Master of
Public Administration
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Program Overview & Course Catalogue
Revised Catalog September 2010
COPACE Website: www.copace.clarku.edu
COPACE maintains a Web Site which describes all COPACE programs and is linked to the Clark University web site. This Web Site contains the most up-to-date and accurate information on all COPACE program, including the M.P.A. degree. Please visit the
Dear Students and Friends of Clark University:
Welcome to the Master in Public Administration (MPA) Program Overview and Course Catalogue--a document describing the many courses that the College of Professional and Continuing Education (COPACE) offers both domestically and abroad. We offer both foundation and skills-based courses in many concentrations, including those in state and local government, non-profit administration, health systems management, human services administration, human resources management and training, and intercultural management.
These are rapidly changing times. And new times require a new kind of management. Public and non-profit sector organizations of the twenty-first century face issues that require increasingly sophisticated management expertise. More than ever, city and state governments must learn to meet public and client demands with limited resources. Resource scarcity is also prevalent in the other non-profit sectors, including health care, social services, and the arts community. In addition, the public and nonprofit sectors are increasingly complex, so their managers must utilize ever more refined knowledge, values, and skills to be both efficient and effective administrators. Today’s and tomorrow’s managers must be able to communicate effectively and resolve conflict within and across organizations. And, as information and communications technology development speeds up, information intelligence and
technology management are capacities modern managers must possess. The MPA degree program at Clark University offers opportunities for personal and professional development that will help the public and nonprofit administrator succeed in the face of these challenges.
Clark’s MPA Program is a competency-based professional master’s degree. The core competencies acquired by all graduates of the program are drawn from those identified by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. Students develop additional competencies through careful selection of electives from the MPA curriculum.
As you look through the course listings and other program information, I hope you will discover how the MPA program can improve your technical and administrative knowledge and skills so that you can move into a managerial position, or, if you are a manager already, so that you can acquire new insights into what it takes to succeed as a manager in an environment of new challenges and rapid change. I invite you to register for a course to find out for yourself what the Clark MPA can do for you.
Sincerely,
Max E. Hess
Max E. Hess
Director of Graduate Programs
College of Professional and Continuing Education 950 Main Street Worcester, MA 01610-1477 508-793-7217 Phone 508-793-7232 Fax www.clarku.edu
THE MASTER OF
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (M.P.A.)
The Clark University Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program is designed to strengthen and advance the managerial and analytical skills of mid-career executives in both public organizations and non-profit institutions. The goal of this graduate-level, professional program is to develop administrators who can effectively address the varied managerial, economic and political aspects of public issues and programs. The M.P.A. program also assists professionals from other fields who wish to make the transition to the administration of
government, non-profit or other public institutions.
The Clark M.P.A. student typically has a minimum of three to five years of increasingly responsible work experience, with at least one year of managerial, administrative or leadership responsibilities. A supervised internship is required of students lacking the minimum work experience. The M.P.A. program attracts professionals from diverse fields, including local and state government administrators; non-profit and human service organization managers; appointed and elected community leaders; long-term care managers; leaders in the criminal justice field; and administrators in elementary, secondary and higher education.
M.P.A. courses are taught as active classes to encourage close working relationships among students and faculty. Courses are scheduled for evenings or Saturday mornings to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. All classes seek a blend of relevant theory and practical application, and course work incorporates the practical experience of students with the academic component of the classroom.
Clark M.P.A. graduates have assumed management and leadership roles in a variety of settings, including town/city government, the state legislature, state agencies and legislature, non-profit organizations, health and human services agencies and educational institutions. These alumni provide invaluable mentoring and networking opportunities to current M.P.A. students.
MPA Core Competencies:
MPA core competencies define the skills that MPA students are expected to have mastered by the time of their graduation from the program. The first list below of “basic” competencies are those that every student is expected to have mastered, based on the core curriculum. These are based on the MPA Advisory Board’s recommendations and NASPAA (National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration) guidelines. The second list includes additional competencies relevant to public administration (government and/or non-profit) that a course might address. These are based on NASPAA guidelines.
