GEOG/EME 432
Energy Policy

OLD Syllabus

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GEOG / EME 432 - Energy Policy - SP 2015 (under construction)

This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the document or by clicking on any of the links below to “jump” to a specific section.

It is essential (and exclusively your responsibility) that you read this entire document, the course Orientation, and anything linked from here. Together these materials serve as our course contract and helps both you and I manage our expectations for how the course will unfold over the semester.

Download a pdf of this syllabus.


Instructor

Photo of Brandi Robinson

Brandi Robinson, Faculty, Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Phone: Office 814.867.4539
Fax: 814.863.1564
E-mail: brobinson@psu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

NOTE:

I will read and respond to e-mail at least once per day Monday through Friday. While I make an effort to be available over the weekend, you shouldn't depend on it.

Our lesson weeks will run from Monday to Sunday.  For specific due date information, you should refer to our ANGEL calendar.

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Description: Government, corporate, and public perspectives on the analysis, formulation, implementation, and impacts of energy-related policies, regulations, and initiatives.
Prerequisites: ENNEC 100 or E B F 200, EGEE 120, PL SC 490 (PL SC 001, PL SC 002 or PUBPL 304W)

As concerns for a secure, stable, and clean energy future grow, so does the need for individuals who can develop, assess, and implement effective energy policies and practices. GEOG / EME 432 will provide you with an in-depth exploration of energy policy development, implementation, and assessment at multiple governmental and corporate scales. The course utilizes contemporary real-world problems and actions to provide you with context for the drivers, frameworks, and assumptions of energy policy. Course lecture materials, readings (scholarly articles, text chapters, etc.), and learning activities are all presented in an online learning environment.

The course is structured to provide you with the expertise necessary to identify energy policy needs, craft policy alternatives, and evaluate energy policy. Emphasis on tailoring energy policy to meet not just economic goals but also environmental and social goals creates a global perspective from which you will learn to approach energy policy challenges. You will undertake a course-long project in which you must research an energy policy issue at a scale and on a topic of your choosing. You will utilize activities from each lesson in the course to refine and guide this project throughout the semester. Because the demand for highly analytical individuals is so great among energy professionals, you will also critique a classmate's work. The Research Project in the course will help you develop the analytical and communication skills identified as priorities for the ESP program while learning about industry-specific concepts.

Students who successfully complete GEOG / EME 432 should be able to:

  • Identify energy policy knowledge gaps and needs at various governmental and entity levels
  • Examine existing or proposed energy policy critically; expose errors, find unintended consequences of implementation, offer suggestions for improvement
  • Identify the drivers of energy policy from political, environmental, and economic perspectives; and explain how these drivers can exist  either in conflict or complement of each other
  • Articulate the goals and outcomes of energy policy to diverse audiences, translating the often cumbersome language of legislation into a more accessible format for stakeholders

What I Expect of You

On average, most students spend eight to ten hours per week working on course assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending on your prior experience with the energy topics we're covering and your familiarity with online classes.

I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. Similarly to a face-to-face college class, how much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule, and if you take advantage of opportunities to engage both your classmates and instructor throughout the course.

Specific learning objectives for each lesson and project are detailed within each lesson. The class schedule is published under the Calendar in ANGEL (the course management system used for this course).  You can also see our schedule under Course Schedule SP 2015.

What You Can Expect of Me

We are using an online learning environment for this course, and as such, my "office" is also online*.  Please feel free to contact me directly with questions and I will respond to you within 24 hours.  If it is something that is more easily addressed through an online meeting, please get in touch with me and we can arrange a time to chat using the ANGEL chat functions or Skype at a time that works well for both of us.  If I am going to be out of touch for a while, I will let you know ahead of time.

*Generally, I try to keep a level playing field for all of the students in the class. I recognize that some of you are located at the University Park campus where I am, but many of you - most of you - are not. You have elected to take an online course, and therefore, we will work to conduct all of our business for the course online.

Lessons open on Thursdays and assignments are due the following Wednesdays at 11:55 pm, eastern time. You have an entire week to complete the readings and other associated activities.  Anything not submitted by the assigned due date will be considered late and points will be deducted (see Grading in GEOG/EME 432 for details).

Because each lesson's activities are integral to the development of your Research Project, it's critical you complete them as scheduled.  You can expect me to grade and provide you feedback no later than one week after an assignment has been submitted unless otherwise noted.  Once you get feedback from me, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.  I want us to work together throughout the semester to build your understanding of the course content.

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There is no textbook for you to buy for this course. All necessary materials are presented online through our Course website and in ANGEL. In order to access all materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the online course resources). If you have any questions about obtaining or activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact the Helpdesk.

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This course will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning:

  • Lesson Activities - 30%
  • Research Project - 50%
  • Participation - 20%

    Grades and feeback will be posted in ANGEL with each assignment so that you can track your progress as the course goes along.  If at any point you have questions or concerns about your grade, just ask, I'm happy to help!

    Learn more about how each type of assignment in this course will be graded by reading Grading in GEOG/EME 432 in Resources.

    Letter grades will be based on the following percentages (percentages refer to the proportion of all possible points earned by the student):

    *Note: Grades will not round up and there are no curves!

    ESP Majors - this course requires a grade of C or better in order for it to count toward the major!

