Another important part of your learning involves the analysis of case studies.  Case studies are compilations of problem situations actually faced by public managers.  A case places you into a real world situation and forces you to sort through and analyze various issues or courses of action.  I encourage you to discuss the cases with others prior to class.  

While attendance will not be taken on a regular basis, poor classroom attendance may result in a failing participation grade since you cannot participate if you are not in class.  Therefore, you should notify the instructor when you are unable to attend class.  If you should miss a session when a video is shown, it may be possible to make arrangements to view the film privately at the library or to borrow the video.  In certain circumstances it may also be possible to make-up other in-class activities with a written assignment if frequent absences have become a problem.  Your participation grade will also be lowered due to the frequent inability to respond to the instructor’s questions, poor class preparation, lack of enthusiastic participation in class exercises, or the failure to treat others in the classroom with respect (e.g., talking while others are talking, ridiculing other students, etc.).  Simply put, in order to receive an “A” in this class you must be a civil, active contributor to class and not merely score well on exams and assignments.  

Your individual grade on these assignments will be the group grade.  Groups are free to allocate responsibilities in any way you want; however, groups are not expected to carry free riders.  A peer evaluation form will be used when you complete your second group case memo and an individual grade may be adjusted lower if the team reports that one of its members did not contribute to the group memos.  Additional instructions and guidance for preparing case memos and leading the case discussions is posted on the course web site. 

The assignment will be completed in several stages.  Students will be required to develop a two-page memo that specifies the problem to be addressed, the client (real or hypothetical), and the question(s) that the policy analysis will address. Students will later prepare a 2 – 3 page memo that defines the problem and the main factors affecting the problem, specifies alternatives, and summarizes the criteria that will be used to evaluate the alternatives.  It should also include as an attachment a list of bibliographic references and your data sources used in the analysis and any necessary tables (e.g., summary of the alternatives or criteria) or figures (e.g., map of the causes of the problem).  The first two assignments are ungraded but represent a chance to get feedback on your reports.  Your final report should include a cover, table of contents, executive summary, the main body of the report (i.e., discussion of problem, discussion of evaluative criteria, discussion of each alternative, the systematic comparison of each alternative using the evaluative criteria and data gathered from your research, a recommended course of action supported by the data you’re your analysis, and an implementation strategy for that alternative), supporting tables and figures, a bibliography, and any necessary appendices or supporting materials.  The report is expected to be clear, concise, and professional.  It should communicate your findings effectively to your client.  Final reports will probably be around 25 double-spaced pages in length but will vary based on the problem and the type of analysis.   

All members of UNCW’s community are expected to follow the academic Honor Code. Please read the UNCW Honor Code carefully (as covered in the UNCW Student Handbook).  Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated in this class.  Be advised that I have a zero tolerance policy for cheating or plagiarism.  Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing an assignment will receive a failing grade for the course.

UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior.  If you are experiencing an emergency of this type contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273.  Resources for individuals concerned with a violent or harassing situation can be located at http://www.uncw.edu/wsrc/crisis.html.

 Laptops may be used in this class.  Laptop users should sit in the back row to avoid distracting others.  Laptops will be banned from the classroom for the rest of the semester the first time any laptop user is seen engaging in non-classroom related activity.