Courses in Public Administration
R PAD 110 Introduction to Military Leadership I (1)
The course introduces students to fundamental components of service as an officer in the United States Army. These initial lessons are the building blocks of progressive lessons in values, fitness, leadership, and officership. Students will learn how the personal development of life skills such as cultural understanding, goal setting, time management, mental/physical resiliency, and stress management relate to leadership, officership, and the Army profession. The focus is on developing basic knowledge and comprehension of Army leadership attributes and core leader competencies while gaining an understanding of the ROTC program, its purpose in the Army, and its advantages for the student. Prerequisite(s): not open to juniors and seniors without instructor approval. S/U graded.
R PAD 111 Introduction to Military Leadership II (1)
The course builds upon the fundamentals introduced in RPAD 110 by focusing on leadership theory and decision making. "Life skills" lessons in the semester include: problem solving, critical thinking, leadership theory, followership, group interaction, goal setting, and feedback mechanisms. Upon completion, students are prepared to advance to more complex leadership instruction concerning the dynamics of organizations. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 110 or permission of instructor. S/U graded.
R PAD 204/204X Computer Modeling for Decision Support (3)
Making tough decisions — can computers help? Students will learn to use Internet technologies as well as techniques in computer modeling for critical thinking, policy analysis, and decision support. Topics include a review of quantitative methods for strategic analysis, tools for helping make tough decisions, and a survey of formal modeling techniques.
R PAD 210 Foundations of Military Leadership I (1)
The course contains the principal leadership instruction of the Basic Course. The use of practical exercises is emphasized, as students are increasingly required to apply communications and leadership concepts. The focus continues to build on developing knowledge of the leadership attributes and core leader competencies through the understanding of Army rank, structure, and duties as well as broadening knowledge of land navigation and infantry squad tactics. Case studies will provide a tangible context for learning and understanding the Soldier's Creed and Warrior Ethos. Upon completion of this semester, students are well grounded in the fundamental principles of leadership, and prepared to intensify the practical application of their studies during the Advanced Course. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 111 or permission of instructor. S/U graded.
R PAD 211 Foundations of Military Leadership II (1)
The course focuses principally on officership, providing an extensive examination of the unique purpose, roles, and obligations of commissioned officers. It includes a detailed look at the origin of the Army's institutional values and their practical application in decision making and leadership. Students examine the challenges of leading teams in a complex, combat operational environment. The course highlights dimensions of terrain analysis, infantry patrols, and operation orders. Further study of the theoretical basis of the Army Leadership Requirements Model explores the dynamics of adaptive leadership in the context of military operations. This course draws on the various components of values, communications, decision making, and leadership together to focus on a career as a commissioned officer. Upon completion of this course, students possess a fundamental understanding of both leadership and officership and demonstrate the ability to apply this understanding in real world situations. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 210 or permission of instructor. S/U graded.
R PAD 236 Institutions and Policy in Business Regulation (3)
This course examines the public regulation of business, surveying the field in general but with special attention to regulatory controls in financial markets. Its subjects include the justifications and critiques of government regulation, ethical considerations in regulatory decisions, international dimensions of regulatory policy and management, and how political, legal, and technological processes shape regulation.
R PAD 302 (= R PUB 302; formerly R PAD/R PUB 201) Understanding Public Organizations (3)
The major objective of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to explore basic ideas about how people work in large (work) organizations, and the processes and structures that operate day to day in such organizations. The course examines how people act and interact within organizations and attempt to change those organizations, and how organizations react to the individuals who comprise the organization. The course uses multiple perspectives or frames as a way of understanding of individual and organizational behavior in work organizations. Only one version of R PAD 302 may be taken for credit.
R PAD 303 Public Administration and Management (3)
Introduction to the field of public administration as its theory and practice have developed in the United States, emphasizing current trends and problems of organization and management in such areas as personnel policy, budget making, policy research, and planning. Prerequisite(s): junior or senior standing.
