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20:834:501
Introduction to Public Administration (3)
Explores the political, socioeconomic, legal, and
democratic-constitutional context of public administration. Students learn key
concepts and theories used to better understand administrative agents of government,
including public agencies, contractors, intergovernmental partners, and
nonprofit organizations as they operate and interact with their environments.
Fundamentals of public management, organizational behavior, human resource
management, and government accountability are introduced. Both organizational
actors and interorganizational relationships are considered. This course
should be taken in the first semester.
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20:834:503
Topics in Public Administration (3)
Examination of selected issues and problems in public
sector administration and management. The specific area within which issues are
presented varies, but it may include health, public policy, human resources,
and specialized topics. Students should check with the school to determine
the precise curriculum to be offered in a given semester.
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20:834:505
Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Management (3)
U.S. federalism is the constitutional division of powers
between federal and state governments. Intergovernmental relations explores
interaction among federal, state, and more than 80,000 state-created county,
municipal, and special district governments. Through the "hollowing
out" of the state, public services are increasingly provided by private
and nonprofit organizations through grants and contracts. This complex
interactive network is characterized by cooperation and conflict in managing
the delivery of public services such as education, public safety, and health
care. Students will understand the unique roles of federal, state, and local governments,
and how to manage the provision of public goods and services by private
for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
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20:834:507
Leadership and Diversity (3)
Distinguishes leadership from management and introduces
students to essential leadership qualities and characteristics. Organizational
diversity and inclusion are emphasized. Students will develop key leadership
skills including: team building in diverse organizational settings, visioning
and agenda setting for diverse clientele, cultural competence, strategies for
promoting social justice, understanding the impacts of diversity on group
dynamics and leadership, and the strategic challenge of maintaining
organizational diversity.
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20:834:515
Administrative Ethics (3)
The primary goals of this course are to: (a) introduce
students to the role that ethics should play in the lives of public
administrators in various capacities, and (b) provide tools and strategies for
identifying and addressing ethical issues in professional life.
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20:834:517
Egovernance and Digital Services (3)
Examines the latest trends and best practices
in digital service delivery (government to government, citizen to government,
and government to citizen services). Students will learn key technologies, how
websites and mobile apps support digital services and citizen engagement, how
technology adoption is affected by regulation, how to assess performance of
digital service delivery systems, and how transparency and open data is likely
to affect government operations. Opportunities and barriers confronting the use of technology to promote
social change will be presented.
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20:834:518
GIS for Public and Nonprofit Management (3)
Introduces geographic information systems (GIS), applied
visual data systems and analytics, and their use in the public and nonprofit
sectors. Students will learn database management and design and digital
cartography using popular GIS software, and how to combine the two to enhance
analytic capacity. Integrating database management and spatial analysis allows
students to go beyond simple mapping exercises to analyze complex public and
nonprofit management problems.
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20:834:520
Data Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Introduces students to the design and management of data
systems. Students will learn to design simple databases, understand the use of
different data types and formats, download data from external sites, report and
extract data. They will be introduced to the use of complex data queries as a
form of data analysis. They will learn to use common database software for both
relational and object-oriented database management. They will also learn
essential principles for making data secure, accessible, and easily maintained.
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20:834:521
Technology and Public Administration (3)
Explores the implications of information management
technologies for public and nonprofit managers, including: the role of
egovernment, citizen engagement through Web 2.0 and social media, digital
service delivery, cyber security awareness, the exploration of how policy and
technology intersect, and how technology can be best managed through various
governance models.
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20:834:522
Managing Public Organizations (3)
Investigates theories of organizational behavior
and performance as applied to public and nonprofit sector agencies, including
legal constraints associated with leading public sector organizations,
organizational authority systems, relationships between public and private
organizations, development and fulfillment of organizational mandates in the
public sector, and use of resources within organizations.
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20:834:523
Human Resources Administration (3)
Human resources administration in public and nonprofit
settings, including human resource planning, staffing, development, and
compensation. Behavioral and environmental determinants are examined, including
market factors, service delivery, and government regulations and policies.
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20:834:524
The Public Policy Process (3)
Formerly known as Strategic Planning, this course introduces
students to the public policy process and its key institutions and actors (such
as legislative bodies, chief executives, administrative agencies, courts,
interest groups, advocacy coalitions, and the media). Emphasizes key parameters
of public policy formulation (agenda setting, policy formulation and design,
implementation, evaluation) and theories of policy change. Students will be
able to differentiate policy types and tools, effectively use evidence in
shaping public policy, and will appreciate the importance of context (social,
economic, political, and technological) in developing effective policies.
