Arts or Social Science. POLI 392 can be used to fulfill the Applied Studies (Business and Administrative Studies) area of study by credential students only.
Prerequisites:
None. A previous course in administrative studies, public policy, or public administration/management is recommended. This is a senior-level course and as such students are expected to have advanced analytical and writing skills.
Course start date:
If you are a:
Self-funded student: register by the 10th of the month, start on the 1st of the next.
POLI 392 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under two different disciplines—with GOVN 390. POLI 392 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for GOVN 390.
Political Science 392: Public Policy and Administrative Governance has been designed for senior undergraduate students who are interested in the creation and implementation of Canadian public policy. There are no formal prerequisites for this course. While it is recommended that students have taken another course in political science or public administration, the course material should be accessible to anyone with the intellectual sophistication and academic maturity expected of senior undergraduate students.
Political Science 392 aims to give students the knowledge, analytical skills, and tools necessary to think critically about matters associated with the making and implementation of Canadian public policy. This course will benefit those who have chosen a career in the public service, those who simply wish to increase their awareness of public policy-making and implementation, as well as students with aspirations toward graduate studies.
Outline
The course consists of the following eight units.
Unit 1: Introduction to Public Policy and Administrative Governance
Unit 2: Public Bureaucracy in Theory and Practice
Unit 3: Parliament, Bureaucracy, and Accountability in Canada
Unit 4: Policy Formulation—The Institutions and Processes of Political Governance
Unit 5: Administrative Governance—The Challenge of Policy Implementation
Unit 6: Non-State Actors in Policy-Making and Administrative Governance
Unit 7: Social Diversity and the Question of “Difference“ in Policy-Making and Administrative Governance
Unit 8: Governance in the 21st Century
Learning outcomes
Describe the character of public bureaucracy and provide a theoretically informed analysis of the contrast between a classic Weberian bureaucracy and the type of public bureaucracy advocated by the New Public Management (NPM).
Explain the role of bureaucratic, political, and non-state actors in the policy process.
Contrast the various policy instruments and service-delivery mechanisms used in policy implementation, and explain the factors shaping the possibility of successful policy implementation.
Explain the nature of democratic accountability in parliamentary government, and comment on approaches to ensuring ethics in administrative governance.
Explain the significance of social diversity to the making and implementation of public policy, and discuss the relationship between social diversity and the “differential impact” of public policy.
Contrast the governing paradigms associated with the administrative welfare state and those of the neo-liberal state, and explain the relationship of the NPM to the neo-liberal mode of governance.
Evaluation
Your final grade in POLI 392 will be based on the marks you achieve on the assignments and the final examination. To receive credit for POLI 392, you must complete all the assignments, achieve a mark of at least D (50 percent) on the final examination, and obtain an overall course grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the assignments and exam toward your final grade are outlined below.
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1: Concepts Paper
10%
Assignment 2: Policy Memo Proposal
10%
Assignment 3: Policy Memo
20%
Assignment 4: Research Paper Outline
10%
Assignment 5: Research Paper
25%
Final Exam
25%
Total
100%
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Dunn, C. (Ed.). (2018). The handbook of Canadian public administration (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. (Print)
Other materials
All other course materials are available online through the course home page. These include a Course Information, Study Guide, and additional readings.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the POLI 392 challenge registration, you must receive a grade of “pass” on the exam.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.