PPOL 894: Capstone Course: Spring 2024, 3 Credit Hours
Course Description
PPOL 894 is a “capstone” experience for MPP students. This course integrates the knowledge and skills gained throughout the MPP curriculum and challenges students to apply this knowledge and skills to an organizational challenge. A capstone project can be any project in which a student uses their managerial, analytical, and leadership skills in service to a client project. Students typically use their employer, or internship organization as the “client”, but other organizations can be used. If the student has difficulty identifying a client, the instructors can assist.
Students will identify a semester-length project that focuses on an organizational area/issue of interest. This project may be a deeper examination of the topic used for PPOL 895, Internship. As part of the PPOL 894 capstone experience, students will be asked to understand, select, apply, and integrate various tools, methods, doctrines, and ideas learned in the previous semesters. Those topics will include financial and economic analysis, organizational management and governance structure, organization behavior, operations management, decision analysis tools, and statistical analysis. They will set learning goals, project objectives, and evaluate their progress toward those goals. Students will be expected to appropriately apply those concepts to the situation and solve the policy-related problem in the client organization. The goal of the course is to provide students with the opportunity to explore a policy area or issue in collaboration with SPP faculty and professional colleagues in the client organization, who will serve as information resources. Students will work one-to-one with the course instructors to support the relationship with their internal company client.
Course Objectives:
1. Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and external constituents within diverse public organizations
2. Develop and provide reports demonstrating critical thinking and problem solving to colleagues and external stakeholders
3. Demonstrate use of qualitative and quantitative reasoning when making decisions
Required Text/Materials(s)
No textbook for this course.
Technical Requirements
Standard computer technical specifications are assumed for this course. Please test your computerLinks to an external site. for requirements. No special software is required. Students will be required to have access to a microphone and speakers.
Minimum Technical Skills
The minimum technical skills needed for the course include having basic computer and internet navigation skills, as well as additional computer literacy skills such as: using the learning management system, using e-mail with attachments, copying and pasting, and using presentation and graphic programs. Depending on the nature of your project other skills in data analysis and presentation, program evaluation, policy analysis, etc. may be necessary.
Course Management Software and Related Tools
CanvasLinks to an external site.
Canvas AccessibilityLinks to an external site.
Canvas Privacy PolicyLinks to an external site.
Microsoft Office 365Links to an external site.
Microsoft Office 365 AccessibilityLinks to an external site.
Privacy at MicrosoftLinks to an external site.
YouTubeLinks to an external site.
YouTube AccessibilityLinks to an external site.
YouTube Privacy PolicyLinks to an external site.
Assessment Metrics/Grading Criteria
Identify a policy-related organizational issue for study. The issue should be one that focuses on a problem that has impact on policy for the organization and is broad enough in scope so that the student may demonstrate their skills in the required topic areas (ex. finance, economics, organizational/policy management, governance structure, operations, decision-analysis, program evaluation and statistical analysis.) Examples include: rewriting a town’s personnel manual to be consistent with legal changes and best practices, estimating the fiscal implications of switching to curbside recycling for a local government, or developing more effective alumni outreach strategies for educational organizations. The idea is to have a project that will allow the student to demonstrate a breadth and depth of skill, while also providing the organization with recommendations that may be utilized.
Develop and submit the following deliverables to organization sponsor and supervising faculty member (Rubrics available in Canvas):
1. Project Definition
1. Description: Provide a brief description of the policy project and background leading to its identification.
2. Project Outcome/Goal: Describe the outcome you would like to achieve with your project, (i.e., at the end of this project my goal is to recommend a personnel manual consistent with legal changes and best practices, etc.). A project goal is a tangible statement of what a project should achieve.
3. Policy Project Objectives. Students should list 3 to 5 project objectives. Project objectives identify and describe the concrete actions or deliverables that achieve the outcome of the project.
