College of Professional Studies
Department of Applied Science, Technology
and Administration
Administrative Law
PAD 5605: Online Course
Wm. M. Haraway, III Ph.D.
wharaway@uwf.edu
Building 77, Room 121C
(850) 473-7243 Campus Office
(850) 995-8419 Home Office
(850) 324-0845 Cell
Course Overview
Administrative law deals with the legal principles common to all administrative agencies.
Administrative agencies perform missions entrusted to them by statutes authorizing certain
actions for specific purposes at each level of American government. In this sense agencies are
"specialists" with one or more missions or purposes headed by a single official, collegiate body,
commission, board, or administration. Most administrative agencies are part of the executive
branch of government, but some are independent bodies often referred to as independent
regulatory agencies. While the heads of most administrative agencies are appointed by the chief
executive, others are elected to that position in some state governments. Administrative agencies
also vary in size from those with only a few employees and a small budget to those with
thousands of employees and budgets in the billions of dollars.
Administrative agencies at the local, state and federal levels of government affect almost
every aspect of life-- from transportation and communication industries to medicare and social
security. Some administrative agencies are "regulatory" because they enforce mandatory
prohibitions or obligations, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while others are
"benefactory" because they disburse benefits, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA).
To accomplish such diverse missions administrative agencies are authorized to investigate,
prosecute, make laws, adjudicate, license, and perform related duties and responsibilities in
carrying out their missions. Simply stated, administrative agencies have the same three powers
of government promulgated in the U.S. Constitution: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
These powers are the focus of the study of administrative law because the legal principles
common to all administrative agencies govern their functions and the legitimacy of their
action(s). Equally important, the study of administrative law includes a focus on and analysis of
the law defining the role of the courts, legislature, and the chief executive with respect to agency
activities. In other words, this course deals with the source and legitimacy of agency authority,
proper agency procedures for investigating and prosecuting violators, making rules, adjudicating
individual rights, and the proper procedure for obtaining judicial review of agency action. In
sum, this course focuses on procedural law, as opposed to substantive law.
To that end this course is designed as a graduate seminar requiring participants to
demonstrate initiative and perform independent study. Discussions of readings and assignments
will be based on the experiences, knowledge, skills and abilities of participants, in addition to
those of the professor. This will require that all assignments (readings, case analyses, and
assigned papers) be completed in a timely manner.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
* Discern the relationship between the authority of administrative agencies
and democratic institutions
* Understand how administrative and independent regulatory agencies are controlled
* Explain the role of the courts in providing oversight of discretionary decision making by
public agencies and officials
* Describe restrictions on the conduct of administrative inspections and searches conducted by
public officials
* Identify and understand the major components of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
and the Negotiated Rule-Making Act of 1990
* Understand and differentiate between the underlying principles of judicial and administrative
fact-finding
* Identify the sources of judicial review of agency action
* Explain the sources of governmental power to collect private information and
control administrative discretion
* Demonstrate knowledge of the liability of public managers for unlawful acts: Absolute and
Qualified Official Immunity
Required Readings
Cann, Steven J. Administrative Law 4ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006.
(ADL on syllabus)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6ed. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association, 2009/10. (APA on syllabus)
Suggested Supplemental Reading Resources
Barry, Donald D. The Legal Foundations of Public Administration. Lanham, MD: Rowman and
Littlefield, 2005.
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. The Federalist Papers, edited by George
W. Carey, et al., Gideon ed., Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001.
Rosenbloom, David H. Constitutional Competence for Public Managers: Cases and
Commentary. Itasca, Ill: F.E. Peacock, 2000.
Cooper, Phillip J. Public Law and Public Administration. 3ed. Itawsca, Ill: F.E. Peacock, 2000.
Cooper, Philip J. and Chester A. Newland, eds. Handbook of Public Law and Administration,
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
Edley, Christopher F. Administrative Law: Rethinking Judicial Control of Bureaucracy, New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.
Course Requirements and Grading
Midterm Examination - 35%
Applied Research Paper - 35%
Online Threaded Discussion Participation - 10%
Case Analyses/Other Written Assignments - 20%
Expectations for Academic Conduct
As members of the University of West Florida academic community, we commit
ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity (both personal and
institutional) is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not
knowingly act in ways that erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to
tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources
in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness. Cooperation
and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed, cooperation is
expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will compete constructively and
professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance and standards. Finally, we accept
adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of membership in the
UWF academic community.
Standards for Written Assignments
Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the Sixth
Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all
assignments and manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and
Publishing of Scientific Information" included therein. All work submitted for this course must
be the student's own and may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose
without the professor's prior written permission (if in doubt you must ask the professor).