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20:834:526
Evidence-Based Public Management and Policy (3)
Focusing on "best practice" and
"evidence-based practice" and distinctions between them, this course
offers an introduction to those wishing to craft more effective policies and
programs in public and nonprofit organizations. It explores the linkages
between public policy and management, including understanding the process of
policy formulation and change in the U.S. context and beyond. The meaning of
"evidence-based" is considered in applied policy and management
contexts, and the implication of differences in evidence type and quality are
considered. The conflicting role of values and evidence in shaping program and
policy choices will be conceptualized in order to appreciate the effect of
context in applying evidence to a local policy/management problem. Students
will be better equipped to identify "best practices" and to develop
"evidence-based practices" to improve organizational effectiveness in
management settings. Adaptation of programs or policies to their adoptive local
context is presented as a mechanism for better aligning organizations with
their environment. Pitfalls of the rational approach are reviewed to caution
the strictly symbolic use of such approaches. The relationship between
evidence-based practice and its counterpart, performance management, is
explored.
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20:834:527
Labor Relations (3)
Examines the history, contexts, and processes of
employer/employee relations in the public sector. Among the topics addressed
are public sector labor law, union structure and organizing, processes of
collective bargaining (work rules, adjudication, mediation, arbitration), and
labor-management cooperation. A collective bargaining simulation provides
students with the experience of renegotiating a collective bargaining contract.
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20:834:529
Performance Measurement and Reporting for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3)
The processes of public and nonprofit performance
measurement and management are explored in depth. Theories of public and
nonprofit performance are reviewed with a clear focus on application in the
management setting. Types of measures are reviewed and their relationships are
explored through program logic models. Selection of key performance indicators
and proximate measures is discussed. Tools and methods of performance
measurement, including benchmarking and trend analysis, are introduced. Data
collection, analysis, and reporting are reviewed. Students learn how to align
performance measurement with strategic organizational goals and objectives in
order to facilitate learning and improved effectiveness.
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20:834:541
Economics for Public Administration (3)
Introduces students to public economics and to the economics
of public administration, policy, and governance. Students will utilize the
fundamentals of economic analysis to explain and understand issues and problems
impacting the public and nonprofit sectors.
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20:834:542
Public Budgeting Systems (3)
Provides students with a conceptual and operational
understanding of theories, policies, and processes associated with public
budgeting systems. Students will also be introduced to tools and techniques for
managing budgets and making financial decisions in the public sector.
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20:834:543
Public Financial Management (3)
Introduces students to basic financial and managerial
accounting principles, techniques and concepts that relate to the allocation,
investment, and control of public funds. Students will learn how to use
financial information to make decisions in public, health, and not-for-profit
organizations. Some of the topics covered in this class include financial
condition analysis, cash and pension fund investing, time value of money,
accounting, and financial reporting.
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20:834:545
Capital Budgeting and Debt Management (3)
Examines the reasons why state and local governments use
capital budgets and explains why both capital planning and budgeting are
central to economic development and essential service delivery. Students will
learn how to create a capital improvement plan, and how to convert a capital
improvement plan into a capital budget. In addition, students will be
introduced to debt management networks and practices, debt structure, and the
debt issuance process in the primary and secondary municipal bond market.
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20:834:561
Applied Statistics (3)
Statistical tools and techniques used to inform policy
analysis and management decision-making. Covers descriptive statistics,
graphing data, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation,
cross-tabulation, mean comparison with significance testing, and an
introduction to multivariate linear regression. Encourages hands-on work with
real data, use of statistical software, and the effective presentation of
statistical information.
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20:834:562
Applied Research Design (3)
Covers issues central to understanding and conducting
applied policy and management research. These issues include identifying
research questions, developing logic models, selection of appropriate
quantitative or qualitative methods, measuring outcomes, survey research and
other sources of primary and secondary data, experimental and nonexperimental
strategies for evaluating programs, and the ethical and political issues
involved in producing and using evidence to inform policy and practice.
Prerequisite: 26:834:561.
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20:834:563
Capstone Project (3)
The capstone provides students with an opportunity to
integrate learning from various courses with applied analysis of real-world
issues. Students work individually under the guidance of a faculty member to
develop a research design, carry out data collection and analysis, evaluate
their findings, and provide conclusions and recommendations. The outputs are a
project report and presentation to fellow students, faculty members, and
invited guests. The capstone seminar serves as a culminating experience in the
M.P.A. program.The course allows students to draw on material presented
throughout the curriculum to develop and conduct an applied research project on
a topic salient to public or nonprofit administration. This seminar will
prepare students to use the skills they have developed throughout the program
to analyze and solve key public management and policy problems. Students will
complete practical analytic papers suitable for publication or public
consumption as their key graded assignment. These papers demonstrate each
student's abilities and their collective body of skills and knowledge acquired
throughout the M.P.A. curriculum. The capstone project challenges students to
clearly articulate a research question, identify best practices in the field
through a literature review, and develop and execute a research protocol, in
which the student:
- defines a research
question that addresses an existing public or nonprofit problem,
- identifies a
theoretical model through which to approach the issue,
selects
appropriate data collection methods, - collects data,
- analyzes and
interprets the data, and
- develops a written
report and oral presentation of the findings and recommendations.
Final projects are presented at a public policy and
management forum. At the conclusion of the course, students will have
demonstrated effective research skills, excellent oral and written
communication skills, and will have displayed the level of knowledge necessary
for effectively managing a public or nonprofit organization as a competent
leader.
Prerequisites: 26:834:561 and 562, in order.
