Spring 2027

Contemporary Public Policy Issues

A general primer on large-scale US federal and state policies, explaining the policy process and analyzing how funding is spent and its associated policy outcomes in contemporary areas.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Denia Garcia3.8/5Katherine Richard

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Denia Garcia

One student recalled a class with no exams, just a paper for the midterm and final, and lecture attendance that was not mandatory.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Demonstrate understanding of how the US federal budget is spent and US domestic policies.

  • Gain knowledge and demonstrate application of methodological tools utilized in the public policy arena (e.g., policy memo writing,).

  • Demonstrate understanding and application of knowledge regarding the policy, being able to apply basic policy concepts to practical cases drawn from the real-world.

  • Engage in knowledgeable discussions about policy with researchers and policy experts.

  • Assess and interpret empirical analyses of policies, and understand the effect of policy changes.

  • Persuasively advocate for a proposed policy change.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
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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

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.10/5 from 10 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.

For this course: 4.1/5 raw quality · 1.9/5 difficulty · 9 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Denia Garcia

Denia Garcia taught an engaging course where lecture attendance was optional, slides were posted, and discussion section attendance was required. Assessments included weekly quizzes, a blind-graded midterm, and a final testimony; students described the quizzes as easy if prepared, while noting the midterm grading was sometimes perceived as tough or unclear.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 3.62 GPA, 84.6% A/AB (n=143 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.69 GPA, 86.0% A/AB (n=129 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.67 GPA, 82.7% A/AB (n=139 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Menzie Chinn

Menzie Chinn taught PUB AFFR 200 with a midterm, two writing assignments, and a take-home final, while lecture attendance was not mandatory. Some students found grading criteria unclear and received lower grades than expected due to the curve, while others found the course easy and insightful. Chinn posted assignment instructions late; one reviewer described them as contradictory, whereas another found the workload manageable if they already understood policy issues.

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.

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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 500
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 500
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 500

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

Past student reviews · Denia Garcia

Students found Denia Garcia's lectures engaging and informative, and said she was kind and respectful, created a relaxed atmosphere, and encouraged participation without forcing it.

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

Past student reviews · Denia Garcia

One student recalled a class with no exams, just a paper for the midterm and final, and lecture attendance that was not mandatory.

Past student reviews · Denia Garcia

One student said TA grading was blind and very tough, and that there were only two actual assignments, making it tough to pull a grade up.

Topics

  • US federal and state government policies
  • State and federal funding allocation and policy outcomes
  • Contemporary policy questions

Skills

  • Understanding state and federal funding allocation and policy outcomes
  • Applying public policy methodological tools such as policy memo writing
  • Advocating persuasively for proposed policy changes

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · 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.

4 earlier forecasts · 0.26 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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

1280 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 · Spring 2027

Contemporary Public Policy Issues

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:826:025182",
    "course_id": "PUBAFFR 200",
    "course_uid": "course_eba4cde6ca47fecbcd03450d",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "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 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "5ce278f0e3bd1cf9d6a6f789bc0aaaac6aef88e2a7aba8e6bc607af36abf258b",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}