Basic competencies:
Understanding policy and program formulation, implementation and evaluation Effectively manage decision-making and problem-solving processes
Understand political and legal institutions, processes and legal framework
Develop an understanding of behavioral concepts, analytical tools and communication skills underlying organizations
Manage human resources function and/or labor relations
Understand the application of accounting, finance and budgeting for sound fiscal management
Understand information systems and applications and their application to the management of organizations
Develop strong oral and written communications skills Additional competencies:
Develop an understanding of the moral and ethical issues and the dilemmas they confront
Understand concepts, theories and practices used in contemporary public planning Be able to develop effective marketing plans for public and non-profit organizations Understand and apply effective public relations techniques for public audiences and stakeholders
Understand the process of urban and/or community development Effectively manage human and social services organizations Effectively manage diverse populations
Options Within the M.P.A. Program
Requirements for completion of the M.P.A. degree are outlined later in this catalogue. Within these requirements, students are encouraged to develop their own interests through the selection of their elective courses. In these cases, however, students may prefer to focus their studies in one particular area of concentration. In this case, some of their elective courses must be selected from the specialized courses in that concentration. SINCE STUDENTS HAVE ONLY A
LIMITED NUMBER OF ELECTIVE COURSES, THEY ARE ASKED TO CONSULT WITH THE M.P.A. DIRECTOR FOR GUIDANCE AS TO WHICH OF THESE COURSES WILL LIKELY MOVE THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREERS FORWARD.
Listed below are the concentrations and sub-concentrations that are currently available in the M.P.A. program. Courses are offered under these concentrations and specialized programs subject to sufficient interest and enrollments.
Managing State and Local Government Non-Profit Management
Health Systems Administration Intercultural Leadership
Human Services Administration
Accelerated Bachelor/M.P.A. Degree Program
Accelerated Bachelor's/M.P.A. Degree Program: Clark University full-time day school undergraduates may combine their bachelor's degree with an M.P.A. degree at an accelerated pace by beginning the M.P.A. during their senior year and finishing it within a fifth year of study. Qualified students may earn the master's degree tuition free. See the Graduate Programs'
Academic Policies Handbook for more details.
City of Worcester Employee Program
Through a special agreement with the Executive Office of Human Resources, employees of the City of Worcester may pursue, at a reduced rate, an M.P.A. degree at Clark University/COPACE. Contact the Office of Human Resources in Worcester City Hall, or call the M.P.A. Program Director for details.
Clark University Branch Campuses in Israel, Poland, and Russia
Since 1994 Clark University has managed a graduate program in Israel, Poland and Russia in cooperation with Israel College. The programs offered in these countries are identical to that offered in the United States in terms of both academic requirements and administrative processes.
The programs, with courses offered in these three countries, are directed toward bilingual students living in one of these countries (or willing to spend two semesters in one of the satellite countries). Those interested can contact the COPACE office at Clark M.P.A. Director.
Commonwealth Medicine Employee Program
Through a special agreement with Commonwealth Medicine, a division of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, employees of Commonwealth Medicine may pursue, at a reduced rate, an M.P.A. degree at Clark University/COPACE. Contact the M.P.A. Program Director for details.
COPACE-Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers Partnership
Program
This non-degree program offers working social service professionals the opportunity to learn in a cohort system foundational courses for middle management in the social service sector. These classes meet one day a week for one academic year. The nine courses include: Survey in Human Services Management; Applied Economics; Entrepreneurship; Research; Program Evaluation and Outcomes Measurement; Event-planning, Grant-writing, and Fund-raising; Legal Issues for Social Service Managers; Financial Management; and Human Resources Management. Upon completing of the program, students earn a Certificate in Community Human Services
management. If they do well in this program, they can matriculate into the MPA program with credit for four Clark University MPA courses. Open to employees of human service agencies in the community.
M.P.A. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Course of Study:
All M.P.A. students must successfully complete 12 graduate courses, the seven core courses listed below, and five electives. Electives may be selected from courses offered in the M.P.A. program, or from other relevant graduate courses offered by COPACE. Further options for selecting electives that suit individual interests may be discussed with the M.P.A. program director.
Required Core Courses
The core courses below are listed in order of general recommended sequence. Though there is no specific requirement that they be taken in this order, Policy Analysis and Issues and Cases should be taken early, and the Capstone Practicum should be taken last.
