CJ/PAD 5361: Capstone Seminar (On Line Class)

CJ/PAD 5361: Capstone Seminar (On Line Class) School of Public Affairs University of Colorado Colorado Springs Spring 2014 Professor: Donald Klingner Office Hours: Tuesdays, 3:00-4:30 p.m., or by e-mail and phone Office Location: Dwire Hall 356F COURSE DESCRIPTION The Capstone Seminar in Public Policy and Management and in Criminal Justice is designed to integrate and synthesize your entire course of study. The course provides a process and structure for the SPA faulty to be able to ensure that all graduates can demonstrate knowledge of the concepts and principles conveyed in the core curriculum of their degree and can apply that knowledge, and that gained from elective courses, to analysis of contemporary issues in public administration (including the administration of nonprofit organizations) or criminal justice. The products of this seminar will be tangible evidence of a degree candidate's qualifications and expertise. 1

COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will complete a graduate-level project which demonstrates their ability to integrate the knowledge and skills they have gained from the MCJ or MPA program. The project will enable students to demonstrate their: Knowledge of theory, research, and practice in public administration and/or nonprofit management and/or criminal justice Oral communication skills; Written communication skills; and, Critical thinking skills The goals of the MPA and MCJ programs are to enhance students' skills in each of these areas so that students are able to effectively contribute to their fields and improve programs and policies. COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Distance learning is self-directed. Students in this course are expected to be accountable for their participation, work, progress and products. To succeed in the online format, you need to log on to the course regularly to check announcements, participate in discussions, and access course content. Students are expected to attend all online course activities, including threaded discussions when assigned. If you are new to online courses, I highly recommend that you complete the student tutorial that is available on your student home page. Communicate with the instructor. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with any aspect of the course. If your question would benefit other students, I ask that you post it first through the course Office so that others can benefit from a response. You may also use my university email address or telephone me. If I do not answer during posted office hours, I am meeting with another student. Leave a message and I will return your call. I check e-mail and the course shell daily and will respond to e-mails M-F within 24 hours, but typically much sooner. During the weekend, I check e-mail and the course shell at least once. Any exceptions to this schedule will be posted in the announcements area of the class. The course week is Monday from 12:01 a.m. until 11:00 PM Sunday (Mountain Time). Your first week of class will begin on January 20 and your last week will end on May 11th. Postings made after 11PM on Sundays will be considered missing and may not be accepted. Attendance is required and is a part of your grade. Discussion participation is an assignment and failure to participate by assigned deadlines will result in a grade reduction as described in the Attendance/Work Completion section below. There are four assigned 2

discussions. However, you should check the course every week for announcements, questions/answers, and resource material that I may have posted. Threaded discussions. There are threaded discussions in Weeks One, Three, Eleven and Fifteen. Every student is to participate in all discussions. Please make an original post by midnight Thursday of the unit week and make two response posts by 11PM Sunday of that unit week. One response may be in reply to someone who posted a response to you. Assignments are due by the date and time noted in this syllabus (Mountain Time). Proper netiquette is also a course requirement. All members of this class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all e-mail messages, threaded discussions and chats. If I determine that a comment is inappropriate or offensive, I will discuss this with the student first. If the problem continues, other appropriate action will be taken. A great review of netiquette is available at www.albion.com/netiquette. I strongly recommend that students take a few minutes to review the information on this website. It is indispensable guidance not only for this course, but for the increasingly networked world of which we are a part. Allow time for network delays and other technical issues. Working last minute can cause you problems. On-line courses are not immune to network issues. You are responsible for timely arrival of your work. It is recommended that you leave sufficient time to upload completed work to the system in the event that a technical problem arises. For technical assistance use the Helpdesk. If you are having technical problems with the Blackboard system, please contact the Blackboard helpdesk at 877.654.8309. You can also go to http://d2.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptid=8232 to read answers to FAQ, engage in a live chat with a helpdesk staff person, or submit a trouble ticket. Questions on course content should be directed to the instructor. High quality work is expected from graduate students. Graduate students are expected to apply critical thinking and analytical skills with regard to the content of written work. All papers are expected to use a plain 10-12 point font, be double-spaced, be free of spelling and grammatical errors and follow a formal style manual (preferably APA). Please use Microsoft Word for all written assignments. A great resource for APA basics along with FAQs can be found at the APA website, http://apastyle.apa.org. You are also encouraged to utilize the UCCS Writing Center for support with written work (call 719.255.4336 or go to www.uccs.edu/~wrtgcntr/). Safeguard your work. Please remember to back up your work and make a hard copy. Technical problems are not an acceptable excuse for late or missing work. 3

