DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC POLICY

Internship
POL 599
Professor Chad J. McGuire, JD, LL.M. Office: 128 Chase Road (Center for Policy Analysis), Room 201 Tel: (508) 999-8520 Email: cmcguire@umassd.edu About me: http://works.bepress.com/chad_mcguire/

Course Description
Prerequisite: Must complete 9 hours of coursework in the MPP. Should be taken in last academic year (preferably semester) of program completion. A policy-related internship tailored to each student's career preferences or academic interests. The selection of an internship venue will occur in consultation with the student's MPP advisor and with the approval of the MPP Internship Coordinator. The Internship venue is usually selected from a pre-approved list of local, state, and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector businesses. Note: The field work component of the internship (2 credits) is waived if an individual has at least 2 years substantial and relevant work experience in a policy making or public management position, although students must still enroll in the academic course component (1 credit) of the internship to graduate. Policies related to the internship can be found here: http://www.umassd.edu/cas/departmentsanddegreeprograms/publicpolicy/pros pectivestudents/programsoffered/graduateprograms/masterofpublicpolicy/#inte rnship

Course Goals
This course satisfies the experiential component of the Masters of Public Policy (MPP) program. There are two components to this course: the experiential component (2-units), and the seminar component (1-unit). The goals of this course are broken down as follows:

Page 2 of 4 2-unit experiential component: Students are expected to directly engage the concepts learned in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program in a practical learning environment. Students should gain practical experience applying some or all of the concepts they have learned in the MPP program. 1-unit seminar component: Students reflect upon their internship experience through reading specific articles related to public policy participation, and engaging in discussions on the topic with one another throughout the semester. Students are expected to culminate this experience with a final report discussing the impact of their internship on their experience in the MPP program. The final report should become a summative experience that is placed in the students final portfolio for the MPP program. In addition, student sign-up for the eportfolio through the seminar, which then allows them to begin building their final portfolio requirement for the MPP program. Portfolio Signup: Students enrolled in POL599 will also complete a registration for the e-portfolio, which will be the place where students will develop and present their final portfolio as their remaining requirement for awarding of the MPP. Portfolio Development: In addition to signing up for the portfolio, students in the seminar component of POL599 will begin developing their individual portfolios and presenting them to the class during the semester. This will include developing the entire framework for the portfolio itself, and also beginning to place completed materials into the individual portfolio site. Students will then provide their work to fellow classmates to help in the understanding of how portfolios can look and feel. This will be done through use of Camtasia Relay, a video capture program that runs directly on your individual computers. An alternative for students is Screencast-O-Matic, a free online service for screen capture some find very easy to use, but is unsupported by UMD. Students will register for Camtasia Relay (using their UMD usernames and passwords), or utilize Screencast-oMatic, and then begin to use this technology to prepare example presentations of their sites in anticipation of using this technology when they are presenting their final portfolios at the conclusion of their MPP program. o Information on the portfolio requirement can be found here: ! http://www.umassd.edu/cas/departmentsanddegreeprograms/pu blicpolicy/currentstudents/gettingthroughtheprogram/mopp/#po rtfolio o A video explanation of the portfolio process can be found here: ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N2QwdFsxU8&feature=you tu.be o An example of the e-portfolio can be found here: ! http://mppexampleportfolio.umassd.wikispaces.net o Information on using Camtasia Relay as a UMD student can be found here:

Page 3 of 4 ! http://instructionaldev.umassd.wikispaces.net/Camtasia+Relay o Information on using Screencast-o-Matic (an unsupported alternative to Camtasia Relay) can be found here: ! http://www.screencast-o-matic.com

Requirements
1. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Attendance is monitored by online discussion responses. Over a set period of time, a number of online questions are asked in conjunction with the reading and other materials contained in learning modules. You are required to respond to these questions (called discussion boards) by the stated deadline. In addition, you are required to interact (comment on other students responses) in each discussion board question. These responses are considered your attendance and will form the basis for your class participation grade. Online Access: Necessary course materials will be housed at MyCourses via your MyUMassD login portal. The username is password is exactly the same as your UMass Dartmouth email username and password. All of your online courses are located at this site. Outside Readings/Personal Interests: Students are encouraged to develop a dialogue in the online setting based on outside readings, experiences, or personal interests that are related to the subject matter. Because we are dealing with subjects of public policy (health, welfare, and justice), each student undoubtedly has personal experiences/viewpoints that will add to the discussion. You are encouraged to share such viewpoints. Deliverables: Students will be required to interact with materials online, complete discussion board interactions, written assignments, and prepare the structure for their e-portfolio sites. The seminar will culminate in a report that will discuss your internship experience and a video of your completed framework for the e-portfolio. This report will also begin your reflection and report for your final portfolio requirement in the MPP program, and the video will ensure you have the framework set up for the portfolio presentation.

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Required Readings
Handouts via Web-postings, Links, Videos, Etc. These readings will be provided throughout the semester.

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Student Behavior/Conduct
UMass-Dartmouth has developed a detailed student handbook to deal with various issues of student behavior. Each student should consult this resource for a better understanding of issues surrounding academic dishonesty. Any perceived negative behavior in this class will result in the student being reported and disciplined. I strive to treat each student as an adult, and will do so unless I am given a reason to act otherwise. http://www.umassd.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbookintroduction/

Course Assignments (1 Unit Seminar Component)

Module One Two Three Topic Internship details. Understanding service learning in content. Signing up for the MPP e-portfolio. What is happening in your internship? Reflecting on your internship experience. Creating the Framework for the MPP e-portfolio Relating your experience back to your learning. Best practices in community-based research. Using Camtasia Relay to record your e-portfolio site and present this video to the class for viewing and comment.

Course Evaluation Measures

The grading for the internship is holistic. You receive credit for the 1-unit seminar component by fully engaging in the readings, discussion boards, and interactions required online during the semester. In addition, your grade will be dependent on your final report submitted at the end of the semester, along with your final video presentation of your portfolio site. The final report will impact the grade received in both the 1-unit seminar component as well as the 2-unit experiential component. Of course, you must fully complete your internship requirement in order to receive credit for the 2-unit experiential component (as well as complete a comprehensive report on your experience). All of these grading components will be more clearly discussed throughout the semester.