11 courses with the subject MPA, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
MPA 610SEL Organizational Behavior in Public Administration3
This course is designed to improve your ability to work effectively with others in public and nonprofit organizations. An interdisciplinary field of study known as organizational behavior is the basis of the couurse’s investigation into some of the issues that are fundamental to the successful management of people in these organizations. This course involves four levels of analysis and their influence on each other in the public sector: individual, group, organization, and the public interest. Organizational behavior in the public sector is distinct in that public administrators must understand the public service motive of individuals who work in the public sector, the political environment of public administration, the unique characteristics of public sector organizations, which function with a different incentive structure than organizations in the private sector, and the way in which democratic participation and public values are integral to work in public organizations.
This is an introductory graduate course in research methods that are employed in the social sciences. It assumes that public administration practitioners can perform program design and evaluation tasks more effectively if they have knowledge and skills in the quantitative and qualitative principles of research. The emphasis of the course will be on the theoretical and practical aspects of the research process. The course will introduce you to a variety of tools and techniques for analyzing data and making management and policy decisions based on the data. The course is designed to provide conceptual and methodological tools for managers, evaluators and analysts charged with formally evaluating program implementation and performance. These tools will also aid you in performing the Constructive Action needs assessment and in developing the Constructive Action Purpose 1 and 2 documents. 2026-2027 Catalog | 232
The purpose of this Dimension is to introduce you to the management functions and activities that relate to the acquisition, development, and maintenance of people resources in public and non-profit organizations. The class will discuss the history and policy rationale for rules, laws, procedures, and techniques that govern personnel management as well as the issues and challenges of balancing organizational and employee needs in the workplace setting. The management of human resources is the same regardless of entity: how to obtain, train, utilize, and retain the best employees while meeting legal requirements. Human resource management is a fluid operation that must be monitored and managed as the needs of the organization or administration requires.
Governments are being forced, whether by taxpayers, lenders, or the economic conditions, to become more entrepreneurial, more efficient and more effective in how they allocate resources to deliver goods and services. Take the Government Performance Act of 1993. In the last thirty years, beginning in 1990 with the Chief Fiscal Officers Act which led to formation of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, there have been at least fifteen pieces of legislation aimed at making government more accountable. Accountability is the new buzz word. This course will engage you in a discussion of how budgeting and financial management are used to shape policy and measure performance in governmental entities. You will apply the computer skills learned in PAA 612 to develop budget and financial documents. There will also be some discussion and analysis of how budgets shape the ongoing operations of not-for- profit organizations. Further, you will engage in discussion and analysis of the social benefits versus the financial and economic costs of providing certain goods and services and examine the financial versus the non-financial measurement metrics for determining a programs or entity’s success or failure.
Shaded rows indicate courses specific to the Public Administration Concentration; unshaded rows are Shared MPA Classes. Nonprofit Management Concentration CODE COURSE TITLE PURPOSE
The purpose of the course is to introduce you to the methods of program evaluation used in public policy and administration. The course assumes that all program and agency stakeholders, for example, administrators, elected officials, oversight agencies, citizens, and staff, must understand the value of the programs they are responsible for. Specifically, managers need to lead learning organizations in the collection and interpretation of data that define program and organizational effectiveness. Data collection and interpretation will ultimately improve organizational program service delivery.
MPA 710SEL Research and Analysis Methods in Disaster Management3
The course will give students the tools to research emergency and disaster management problems as diverse as the social aspects of hurricane evacuation, behavior change in employee emergency preparedness programs, and applying a cost dimension to traditional risk assessment. Students will also learn to apply quantitative and qualitative research methods from a range of disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, political science, public administration, and criminal justice to contemporary and traditional emergency management problems. Additionally, this course will help students to be able to think critically and creatively about solving the challenges faced in a dynamic emergency management environment. Students will acquire the ability to conduct comprehensive and in-depth analyses of complex scenarios, allowing them to adopt a more well-rounded view of the field.
MPA 720PCA Implementation of an Emergency Management Plan3
This course is designed to provide real-world experience in developing an emergency management plan, training and/or exercise for the client. Students will research and produce the emergency management products identified as a result of the gap analysis and needs assessment. Students will be introduced to the fundamental principles and frameworks for instructional design, training and exercises including ADDIE model, Exercise Program Management, and Exercise Methodology. Students will also learn how to apply the Project Performance and Control phases in the development and implementation of the Constructive Action. Students will continue compiling their respective emergency management portfolios. 2026-2027 Catalog | 237
MPA 730PCA Evaluation and Improvement of an Emergency Management Plan3
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience in piloting and rolling out the emergency management plan, training program, or exercise developed in the previous semester and implement the 7-step process to planning for meaningful evaluation. Students will work together in the planning, conduct and evaluation of an exercise for the client. Students will also learn how to apply the Project Close phase to ensure proper hand-off to the client of the emergency management plan. Students will work on completing their respective emergency management portfolios.
