Fall 2026

Contemporary Public Policy Issues

PUBAFFR 200 provides a general primer on large-scale US federal and state government policies, explaining the policy process and contemporary questions of concern to policymakers.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Kathleen Doherty3.4/5Maria ZeienSam Wood +1 more

Summary

1 / 7

Historical reviews of Denia Garcia: Garcia’s course involves weekly quizzes and papers, with no exams, and is considered easy if students attend discussion and complete readings. Midterm grading can be difficult and unclear, requiring clarification.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
PUBAFFR 200 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.89/5 from 9 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.97 GPA, 96.9% A/AB (n=32 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.82 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=94 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 84.3% A/AB (n=102 letter grades).

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Denia Garcia: Denia Garcia is described as a good lecturer who covers quiz material thoroughly in slides, making the course easy for policy minors. However, midterm grading is reported as difficult and unclear, requiring students to seek clarification. Lecture attendance is optional, but discussion participation is required.

DENIA GARCIA is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KATHLEEN DOHERTY is recorded teaching in Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MENZIE CHINN is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction135 / 1406
DIS 301Classroom Instruction20 / 250
DIS 302Classroom Instruction22 / 253
DIS 303Classroom Instruction20 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction25 / 250
DIS 305Classroom Instruction24 / 252
DIS 306Classroom Instruction24 / 251

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Denia Garcia: Denia Garcia’s sections are described as easy, engaging, and respectful, with clear lecture materials and manageable weekly quizzes. Students find the course accessible and the atmosphere relaxed.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.55 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=107 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.67 GPA, 82.7% A/AB (n=139 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 84.3% A/AB (n=102 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Denia Garcia: Garcia’s course involves weekly quizzes and papers, with no exams, and is considered easy if students attend discussion and complete readings. Midterm grading can be difficult and unclear, requiring clarification.

Historical reviews of Denia Garcia: Students appreciate Garcia’s relaxed atmosphere, engaging sections, and respectful handling of sensitive topics. They recommend attending discussion for attendance and seeking TA feedback on papers.

Topics

  • Pressing policy areas
  • State and federal funding spending
  • Policy outcomes
  • Contemporary policy questions

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

5 earlier forecasts · 0.26 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
PUBAFFR 200 · Fall 2026

Contemporary Public Policy Issues

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:826:025182",
    "course_id": "PUBAFFR 200",
    "course_uid": "course_eba4cde6ca47fecbcd03450d",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "025182",
    "source_subject_id": "826",
    "title": "Contemporary Public Policy Issues",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "08c27b5ffc978c11de3f9558ea5d9a6fe6bcf47e935beb81edeb3b9a9775040a",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}