UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

PUAD524 Syllabus

Course Title Public Budgeting
Term TERM 4, 2003/2004
Education Center DIST-ED_EUROPE_GRAD
Faculty Member Kathy Boyd - kboyd@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

Dr. Kathy J Boyd.......................DSN 370-6762 ext 262
UMUC Graduate Programs.................Civ +49 (0)6221-378-262
Unit 29216
APO AE 09126

Consultation: DRAFT SYLLABUS -- SUBJECT TO REVISION

Email as needed; telephone by appointment.

Earliest Student Access to WebTycho Classroom: 29 March 2004
Course dates: 5 April - 25 July 2004
Participation during the first week (5 April - 11 April) is mandatory
Break: 24 May - 6 June 2004
Grades reported: 2 August 2004

Required Texts and Readings:

Text used exclusively in this course:

Mikesell, J.L. (2003). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Text used in multiple courses:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington D.C.:Author.

Supplementary Readings:

National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting. (2000). Recommended Budget Practices: A Framework for Improved State and Local Government Budgeting. Chicago IL: Government Finance Officers Association. Retrieved March 1, 2004 from http://gfoa.org/services/nacslb/

Office of Management and Budget. (2004). Analytical Perspectives: Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 2005. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved March 1, 2004 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/pdf/spec.pdf.

Multiple articles from Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, available through the ABI/Inform database on the UMUC Online Library and material from the following websites:

Office of Management and Budget http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
Congressional Budget Office http://www.cbo.gov/
Federal Reserve Board http://www.federalreserve.gov/

In addition, all graduate students should be prepared to utilize the at UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.

Recommended Journals:


A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the PA Webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~pa). Public Administration Review, the lead journal in the discipline,is especially useful for this course. The Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management is also available through the ABI/Inform database on the UMUC Online Library.

Course Description:

Prerequisites: Undergraduate economics and American political science or American government, and PUAD 501, or permission of the Program Director. Covers concepts, principles, and practices, and their specific application to the development of resources in support of programs and the allocation of these resources against the demands at national, state, and local levels. The student evaluates performance budgeting, PPBS, and zero-base budgeting.

Course Goals:

As a required course in the management track of the M.P.A., the purpose of this course to provide graduate students with an understanding of the nature of public sector budgeting and the role of public finance economics in shaping the economy of the United States or other developed nations.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to:
  1. Evaluate the size and growth of government expenditure
  2. Critique the budget process in the U.S.,
  3. Apply cost-benefit analysis to determine the relative merits of government capital expenditure projects,
  4. Assess the economic effects of government revenue options and their structures and administration,
  5. Develop a better idea of how governments administer their debt, working capital, and pension funds, and
  6. Utilize concepts of the budgeting process to analyze case studies and current events.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:

A 92%
B 80% – 91%
C 70% – 79%
F Below 70%

Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. In general, an Incomplete is possible only if you:
  • have completed at least 60% of the course requirements,
  • are earning a C or better at the time you request the Incomplete, and
  • have a compelling reason as to why you cannot complete the course by the final date.
For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available online or in your local Education Center.

Course Requirements:

Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.

In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:

Participate in classroom discussions---------------20%
Write a Midterm examination------------------------30%
Write a graduate level budget paper----------------35%
Prepare a visual presentation of your paper--------15%

Description of Course Requirements:

Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.

Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to the virtual classroom prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Your active participation in the final module of the course is required and will involve evaluating and commenting on the visual presentations of your classmates budget papers.

Midterm Examination: The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. The midterm examination will take place the week of 17 May - 23 May.

Write a graduate level budget paper: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. The research project in this course focuses on the various public laws that structure the practice of public budgeting. Students will research the legislative history and purpose of a public law, analyze the effects of the law on budget practices and theory, and discuss the relationship between the law and recognized "best practices" in public budgeting. All tables, graphs, citations, and references in the paper will be formatted according to the APA style guide. An initial proposal is due by Week 3, a draft of the paper is due Week 9, the final paper and the presentation of the paper are due Week 14.

Visual presentation of paper: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation (i.e. PowerPoint) for your instructor and classmates. Powerpoint presentations are limited to 6 well-developed, attractive slides and will be evaluated on the degree to which the convey critical information from the paper.

