PSA 495: Public Safety Administration Major Capstone

Course Description

This course synthesizes leadership theory in relation to the other Public Safety Administration courses into a succinct research project that assimilates information to culminate the Public Safety Administration program.

Prerequisites

This is the required capstone course in the Charter Oak Public Safety Administration concentration and should be taken in your final semester.
ENG 101: English Composition 1
ENG 102: English Composition 2

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Examine leadership from a public safety perspective
Understand their own personal leadership traits and learn how to apply those traits to best advantage within their own organizations.
Examine and actively work with the skills needed to understand, build and disseminate leadership and learn the role of leadership within a broader societal environment.
Build their own personal leadership development plan within the context of the knowledge areas and disciplines which they have been exposed to within the over-all Public Safety Administration concentration.

Course Activities and Grading

Assignments	Weight
Weekly Discussion	30%
Midterm Project	25%
Research Paper	35%
Community Section (Participation on Wiki and Discussions)	10%
Total	100%

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak's online bookstore

Wilson, Anthony. Bridge the Gap: Leadership Lessons for the Public Safety Leader. Createspace Receiving, 2015. ISBN-10: 1-5089-6894-2 or ISBN-13: 978-1-5089-6894-8

Additional Required Materials

(Not available through bookstore)

Students are required to purchase the Online Leadership Skills Inventory - Self (LSI-S)

Additional Resources

Scholarly articles and technical material posted to the class web site each week. The class site will also feature several Power Point presentations, streaming media and hyperlinks to other sources of information about leadership as well as a glossary.

Course Schedule

Note: All weeks run Monday - Sunday

Week	SLOs	Readings and Exercises	Assignments
1	1-4	Topics: Leadership Inventory and Leaders and the Leadership Process This week we will get to know our fellow classmates and spend time exploring and becoming comfortable with the class website. Textbook reading assignments and discussion also begin. Readings: Chapter 1: Connecting Leadership Chapter 2: Transforming Leadership Assessment: Personal Leadership Skills Inventory	Participate in the Discussions Read assigned material Participate in Class Wiki (Introduction)
2	1-4	Topics: The Skills of Interpersonal Communications and Conflict Management This week’s class will begin to examine the skill set of leadership and discuss the personal factors that constitute leadership, the personal trait theory, the great man theory and undesirable leadership attributes. Readings: Chapter 3: Crisis Leadership Chapter 4: The L.E.A.D.E.R. Principles	Participate in the Discussions Read assigned material
3	1-4	Topic: The Skills of Versatility: Style, Role and Skill Shifting On this week we will continue with the skills that define the paradigm of leadership. First we examine Organizational development and then move to versatility in style, skill and role of the leader. In addition we will discuss environmental factors of leadership and myths of leadership. Readings: Chapter 5: The Fundamentals of being a C.O.A.C.H Chapter 6: Diversity: Building Better Internal and External Relationships	Read assigned material Participate in the Discussions Complete Midterm Project by Sunday, 11:59 PM ET
4	1-4	Topic: Building the personal leadership plan & Leader Power Readings: Chapter 7: Dismantling the Wall of Silence Chapter 8: Leader Self-Development	Read assigned material Participate in the Discussions
5	1-4	Topic: Deep structure strategic planning, competence in using leadership skills and RCMP/FLETC leadership competencies plus Interpersonal factors of leadership Readings: Addendum A: Leadership Styles/Behaviors/Theories Addendum B: Personal Cover Value List Addendum C: Starbuckers Leadership Vacuum signs	Read assigned material Participate in the Discussions Submit Research Paper Complete Course Evaluation

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.