BPOLST500 is the very first course our MAPS students take. In this course, I train students to conduct rigorous analysis of important public policy problems and develop solutions for them. In fall of 2008, I challenged my students to design policies implementing two laws recently enacted in Washington state. As mandated by ESSB 6001, policy makers in Washington State have been charged with "designing and recommending a comprehensive set of policies to the legislature and the governor on how to achieve statewide reduction in greenhouse gases emissions". Further, the state government has been charged with assisting local governments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to growth management (ESSB 6580).

Students chose to develop policies at the state level (Carbon Dioxide market), at the city level (they chose to develop policies for a city with a strong linguistic minority, requiring policy information materials to be bi-lingual), and at the level of industry (agriculture and timber).

Through short assignments, I guided students through policy problem definition, solution development, identification of policy stakeholders, and policy agenda-setting and advocacy. Please follow the links on the left side of this page to see what the students recommend. If you have ideas for projects in my future classes, feel free to e-mail me.