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20:834:568
Government Revenue Theory and Administration (3)
Examines the basic objectives including the political and
economic aspects of revenue systems at the federal, state, and local levels of
government. With a focus on taxes, fee for services, intergovernmental aid, and
interest income, this course examines the interrelationships between policy,
laws, and administration within a revenue system and reviews the major economic
issues raised by different sources of revenue.
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20:834:571
Nonprofit Budgeting (3)
Introduces budget concepts and processes used by nonprofits.
This course focuses on developing, monitoring, and evaluating operating budgets
for nonprofit agencies and organizations.
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20:834:575
Grant Writing and Grants Management (3)
Students will learn how to seek, solicit, and manage grant
awards from foundation and government sources to support public and nonprofit
programs and projects. The course emphasizes managing grants effectively to
provide the greatest value to the recipient as well as the granting agency.
Students learn how to become responsible and ethical specialists who understand
the grant enterprise, its purpose, and the effects it can bring to bear on
recipient organizations. Topics include the funding search, budget development,
proposal writing, indirect costs, reporting, and evaluation.
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20:834:576
Resource Development for Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Emphasizes best practices and provides practical experience
in resource development, including fundraising. Students will learn essential
resource management skills, including strategic planning for annual giving,
major gifts, and planned giving. Special attention is given to the following
specific aspects of the fundraising process: prospect research, donor
stewardship and retention, crowdfunding, case statements, direct mail,
telephone solicitation, special events, lapsed donors, taxation and bequests,
and capital campaigns.
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20:834:578
Results-Driven Strategic Management (3)
Examines the linkages among strategic planning, performance
management, and evidence-based decision-making as they interface with more
traditional management functions such as budgeting and human resource
management in the quest for maximum effectiveness and efficiency in public and
nonprofit organizations. Core management theories are reviewed and applied to
present a holistic approach to results-oriented public management. Students
will understand the process by which organizations create public value,
including identification of strategic goals and objectives, development and
implementation of timely strategies, and integration of performance information
into management decisions. Key modern management challenges are identified and
explored, including managing third-party intergovernmental and contractual
relationships, utilization of networked and collaborative solutions to shared
problems, citizen involvement, and capacity building for improved organization
effectiveness.
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20:834:581
Health Systems and Policy (3)
Introduces the student to the history, organization, financing,
and regulation of medical and public health services in the United States.
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20:834:582
Health Care Management (3)
Introduces students to the major administrative challenges
associated with managing public and private health care service organizations.
Topics include legal constraints, budgeting, human capital management,
strategic management, and organizational accountability and performance facing
health care organizations.
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20:834:584
Health Care Finance (3)
Describes the fiscal challenges that face health care
organizations, including insurance, reimbursement systems, managed care,
Medicare and Medicaid, DRG Prospective Payment, the Affordable Care Act,
budgeting, and planning.
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20:834:590
Internship (3)
The M.P.A. program does not require an internship, but
encourages internships for precareer and career-changing students. SPAA assists
on-campus M.P.A. students in locating internship opportunities with an
expanding network of partners in the Newark urban area in local, county, and
state government organizations, and among dozens of nonprofit organizations in
the surrounding areas. Additionally, the school circulates information about
available national and international internship opportunities via regular email
announcements. Approval from the M.P.A. director is required before any
internship taken for academic credit begins. Students are limited to one
3-credit internship; if a student takes an internship, the credits count toward
the student's concentration, which means he or she takes two elective courses
from his or her concentration, rather than the customary three. An internship
must be related to the student's concentration. After the M.P.A. director
approves the request, the student will complete the internship contract and
submit it to the department for a special permission number to register for
credit. An internship can only count for an elective and cannot replace a core
course.Requirements to receive credits for internship: -
Submit a completed
contract
-
Complete 150 hours
of work within one semester
-
Submit midsemester
and final evaluations (by the supervisor and the student)
Submit a 10- to 20-page research paper relating the
internship to the student's concentration (if applicable) at the end of the
semester.
Prerequisites: Advance completion of internship form and approval of the M.P.A. director prior to enrollment.
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20:834:598
Independent Study (3)
Independent study is available on a very limited basis as
a concentration course for students to investigate a specific topic or issue in
depth. Independent study occurs under the direct supervision of a core faculty
member. Independent study requires permission from the supervising faculty
member and M.P.A. director approval before students may register. Independent
study is limited to 3 credits during the course of the M.P.A. program, and it
may count as either a concentration course (with approval) or an elective;
Independent Study cannot substitute for a core course.Requirements to receive credits for Independent Study: -
Approval from a
SPAA faculty member to direct the independent study
-
Submit a detailed
description of the proposed topic, the deliverables to be assessed, and a
recommendation letter from the supervising faculty member to be considered by
the M.P.A. director for approval
-
The typical
minimum deliverable for Independent Study consists of a substantial research
paper, including: literature review, collection of data, analysis. The
supervising faculty may require additional assignments.
Prerequisite: Advance approval of the M.P.A. director prior to enrollment.
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Degree Programs and Courses 