MPA3400 Policy Analysis
MPA3100 Issues and Cases in Public Administration
MPA3080 Management Information Systems and Technology MPA3120 Organizational Behavior and Leadership
MPA3620 Public Budgeting and Accounting or
MPA3580 Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers or
MPA 3930 Fundamentals of Business Analysis MPA3900 Research Methods and Strategies MPA3999 Capstone Practicum
Students who enter the program with less than three years of professional experience are strongly encouraged to seek a professional internship and attend the Internship Seminar (M.P.A.3940). Students who feel they have extensive professional experience in any of the required core courses, or who have taken similar courses in their graduate and/or undergraduate work, may petition for the requirement to be waived. Those who feel they may qualify for such a waiver should consult with the M.P.A. Program Director. If their petition is approved, they may replace the waived core course with an elective course.
Elective Courses
Students are free to select their elective courses according to their own preference. Often, however, students prefer to concentrate their electives in one particular area (see the list of concentrations on page 3).
Please contact the M.P.A. Program Director for information on these and other possible concentrations, and which courses are currently being offered under each.
Graduate students are permitted to select courses offered in all COPACE graduate degree
programs. They may also petition to take graduate courses offered by other departments at Clark University or, with the additional approval of the instructor, upper-level undergraduate courses for graduate credit. Such petitions are decided on a case-by-case basis, and students should consult with the M.P.A. Program Director regarding all such requests.
A complete listing of M.P.A. courses, with course descriptions, is given in the following section. The list below, categorizes courses according to concentration to help students select courses of interest. This list is meant to be suggestive only, and does not indicate specific requirements for a concentration. Some courses are listed several times. Special Topics courses are offered where there is sufficient interest. Students should consult with the M.P.A. Program Director regarding what courses are currently available that might match their interests and professional goals.
Health Systems Administration
MPA 3030 U.S Health Care Policy MPA 3030 Health Care Administration MPA 3510 Health Communication
MPA 3450 Strategic Management for Public and Non-Profit Organizations MPA 3020 Fund-raising and Grant-writing for Non-Profit Organizations MPA 3380 Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations
Non Profit Management
MPA 3540 Managing Non-Profit Organizations
MPA 3020 Fundraising & Grant Writing for Non-Profit Organizations MPA 3880 Cost Benefit Analysis of Public Programs
MPA 3380 Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations
MPA 3740 Strategic Management for Public and Non-Profit Organizations
Managing State and Local Government
MPA 3340 Effective Local Government MPA 3770 Political Communication
MPA 3550 Politics and Public Management
MPA 3740 Strategic Management of Public and Non-Profit Organizations MPA 3820 Arbitration, Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
Intercultural Leadership
MPA 3670 Approaches to Cross-Cultural Conflict Management MPA 3350 Global Marketing and Advertising
MPA 3320 Ethics & Professional Life
MPA 3520 Intercultural Communications MPA 3140 Managing Diversity
MPA 3780 The Global Enterprise
Human Services Leadership
MPA 3440 Managing Human Services Organizations MPA 3800 Applied Economics
MPA 3020 Fundraising and Grant Writing for Non-Profit Organizations MPA 3380 Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations
COURSE OFFERINGS
CORE COURSES
MPA 3400 Policy Analysis
Examines the political process within which public policies are made and
implemented. The course uses both theoretical and applied case materials to look at the roles of various factors in setting the agenda for public discussion; the process of formulating, adopting and implementing policies; the constraining role of governmental structures; and the need for program evaluation.
MPA 3100 Issues and Cases in Public Administration
Surveys concepts, practices, and trends in contemporary public administration. Topics addressed will include inter-governmental relations, organizational theory and behavior, public personnel management, collective bargaining, governmental budgeting and regulations, and managing public policies and programs.
Incorporating research, case studies, and current events, the course emphasizes analysis and application of theory in relation to real-life situations.
MPA 3940 Internship
(The internship is required of all students with less than three years' full-time professional work experience.)
