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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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20:834:509
Advanced Special Topics
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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20:834:515
Ethical Challenges in Public Affairs (3)
Within this course, students will learn about public sector values and how the role leaders play in working toward an ethical environment. Case studies of scandal, corruption, and run-of-the-mill unethical behavior will be discussed along with frameworks ethical decision making and leadership. The primary goals of this course are to: (a) introduce students to the role that ethics should play in the lives of public sector leaders, and (b) provide tools and strategies for identifying and addressing ethical issues in professional life.
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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)
This course explores theories of organizational behavior and performance as applied to public sector agencies. The course covers such topics as development and fulfillment of organizational mandates, legal and political constraints associated with leading public organizations, organizational authority systems, relationships between public and private sectors, and use of resources within organizations including information and communications technologies.
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20:834:523
Human Resources Management (3)
The course addresses public sector human resources management from multiple perspectives, including theoretical, legal, political, policy and practical. It covers the important contemporary issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as other critical issues such as public sector labor relations, performance management, ethics, and privatization.
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20:834:524
The Public Policy Process (3)
This course introduces students to the public policy process and to the institutions and actors involved. These include legislative bodies, chief executives, administrative agencies, courts, interest groups, advocacy coalitions, and the media. Students study the stages in public policymaking: identifying and describing public problems, agenda setting, policy decision-making, policy design, implementation, evaluation and policy learning. Activities in the course include policy development research, preparing policy memoranda, and policy analysis. On completing this course students are expected to be able to effectively use evidence to guide their participation in, and contribution to the policy process, with insight into different policy types and tools, while appreciating the relevance of context (social, economic, historical, political, and technological) toward developing effective policies.
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20:834:526
Program Evaluation (3)
This course provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate public and nonprofit programs. It surveys the background and accountability demands for evaluation in the public and nonprofit sectors. Important topics and techniques of evaluation are explored, including needs assessment, program theory, assessing implementation (process evaluation), assessing impact (summative evaluation), analyzing cost effectiveness, and communicating evaluation findings. The role of evaluation in management and the policy process is also discussed. Students apply concepts from the course by reviewing current examples of evaluation studies and by designing their own evaluation of a program or initiative of interest.
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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 Management (3)
This course introduces students to performance measurement and management in the public and nonprofit sectors. It covers theories of public and nonprofit performance as well as the history of performance measurement in society. Students learn tools for performance measurement, such as index construction, benchmarking, trend analysis, dashboards, and data visualization. The role of technology and big data are also considered. Students learn how to align performance metrics with strategic goals and objectives in order to facilitate organizational learning and improvement. But consideration is also given to problems of gaming, goal displacement, and other unintended consequences of performance measurement.
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20:834:541
Economics for Public Administration (3)
This course introduces students to the basic principles of economic reasoning. Students will utilize the fundamentals of economic analysis to untangle the complex management and policy problems they will confront as policy makers, policy analysts, and public administrators.
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20:834:542
Government Budgeting Systems (3)
This course provides an overview of the governmental budgetary process while focusing on the tools and techniques for managing budgets and making financial decisions in government. Looking at all three levels of government, local, state, and federal, this course examines the role of the budget in the economy, the politics of the budgetary process, budget methods and reforms, sources and uses of revenue, and deficits and debt.
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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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20:834:548
Public Finance and Public Policy (3)
This course examines critical questions of public expenditures in the United States. The goal of the course is to understand the reasons for government intervention in the economy, the extent of that intervention, and the responses of individuals and firms to the government's actions. Specific topics include public goods, environmental and health externalities, political economy, fiscal federalism, education finance and policies, healthcare finance and policies, and welfare programs.
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20:834:561
Data Analysis for Decision-Making (3)
This course covers the essentials of research design, methods of data collection, and data analysis tools for policy evaluation and management decision-making. The course trains students in data visualization, descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and correlation and regression analysis. The course encourages hands-on work with real data, use of statistical software, and the effective presentation of graphical and numerical results.
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20:834:563
Capstone Project (3)
This course encourages students to integrate knowledge and skills from across the MPA curriculum to develop a professional portfolio, or a research paper, that demonstrates core competencies. The course is organized as a project-based seminar in which students work individually under the guidance of the professor while sharing feedback and advice with each other. By completing and presenting their capstone projects, students will demonstrate their abilities in the five core competencies of the MPA program: 1) To lead and manage in the public interest; 2) To participate in, and contribute to, the policy process; 3) To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment; 4) To articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective; and 5) To communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large.
Prerequisites: 26:834:561
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20:834:568
Government Revenue Theory and Administration (3)
This course provides an overview of government revenue systems in the United States. It examines and evaluates how federal, state, and local governments levy different types of taxes, manage user fees and fines, borrow money, design intergovernmental grants, administer the revenue sources they selected, and reform their revenue systems.
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20:834:570
Principles of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (3)
This course introduces the theory, history, and structure of nonprofit organizations and how these relate to leadership and management in the nonprofit sector. Emphasis is given to critical functions such as volunteer management, strategic marketing and communications, executive leadership, board governance, policy advocacy, and program evaluation.
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20:834:571
Nonprofit Budgeting and Financial Management (3)
This course will focus on developing, monitoring, and evaluating budgets for nonprofit organizations. Students will be offered an opportunity to advance their theoretical and practical knowledge of nonprofit budgeting. In addition, basic accounting and fundamental financial management principles will also be examined along with internal and external controls, risk management, and reporting requirements to further broaden students' comprehension of the intricacies of nonprofit budgeting.
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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)
This course examines how nonprofit organizations develop effective resource development strategies to support their important work in our society. The course reviews the theoretical rationales and practical considerations in managing particular sources of income, including charitable donations, government support, earned income, and investment income. It also discusses strategies and best practices in designing appropriate revenue portfolios to achieve financial health and sustainability.
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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 