4. Resources: Identify the data, information, and organizational resources needed to complete the project. Present in table form indicating type of data, information or organizational resources need, where and how the information will be obtained, as well as ease of access.
5. Barriers: Identify the potential project barriers in the context of the identified competencies.
6. Client: Identify the individual or group to whom you would present your project findings. It is not required that you present your project to organizational stakeholders, just help us understand who the natural audience for your project is, e.g., CEO, Board of Directors, Management Team, etc. Please provide a name, position, and contact information. For Boards or Teams, identify the chair or team leader. Obtain and submit the client signature on the Capstone Contract found in Canvas.
7. Timeline: Identify key progress milestones for the project, including support needed, and dates for completion.
2. Background and Detail
1. Describe the organizational context for the policy project.
2. Provide history of the project topic and note if the policy project has been previously attempted. If so, identify the contributing factors for success or failure.
3. Review the management and governance structure of the organization as it relates specifically to the policy project.
3. Analytic Plan
1. Describe the data used, the data gathering process, the research methods and analytic approaches used for analyzing data.
4. Findings
1. Analyze the data as outlined in the analytic plan and present the results and findings.
5. Organizational Implications
1. In this section you discuss the implications of the findings from your analysis for the organization.
6. Conclusions, Recommendations and Action Plan
1. Reach conclusions based on your findings.
2. Make recommendations based on your conclusions.
3. Present an action plan for implementing the recommendations that includes goal, objective, action step, cost, timing, and responsible party.
7. Final Project Paper
1. Write and submit a final project paper comprised of sections (2-6 listed above). The paper is not to exceed 30 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point.
8. Project Presentation
1. Present the project and recommendations. Presentation is 20 minutes and Q & A.
The list of topics and due dates are in the Course Schedule. Submit all assignments to Canvas.
Note: All work is expected to be grammatically correct and submitted according to APA guidelines. Points will be deducted if the grammar and citations are incomplete.
The list of topics and due dates are in the Course Schedule. Submit all assignments to Canvas.
1. Project Contract/ Definition 75 points
2. Background/Detail 50 points
3. Analytic Plan 100 points
4. Findings 100 points
5. Organizational Implications 60 points
6. Recommendations/Action Plan 50 points
7. Final Paper 100 points
8. Oral Presentation 100 points
9. Client Evaluation 25 points
Total 700 points
Grading Scale
93–100= A
90-92.99= A-
87-89.99= B+
83-86.99= B
80-82.99= B-
77-79.99= C+
70-76.99= C
65-69.99= D
<65= F
A “C” grade or higher is required for all graduate level courses. Students obtaining a grade lower than a “C” will be required to repeat the course (and achieve a grade of “C” or better) to be eligible to graduate. In addition, grades will not be rounded because Penn State uses ½ steps (pluses and minuses) in grades.
1. Assignment Rubrics:
Rubrics are provided in Canvas for each of the graded elements.
1. Course Schedule:
2. Project Contract/Definition: Due end of week 2
3. Background and Detail: Due end of week 5
4. Analytic Plan: Due end of week 7
5. Findings: Due end of week 10
6. Organizational Impacts: 12
7. Recommendations and Action Plan: Due end of week 14
8. Summary/Conclusion: Due end of week 16
9. Client Evaluation: Due April 21
10. Final Project Paper: Due April 28
11. Final Presentation: Due April 28
Note: Spring Break is week 9 (March 3 – 9) No Class
Student Responsibilities
· Completing online assignments as scheduled by the instructor in Canvas.
· Notifying and providing documentation to the Office of DisabilitiesLinks to an external site. of disabilities that will require reasonable accommodations.
· Keeping track of changes in the course syllabus and on Canvas made by the instructor throughout the semester.
· Monitoring grades and assignments throughout the semester.
· Notifying the professor as soon as possible if you anticipate missing multiple assignments due to events such as chronic illnesses, or other events.
· Communicating with the professor about any assignment questions.
