Instructor: Dr. Daniel W. Skubik, PhD JD
Office: J266 /
Voice: 951.343.4288 / Fax: 951.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu
Public Finance
& Budgeting
MPA 530
Tuesdays,
Fall Semester, Term 2 (Nov-Dec) 2007
This course in public
finance and budgeting is offered to prepare the student to grasp core issues,
operations and values in public and non-profit sector money matters. The focus principally, though not
exclusively, concerns understanding and analyzing the underlying principles, as
well as some of the essential nuts-and-bolts, of finance and budgetary decision
making and processing.
A combined socratic-seminar
and workshop format will be followed, allowing students to apply principles to
financial and budgetary affairs in the public and non-profit sectors, in order
better to understand and critique actual practices. By the end of this course, students
should be able to:
1)
Analyze and discuss the structure, powers and limits of
local government finance and budgeting
2) Analyze and discuss the structure, powers and limits of non-profit finance and budgeting
3) Analyze
and critique a local government’s/non-profit’s finance and budgetary practices
Required Texts
BW Honadle,
B. Cigler & JM Costa, Fiscal Health for Local
Governments: An Introduction to Concepts, Practical Analyses and Strategies
(Academic Press, 2003, 0123547512 paperback) [HCG]
R. Calia,
Priotity-Setting Models for Public
Budgeting (Government Finance Officers Association, 2001, 0891252525
paperback) [Calia]
The texts are readily available, new &
used, from web shops such as Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble,
as well as from the CBU Bookstore.
Other books, handouts and
websites also may be referenced throughout the term, contents of which all
students will be responsible.
Readings & Assignments Schedule
|
Week #1 |
Introduction to course, requirements and
expectations / Intro to finance & budgeting |
|
Week #2 |
Read and discuss HCG, ch.
2 & 3; and |
|
Week #3 |
Read and discuss HCG, ch.
4 & 5; and |
|
Week #4 |
Read and discuss HCG, ch.
6 & 7; and |
|
Week #5 |
Read and discuss HCG, ch.
8-10; and |
|
Week #6 |
Team Presentations on City of |
|
Week #7 |
Concluding
Team Presentations (only as necessary) |
|
Week #8 |
Happy
Christmas! |
Assessment & Grading
Scale
|
Team Outline & Presentation = 45% |
90 - 100 = A range (90-94 = A-) |
|
Final Exam = 45% |
80 - 89 = B range (80-83 = B-
/ 87-89 = B+) |
|
Participation = 10% |
70 - 79 = C range (70-73 = C-
/ 77-79 = C+) |
|
|
60 - 69 = D range (60-63 = D-
/ 67-69 = D+) |
|
|
0 - 59 = F |
Team Outline & Presentation
Students will self-select for teams (each
team comprising at least two students and no more than four students), for
preparation and presentation to class of a research project in public or
non-profit sector finance & budgeting (specific topic to be arranged with
instructor). Teams should be set and research areas agreed with the instructor
no later than Nov 20th. The presentation should run ~20 minutes, and
use of audio-visual equipment/material is encouraged. The team should compose
one copy of a full-form outline for
submission to instructor to accompany the actual presentation. All team members
must be present at the presentation time to earn credit for the assignment,
even if not all team members are involved in its delivery. Each team member
will earn the same mark for assessment of the combined outline/presentation (20%
outline + 25% presentation = 45% total). The instructor will solicit, and use
as discretion advises, class assessment of the presentation when preparing
grades. [Research areas ordinarily will be drawn from the City of
Final
Examination
A final examination will be given the last
evening, at the end of the term. The exam is comprehensive, covering all
materials and discussions assigned. It will be taken individually, not in teams.
Specific guidance as to the exam’s length and
specific requirements will be proffered before the test date. Format generally
will emphasize short answer, case study and essay questions, requiring
application of sample cases, concepts and principles in relation to the topics
covered in class.
The exam is closed book/open notes. This means
you are permitted to bring to the exam one standard-sized page (8½” x 11”) of notes
you have personally prepared, front and back, without regard to print-size or
margins. Other materials, such as website printings or professionally prepared
texts or notes, are not permitted. Make-up for final examinations
ordinarily will not be arranged.
Participation
Although speaking in class, publicly putting
and defending a position or interpretation, can be daunting, you are strongly
encouraged to learn to think through your own and others’ experiences and
insights within the context of our discussions. In this context, you are not
being evaluated for reaching “right” conclusions, but for demonstrating your
facility in forming arguments for any conclusions put, given the material we
will cover in class.
To give direct incentive to so engage, 10% of
your mark for the course will be comprised of my assessment of your classroom participation
during the term. Participation is to include in-class discussions during the course,
and does not include attendance.
Both because of the nature of the course and
its content, and the teamwork required to complete assigned assessment items,
attendance is expected, with a simple threshold requirement: we have 7
scheduled class sessions, and you are expected to attend at least 5 full class
sessions (~75%). Should you miss more than 2 class sessions, or need regularly
to come late/leave early, you must speak with me before you will be permitted
to complete the course.
CBU Statement on Academic Dishonesty
Faculty in the College of
Arts & Sciences (CAS) have been asked to include the following statement in all our syllabi. Do
speak with your instructor if at any time you have questions or concerns about
this statement and its meaning for or application in your classes.
Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism,
copying, and other forms) will be reported to the Dean of Students. Judicial
sanctions for offense [sic] are handled on a case-by-case basis depending on
the seriousness of the violation, prior violations and other factors. Judicial
sanctions may include, but are not limited to, loss of a letter grade or
failure in the course in which the offense occurred, suspension, and/or
dismissal from the University. A detailed discussion of academic dishonesty is
located in the Student Handbook.
Source: 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog, at
p.80
Caveat
This syllabus schedule is composed in good
faith, with a schedule of readings and assignments that will guide us
throughout the term. Still, the instructor reserves the right to make
adjustments to this schedule as deemed necessary for the overall enterprise of
the course. Any changes will be communicated as far in advance as feasible, and
you are responsible for knowing if and when any changes have been made.