P
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DM 601: PU
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LI
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ADMINISTRATION & VALUES
COURSE PROJECT
A course project is a required graded component of this course and counts
2
0% or 20 point towards your final grade.
This project requires that you choose the town, city, or county where you grew up and completely describe and analyze how it is administered. The format should be much the same as you would write an essay paper including referencing as needed.
YOUR PROJECT MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 11:59 PM ON
F
EBRUARY 12, 2022.
Please follow these instructions:
1. The paper must be in essay form. You may title it based on the city, town, or county you choose. Please note that you may want to choose the county you grew up in if your town or city is quite small; it may seem easier to choose a small city or town but, in the end, your paper may end up simply being too short.
a. Use Times New Roman, 12-point font, to write your project.
b. Double space between lines.
c. You must submit your paper so that it can be opened, read, and edited in Word.
2.
You may not choose the Town of Boiling Springs because you are a student at GWU; you may only choose it if you actually grew up there.
3. Your paper must be at least five pages in length (there is no maximum number of pages required); regardless of page length, you need to produce a quality paper that shows you did your homework when researching this project.
4. You must use references as appropriate using the APA standard of referencing.
5. You may attach charts, data, or other information to the paper but please note that these are only supplementary materials and are not meant as a substitute for a well-thought out paper.
6. Your final project/paper should discuss how your city or county is actually administered and operated. Some areas to consider might include (this is not an exhaustive list – please use your imagination to improve on it):
a. A brief history and description of the city or county to give the reader background information about your topic;
b. How is the city or county administered? This is where an organizational chart is useful to help you explore the administration of the city or county.
c. Does the city or county have a charter that sets out the organization of the city or county and what date was the city or county established?
d. What is the composition of the elected board or commission that oversees your city or county? Please do not include biographical sketches of the elected officials, that is not necessary; instead, focus on how many members make up the board or commission, how and when are they elected, what are their terms of office, how is the mayor or chair of the board selected, and whether and how much they are paid. Note: this is not an exhaustive list.
e. Who is selected to actually run the day-to-day operations of the city or county (e.g, city or county manager)? Do they serve at the pleasure of the elected board or are they under contract for a set number of years?
f. How is the city or county government organized (this is where an organizational chart can help you)? Does it have a lot of departments and how are they organized? How many employees does the city or county have?
g. How does the city or county get the funds necessary to operate the city or county? What is the property tax rate? What is its annual budget?
h. Does the city or county impose other fees required of its citizens?
i. Where/how does the city or county get it authority to enact ordinances? Some research will be required here.
j. What services does your county or city provide its residents?
7. You must conclude your project by writing your personal reflections about your city or county both before and after writing this essay project. Please don’t be brief here – you need to fully explore this.
8. This the rubric that will be used to grade your final project.
Writing, Assignment, and Participation Grading Rubric
|
Rating |
Grade Level |
Corresponding Score Range |
|||||
|
Unacceptable |
F |
69.9 and below – No credit awarded. |
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|
Poor |
C |
70-79.9 |
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|
Satisfactory |
B |
80-89.9 |
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|
Proficient |
A |
90-100 |
Note: Refer to the Graduate Catalog for further implications of these grades.
Research Summary
|
Description |
|||||||||
|
Unacceptable “F” level work |
Does not submit assignment(s); provides a minimal amount of effort; plagiarizes or copies other student work or scholarly writings; does not participate in discussions; does not communicate with class or professor. |
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|
Poor “C” level work |
Little to no summary of the research. Does not identify sources or databases. Lacks scholarly and peer reviewed research. Does not demonstrate knowledge of ethical, legal, and social concerns. |
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Satisfactory “B” level work |
Summarizes the research vaguely, does not provide enough details for the class and professor to follow the logic. Identifies some databases, but not the best matched. Uses common research but lacks scholarly and peer reviewed. Demonstrates some knowledge of ethical, legal, and social concerns. |
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Proficient “A” level work |
Accurate, complete, and concise summary of the research that allows for full understanding. Identifies databases best matched for the research. Uses scholarly, peer-reviewed research. Demonstrates knowledge of the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the topic. |
Application and Analysis
|
Description |
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|
Poor “C” level work |
No rationale, explanation, analyzation, organization, or communication is provided for the discussion. Attempts to correctly synthesize, analyze, organize, communicates knowledge, and provides some empirical information. |
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Demonstrates a basic understanding of the rationale provided by the research for the information that is presented. Provides an overview of the research and relates the findings to the class discussion. Correctly synthesizes, analyzes, organizes, communicates knowledge, and presents empirical information. |
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Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the rationale provided by the research for the information that is presented. Provides an insightful, synthesized, and critical analysis of the research and relates the information to the class discussion. |
Personal Reflection
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Provides no personal insight on lessons learned from the research and does not explain how the information contributed to learning. |
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Gives vague personal reflection of the research that may not be accurately connected to the case or course learning. Demonstrates limited knowledge of the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the research. |
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Presents a thorough insightful personal reflection of the research and provides opinion of the research that connects to course topic. Demonstrates knowledge of the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the research. |
Writing Mechanics
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Writing is unfocused and lacks details containing numerous errors. Writing lacks clarity and organization. Lacks completion of the required parts. |
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Utilizes proper spelling, grammar and sentence structure with few or no errors. Does not use the required format or page length. Contains some spelling and grammatical errors. |
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Demonstrates the ability to use appropriate subject headings. Includes required parts with proper content, format, and length. Writing is clear, concise, and well organized. |
References
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Does not include acceptable correct documentation. |
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Includes acceptable correct information; but lacks clear articulation of the research. Includes partial information. Format and length are partially acceptable. |
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Includes legally correct information. Accesses, locates, and retrieves information and proper databases or documents sources. Uses clear language and effectively articulates the findings of the research that is based on official sources and/or scholarly information. |
2
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