UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND  UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

EUROPEAN DIVISION

ACADEMIC YEAR 2001- 2002

 

 

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 524  PUBLIC BUDGETING

 

Term III: 15 January – 7 March 2001

 

Location:  Kapaun Air Station                    Class Time: Tuesday & Thursday, 1845 - 2130

 

Professor:  Dr. William Beck                     Office Hours: By appointment

                                                                        Office Phone: DSN 489-6438

                                                                        e-mail: wbeck@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

 

Course Description: This course exams fiscal administration as it applies to the United States’ economy.  Public financial management uses analytic, technical, and managerial tools to allocate and control, but the government differs from the private sector in terms of its resource constraints, ownership, and objectives.  In particular, governments may tax to enlarge their resources, “ownership” is not clear because many stakeholders share a legitimate interest in government decisions, and the value of government services is neither easy to quantify nor reflected in a single measure such as sales or profits.  It is the nature of these differences that forms the basis for the course.

 

Course Objectives: On successful completion of this course, the student should have a sound foundation in understanding the nature of the public sector and the role of public finance economics in shaping the economy of the United States or other developed nations.  The student should be familiar with: the concepts of the budgeting process, its logic and cyclical nature; the design and characteristics of federal and state budget processes; current issues regarding budget reform; sources of government revenue and the theory that applies to revenue generation; and the nature of debt management and surplus management in the federal government.

 

Required Text:  FISCAL ADMINISTRATION: Analysis and Applications for the Public Sector, John Mikesell (Harcourt Brace, Fifth Edition)

                          

Evaluation:  The final grade in this course will be based on the following activities:

                                                            Weight

            Midterm Examination              20%

            Term Project                             40%

            Project Presentation              10%

            Final Examination                    30%

 

The following scale will be used for all graded activities:

 A Þ 90 - 100%     B Þ 80 - 89%     C Þ 70 - 79%     D Þ 60 - 69%     F Þ Below 60%

Class Policies and Procedures:

 

    Attendance:  Regular class attendance is expected.  If you should miss a class meeting, it is your responsibility to obtain information concerning any material covered.

Tardiness is disruptive to all in the classroom.  Be on time.

 

   Make-up Evaluations: If you miss a graded activity for reasons of duty or illness, you must notify me with written documentation (in advance, when possible) if you wish to be permitted to be given a make-up evaluation.

 

   Assignments:  In order to receive full credit, assigned work must be submitted at the beginning of class on the scheduled due date.  Late assignments will be reduced one letter grade per calendar day.

 

   Plagiarism:  Plagiarized work will receive a grade of 0 (zero), whether copied in whole or in part.  See the University of Maryland, University College, European Division Catalog for the complete policy regarding plagiarism.

 

PLANNED CLASS SCHEDULE:

 

            Weekend 1:  Chapters 1 – 4

 

            Weekend 2:  Chapters 5 - 7

                                    Mid-term Examination

 

            Weekend 3:   Chapters 8 - 11

 

            Weekend 4:   Chapters 12 & 14    

                                    Project Submission/Presentation and Final Examination

 

 

 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Beck has over twenty years experience teaching at the college level; he has taught for Maryland in Asia and Europe in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  His teaching and writing have won numerous awards.  He has published works in the fields of economics and statistics.  He holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master of Arts from the University of Michigan, and a PhD from the University of Colorado.