Course Syllabus

Instructor: Angela Pharris, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor of Social Work

Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work

Research interests are child welfare workforce and training, policy, and programs for youth in care and transitioning from foster care to adulthood in a hope-centered-trauma-informed framework. 

Phone: 405-325-7193 (office number not currently in use due to COVID restrictions)

Email: angela.b.pharris-1@ou.edu

Office Hours by Zoom as requested.

 

 

 

For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Course Materials

Karger, H.J. & Stoesz, D. (2014). American social welfare policy: A pluralist approach (8^th) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN-10: 0-13-462812-8.

Additional readings in posted in the appropriate module. 

Course Format

This course runs on a Monday-Sunday weekly schedule. Each module is expected to last one week. 

Grades

Breakdown

Policy Issue Brief	20%
Policy Analysis	35%
Policy Brief and Advocacy  Presentation	20%
Weekly Quiz	15%
Discussion Board	15%

Scale

90-100%	A	Excellent Work, exceeds course expectations
80-89%	B	Good; Work meets course expectations
70-79%	C	Fair; Work marginally meets course expectations
60-69%	D	Poor; Work does not meet course expectations
Below 60%	F	Failure; Work falls significantly below course expectations

Course Components

Assignment #1: Policy Issue Brief

Description: A policy issue brief is a short document that states what is known about a particular issue or social problem that is affected by government (they can be the cause or solution). Issue briefs are designed to give the reader the background quickly, by clearly identifying social problem or issue for consideration, indicates a recommendation for action, and provides supporting evidence. Issue briefs are often used by policy advocates to communicate main ideas to policymakers. They are brief, clear, and used at every level of government so you can elevate the issue or problem to key policy makers. You will find advocates and policy think-tanks often have these brief 2-page document in hand as an aid to educate legislators and other elected officials. Your policy issue brief should not exceed 2 pages and is organized to be engaging and to the point. Your issue brief must address the five items listed below.

1. Introduction/Problem Statement: What is the social problem you are addressing? Discuss the history of the scope of the problem, include facts and document data from reliable sources. What is the present status of the problem as evidence by published literature, the nature of the population affected, or disproportionality affected by the problem? This section tells your story and compels the reader to pay attention and should use data to quickly tell the story.
2. Past and Current Policy: A small subsection that states the origins of the social policies that have been created to address the problem -OR- the history that lacks an adequate policy to prevent or resolve the problem. Explain why the status-quo is just not going to work anymore. This is closely linked to your problem statement.
3. Your Policy Recommendation: There are many choices in the policy field, and you cannot discuss them all. You need to select one that you believe will address the problem and share a brief argument for why you think this is the best. You may also need to state why this is the best choice or refute an alternative policy argument (if you think that is necessary). Hint: this can be the policy that you want to complete the policy analysis in assignment 2 but is not required.
4. Conclusion: You can choose to include key advocacy organizations/individuals to look toward for more information. Summarize your main point.
5. Provide your sources. Footnote style or a small section of your text. You should have a minimum of five credible sources (peer-reviewed articles, think-tanks, or government reports. Avoid newspaper articles, blog posts, wiki, or policy organization which are not grounded in research. You can see a list of think-tanks in Canvas)

You may use pictures, graphs, and text to communicate the main ideas. Be sure to use common terms and spell out acronyms. This is a document that should be accessible to someone who is less familiar with the policy problems. The policy brief must address a social problem, so be sure that you are clarifying the group or community that is impacted by the problem. While not required, I urge you to coordinate this assignment with your policy analysis, which is an in-depth analysis of a policy issue.

There are examples of professional issue briefs in Canvas and a few student examples, used with permission.

Assignment 2: Policy Analysis

Policy Analysis

(9-11 pages)

Complete and analysis of a current bill intended to impact a social welfare problem. Be concise, clear, and organized in choosing what to include and how to present the information so that a professional colleague less familiar with the topic will understand it and be persuaded by your analysis and conclusions. How you respond to the contextual analysis and the policy recommendations will depend, in part, if you if selected a policy that you want to endorse or one you are opposed.

The headings and subheadings of the policy should adhere to the guide below:

• You must utilize at least 15 scholarly and/or credible sources in your policy analysis. (These can be journal articles, legitimate websites, and/or various policy oriented texts or reports from government or advocacy organizations).
• The headings in BOLD are your level 1 headings for the paper and are required. Under each major heading, I have included some thought questions to help you in organization and development. You are not required to address each numbered items but are encouraged to select several in order to draft a clear analysis.

Contextual Analysis

(6 pages)

For this section, you may draw components from your first assignment of the social problem analysis to complete this section. This is not typical in APA style, but for this class the learning approach is to link the first two assignments together to help you expand your knowledge.

Describe the current social, political, economic and ideological context of the social welfare issue.

