ELHE 7705 Education Policy Analysis

This course provides a foundation for engaging in analysis of educational policy by developing students' knowledge of and experience with tools, data sources, and frameworks that form the toolkit of policy analysts. The course engages with major theories and concepts that guide public policy analysis and provides opportunity to produce novel policy analysis and critique the framing, clarity, and concreteness of published policy analyses and proposed policy tools and solutions. Students will engage with current discourse and considerations in education policy throughout the course, with a particular focus on analyzing policy for equity. By the conclusion of the course, students will be able to engage in public policy analysis and communicate policy issues and analysis that draws on their professional expertise.

Course overview

Department
Educational Leadership and Higher Education
School
Lynch
Credits
3
Level
Graduate
Offered
Every Fall, Every Spring

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
3.96 / 5 · Very Good
83 responses
Instructor rating
4.11 / 5 · Very Good
83 responses
Terms evaluated
8
Most recent: Fall 2025

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Fall 2025Christopher Doss4.24.04.64.94.74.84.74.6—9 of 11
Spring 2025Christopher Doss4.24.64.74.74.84.54.74.64–6 hrs/week13 of 15
Summer 2024Christopher Doss4.54.74.74.74.94.64.84.54–6 hrs/week17 of 18
Fall 2023Christopher Doss—————————8 of 11
Summer 2023Steven Viveiros—————————9 of 13
Spring 2023Christopher Doss3.33.63.84.14.33.64.24.3—11 of 13
Summer 2022Steven Viveiros2.82.83.03.33.53.53.83.0—4 of 7
Spring 2022Jenna Kramer3.53.63.93.84.33.64.14.3—12 of 20

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Christopher Doss
    Summer 2026, Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 · Official rating 4.37/5
  • Jenna Kramer
    Spring 2022 · Official rating 3.58/5
  • Steven Viveiros
    Summer 2023, Summer 2022 · Official rating 3.46/5

Sections

  • Section 01
    Summer 2026 · Christopher Doss · W 07:15PM-08:15PM · Offered