Course Schedule:

Module One: 5 April - 18 April
Introductions

1. Reading Assignments for 5 April - 11 April:
  1. Entire syllabus
  2. All introductory comments in the classroom
  3. Mikesell Chapter 1: Fundamental Principles of Public Finance
  4. OMB Chapter 1:
Participation the first week of class is mandatory. By April 12, everyone intending to stay in the class should have accomplished the following:
  1. Created a Bio (with or without photo)
  2. Written a brief introduction in the Student Lounge conference
  3. Responded to at least two other students

2. Reading Assignments for 12 April - 18 April:

  1. Mikesell 2: The logic of the budget process (50 pages) 
  2. Kelly: Symposium introduction (2 pages) 
  3. Smith: Ethical norms in public budgeting (20 pages)
  4. Rivenbark & Allison: The GFOA and professionalism (9 pages)
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Module Two: 19 April - 16 May
Budget Structures and Budget Reform

3. Reading Assignments for 19 April - 25 April:
  1. Mikesell 3: Budget Structures and Institutions
  2. OMB Chapter 25: The budget system and concepts
  3. Anderson, Davis, & Gullo: The evolution of the federal budget process
  4. Boatright: Biennial Budgeting Debates in Congress
4. Reading Assignments for 26 April - 2 May:
  1. Mikesell 4: Budget Methods and Practices
  2. Best Practices in Public Budgeting http://gfoa.org/services/nacslb
5. Reading Assignments for 3 May - 9 May:
  1. Mikesell 5: Budget Classifications and Reforms
  2. OMB Chapter 14: Budget Reform Proposals
  3. Reddick: Budgetary decision making in the twentieth century
  4. Kelly: The long view
6. Reading Assignments for 10 May - 16 May:
  1. Mikesell 6: Capital Budgeting, Infrastructure Investments
  2. OMB Chapter 6: Federal Investment
  3. Beckett-Camarata: Relationship between strategic plan and capital budget
  4. Farazmand & Neill: Capital decision making
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7. Midterm Exam: 17 May - 23 May
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8. Break: 24 May - 6 June
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Module Three: 7 June - 4 July
Revenue Sources, Structure, and Adminstration

9-10. Reading Assignments for 7 June - 20 June: Federal Govt 
  1. Mikesell 8: Income Taxes
  2. Mikesell 9: Taxes on Goods and Services
  3. OMB Chapter 16: Federal Receipts 
  4. DiCicco: The death of the corporate tax
  5. Mikesell 11: Revenue from User Fees, User Charges, and Sales by Public Monopolies
  6. OMB Chapter 17: User Charges and Other Collections 
  7. Mikesell Chapter 13: Revenue Forecasts, Revenue Estimates, and Tax Expenditure Budgets
  8. OMB Chapter 18: Tax Expenditures
  9. Snow: Do legislative procedures affect tax expenditures
11-12. Reading Assignments for 21 June - 4 July: State and Local Govt
  1. Mikesell 9: Taxes on Goods and Services 
  2. Mikesell 10: Property Taxes
  3. Bartle, Ebdon, & Krane: Beyond the property tax
  4. Mikesell 11: Revenue from User Fees, User Charges, and Sales by Public Monopolies
  5. Mikesell 14: Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations
  6. OMB Chapter 8: Aid to State and Local Governments  
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Module Four: 5 July - 25 July
13. Reading Assignments for 5 July - 11:
  1. Mikesell 7: Criteria for Evaluating Revenue Options
  2. Smith, Sunderman, & Birch: Sources of variation
  3. Magner, Sobery, & Welker: Tax decision making
  4. McLure: Revenue Assignment Problem 
  5. Mikesell 12: Collecting Taxes
14. Reading Assignments for 12 July - 18 July:
  1. Mikesell 15: Debt Administration.
  2. OMB Chapter 15: Federal Borrowing and Debt
  3. Mikesell 16: Managing Funds: Cash Management and Employee Retirement Funds.

15-16. Reading Assignments for 19 July - 25 July:

Student presentations

Academic Policies:

Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:

Dr. Kathy Boyd, MPA Program Director, has worked for UMUC Europe since August 2000. Originally from Wyoming, Kathy took both her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and her Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Wyoming. She served as an Intern in the Wyoming State Office of Community Programs and in the Town of Jackson, Wyoming. She took her Doctor of Public Administration (DPA)at Arizona State University. During her doctoral program she served as a Research Associate in the ASU Office of the President and the Arizona Office of the Governor before returning to campus and working exclusively for a past comptroller of the Army, Lt. General (Retired) Frank J. Sackton with whom she co-taught Public Budgeting.

Dr. Boyd worked for the University of Colorado-Denver Graduate School of Public Affairs prior to joining UMUC-Europe. She lives in the Heidelberg area and visits France regularly with her husband, Michel Rochedieu. She is a life-time member of the American Society for Public Administration and actively encourages students to join ASPA.


Last updated by Kathy Boyd: February 29, 2004, 7:20 pm
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule