Welcome to EME 444!
New to EME 444?
Registered students should begin with the Course Orientation.
Not registered? Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback and earn academic credit. For information about registering for this course and the online degree Bachelor of Arts in Energy and Sustainability Policy, visit our ESP BA program home page. The Master of Education in Earth Sciences home page offers information about registering for this course and the online Master of Education in Earth Sciences degree program.
Instructors
Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy Policy and Economics and International Affairs, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering; Co-Director, Penn State Center for Energy Law and Policy
- A note about contacting me: The best way to reach me is via Canvas email ("inbox"). Please do not e-mail my Penn State email address with questions about the course. I will simply reply and ask you to send a message through Canvas. I check my Canvas email frequently, and will do my best to respond to you within 24 hours during the work week. I cannot guarantee prompt responses to emails sent over the weekend. If you have a question regarding course content (unless you do not want others to see it) I encourage you to use the Questions about EME 444? discussion board. This may help other students who have the same or similar questions. NOTE: Do not wait until Sunday night to email me with a question about an assignment; EXPECT A 24-hour turnaround during the work week and longer over the weekend.
- Office Hours: I do not hold regular office hours for this course. I will check for and reply to messages at least once each workday, and some weekend days - but do not expect me to be available or online over the weekends. Please contact me to make an appointment if you’d like to speak to me at a given time.
Overview
EME 444 is a required course for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Energy and Sustainability Policy online degree program, geared towards students who are able to study only part time and at a distance. EME 444 is designed to help students achieve three of the programmatic educational objectives established for the Energy Sustainability and Policy degree. It fosters energy industry knowledge by ensuring students’ ability to detect and correct misstatements and misconceptions about energy resources, technologies, and uses. It helps students achieve a global perspective through case studies of energy businesses and policy regimes worldwide. And it nurtures analytical skills by challenging students to discover, acquire, read, interpret, and evaluate information beyond what is provided by the instructor.
Learning Environment
This website provides the primary instructional materials for the course. The Course Outline menu to the right links to the course lessons, and contains the bulk of the content for this course. The Resources menu at the top links to important supporting materials, such as a Writing Style Guide, Excel and PowerPoint help, and more. Note that there is also a link to the course syllabus, as well as Canvas. Canvas is Penn State's course management system, and is used to support the delivery of this course as well, as it provides the primary communications, calendaring, and submission tools for the course.
Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback, and earn academic credit. Information about Penn State's Energy and Sustainability Policy Bachelor's program is available at the ESP Overview Page.