Places interns in carefully selected, mutually agreed upon sites where they engage in the full range of duties assigned to entry-level employees. More menial tasks are balanced with challenging responsibilities that will contribute to their professional growth. Interns report to a designated on-site supervisor who
provides guidance and feedback on performance. The on-site supervisor interfaces with the academic coordinator and participates in the evaluation process. Interns are expected to make a serious commitment to work at least 20 hours per week for a period of at least 14 weeks and to attend a regular seminar to integrate
workplace realities with theory and research.
MPA 3080 Management Information Systems & Technology
Effective communication and management skills in today’s technology driven organizations require that the individual possess a working knowledge of state-of-the art presentation software tools and a pragmatic understanding of both state-of-the organization’s existing information tools as well as capabilities of those tools which exist outside of the organization. This course will introduce the student to state-of-the-art software through hands-on application of the most popular tools in use today with a conceptual foundation in information system technology from a management perspective.
MPA 3120 Organizational Behavior and Leadership
Develops an understanding of concepts, analytical tools, and communication skills underlying behavior in organizations. The course explores the relationship between task accomplishments and human fulfillment in the context of planned organizational change. Various learning experiences are incorporated, including case studies, simulations, role-playing, and group discussion. Issues of public involvement, participatory decision making, employee empowerment and forms of leadership are also addressed.
MPA 3620 Public Budgeting and Accounting
Reviews the various aspects of public and non-profit budgeting and control, as well as discusses both operation and capital budgets, and the role of the budget in relation to planning and policy making activities. Discussion topics include: financial and managerial accounting principles, planning and budgeting,
establishing a framework for financial decision making, budget implementation, and the use of computers in developing and monitoring budgets.
MPA 3580 Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
Provides the student with a basic understanding of financial systems within an organization, how financial data is interpreted, and the impact of such data on decision making. Budgeting, pricing, cash flow, balance sheets and income statements are reviewed.
MPA 3930 Fundamentals of Business Analysis
Designed to give Managers a basic understanding of standard financial reporting, the setup of a strong financial organization, the creation of strategic budgets and the use of financial reporting in highlighting and monitoring performance. The course provides a special focus on financial functions as they relate to the fulfillment of the organizations goals. Course topics include the role of the financial department; understanding basic financial reports and what the numbers mean; creating ratios and basic measurements to measure the organization’s progress; development of a strategic budget and a continuous reporting model; understanding management of the financial health of the organization; and identifying and solving financial management issues.
.
MPA 3900 Research Methods and Strategies
Explores the many public policy and managerial problems that require
administrators to gather information to arrive at solutions. The "action research" model focuses on the application of research techniques to program evaluation and the analysis of outcomes in an organizational setting. This course surveys the analytical skills necessary to design and implement such research projects and covers skills such as problem analysis, research strategy, questionnaire
development, sampling techniques, and data analysis. The course emphasizes qualitative and interpretive techniques. Statistical analysis will focus on
appropriate application and interpretation of various techniques, with some hands-on computer analysis.
MPA 3999 Capstone Practicum
Integrates all the elements of the MPA program into a single, comprehensive policy-making application. Using a team-approach, students address an actual public policy problem under the supervision of a faculty instructor. The Capstone team uses the tools learned in other MPA courses to manage the project team, define the problem, perform primary and secondary research, and formulate concrete recommendations. The practicum culminates in a formal written and oral presentation of their work, and evaluation by faculty and public service professionals.
ELECTIVES
MPA 3800 Applied Economics
Introduces public administrators to economic principles and market forces
relevant to public sector management and policy issues. The course addresses the interaction between free market forces and public policy, allocation of resources through market forces versus governmental regulation, the pricing of public goods and services and the use of cost-benefit analysis in evaluating public investment.
MPA 3670 Approaches to Cross-Cultural Conflict Management
Explores the impact of cultural differences, including gender, ethnicity and race on the process of resolving conflicts. Students examine the various models for training managers to intervene in disputes where cultural differences are a significant factor.
MPA 3820 Arbitration, Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
Examines the fundamentals of labor relations, exploring a range of issues, including employees' right to strike and specific statutes governing equal opportunity on the federal and state levels. The course provides practical experience in collective bargaining and arbitration through participation in a bargaining exercise. Specific differences between public and private collective bargaining and labor relations are explored in depth.
