Public Affairs 7950: CAPSTONE: Nonprofit Topics

The course contributes to all Glenn College Master’s Program Goals and management capstone objectives. In particular, the course focuses on the following management objectives:

• Manage and lead public organizations towards policy goals
• Understand public organizations as a unit of analysis
• Identify and manage external/ environmental challenges to organizational performance
• Identify what constitutes feasible performance outputs for public organizations
• Engage in strategic planning for public organizations
• Identify and manage internal challenges to organization performance

Upon successful completion of this course students will:

• be able to integrate theory and data to inform nonprofit management decisions.
• have experience collecting organizational data to inform nonprofit management decisions.
• appreciate the capacity challenges associated with nonprofit management.
• know how to identify and interpret prior knowledge about a problem.
• have the skills to maximize the effectiveness of management teams.
• deal effectively with the ambiguity of organizational and project realities.

• Client Kickoff Agenda, 1% (team)
• Initial Project Description & Plan, 1% (team)
• Updated Project Plan, 4% (team)
• Capstone Examination, 30% (individual)
• Client Discovery Report, 8% (team)
• Theory Presentation, 2% (team)
• Class Rounds, 2% (team)
• Instructor Rounds, 4% (team)
• Initial Draft of Client Deliverable, 0% (team)
• Mid-Semester Feedback, 2% (individual)
• Mid-Semester Reflection, 2% (individual)
• Final Team Evaluation, 1% (individual)
• Team Contribution, 7% (individual)
• Second Draft of Client Deliverable, 0% (team)
• Client Presentation, 6% (team)
• Client Satisfaction, 5% (team)
• Final Client Deliverable, 25% (team)

Students are required to earn a grade of “B” or better to successfully fulfill the capstone requirement, which is necessary to graduate from both the MA and MPA programs. Students with a grade lower than B or an incomplete will be required to take a second capstone course. A student has only two chances to achieve a grade of “B” or better in the capstone course. Regardless of grade, students who take an Incomplete in the course are considered not to have successfully fulfilled the capstone requirement and will be required to take a second capstone class.

• MA Students: The Capstone Assessment will also constitute the University’s required master’s examination for the Master of Arts degree. The Capstone Assessment Committee is approved by the Dean and includes at least one core faculty member plus the instructor of the class, provided that the instructor is a member of the Graduate Faculty of M level or higher. In the event that the instructor is not a graduate faculty member of M level or higher, the instructor may be added to the committee by approval of the graduate studies committee and petition to the Graduate School. While the instructor assigns the grade for the assignment as part of the grade for the course, the Capstone Assessment Committee evaluates separately whether the student achieves a successful pass (“Pass” or “Marginal Pass”). Students who fail will be required to stand for an oral examination with the assessment committee, during which they will have the opportunity to expand further on their answers to the written assessment. This should take place immediately (i.e. a day or two) after the committee has determined that the written assessment is insufficient. At the oral examination, the advisor serves as the chair and all members of the assessment committee must be present. MA students failing the oral examination will be required to take a second capstone class in a future semester and also successfully pass the Capstone Assessment. An MA student has only two chances to pass the Capstone Assessment. Students passing the assessment but failing to achieve a “B” or higher in the course will be required to take another capstone class. Both criteria (“B” in the course and passing the assessment) are required to graduate.
• MPA Students: For MPA students, the completion of a capstone class with a grade of “B” or higher satisfies the College’s capstone exit requirement for the Master of Public Administration degree. All other degree requirements must also be successfully met in order to graduate (See Master’s Handbook for full requirements.)

The primary assignment for this capstone course is the development of a client deliverable for a client organization. As students are completing a project for an external client, students will learn consulting skills and to appreciate nonprofit capacity constraints. As in any consulting project, student need to satisfy both the client and the instructor as they complete deliverables. This capstone course is a significant undertaking given the client-facing nature of the course. It will require a high level of commitment, professionalism, and flexibility as a number of activities required to complete the project will be outside of the class meeting period to accommodate the client and community stakeholders. The need for flexibility may also extend to in-class readings as new or different areas of focus may emerge as the project progresses.