    Grading scale
    Grade Percent
    A
    93–100%
    A-
    90–92.9%
    B+
    87–89.9%
    B
    83–86.9%
    B-
    80–82.9%
    C+
    77–79.9%
    C
    70–76.9%
    D
    60–69.9%
    F
    <60%

    Late Work

    All course-related assignments must be completed by the assigned due date and time. Because each lesson builds a foundation for the next, it is imperative that you complete the assignments on time to prepare yourself for the Research Project.

    One of the many advantages to taking courses online is that it affords you a certain degree of flexibility in when and how you complete your assignments that might be more challenging to achieve in a face-to-face classroom setting. However, taking courses online does not mean that you've got the autonomy to do and submit the work when you wish.

    In order for us to move through the material as a group, it's important that each of you complete your assignments on time. Late is defined as submitted anytime after the published deadline. This means if you procrastinate and turn it in at 11:59 pm after an 11:55 pm deadline, it's late.

    Late penalty schedule - in order to provide all of you with a fair, uniformed way of handling the inevitable late submissions that will occur, I will deduct 10% of the available points for every 24 hour period that passes before submission occurs (1 minute through 24 hours late = 10%; 24 hours, 1 minute through 48 hours late = 20%, etc.).

    Don't tempt fate - technology is far from perfect, and generally, it only fails when you really need it to work.  If you play with fire and wait until the very last second to submit your work via the Dropbox in ANGEL, you may get burned.  This is an easy enough problem for us to avoid - you have a full week to complete your work, so don't wait until that last second to turn it in.  Late is late.

    Life happens.  If you have a legitimate situation or emergency arise during the semester that is going to hinder your ability to complete work on time, you should contact me to make arrangements. It takes but a minute to call or email and give me a courtesy heads up. I'm much more willing to work with you if I know what's going on, remember - I'm a person too. Falling off the radar for 3 weeks and then asking forgiveness isn't the way to go.

    Why am I so picky?!? Good question. Because I believe that college isn't just about giving you a content-specific education, it's about teaching you to be a productive member of society...and in the real world, deadlines matter.

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      Online Presence

      Please note that some courses in the ESP program require students to maintain a web presence, such as the creation of a webpage, blog postings, video sharing, and other Internet participation. ESP students may be required to participate in online activities that are widely accessible to all, including others outside of Penn State.


      Course Schedule

      On the Course Schedule page under Resources, you will find a summary of the activities for this course and the associated time frames.


      Course Policies

      • Penn State E-mail Accounts
        All official communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State e-mail accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, or forward your Penn State e-mail to your preferred e-mail account, so you don't miss any important information.
      • Academic Integrity - very important, don't skip this section
        This course follows the guidelines for academic integrity of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Penn State defines academic integrity as "the pursuit of scholarly project in an open, honest and responsible manner." Academic integrity includes "a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception." In particular, the University defines plagiarism as "the fabrication of information and citations; submitting other's work from professional journals, books, articles, and papers; submission of other student's papers, lab results or project reports and representing the work as one's own." Penalties for violations of academic integrity may include course failure.

        To learn more, see Penn State's "Plagiarism Tutorial for Students."  I cannot overemphasize the importance of academic integrity. DO NOT copy and paste from unreferenced sources. Without exception: if you use a direct quote from any source, as part of any submitted assignment, the quote must be clearly noted with quotation marks and properly cited in text and with a Works Cited. 

        I take violations of academic integrity very seriously in this class, and I will file an Academic Integrity Violation form with the College if you are found to be cheating in any way - whether that's sharing answers with a classmate, copying and pasting text and passing it off as your own, or anything else. It's simply not fair to the students who do their own work and do it it well to tolerate cheating of any kind.
      • Citation and Reference Style
        It is important (not only in this course, but in all courses you take as well as professional documents you produce) to employ proper citation methods for the sources you utilize.  Failure to do so reduces the credibility of your work at best and can lead to suspicion of intentional plagiarism at worst.  We don't want either of those things to happen!  While I do not have a strong preference for which citation format you elect to use, I do require that you use one, and that you use it consistently throughout an assignment.

        See our course Academic Integrity Guide, accessible through the Resources menu.

        If you are interested, Penn State has many useful resources about citations if you need some help. You can also check out  Styles for Students - an excellent, in-depth tutorial of how and why we cite things.; And, as always, just contact your instructor if you have any questions.
      • Deferred Grades
        If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If, for any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript.
      • Accommodating Disabilities
        Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Office for Disability Services (ODS) Web site provides contact information for every Penn State campus: http://equity.psu.edu/ods/dcl. For further information, please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site: http://equity.psu.edu/ods.

        In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
      • Military Personnel
        Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
      • Inclement Weather
        In case of weather-related delays at the University, this online course will proceed as planned. Your instructor will inform you if there are any extenuating circumstances regarding content or activity due dates in the course due to weather delays. If you are affected by a weather-related emergency, please contact your instructor at the earliest possible time to make special arrangements.
      • Netiquette
        The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as e-mail and bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core Rules of Netiquette" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course.
      • Connect Online with Caution
        Penn State is committed to educational access for all. Our students come from all walks of life and have diverse life experiences. As with any other online community, the lack of physical interaction in an online classroom can create a false sense of anonymity and security. While one can make new friends online, digital relationships can also be misleading. Good judgment and decision making are critical when choosing to disclose personal information with others whom you do not know.

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      Technical Requirements

      For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the Dutton Institute Technical Requirements page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk.

      NOTE:

      Access to a reliable Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your Internet access may not be used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or Wi-Fi® hotspot.