R PAD 304 (= R POS 303 & R PUB 303) Public Policy in Theory and Practice (3)
Examines the theoretical foundations of public policy research, of alternative models of public policy formation, their methodologies, and the relationship between the theory and practice of the policy sciences. Inquiries into the practice of public policy; focuses on actual policies in a substantive area. Only one version of R PAD 304 may be taken for credit. Prerequisite(s): R POS 101 or R POS/R PUB 140, or junior or senior standing.
R PAD 307 Professional Applications for Public Administration and Policy (3)
Course emphasizes the early development of professional skills, the ability to work in teams, career planning, and an awareness of trade-offs in modern administration. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 204.
R PAD 324 Introduction to System Dynamics (3)
System Dynamics applies computer simulation to the study of feedback-rich systems in the social, behavioral, environmental, and management sciences. This course teaches the basic principles of system dynamics with a hands-on approach involving frequent problem sets and case studies. Students will learn the basic principles governing systems modeling as well as how to create computer-based simulation models. Prerequisites(s): R PAD 204.
R PAD 329/329Z (= R POS 329/329Z) Bureaucratic Politics (3)
Examination of political behavior within and among administrative agencies, focusing on the sources of power in the bureaucracy, and the ways in which agencies use their political resources to shape public policy. Only one version of R PAD 329 may be taken for credit. Prerequisite(s): R POS 101 and 102, or junior or senior standing.
R PAD 343 (= R POS 343) Homeland Security (3)
This undergraduate survey course introduces students to the US government response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, specifically, the second largest reorganization of the executive branch that produced the US Department of Homeland Security. Topics examined include border and transportation security, customs, immigration policy and enforcement; preparedness and capabilities building, response and resilience; critical infrastructure protection; threat and vulnerability assessment and risk management; cyber security; counter-terrorism. Although the course is primarily focused on US federal government activities, it will also examine state and local dimensions of homeland security as well as US government interactions with other countries in the homeland security domain. Only one version of R PAD 343 may be taken for credit.
R PAD 364 Approaches to Development (3)
Development of resources is a concern which has long captivated leaders and citizens of low and moderate income countries. After reviewing the concept`s origin and evolution, the class assesses how national leaders, such international institutions as the World Bank and nongovernmental organizations have pursued that objective. Why is persistent global poverty still a major concern? How might our shrinking planet safeguard public health? Prerequisite(s): junior or senior status.
R PAD 366 International Environmental Policy (3)
The class investigates how environmental consciousness arose in major industrial countries and the subsequent formation of environmental policies and institutions in China and India. After reviewing US experience, the class considers critical dilemmas including climate change, water scarcity and renewable energy. Prerequisite: junior or senior status.
R PAD 380 Applied Military Leadership I (2)
In this course students will study, practice, and apply the fundamentals of Army leadership, Officership, Army Values and ethics, personal development, and small unit tactics at the team and squad level. At the conclusion of this course, students will be capable of planning, coordinating, navigating, motivating and leading a team or squad in the execution of a tactical mission during a classroom PE, a Leadership Lab, or during a Situational Training Exercise (STX) in a field environment. Successful completion of this course will help prepare students for success at the ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) during the summer following the junior year, at Fort Lewis, WA. This course includes reading assignments, homework assignments, small group assignments, briefings, case studies, and practical exercises, a mid-term exam, and a final exam. Students will receive systematic and specific feedback on leader attributes values and core leader competencies from instructor and other ROTC cadre and MSL IV Cadets who will evaluate students using the ROTC Leader Development Program (LDP) model. The course closes with instruction in small unit battle drills to facilitate practical application and further leader development during labs and Situational Training Exercises (STX). Prerequisite(s): R PAD 211, or permission of instructor.
R PAD 381 Applied Military Leadership II (2)
The course continues to focus on doctrinal leadership and tactical operations at the small unit level. It includes opportunities to plan and conduct individual and collective skill training for military operations to gain leadership and tactical experience. The course synthesizes the various components of training, leadership and team building. Students are required to incorporate previous military science instruction for their practical application in a performance-oriented environment. Upon completion of the course, students possess the fundamental confidence and competence of leadership in a small unit setting and are prepared to attend the Leadership Development and Assessment Course. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 380.
