PUBPOL-837
PUBLIC BUDGETING & FINANCE
Offered Fall 2026
Term
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. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment10–10
Semesters of data1
4.6
Hrs / week
5
Responses
10
Enrollment
50%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
5.0
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
5.0
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.8
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 18 comments across 1 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. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
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
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Regular lecture load
Lectures matter here, but the evidence points to a fairly standard lecture burden rather than a course dominated by long or exceptionally dense lectures.
Strengths
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
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.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
I understood how conflicting interests of different stakeholders impact budget allocation, why there is always a tension between borrowing and raising taxes, how budgets are made, reasons for various taxes and the need for stakeholder management when making budget decisions
Fall 2025 · Brook, Douglas
I learned the nuances of public budgeting and the ethical conflicts budgeteers face.
Fall 2025 · Brook, Douglas
This course deepened my understanding of public budgets, deficits and debt, taxes, audits, and more.
Fall 2025 · Brook, Douglas
1. The public budgeting process 2. How public budgets are political documents and a reflection of policy priorities 3. How to analyze and read public budget and incorporate it into all areas of policy
Fall 2025 · Brook, Douglas
I learned about the federal budget process, the policy decisions that go into making a budget, and how to analyze government budgets thoroughly.
Fall 2025 · Brook, Douglas
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Brook, Douglas | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 10 |