PSYCHOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY
PSY 4930
3 CREDIT HOURS
SUMMER/2014
“If a community values its children it must cherish their parents” (Bowlby, 1951)
** NO CLASS MEETINGS
INSTRUCTOR: Marina A. Klimenko, Ph.D., M.P.A.
Psychology Building, office in room 361
Sakai e-mail, pick Klimenko, Marina (mklimenko)
OFFICE HOURS:
by appointment
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS BY SKYPE: prof.klimenko, by appointment
COURSE TA:
Richard Klein (raklein@ufl.edu)
**COURSE WEBSITE AND STRUCTURE:
This course uses E-Learning in Sakai for
access to the entire course. It is fully on-line, with no class meetings. To access course
lectures and materials, go to Learning Module. The course is self-paced, and all lectures
and reading materials are posted and opened for you in advance. Lectures are created in
Voice Thread, which means you have to create a Voice Thread account (if you don’t have
one) before you can view the lectures
(https://ufl.voicethread.com/groups/subscribe/139777/96f60960c/).
** COURSE COMMUNICATIONS: If you have a question pertaining to the course
administration or concepts, it MUST be posted on the Discussion Board (through the
“Discussions” Link) in Sakai. If it is something you would raise your hand to ask in class,
it belongs on this board. Your instructor or TAs will then post a response to questions on
that board; we will not respond to these questions unless they are submitted to the
correct discussion board. In other words, do not send your question directly to the
Teaching Assistants or to your instructor.

If you have a question about Course Administration you should post in
the F.A.Q section of the Discussion Board. This is for questions about
accessing course content, due dates, when grades will be returned,
specifics about the assignments etc.

If you have a question about Course Concepts you should post in Course
Concepts section of the Discussion Board. This is for questions about the
readings, lecture material, and videos. This is where you post if you need
help understanding the material.
Any other personal questions/issues, or when in doubt about whom to contact,
contact your instructor on Sakai (see instructions for emailing below).
Discussion boards will not be monitored on Saturday and Sundays. This means that
you need to look at your Assignments well in advance because your questions will
not be answered on Saturday or Sunday night.
REQUIRED TEXT:
No textbook
**COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide an understanding of
psychology, public policy, and the direct link between the two fields. Students will gain
analytical skills enabling them to systematically evaluate social policies and programs, to
assist in public decisions, to solve social problems, and to design effective policies. The
course will take a lifespan approach and focus on the influences of culture and
government programs on individuals, families, and society. The focus will be placed on
welfare programs and poverty solutions. As part of understanding and applying
psychological concepts, students will write one policy brief on a social issue of their
interest.
COURSE POLICIES:
**QUIZ/EXAM POLICY: There will be 5 multiple choice quizzes. Each quiz will cover the
materials (lecture(s) and posted readings) covered on that week only. It will be open on
Friday, at 8am, and closed on the same day, at 11:59pm. Each quiz will have 10 objective
questions, and each question is worth 1 point. The dates of the quizzes are below.
Dates:
Quiz 1 covers week 1 material, due May 16, 11:59pm (10 points)
Quiz 2 covers week 2 material, due May 23, 11:59pm (10 points)
Quiz 3 covers week 3 material, due May 30, 11:59pm (10 points)
Quiz 4 covers week 4 material, due June 5, 11:59pm (10 points)
No Quiz during week 5 (Policy paper due)
Quiz 5 covers week 5 material, due June 20, 11:59pm (10 points)
MAKE-UP POLICY: No make-up quizzes or papers
**ASSIGNMENT (50 POINTS): A policy paper will be due June 13, 11:59pm. Details and
instructions are posted in Sakai, under Assignment and in week 2 learning module.
UF POLICIES:
UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students
requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students
Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide
documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the
instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior
to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not
retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term
for which they are seeking accommodations.
UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Academic honesty and integrity are
fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they
understand the UF Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.
**NETIQUETTE: COMMUNICATION COURTESY: All members of the class are expected
to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and
chats. http://teach.ufl.edu/docs/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf.
Instructions for posting on the Discussion Board
Step 1: Before posting to the discussion board, please check to see if the answer to
your question has been posted on Sakai or is contained in any course material, such as
the syllabus.
Step 2: Pick a descriptive title for your subject line. You want the title to be descriptive
enough that your classmates can tell whether or not they have a question on the same
topic. At the very least, please state the phenomena (e.g. Quasi-experimental design)
you are asking about. Good titles will also include a page number if it comes from the
book chapter or article, or indicate the source of the question if your question did not
arise from the textbook.
i. Unacceptable Subject Lines: Question, Quiz
ii. Excellent Subject Lines: Why does drawbridge experiment show
object permanence? p155
GETTING HELP:
For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Sakai, please contact the UF Help
Desk at:
● Learning-support@ufl.edu
● (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
● https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml
** Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the
ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket
number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your
instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.
Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:

Counseling and Wellness resources

Disability resources

Resources for handling student concerns and complaints

Library Help Desk support
Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit
http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.
GRADING POLICIES:
Assignment
Points or percentage
Policy Paper
50 points
Quizzes
50 points
GRADING SCALE:
Grade
%
A
93% - 100%
A-
90% & up
B+
87% & up
B
83% & up
B-
80% & up
C+
77% & up
C
73% & up
C-
70% & up
D+
67% & up
D
63% & up
D-
60% & up
E
<60%
Disclaimer: This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through
the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning
opportunity. Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be
expected.