MPA 3170 Change Management
Focuses on how to empower staff to embrace and operationalize a new corporate vision and to understand the new strategic intent when organizations undergo rapid transformations. Students explore ways for managers to develop a new vision for the organization and/or bring the base of the organization into line with strategic change in light of mergers, acquisitions, privatization, and/or shifts in product or product lines.
MPA 3880 Cost Benefit Analysis of Public Programs
Provides an introduction to cost-benefit analysis. Initially, the mechanics are presented: decision rules, measuring benefits, evaluating costs, treatment of risk and uncertainty and choosing an appropriate discount rate. The course then examines application of cost-benefit analysis to a range of government programs that have an impact on the environment, education, income redistribution and the regulation of the private economy.
MPA 3420 Crisis Preparedness and Communication
Focuses on the importance of communication in determining the design and implementation of crisis preparedness. Unlike many courses in the crisis
preparedness field, this course provides an overview of the critical issues involved in maintaining workforce resiliency at times of crisis. Students will come away with a variety of “nuts and bolts” policies, procedures, and protocols that can be applied to a wide range of work organizations. The course focus is on facilitating organizational recovery and resilience with an emphasis of “people-recovery”.
MPA 3340 Effective Local Government
Examines local government practices in the operating environment in which municipal employees function every day. Explores the history, role, structure, administration, and future trends of local government. Addresses relations among elected officials and government employees, as well as between state and local government. Issues are analyzed and discussed through case studies, current events, and guest speakers.
MPA 3320 Ethics and Professional Life
Examines moral issues and dilemmas typically found in the law, advertising, education, business, and journalism professions. Issues covered will include privacy and confidentiality, truthfulness and deception, individual responsibility, social justice, personal character and professional regulation, and more generally, the dilemmas created by conflicts between professional or role-based morality and personal or ordinary morality.
MPA 3020 Fundraising and Grant Writing for Non-Profit Organizations
Explores the challenge faced by every non-profit to be more entrepreneurial and competitive and raise funds for its programs and operations. This course examines a wide variety of fundraising approaches; sources for federal, state, and local grants; the process of grant writing and interaction with the grant-giving agency; and local, regional and on-line resources available to find grant funding.
Explores differences in structure and function of intercultural organizations. It provides frameworks for better understanding organizations and how people work within and through them. Organizational behavior theory and research will be considered in the context of national cultural differences. Issues to be addressed in their intercultural context will include: motivation, accountability, evaluation, outcome assessment, internal communication, ethics, conflict management, diversity management and change management
MPA 3350 Global Marketing & Advertising
Explores the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in the new global economy. Areas of focus include cultural, political, economic and social system similarities and differences across the globe; the financial environment of international marketing; exporting and entry strategies.
MPA 3290 Human Resources Management and Development
Provides a practical survey of current trends, regulations and case laws that define and direct the personnel function. Topics include organizational philosophies, recruitment and selection, motivation, compensation and evaluation. Affirmative action and unionism are discussed within both current and historical contexts. Concludes with an examination of legislation and regulatory statutes affecting human resource management.
MPA 3950 Independent Study
Allows students to pursue a specialized or unique area of investigation. Working with an instructor, students develop and submit a detailed proposal for a course of study, specifying the purpose of the study, learning objectives, product(s), a work plan and method(s) of evaluation. Approval of the Program Director is required.
MPA 3520 Intercultural Communication
Creates an awareness of our unconscious prejudices, our verbal and non-verbal presentations and how they may affect our interactions with people from other cultures. By focusing on the history and contributions of various ethnic groups in the United States, students gain a heightened appreciation of difference and an understanding of culturally specific needs.
MPA 3260 Leadership
Explores leadership theory and its history, development, and application to management. The course also addresses increasingly important issues such as public involvement, participatory decision-making, employee empowerment, and forms of leadership as redefined by these more democratic contexts.
Distinguishing features of both management and leadership are considered, along with various styles and approaches to leadership in the public sector.
Addresses the "basic building blocks" of diversity, concentrating on the strategic issues involved in fostering an innovative, supportive and profitable multi-cultural workplace. Students build the foundation for appreciative inquiry into the
effective management of diversity and explore the impact of cultural mores, values, attitudes, and beliefs on communications, expectations, and interpersonal relations. Students examine appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, stereotypes and cultural differences, associated with the changing dynamics of the workforce, and ways to move beyond them to build rapport.