UCCS E-mail. UCCS uses e-mail as an official means for communicating with students. To ensure students have access to this critical form of communication, students will be assigned a campus e-mail account at the time of acceptance at UCCS. Students are expected to check their official UCCS e-mail address on a frequent basis in order to stay current with university communications. If you prefer to have UCCS e-mail sent to another account, you can choose to forward your UCCS e-mail to an already established account by doing the following: Log onto your UCCS e-mail account Go to Mail Control Rules Mail Redirection. Click enable and enter your alternate e-mail address. I recommend selecting keep a copy to ensure that your UCCS account keeps a backup copy of all UCCS communication in the event that any glitches occur with your personal e-mail account during the semester. Disability Accommodation Statement. If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Services Office and provide them with documentation of your disability. They will work with you to determine what accommodations are appropriate for your situation. To avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the Disability Services Office as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive and disability accommodations cannot be provided until an accommodation letter has been given to me. Please contact Disability Services for more information at Main Hall room 105, 719-255-3354 or dservice@uccs.edu. Special Instructions for Military Students. If you are a military student with the potential of being called to military service and /or training during the course of the semester, you are encouraged to contact your UCCS course instructor no later than the first week of class to discuss the class attendance policy. Please see the Military Students website for more information: http://www.uccs.edu/military/current-students/active-duty.html. Academic Honesty. The School of Public Affairs subscribes in full to the provisions of the University Student Academic Honor Codes. The following UCCS link will provide you with these expectations: http://www.uccs.edu/~dos/studentconduct/academicdishonesty.html. ABOUT ADVANCED SEMINAR PROJECTS A. Client-based Projects. Capstone projects must be client-based. The primary characteristic of a client-based project is that you are using the knowledge and skills you have developed through the program to produce a product for a client. The purpose of the project may vary, but it is to meet some important need of the client while still being of sufficient depth and breadth to fulfill the advanced seminar requirements. It provides you with the opportunity to consult with an agency and learn more of their operations and to demonstrate what you 4

have learned in a real world setting. Please let me know IMMEDIATELY if you will need assistance in identifying a client/project. Some limitations: The project may be done for your employing organization, but cannot be part of your ordinary day-to-day work responsibilities. You must be able to complete it in 8-10 weeks, not including preparing your oral and written presentations. Your project must include: Review of pertinent scholarly literature Identification of goals, hypotheses, or questions to identify your purpose Collection and analysis of information or data Discussion of results and implications Capstone Seminar Reflection Essay (see below) B. Capstone Seminar Reflection Essay Goal: Your capstone project demonstrates your ability to respond to a public problem using the knowledge you gained in MPA program. However, a research journey is not complete until you have reflected on the research process and its connection to your broader program goals. Practitioners engaging in practical reflection gain valuable insight about their unique role in turning field knowledge into program & policy change. Now it is your turn to engage in a structured reflection process. Objective: In a short written reflective essay, provide your readers with a cohesive narrative that explains how you applied the MPA program s five student learning competencies to your capstone project. In the essay, you should note what you have learned from the research experience, recognize your achievements, and identify future challenges that you may face. Your essay should highlight specific course experiences, skill sets, concepts, assignments, and knowledge that you drew upon to complete your project. To help structure your essay, we ask that you reflect on the five central competencies of your MPA program and use these competencies as your subheadings for your discussion: Your ability to lead and manage in public governance Your ability to participate in and contribute to the public policy process Your ability to analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions Your ability to articulate and apply a public service perspective Your ability to communicate and interact with diverse and changing workforce and citizenry Additional questions that you should consider as you write your reflection essay include: What did you learn about your own research process and style? What course experiences did you draw upon to help you develop and execute your capstone project? 5

