PUAD 333: Hard Choices in Public Administration
University of Kansas (Overland Park, KS and Online), 2022
PUAD 333 explores some of America’s most challenging public problems, emphasizing the political and historical context of difficult policy decisions. The US political system engages multiple actors, often with competing interests and values, to make decisions about public policy. Considering this dynamic, students will learn how to apply tools of policy analysis to problems facing public administrators. By the end of the course, students will learn the following:
- How public problems are defined and why policy gets made
- Political, legal, financial, technical, and historical factors that make it hard to solve public problems
- The basic features and challenges of notable policy issues in the United States
- The assumptions and basic techniques of policy analysis
- How to locate, assess, and persuade with policy information