1. Identify and describe economic factors that are contributing to the social welfare problem.        
1. Explain how these economic factors can affect policy responses to the problem.
2. Overview Public opinion/social context on the social welfare issue and bill by providing answers to these questions: How does the general public perceive the issue? How is it framed in the media? What are people saying about the issue and policy responses to it? Are there any advocacy positions or efforts for or against for the bill?  
3. Describe current programs and services intended to address the social welfare problem. Explain how the bill, if passed, will address the social welfare issue.
4. Describe the impact on the social work profession if the bill is passed.
5. Identify potential negative consequences of the bill being passed (state comparisons are helpful).
6. Apply ecological systems theory and describe how this macro system intervention (the bill) is intended to affect each level (macro system, meso system, micro system).

Policy Recommendations

(3 pages)

Describe policy alternatives and your formal proposal for change.

1. Describe the specific bill or policy change you believe will solve the issue you have defined. 
2. Overview policy alternatives that could better achieve the intended outcome. For example, what have other states/locations done?
3. Describe the intended impact(s) for affected individuals and communities of your proposed solution.
4. Make a case that supports your proposed solution as the best option, despite the alternatives (be sure your proposal is economically sound given very limited state dollars).

Assignment 3: Policy Brief and Advocacy Presentation

Putting it all together, you will share your policy brief (updated from any feedback or new insights from assignment #2) with a short verbal presentation. Your aim is to present the important aspects of the bill and persuade others to take action based on your assessment and presentation. This is a visual issue brief that uses a combination of images, and simple statements that convey the key ideas. Your presentation should be 2-5 minutes maximum. Now that you are an expert on your policy issue, you decide what is the most important and compelling information to share. The only requirement is that your presentation must do the following: Explain to the audience what action step you want after hearing about your policy issue? What is your takeaway?

 

You will display your completed policy brief in the CANVAS course for the entire group to review along with your recording

Assignment 4: Weekly Quiz

Each moduled has a quiz that draws from content in the lecture and assigned readings.  Quizzes will be short answer style in Canvas. There are a total of 8 modules, with a quiz available in each module.  Your final grade will be calculated using your top 6 quiz scores.  The quiz is linked to each module and will open and close for the week the module is assigned.

Assignment 5: Discussion Boards

Each module has an associated discussion board. Students are expected to post their response to the posed question each week and engage and learn from each other by reviewing your peer's post and engaging/responding. Active participation is expected. Your original post and responses to your peers should be substantive, using course materials and other sources to help your conversations. Good posts do not just “agree or disagree” but should expand the conversation and add your own ideas.

Responses should be complete and clear and written in complete sentences. When appropriate, provide references. Discussions require you to post your contribution first, read the answers by your peers and give at a minimum of 2 responses to other postings within the group. Also, you should monitor your own post for questions or comments posted to you.

In your communication with other students, please expand or clarify an important point or offer an additional argument to support a position. You may also disagree with a point. If you are disagreeing, please make sure your response is constructive and respectful. Analyze the issue but not the person making the post. Avoid sarcasm, swearing, or language that would be considered rude or argumentative.

There are a total of 8 discussion board opportunities. Your grade will be calculated using your top 6 graded boards. You should check the board early, as some of them require additional activities (watch a film, etc.) to complete. 

Course Policies

Communication

Excused absences are defined in the student codebook. Outside of the exceptions in the codebook, you are expected to attend every live class session, and participate in the course weekly. This is a fast-paced course; students should expect to be engaged in the online learning environment multiple times during the week to engage fully in the learning experience. The lecture materials, videos, assigned readings, and discussions are central to your learning.

Your professional presence is required for each module and class session. This means you should come prepared to engage in and foster professional dialogue having read content relevant to the course. The classroom is considered a preparation for your role as a professional social worker. In the classroom, you are expected to treat colleagues with respect. Respect is defined in this class as using appropriate communication, and not engaging in disparaging, harassing, or bullying of any kind. This class will incorporate anti-oppressive practices that value dialogue over debate, but we can only learn from examining issues from multiple perspectives. While you may respectfully disagree with your instructor and your peers, you may not disparage, gang-up on, or otherwise treat people with less than the utmost respect, or penalties will be enforced through relevant policies.

Late Policy

Assignments are due on the scheduled dates. Assignments not turned into Canvas on time will receive a reduction of 10% after 5 calendar days. If your assignment cannot be completed in the 5-day late window you should communicate immediately with the instructor. Requests for extensions for valid reasons must be made in email to the instructor. If you have an unforeseen or extenuating circumstance that are making it difficult to complete work on time or attend course sessions, you should meet with your instructor and your academic advisor to discuss your options.  

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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

ACADEMIC POLICIES AND STUDENT SUPPORT

Course Catalog 

Search the OU Course Catalogue.

Student Handbook

Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.

Online Library

Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.

Academic Misconduct

In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook. 

It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.

This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.

Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.

Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or get in touch with the Disability Resource Center.

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues

Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability.  Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.

Title IX Resources  

For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. 

Religious Holidays

It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.

Copyright Policy

It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or his/her authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user’s access to some or all of the university’s computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.

Registration and Withdrawal

If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.

Student Grievances

In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.