How did you respond to the challenge of managing client expectations? What course tools and skills helped you work to create a positive working relationship with your client? How did your project expectations change? How did your course work prepare you to adapt to project challenges? What connections do you draw between your project and broader public service goals, needs, and challenges? How do you plan to use this project s experiences and outcomes to shape your future public work? What skills, information, and insights would you like to have possessed at the beginning of the project? What tool(s) has the program provided you to seek out and gain resources? C. Other Key Characteristics of the Advanced Seminar Project Readers: Each project has three readers who will give you advice and feedback. I am your primary reader, but you must select two other readers. Your client must agree to be a reader and to attend the oral presentation (this will be by conference call if you are a distance student); this is your third reader. Your second reader, then, is a SPA faculty member (there may be cases where a faculty member from another department is most appropriate feel free to discuss this option with me). I can recommend faculty if you need assistance. You are strongly encouraged to begin contacting potential readers as soon as you identify a topic for your project. This should not be later than a couple of weeks into the course. Your readers can provide valuable assistance at all stages of your work, but especially at the beginning by referring you to references or experts in your area of study. Call or e-mail faculty with a brief description of your topic to request their participation. Ask if she or he can recommend any pertinent references or know others who work in this field. Obtain their consent to be a reader. Let them know you will be sending them a copy of your prospectus in early February. Then, check in with them to get their thoughts and feedback after they have reviewed the prospectus. Learn how they prefer to be involved and let them know of your timeframe for drafts of the paper. Components: All of the following elements must be present in the final completed paper: Cover page Table of contents Table of illustrations, graphs, other relevant items Abstract Introduction to the problem and background of the problem Review of the pertinent scholarly literature Identification of the goals, hypotheses or questions to identify your purposes Methodology- collection and analysis of information or data (qualitative, quantitative or both) 6

Discussion of results Implications, recommendations, conclusion References Referencing the literature: It is required that you reference the academic and practitioner literature. This includes referencing refereed journals prevalent in the field and relevant to your project. Data collection: It is expected that you will support your arguments with data. You may use secondary data or generate primary data. I must approve all surveys and structured interview protocols before you use them. If you are collecting information from human subjects, contact the IRB Chair to determine if you need Institutional Review Board approval to conduct your project. This must be done BEFORE you start data collection! If you need to go through the IRB, I can help you with that process. Remember to ask your second and third readers for their perspective on your data collection instruments as well. IRB review takes 10 working days for exempt and expedited reviews plan accordingly! If your project involves data collection from vulnerable populations (e.g. children, prisoners) the application process and timelines are longer let me know immediately if your project may require full IRB review. Writing and revising: The expected quality of the final advanced seminar project is much higher than that of a traditional term paper. Many more hours will be spent in conducting literature searches, reading related articles and reports, communicating with others for input, collecting data/information, interpreting findings, and writing results than with a traditional term paper. The final product will show much more depth and sophistication than a term paper. Unlike a term paper which you write only once, you will submit drafts to me and your other readers and we will give you feedback for revision. Be prepared for several revisions. Do not make the mistake of submitting a sloppy first draft because you know revisions will be made. If you submit a good first draft, readers can provide you with substantive feedback so that your next revision meets the criteria for an advanced seminar project. Students who submit very sketchy first drafts may revise them substantially and still fail to have an adequate product because their first draft was insufficient for readers to give substantive feedback. Remember to share with all readers the comments that each makes (cc: on emails is fine). Length and Style: In most cases, final projects should not exceed 30 pages (excluding appendices). Papers should be double-spaced and use 12-point font. Final papers must follow a formal style manual (APA preferred). Style includes levels and types of headings, means for citing references and quotations within the text, and methods for citing references at the end of the paper. For help, from the Library Home Page 7

