may be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Pad 698 Seminar for Administrative Interns (0)
For students who are satisfying the career experience requirement for the M.P.A. and other appropriate master's degrees with an internship in a pubic sector organization, Through written and oral reports presented at seminar sessions, work experience is discussed and related to public administration principles and practices. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Pad 700 Operations and Productivity Controls Seminar (4)
Designed for advanced graduate students who wish to explore theoretical and applied resource control systems in public service agencies. Emphasizes nonfinancial delivery systems operations. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Pad 702 (Pos 702) Politics and Administration (4)
Comprehensive perspective on the political dimension of public administration in industrial democracies, especially the United States. Relationships between administrative agencies and chief executives, legislative bodies, courts, media, and interest groups examined. Issues raised by federalism and privatization probed. Focus on whether bureaucracy can be kept safe for democracy. Prerequisite: Pad 500 or the equivalent recommended.

Pad 703 Economic and Financial Theory (4)
Examines the important theories in economics and finance relevant to public administration and basic tools of economics and finance needed to understand important public sector issues. Use of economic theory to analyze issues such as market failure, tax policy, equity and efficiency, and provision of public goods. Use of financial theory to understand the basics of financial management in the public sector such as cash and debt management and capital budgeting. Prerequisite: Admission to Ph.D. program.

Pad 704 Research Methods I (4)
Introduction to research design, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. Topics include conceptualization and design of research projects. Prerequisite: Pad 505 or equivalent.

Pad 705 Research Methods II (4)
Intermediate course in specific research techniques and tools of analysis; qualitative and quantitative techniques of analysis addressed. Prerequisite: Pad 704.

Pad 708 Organizational Behavior and Theory (4)
A survey of the major issues and theoretical perspectives in organization theory. Examination of evolution of the field of organization theory, and discussion of the contemporary research on behavior and structure within organizations, and on environmental factors in organization behavior.

Pad 709 Foundations of Public Administration (4)
Examination of questions of identity, action and theory in the field of public administration. Particular emphasis placed on the "intellectual crisis" that public administration has faced and continues to face with respect to its paradigmatic base, scope and methods. Prerequisite: Pad 500 or permission of instructor.

Pad 717 Seminar in Administrative Processes (4)
Selected topics in administrative processes.

Pad 722 The Analytic Tradition (4)
Use of formal analysis as a basis for public decision making. Traces the contributions of accounting, auditing, economics, organizational analysis, operations research, systems analysis, and statistics to the development of an interdisciplinary approach to analysis. Prerequisite: Open to doctoral students or by consent of instructor.

Pad 724 Simulation for Policy Analysis and Design (3-6)
Continued development of topics treated in Pad 624, Simulating Dynamic Systems, stressing advanced concepts in the formulation of feedback simulations of social systems. Organized around a single paper that requires students to formulate and construct a dynamic model for a public policy problem.

Pad 727 Seminar in Research Methodology and Management Science (4)
Selected topics in research methodology and management science.

Pad 736 Advanced Seminar in Organization Design (4)
Various aspects of organization design and change. Emphasizes both technical and social elements of organizations. In keeping with the fast-growing knowledge in this area, the course has both a descriptive and prescriptive emphasis.

Pad 737 Contemporary Organization Theory (4)
Examination of selected topics in administrative behavior.

Pad 738 The History of Organization Theories (4)
The major organization theories beginning with the late nineteenth century. The organization and political and sociological preconceptions and implications of the theories. The historical evolution of organization theory as an alternative to political philosophy. Theorists are read in the original form.

Pad 739 Advanced Organization Development (4)
Designed to permit research in a specialized area of interest to the individual participant. Exploration of organization development in terms of organization theory, organizational behavior, organizations of the future, or specific agencies at the local, state, or federal level. Participants are expected to have intensive knowledge of organization theory and research methods.

Pad 747 Seminar in Public Finance (4)
Selected topics in public finance.

Pad 748 Quantitative Analysis in Public Finance (4)
Emphasizes current policy problems in the field of public finance and the methodology of applying quantitative techniques to the analysis and solution of these problems. Possible topics include: the role of regression analysis in property assessment, the determinants of local government expenditures, the fiscal impact of grants-in-aid, cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis, and revenue estimate techniques. Open to all doctoral candidates and advanced master's candidates with the consent of the instructor.

Pad 767 Seminar in Comparative and International Administration (4)
Selected topics in comparative and international administration.

Pad 768 Methodological Epistemological Issues in the Study of Cooperative Public Administration (4)
Covers the research and theoretical concerns of social scientists involved in the study of comparative political and administrative systems. Includes a review of problems of comparison, theory building and the role of social scientists, tools and approaches to comparison.

Pad 824 Advanced Topics in System Dynamics (1-6)
This course presents advanced topics in system dynamics for Ph..D. and advanced Masters Students. Topics and title can vary from offering to offering.

Pad 895 Public Service Intern Seminar (1)
The Public Service Intern Seminar is a one credit course that is designed to help connect professional experience and the academic study components of the MPA program. You should register for 895 while you are doing one of your internships, preferably the second one to give you the most experience to reflect on. It is required of all students beginning the MPA program in the fall of 2007 and for all "pre-service" students prior to that time. All students in the MPA program are required to complete two half-time internships (for a total of 560 hours of career experience) prior to graduation or submit evidence of prior or contemporaneous career experience to obtain a waiver of the requirement.
To make the connections between the practical internship or job experience and the MPA experience, you are asked to first identify a set of readings, issues, or themes that you have found to be interesting, useful, and important. Then you should consider how these readings, issues, or themes help you understand what you have encountered in your work experience and, in turn, how this practical experience might lead you to think about these topics in different ways.
This reflection involves preparation of a 15-18 page paper, done in consultation with a faculty advisor that uses your themes to structure a discussion of the relationships between your coursework and your > career experience. The goal is to bring academics and practice together, with each one shedding light on the other. The paper should be scholarly, in the sense that it should have references to literature and could not have been written by someone who had not done graduate work in our program, and it should be personal, in the sense that it should contain your own reflections on your experiences and your coursework. We hope your MPA studies are reinforced by your work experiences, but it can be even more instructive when you uncover and analyze issues over which academic understandings and practical experience seem to conflict.
Registration in the course is done through the Assistant Dean for Career and Alumni Programs by first identifying three faculty members (in rank order) with whom you could effectively work on such a paper and then letting him know your preferences. He will then pair an individual faculty member with each student (based on workload) and provide an AVN number.

Pad 897 Independent Research in Public Administration (2-12 L.E.U.)
Individual work in preparation for the qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. in public administration. A student registering for Pad 897 indicates the portion of the total semester-load devoted to it by listing an appropriate number of 'load equivalent units' instead of credits. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair or departmental advisor to doctoral students.

Pad 899 Doctoral Dissertation in Public Administration (3-12 L.E.U.)