Client Kickoff Agenda
To prepare for your client kick-off meeting, write a detailed agenda of what you hope to cover during the meeting. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Project Description & Plan
In an effort to organize and scope the project, students will submit an initial and then an updated project plan that among other things includes a problem statement, timeline of activities (including discovery, analysis, and recommendation development), any necessary research protocols, team responsibilities, and reading list. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Client Discovery Report
Following the discovery period, each team will submit a report that shows the team’s findings and how those findings will inform their final client deliverable. Because each project is unique, each team’s report will look different and the components will be agreed upon by the team and instructor in advance of the deadline. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Theory Presentation (to Class)
Each client team will make a presentation to the class on their assigned date (see course schedule) that applies at least two theories or concepts from the masters core courses to your project. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Instructor Rounds
During most class periods (see course schedule) each team will be expected to give the instructor an update on the status of the project and key challenges the team is facing. This is a student-led time to receive input, guidance, and resources from the instructor. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Class Rounds
Each client team will make presentations to the class on their assigned dates (see course schedule). This is a time to provide an update on your project and receive input and guidance from the rest of the students in the class. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubric.

Team & Colleague Evaluation
Because your client-based project will be completed in teams, team effectiveness will need to be maximized, which can only be done through feedback. One of the goals of the course is to provide an opportunity to improve one’s skills in working on management teams by providing and receiving constructive feedback. To develop these skills, at mid-semester I will ask you to fill out a feedback form that evaluates your team’s overall and individual performance. Once you receive the feedback from your colleagues, you will write a short reflection on how you plan to alter your behaviors to improve team performance. At the end of the semester, you will complete a similar evaluation again to determine if improvements were made. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubrics.

Client Presentation & Satisfaction
Students will present their recommendation to the client at the end of the semester. At that point both the presentation itself and the client’s perception of the team’s work will be assessed. See Carmen course page for directions and grading rubrics.

Client Deliverable
The primary assignment for this course is to produce a recommendation or deliverable for a nonprofit-sector client. Throughout the semester multiple drafts of your deliverable will be submitted to the instructor for feedback. Students should model their report as a professional document with visual display of information (tables, charts, figures, exhibits, etc.). Given the unique nature of each project, there will be variation in sections of the report. See Carmen course page for detailed directions and grading rubric.

The capstone examination measures student progress in meeting the course objectives as well as their understanding and involvement in their team project. The Capstone Exam will also constitute the University’s required master’s examination for the Master of Arts degree. The Masters of Arts degree exams will be graded by the School’s examination committee.

Students will be required to complete a graded take‐home examination. The exam will be made available through Carmen on February 5 and is due February 19 (both at 9am). This exam will comprise 30% of the grade for the course. As a rough indication of the time spent on the examination, estimate the amount of time that you would normally devote to a mid-term examination that counts for 30% of your grade.

The exam is intended to test a student’s ability to integrate the knowledge and skills gained throughout her or his graduate program and apply it to practice. While students may be working in teams on their capstone projects, collaboration with other students on this exam is strictly prohibited. Please see the Academic Misconduct section of the syllabus. The Capstone Examination has a 4,000 word limit (excluding references) and the grading rubric can be found on Carmen.

Questions for the exam are as follows:

1) Organization. Provide a brief description of the organization serving as your client. What is the client’s mission? What is the scope of the organization’s services or activities?

2) Organizational Stakeholders. Conduct a stakeholder analysis for your client organization. Who are the organization’s stakeholders and what are their roles? How will you seek to meet the needs of these stakeholders through your project? Please include a table or figure that demonstrates your analysis.

3) Organizational SWOT. Conduct a SWOT analysis for your client organization. Use what you have learned about the organization, including its nonprofit capacities, to identify its strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. Please include a table or figure that demonstrates your analysis.

4) Problem. Grounded in your analyses, clearly define the problem addressed by your capstone project. What evidence is there that this is a significant problem worthy of attention? In what ways are particular stakeholders and SWOTs implicated in the problem?

5) Project Approach or Method. Grounded in your analyses, briefly, and in your own words, describe how your team plans to address the problem. What will you do to solve the problem? Why? In what ways will particular stakeholders and SWOTs be involved in your approach/solution? Be sure to cite evidence for why you believe this approach/solution is appropriate, including material from your masters coursework and recent reading.

6) Conclusion. Summarize and synthesize the outcomes of the analyses you have conducted in this paper in terms of how you see them informing your final recommendation or deliverable. How have these analyses helped you think differently about the client’s problem? How have they informed your approach, method, or recommendation(s)?

Given the client-based nature of the course, students are expected to demonstrate professional behavior, including confidentiality of information, and respect for the time of colleagues and clients. Students are expected to be present in class each week because important information will be delivered, and a good deal of class time will be devoted to working in client-based project teams. Announcements will be made in Carmen, so turn on your email notifications.