(http://web.uccs.edu/library/), click on Research Tips, the Citation styles and follow the links from there. Another good web site on APA is http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. The Writing Center will also assist with style and other matters pertaining to your written project and can be contacted through http://web.uccs.edu/wrtgcntr... FORMAT OF THE CLASS The advanced seminar is unlike a typical course in that there are not weekly classes. The purpose of the course is not to give you new information in an area of theory or practice; instead, you, the students, are putting your knowledge and skills into practice in carrying out a project. My role is to serve as a facilitator. I can respond to your ideas, help you shape them, review your plans and provide feedback, answer questions, help with clients, and provide guidance on research methods, writing, direction of the project, references and so on. The online course shell will have resources and weekly guidance about how you should be proceeding. There will also be online discussions with peers at certain points in the semester. Your role is to proceed and show what you have learned. The project requires independence, autonomy and tenacity. I will ask you for reports periodically and provide detailed feedback, but if you need help or just want to check in to verify you are on the right track in between scheduled reporting dates, you need to contact me. Please do so! You are the best judge of whether and when you need help, and then, as responsible graduate students, you should seek it out from me and/or your other readers. We are here to help you - and it will be more useful on an ongoing basis than waiting until late into the course. The class consists of three parts: Identifying and defining your project and detailing the scope of work Conducting the project Writing a paper and making an oral presentation of your results During the first stage, we will discuss your ideas, meetings, library research, and progress. Hearing about what other students are doing will help you in fine-tuning your own ideas. This stage will conclude with your submission of a prospectus. The prospectus must be one to three pages and include: A description of the research problem or client-oriented activity to be studied, the key issue to be addressed and the method(s) to be used for research. Identification of the client agency and contact person for client-oriented projects or the specific publication venue for independent research projects and the details of that venue s submission requirements. Your contact information mail, email, telephone. Names, affiliations, and contact information (mail, email, telephone) for your second and third readers. A sequential list of major project activities and timeline for their completion. 8

The relevant literature you will draw upon in completing your project (its "theoretical home" and any instruments you will need to develop. The second stage, conducting the project, is the major work of the course. It is the longest stage and will differ across students. Of course, stay in regular communication with me. Many students at this stage only need to check in periodically - if I haven't heard from you, I ll contact you. The third stage concerns writing and revising your paper and planning and conducting your oral presentation. You will provide a draft of your full paper shortly into this stage. Remember, that all readers should see all comments. At the end of the course, you will make a formal presentation of your results. Each student will schedule a presentation time that works for you, your second and third readers and me. Later in the semester, I will provide a list of available times. REQUIRED BOOKS Creswell, John (2013). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 4 th Edition. ISBN-10: 1452226105 ISBN-13: 978-1452226101 Strunk, William, & E.B. White (1999). The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 4 th Edition. ISBN-10: 020530902X ISBN-13: 978-0205309023 ATTENDANCE/WORK COMPLETION POLICY Students are expected to check into the course as noted in the Schedule of Topics and Assignments. Meeting deadlines for Advanced Seminar deliverables is critical! Each missed deadline will result in a one-half letter grade reduction of the final grade unless prior arrangements are made in advance of the deadline with the instructor for a serious and verifiable reason. GRADING AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Advanced Seminar projects will be assessed according to the rubric developed by the SPA faculty for this purpose. This rubric will be used by me and your second and third readers. As noted earlier in the syllabus, while no points are awarded for meeting deadlines, grade reductions will apply for failure to meet deadlines. Determination of the final grade will rest ultimately with the instructor but will be made only after careful consultation with the second and third readers. 9