Assignment Policies
Late submissions are not accepted for any assignment and will result in an automatic zero unless other arrangements are made and agreed upon in advance by the instructor.
Netiquette
Netiquette is the online communications etiquette for email, online discussions, online chats/meetings, etc.
For online course communications, your body language and tone may not be interpreted / considered by other students and faculty members. Netiquette helps ensures that you are being considerate and mindful of others including their opinions. Below is a list of netiquette guidelines to be used within your online course communications:
· Be mindful that this online class is an educational setting and associated proper language, behavior should be utilized.
· Be respectful of one another and ensure a proper understanding that we each contribute to a diverse set of opinions, cultures, background, and life experiences.
· When responding/giving feedback to others, particularly negative feedback, be sure to address the ideas or work submitted, not the person.
· Avoid using all capital letters even for distinguishing subheading/word as it can be interpreted as shouting and might be offensive to others.
· Avoid utilizing color and if color must be used, be selective in your color choices. You should ensure that there is a good contrast of text and associated backgrounds. This is to avoid excluding people with a visual impairment.
· Although intentions may be good, be cautious in using sarcasm or humor which may be misunderstood. In general, contribute respectfully in online discussions, as well as, interactions with the instructor. Student conduct within this course will contribute to and support an online learning community that shows evidence of honesty, responsiveness, relevance, respect, openness, and empowerment* for each student to take responsibility for their own learning.
Academic Integrity (University Regulations)
Academic Integrity (Senate Policy 49-20) Definitions and expectations: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University’s Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights, and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the work completed by others. To protect the rights and maintain the trust of honest students and support appropriate behavior, faculty and administrators should regularly communicate high standards of integrity and reinforce them by taking reasonable steps to anticipate and deter acts of dishonesty in all assignments. At the beginning of each course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide students with a statement clarifying the application of University and College integrity policies to that course.
Academic and disciplinary sanctions (ACUE Policy G-9) The University procedures provide for two types of sanctions: academic and disciplinary. Academic sanctions range from a warning to removal from the academic program and include deductions of points or alterations in grades. Academic sanctions are determined and assigned by the instructor or by the instructor together with the College Academic Integrity Committee. Disciplinary sanctions may be recommended by the instructor, the College Committee, or the Associate Dean, and are assigned by the Office of Student Conduct. The XF grade is a disciplinary sanction that is only assigned with the concurrence of the instructor, the College Academic Integrity Committee, and the Office of Student Conduct.
Grades (Senate Policy 47-20) Grades shall be assigned to individual students based on the instructor’s judgment of the student’s scholastic achievement as set forth in section 47-60. This specifically includes the instructor’s judgment regarding an appropriate academic sanction for academic dishonesty defined in section 49-20.
To implement the University policy on academic dishonesty, the College of Health and Human Development will encourage the following procedures to minimize dishonest behavior by students. These procedures include practices for faculty that will foster honest scholarship and defines dishonest actions and provides a standard protocol to be used by all instructors in handling cases of suspected academic dishonesty.
Academic Integrity Statement of Policy
The University’s ability to achieve its mission depends upon the quality and integrity of the intellectual work performed by all of its faculty and students. All members of the University always must take full responsibility for the integrity and basic honesty of the expression and communication of their thoughts.
Accordingly, individual faculty and students are never permitted to take credit for or represent as their own work anything that in fact is the work of other persons, whether classmates, published authors, or anonymous contributors on the Internet. Academic dishonesty encompasses a wide range of activities, whether intentional or unintentional, that include, but are not limited to: all forms of fraud, plagiarism, and any failure to cite explicitly all materials and sources used in one’s work. Similarly, faculty and students are never permitted to pursue work by any means that unfairly disadvantages others. This prohibits activities that include, but are not limited to cheating, lying, and deception, and directly harming the work of others.
