Public Policy Project Guidelines

Description: The purpose of the public policy project is for you to research a specific area of public policy of your choosing, to learn about the substance of the policy area, how that policy is made, and then tie it back into what the textbook had to say about how policy is made.

Guidelines:

1.  You must pick one policy that is made by the federal government (examples would include: farm subsidies, income taxes, homeland security, etc.)

2.  Research the policy area in question.

a.  Look at the relevant government websites

  i.  Find out what agency is in charge of the policy and look at their website

  ii.  Federal regulations can be found at www.gpoaccess.gov

b.  Look for news articles dealing with the policy

c.  Look for journal articles dealing with how the policy is made/implemented

  i.  Check out the website for JBU’s library—it has lots of electronic resources you can use for scholarly articles, including databases such as JSTOR

3.  Put together a power point presentation for your policy project.  This presentation should include the following sections:

a.  Description of the policy area you chose

b.  Historical background to the policy area

c.  What agency/agencies make the policy

d.  How the policy is made—this in particular is where you show me and the rest of the class how this policy area fits into the matrix the authors laid out in chapter 13 of the textbook.

e.  A works cited section that provides helpful links and data for finding the material you used to prepare the presentation

4.  You will present your project using Tegrity.

Grading Rubric

Mechanics (15 points)

  A—the student demonstrates the ability to write clearly, using standard written English, making no more than 1 spelling/grammar error per slide. The works cited section provides ample information for finding the material used.

  C—the student writes in an organized fashion, making no more than 2 spelling/grammar errors per page.  The works cited section provides somewhat incomplete information for finding the material used.

  F—the student’s writing is disorganized, and the presentation is hard to follow.  There are 3 or more spelling/grammar errors per slide. The works cited section is either non-existent or incoherent.

Background/Description Slides (30 points)

  A—the student accurately and concisely describes the policy area they chose, and the relevant agencies that govern the area.

  C—the student presents some information regarding the policy area they chose and the relevant agencies, but overlooks some of the basic facts and/or agencies that govern the chosen policy area

  F—the student fails to discuss the relevant rules and/or government agencies that govern the policy area.

Analysis (30 points)

  A—the student makes a clear argument for what type of policymaking their chosen policy area represents.  How the costs & benefits are spread widely or narrowly concentrated is clearly delineated with specific examples given.

  C—the student’s argument does not clearly show what type of policymaking the policy area represents.  Costs/Benefits may be discussed, but not in a way that clearly shows how they are allocated.

  F—the student makes no attempt at showing how their chosen policy area represents one of the types of policymaking in the text.