IMPORTANT NOTE: Incompletes are not permitted in the Advanced Seminar, except in extremely serious and unusual circumstances. The determination to allow an incomplete is solely the discretion of the instructor. SPA s grading standards are: A. Work beyond the level of a typical graduate student; exemplary work B. Work typical of a graduate student; indicates student has attained the knowledge and skills intended for the course C. Performance is below graduate -level expectations D. Substandard performance in all aspects of the course; inadequate comprehension of assigned reading material F. Level of performance demonstrably below that expected of a graduate student; little or no indication that the student can succeed in a graduate program COURSE SCHEDULE Italicized bullet points denote topics to be discussed online. Plain text bullet points represent recommended progress. Bolded bullet points denote deadlines. The deadlines noted below are firm. Each project takes on a life of its own, but you should use the week by week guides as benchmarks for approximately where you should be in the process. YOU ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT DRAFTS OF ANY SECTION OR THE ENTIRE PAPER AT ANY TIME IN ADVANCE OF DEADLINES!! NOTE: There will be online discussions on the weeks that say CLASS MEETS ONLINE. Other weeks there will not be a discussion, but there will be information on the Course Home Page each week. WEEK ONE: January 20-26: CLASS MEETS ONLINE Introductions/Overview of Course Expectations for literature review Your initial ideas Meet with client and discuss project; negotiate purpose and scope of study. Work on identifying 2nd and 3rd readers Begin/continue library research WEEK TWO: January 27 February 2 Work on draft prospectus Continue library work Confirm if Institutional Review Board review will be necessary for your project; if yes, complete CITI training Based on literature review and client needs, establish methodology. If part of your project, begin work on draft instruments for primary data collection; draft IRB proposal. 10

Prospectus due January 31 you will receive approval or feedback on required changes by February 2. WEEK THREE: February 3 - February 9: CLASS MEETS ONLINE Each student will discuss his or her final proposal, early challenges and successes, and will provide feedback to others Continue review of literature Finalize instruments; submit draft IRB proposal for professor approval; submit approved proposal If required, revised prospectus must be submitted by 11 PM February 8. WEEK FOUR: February 10-16 Draft introduction, agency and problem review Move towards finalizing review of literature Initiate data collection (only if IRB approval has been received if it was required) WEEK FIVE: February 17-23 Draft literature review Continue data collection WEEK SIX: February 24 March 2 Write up methodology Continue data collection; initiate analysis as appropriate WEEKS SEVEN through NINE: March 3 March 23 Collect and analyze data Continue work on writing sections of paper SPRING BREAK MARCH 24-30 WEEK ELEVEN: March 31-April 6: CLASS MEETS ONLINE Each student will share progress to date successes, issues, concerns, questions Instructor will provide guidelines for oral presentations and list of available presentation times Complete and write up data analysis and results WEEK TWELVE: April 7-13 Draft recommendations/conclusions Prepare first draft of full paper for submission WEEK THIRTEEN: April 14-20 First draft of paper due by 11pm April 14 11

While draft is being reviewed, work on supplementary material, formatting, citations and references, appendices, etc. Review draft for consistency, linkages of recommendations and conclusions to your research questions, your literature, and your findings Begin work on scheduling oral presentation WEEK FOURTEEN: April 21-27 Begin paper revisions as soon as feedback is received Initiate work on presentation Finalize oral presentation day and time WEEKS FIFTEEN & SIXTEEN: April 28-May 11: CLASS MEETS ONLINE APRIL 28-MAY 4 Final group discussion week of April 28-May 4 Finalize written paper Finalize oral presentation ALL PRESENTATIONS MUST BE SCHEDULED BETWEEN APRIL 22 AND MAY 9 SLIDES FOR YOUR PRESENTATION MUST BE DISSEMINATED TO ALL READERS AT LEAST 2 WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR PRESENTATION. FINAL PAPER DUE TO ALL READERS AT LEAST THREE WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE PRESENTATION. Your second and third readers need to email me their completed evaluations (pp. 12-13 of this syllabus) by Monday, May 12. 12