Bit of a rollercoaster of a unit. I will say Professor Duong is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the content and theories, which can make what some would perceive as a boring unit quite interesting. The content itself, although a bit dry, is very straightforward and is given in a linear fashion. It is not hard to understand or apply the theories, provided you sink a bit of time into actually watching the lectures and completing the pre-tutorial assigned work. What really got to me, and a lot of my cohort, was the assessments. I didn't mind the tutorial participation (20%), which was made up of both in-class participation and a weekly journal. Although a bit tedious at times, the journal did allow me to reflect on the week's content and discussions and make up for lost marks I may not have received in the in-class tutorial. The take-home analytical essay was a bit of a disaster. Professor Duong was very kind in that she gave us a lot of resources on how to research and lay out the essay. But when it came time for marking, all marking was completed by her assistant (I believe a master's or PHD student), who completely disregarded the resources we were told to use. A huge example is when, despite using Professors Duong's provided essay structure plan, we were marked down for structure. A lot of people felt the marking was aloof from what we were told to use. To her credit, Professor Duong realised that a huge portion of the unit's students were upset, and marks were retroactively added to essay's after a revision of the essay marks, but it should not take the students frustration and stress for an assessment to be properly marked. The exam was okay, but the structure was odd, I think it would benefit from including some short-answer questions rather than just two long-answer questions, so the students can be tested on more theories and can apply their knowledge more broadly. Overall, wasnt the worst experience i've had but definitely room for improvement. Professor Duong is incredibly good at what she does, and was able to iron out the few bumps along the way with decorum.

Anonymous, Semester 1, 2026

this unit is an intensive look at not only public policy but also of public administration. The content is heavy in different theories of policy and the readings are quite dense. In the end you will have a far more nuanced understanding of the entire policy process. Tutorials are a must. try not to miss one.

Anonymous, Semester 1, 2019

Overall a decent unit. However, the textbook has limited applicability to an Australian context and tutorials were more of a passive analysis rather than a robust discussion.

Anonymous, Semester 1, 2018