The College of the Liberal Arts vigorously seeks to achieve compliance with its policy on academic integrity. The college does not tolerate violations of that policy, and, toward that end, the college supports appropriate sanctions consistent with University guidelines and with state and federal law. For students, these sanctions include, but are not limited to, lower grade in a course, failure in a course, removal from the degree program, or failure in a course with an explanation in the permanent transcript of the cause for failure, suspension, or expulsion.
The college’s Academic Integrity Committee will review and settle all contested cases of academic integrity infractions in which academic sanctions are applied and will be the final level of review for charges of academic dishonesty. The University's Office of Student Conduct is the final level of review for more serious violations requiring disciplinary sanctions.
Violations of the University’s Academic Integrity Policy include the following:
· Cheating: Using crib sheets or any kind, preprogrammed calculators, or cell phones, use of notes during a closed book exam.
· Copying on tests: Looking at other students’ exams, copying with a plan with another student, passing notes during exams (including electronically), exchanging exams with another student.
· Plagiarism: Fabricating information or citations, copying from the internet or submitting the work of others from journals, articles, and papers, or books; submitting other students’ papers as one’s own. Any material, regardless of length, that is the work of somebody else and who is not given explicit credit by citation, submitted as one’s own, is plagiarized material.
· Tampering with work: Changing one’s own or another student’s work; tampering with work either as a prank or to sabotage another’s work
· Acts of aiding and abetting: Facilitating academically dishonest work by others; unauthorized collaboration on work; permitting another to copy from one’s exam; writing a paper for another; inappropriately collaborating on home assignments or exams without permission or when prohibited.
· Unauthorized possession: Buying or stealing of exams or other materials; failing to return exams on file or reviewed in class; selling exams; photocopying exams; any possession of an exam without the instructor’s permission.
· Submitting previous work: Submitting a paper, case study, lab report or any assignment that had been submitted for credit in a prior class without the knowledge and permission of the instructor.
· Ghosting or misrepresenting: Taking a quiz or exam or performing a class assignment in place of another student; having another student do the same in one’s place; signing in as present in class for another student or having another student do the same in one’s place.
· Altering Exams: Changing incorrect answers and seeking favorable grade changes when instructor returns exams for in-class review and then collects them; asserting that the professor made a mistake in grade. Other forms including changing the letter and/or numerical grade on a test.
· Computer theft: Electronic theft of computer programs or other software, data, images, art, or text belonging to another.
Penn State's Commitment to Persons with Disabilities
The Pennsylvania State University encourages academically qualified students with disabilities to achieve full participation and integration of its educational programs. Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. If you have a disability- related need or reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services. For further information regarding policies, rights, and responsibilities, please visit the ODS website site at http://www.equity.psu.edu/ods. Please note: Instructors should be notified as early in the semester as possible regarding the need for reasonable accommodations.
Military and Veteran Students
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Penn State Nondiscrimination Policy
The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University.
Counseling and Psychological Services
Staff at Penn State’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) work with thousands of Penn State students per year in group therapy, individual counseling, crisis intervention, and psychiatric services as well as providing prevention, outreach, and consultation services for the University community. Services at CAPS are designed to enhance students' ability to fully benefit from the University environment and academic experience. Call CAPS at 814-863-0395 or visit them at 501 Student Health Center during regular office hours (8 am-5 pm, Monday-Friday).
As specialists in working with undergraduate and graduate students, staff at CAPS can help you address your concerns in a caring and supportive environment. CAPS can help students resolve personal concerns that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, and satisfaction at Penn State. Some of the more common concerns include anxiety, depression, difficulties in relationships (friends, roommates, or family); sexual identity; lack of motivation or difficulty relaxing, concentrating or studying; eating disorders; sexual assault and sexual abuse recovery; and uncertainties about personal values and beliefs.
For information on services at CAPSLinks to an external site..
To learn how to schedule an appointment at CAPSLinks to an external site..
If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis situation, information on resources at CAPS and other local groups than can helpLinks to an external site..