PUBPOL-803
POLICY ANALYSIS I
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Instructor
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment18–32
Semesters of data3
4.9
Hrs / week
136
Responses
215
Enrollment
63%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.2
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.2
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.6
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.4
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 299 comments across 9 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Heavy homework load
Homework load is one of the clearest friction points. Students repeatedly describe assignments, readings, or problem sets as time-consuming.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
Student Responses
I learned different methods for policy analysis
Fall 2024 · McCorkle, Pope
This course taught me how to write a memo, how to formulate an argument both verbally and in writing, and how to articulate my ideas in a presentation. This course helped me navigate my own personal beliefs on policy issues that are split within my political party.
Fall 2023 · Schanzer, David
How to be a better writer, presenter and argue!
Fall 2023 · Schanzer, David
First of all, I learned how to write a policy memo the "Schanzer way," which I was told was superior to all other methods of writing for policy memos. If there are three specific takeaways from this course, they would be 1) write concisely while also getting your point across (even if Schanzer writes long sentences, you should not), 2) hit your reader with the argument or main point in the first sentence (don't "back into" the argument as Schanzer would say), and 3) have fun with whatever you're doing and "everything will be great" (as Schanzer would say).
Fall 2023 · Schanzer, David
I learned the below skills: Oral advocacy Policy Memo writing Critical thinking
Fall 2023 · Schanzer, David
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Bunnel, Meredith | 4.8 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 39 |
| Fall 2024 | Katz, Abe 4.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.0Difficulty3.0Would retake100%Based on 1 ratingClick to view on RMP → | 3.8 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 95 |
| Fall 2023 | Schanzer, David 4.9Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.9Difficulty3.9Would retake100%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 81 |
Instructor
Also teaches
PUBPOL-830 SPECIAL TOPICS MODULE4.9