R PAD 411 Special Topics in Public Administration: Program Evaluation Training (1)
This class will introduce participants to the concepts that are essential to evaluation. Topics discussed will include: program measures (methods, management, characteristics, etc.), participant measures, intervening measures (changes in economy, management, demographics, etc.), impact measures, different viewpoints of evaluation (program participants, program staff, policy makers, etc.), and measurement levels (individual vs. agency vs. society). This course is the shared resources equivalent of the graduate course R PAD 511. S/U graded.
R PAD 424 Systems Thinking and Strategic Development (4)
The course represents a set of concepts and tools for thinking through complex system-wide problems that challenge government managers' ability to design and manage cross-agency and intergovernmental policies and programs. Students will learn to diagnose and solve complex system-level problems by applying systems thinking and strategic planning tools to case examples. Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor.
R PAD 435 Fundamentals of Securities Law (3)
This course examines the history, rationales, and structures of securities laws in the United States, focusing mainly on the federal level but touching on issues pertaining to the states. Topics include public requirements governing the issuance of securities, mandatory public disclosures; legal requirements governing corporate merger and acquisitions, primary and secondary markets for securities; exemptions from full coverage of laws, the reasons for exemptions; and how technology and market changes have affected these exemptions over time; and the basic structure of securities market regulation.
R PAD 436 Regulation of Financial Markets (3)
This course examines the history, organization, and central issues of securities market regulation in the United States. The course discusses the roles of federal and state regulation, self-regulatory organizations, and firms within the regulatory system. Topics include, but are not limited to, the history and main principles of federal securities statues; examinations and supervision by different levels of the regulatory system; and the relationships among change in financial markets such as financial innovations and regulatory structure and practice.
R PAD 437 Broker-Dealer Accounting, Regulation, and Auditing (3)
This course is designed to enable students to understand the theory and practice of broker-dealer regulation and regulatory auditing in the securities industry. Nomenclature used in the securities industry is unique and the course examines accounting standards that apply to securities firms. It teaches students how to read financial statements of broker-dealers and understand stock brokerage accounting. The course also will help students understand how to audit the validity of the numbers included in broker-dealer financial reports, focusing primarily on the income statement and balance sheet and including the verification of customer assets. Prerequisite(s): B ACC 211.
R PAD 480 Adaptive Military Leadership I (2)
The course concentrates on leadership, management and ethics. The course focuses students, early in the year, on attaining knowledge and proficiency in several critical areas they will need to operate effectively as Army officers. These areas include: Coordinate Activities with Staffs, Counseling Theory and Practice within the "Army Context," Training Management, and Ethics. While proficiency attained in each of these areas will initially be at the apprentice level, students will continue to sharpen these skills as they perform their roles as Cadet Officers within the ROTC program and after commissioning. At the end of the course, students possess the fundamental skills, attributes, and abilities to operate as competent leaders. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 381.
R PAD 481 Adaptive Military Leadership II (2)
The course focuses on completing the transition from Cadet to lieutenant. As a follow-on to the Ethics instruction in RPAD 480, the course starts with a foundation in the legal aspects of decision making and leadership. The curriculum reinforces previous instruction on the organization of the Army and introduces how the Army organizes for operations from the tactical to the strategic level. This is followed by instruction on administrative and logistical management that will focus on the fundamentals of Soldier and unit level support. Upon completion of the course, students will be prepared for the responsibility of being a commissioned officer in the United States Army. Prerequisite(s): R PAD 480.
R PAD 499 (= R PUB 499) Program Seminar-Energy: Crisis and Policy (3)
Exploration of the nature and future of the energy problem. Public policies (e.g., production, regulation, development of alternative sources, conservation, foreign trade, and public safety) are emphasized. Only one version of R PAD 499 may be taken for credit. Prerequisite(s): junior or senior standing.