MPA 3190 Marketing Communication
Develops a solid understanding of the conceptual basis and theoretical structure of the principles of marketing and promotes "best practice" marketing and business solutions. Students act in a consulting capacity and develop a high-level strategic and tactical marketing plan for a client company that will use it to launch a new product/new venture, reposition the organization, or address a chronic problem. Focal points of the course include branding, concurrent marketing, international marketing, Internet marketing, and buying behavior.
MPA 3380 Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations
Describes marketing strategies applied to different types of providers in non-profit organizations. The course focuses on techniques to maintain and increase market share, quantitative methodologies such as demographic case mix,
geo-demographic analysis, as well as the application of market communication techniques and strategies.
MPA 3600 Negotiation, Mediation and Conflict Management
Builds effective communication skills essential to successful negotiation,
mediation, and conflict resolution, using materials from the Harvard Negotiation Project. The focus is on developing an understanding of various resolution processes, incorporating theoretical perspectives and practical applications.
MPA 3540 Non-Profit Management
Provides an overview of principal management functions as applied to non-profit organizations. Topics include the role(s) of the board of directors and program management, organizational growth, legal issues, and tax reporting requirements. Special consideration is given to governance structure and the relationship between managers and trustees. The course also includes an examination of the role of staff, volunteers, donors, and trustees as well as addresses association management and corporate philanthropy in the non-profit environment.
MPA 3070 Organizational Communication
Analyzes communication theory and how it affects behavior of the members of an organization. Internal and external communication is an essential aspect of
communication. This course examines the major theoretical and practical aspects of communication as they apply in nonprofit business and governmental contexts.
MPA 3690 Organizational Conflict
Studies the theories and approaches geared to resolving problems in the workplace from interpersonal, small-group to interdepartmental conflict situations. Students examine the source of conflict in the workplace and the design of conflict
management programs to help employees at all levels learn how to handle conflict constructively.
MPA 3770 Political Communication
Provides a comprehensive overview of the world of politics: how the
communication mix affects it and the full range of communication strategies used to influence the "populace". Discussion focuses on the way communication strategies are used to build consensus or undermine a political campaign. Topics include the use of political ideologies; the ethics and methods of various
strategies, such as advertising, speech writing, press conferences, debates; direct mail; and the role of the mass media as a medium of political communication.
MPA 3550 Politics and Public Management
Revolves around one fundamental issue: How do real-life managers in the
governmental and non-profit sectors cope with the various forces in their political environment? What skills, techniques, and strategies do they employ? Principal objectives are to heighten awareness of the political dynamics affecting
government agencies and non-profit organizations and, through guest lectures, case studies, and related materials, to examine possible techniques and strategies for dealing effectively with an agency's political environment.
MPA 3090 Public Relations
Analyzes basic principles of public relations through readings, lectures, case presentations, and class discussion. After a brief history and definition of public relations, attention turns to the nature of public audiences and stakeholders, getting through in the face of the communication din, public relations and contingency planning, dealing with the media, PR writing, public relations practices, employees, the community, and ethics.
MPA 3740 Strategic Management of Public and Non-Profit Organizations
Explores basic concepts, theories and practices used in contemporary public sector planning. The course offers an overview of the role of planning in municipal and regional organizations, focusing on both the planning process and various plan effectuation devices. Basic planning models are introduced. The roles of local governmental policy maker, administrators and citizens are examined. Economic development and redevelopment strategies are also discussed.
MPA 3310 Theory and Practice of Persuasion
Explores the theoretical and practical aspects of persuasion on society, culture, and in the workplace. Theorists ranging from Socrates to Chomsky are discussed in relation to both the creation of communication for influence and attitude change and the rhetorical analysis of propaganda, advertising, and political
communication.
MPA 3660 Third Party Intervention: Mediation
Examines the various methods of third party intervention as a means to effective conflict management in the workplace and other conflictual situations. Students develop and improve mediation skills and techniques needed to mediate disputes by participating in a variety of simulated disputes to hone mediation skills. Pre-requisite: Negotiation, Mediation & Conflict Management.