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other courserelated accommodations should contact the Director of Disabled Student Services
(DSS), dss@uwf.edu (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the
instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.
Schedule of Assignments
Week 1:



Building an Online Community (Online Learner Orientation)
Review and complete the Online Orientation, student D2L training, and complete your
student biography in the D2L “Classlist” link.
Participate in the group threaded discussion under the “Discussion” link.
Review the HRM Syllabus, Research Paper Guidelines and Requirements, instructor’s
vita, and read the HRM articles in the “Important Course Information” link.
Week 2:
The U.S. Constitution - Powers of Government
ADL, Appendix B: The United States Constitution.
Beach, et al., "State Administration and the Founding Fathers
During the Critical Period," Administration & Society 28 (4),
1997: 511-530 (In content link).
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: U.S. Constitution
Week 3:
Democracy and Bureaucracy
ADL, Chapter 1: Democracy and Bureaucracy.
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: Democracy and Bureaucracy
Week 4:
Executive Control of Administrative Action
ADL, Chapter 2: Executive Control of Bureaucracy
Threaded Discussion
Week 5:
Legislative Control of Administrative Action
ADL, Chapter 3: Legislative Control of Bureaucracy
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: Approval Request for Research Project Open
Week 6:
Judicial Control of Administrative Action
ADL, Chapter 4: Control of Agencies by Default: The Courts
and Administrative Law
Threaded Discussion
Week 7:
Administrative Process: The Administrative Procedure Act
ADL, Appendix A: The Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: The APA
Week 8:
Midterm Examination
Complete and electronically submit your midterm examination in the appropriate
drop box by the specified date. (Be sure to review the grading criteria before beginning.)
Week 9:
The Government and Information
ADL, Chapter 5: Collecting Information.
ADL, Chapter 5: Agencies as Respositories of
Information
Threaded Discussion
Week 10:
Informal Agency Activity
ADL, Chapter 6: Informal Agency Activity
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: Informal Agency Activity
Week 11:
Agency Rule-Makng and Adjudication
ADL, Chapter 7: Rule-Making and Adjudication
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment: Agency Rule-Making & Adjudication
Week 12:
Substantive Issues of Administrative Law
ADL, Chapter 8: The Law of Public Employment
Threaded Discussion
Week 13:
Due Process of Law (Non-employment Contexts)
ADL, Chapter 9: State Action, Liberty or Property Interest, How Much
Process is Due?
Threaded Discussion
Week 14:
Suing the Government
ADL, Chapter 10: Issues of Sovereign Immunity, Intentional Torts, Qualified
Immunity and Immunity in the States
Threaded Discussion
Week 15:
Summary and Conclusions
ADL, Chapter 11: Political and Judicial Control &
Other Measures of Accountability of Administrative Agency Action
Threaded Discussion
Student Self-Assessment Due in Drop Box
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RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
The major intellectual project of the course that students are expected to complete is the
formal research paper. The paper must be written in APA format/style. To that end, students are
expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the sixth edition of
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all assignments
and manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of
Scientific Information" included therein. All work submitted for this course must be the
student's own and may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose without the
professor's prior written permission (if in doubt you must ask the instructor). The student should
select a paper topic consistent with her/his personal interests and intellectual curiosity that can be
well-managed within semester time parameters, based upon academic and other
workloads. Thus, it is important to keep the focus of the research paper narrow by defining
an angle onor "dimension of administrative law". The instructor is available to assist you in this
effort. Please note that your paper topic MUST be approved in advance by the instructor using
the drop box PRIOR to beginning your research.
It is expected that the formal paper will be carefully researched and well-written. To that
goal, the paper must use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The completed paper shall
be a minimum of 15 pages in length and not exceed 20 pages (excluding cover, endnotes,
appendices, and references/ bibliography). Papers must be electronically submitted to the
instructor (via drop box) no later than the date posted on the drop box for this purpose. Students
are encouraged to complete and submit papers earlier if practicable. Late papers, if
accepted, will be substantially discounted in grade, unless the delay is caused by a documented
illness and/or personal emergency. All written assignments are subject to review using
electronic software such as TurnItIn, etc.
A. Research papers will receive a letter grade based upon the following criteria:
1.
Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (proofread and spell check).
2.
Knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings and classroom discussions
(integration of course materials with research).
3.
The ability to integrate knowledge from different sources (texts, library research, class
discussions, and real life situations).
4.
Analysis of materials to reach conclusions and support them in an organized and coherent
manner (critical thinking skills).
5.
Compliance with minimum/maximum length and submission requirements.
6.
Compliance with required format and style requirements (APA, 6th ed.)
7.
Demonstrated improvement, if required, based upon written feedback received from the
instructor throughout the semester.