Course Description

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MPA Course Description

8Q

PADM 501: Principles of Public Administration

This course provides an overview of the field of public administration in its economic, political, and social dimensions and an orientation to public administration as a profession.

PADM 502: Public Policy Analysis

This course explores the policy-making processes important to an administrator. Develops skills necessary for formulation and analysis of policy problems and the implementation of public policies.

PADM 503: Human Resource Management

This course is a survey course of personnel practices used in the public sector. Discusses all human resources phases, from recruitment to retirement. Special emphasis on unionization, personnel problems and leadership styles.

PADM 504: Research Methodology

This course is an introduction to the methodology of research-historical, descriptive-survey, experimental design, critical interpretation, and case study techniques, with attention to specialized data-gathering procedures, such as the questionnaire, the interview, and observation. Introduction to statistical concepts. Directed toward the writing of the Capstone as a degree requirement.

PADM 505: Public Budgeting and Finance

This course is a study of financial management tools and budgeting techniques applicable to the public sector and to the private, nonprofit sector. Students deal with cases and other course work materials regarding various forms of output budgeting and financial decision-making with regard to revenue policies, resource allocation, cash flow, borrowing and other fiscal management concerns.

PADM 506: Law and Public Affairs

This course deals with the processes and problems of law as they affect the administrator, including important cases, precedents and future implications.

PADM 507: Ethics

This course provides an introduction to the field of ethics and an opportunity to increase understanding, knowledge and competence in dealing with the ethical challenges and dilemmas that are found in the public, private, and nonprofit employment sectors. Course materials will focus on individual as well as corporate systems of responsibility and accountability and the ethical dimensions of public as well as private life.

PADM 508: Communication, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Dynamics

This course stresses the behavioral aspects of organizational communication, such as impact of power, persuasion, values, status, and role of the communication process; barriers to communication; conflict management, and group communication. The courses will also look at the theory and practice of strategic planning applied in the private, nonprofit sector. Students study several planning models, including strategic planning models, and apply specific elements of the strategic planning process to an actual case. The components of study will include environmental scanning, problem identification, SWOT analyses, strategy formulation, implementation planning, and various sub-elements of the process such as the construction of scenarios. The course will provide students with the opportunity to apply the strategic planning model as a tool for sustaining and strengthening organizational achievement. Finally, the course examines what a supervisor needs to know about human behavior in a work setting. Stressed are the subjects of work motivation, power and control, communication, impact of work/organization design, and management-by-objectives using a case analysis/discussion format.

PADM 509: Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector

Provides an overview of the issues and trends within the nonprofit and voluntary sector in order to lay a strong foundation of knowledge and comprehension for those who are pursuing careers in the voluntary sector and/or working in fields that intersect with nonprofit organizations. The course will consider the historical and philosophical roots of voluntarism, the structure of the sector, operational dynamics, and current and future trends.

PADM 510: Fundraising and Grants Writing in Nonprofit Organizations

Examines the principles and techniques of fundraising and development for different types of NPOs, including foundation, corporate, government, and individual solicitation. Topics include (but are not limited to) special events, capital campaigns, membership, profit-making ventures, and deferred giving programs. The course will also introduces practical process for securing grants from foundations, corporations and government agencies. Emphasis is given to developing a comprehensive needs assessment, researching sources, planning, and proposal writing.

PADM 511: Program Assessment and Evaluation

This course will present the concepts, techniques, and applications of program assessment and evaluation in public and nonprofit organizations. The course will include topics such as the role of program assessment and evaluation, methodologies, operational and ethical issues of program assessment and evaluation as practiced in public and nonprofit organizations.

PADM 512: Issues in National Security

This course examines the changes in American policy fostered by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Studies the organizations and resources developed since that time to defend national security. Also examines the role played by all the components of the criminal justice system in providing for the security of the nation. Explores the policies and practices that have been developed or this purpose by the various agencies that represent the criminal justice system. Specifically studies the adjudication process as it relates to issues of national security and the correctional practices employed to maintain national security.

PADM 513: Introduction to Homeland Security

This course provides foundational knowledge about homeland security, including policy, organization, and legal issues in the American context. The course also provides an overview of the essential ideas that constitute the emerging discipline of homeland security. Has two central objectives: to expand the way participants think, analyze, and communicate about homeland security; and to assess knowledge in critical homeland security knowledge domains, including strategy, history, terrorism, fear management, crisis communication, conventional and unconventional threats, network leadership, weapons of mass destruction, lessons learned from other nations, civil liberties and security, intelligence and information, homeland security technology, and analytics. The course is organized around an evolving narrative about what homeland security leaders need and how the United States Department of Homeland Defense helps address those needs. The course will also provide a foundation for understanding homeland security history, the development of its policies and organizations, and current management approaches.

PADM 514: Domestic and International Terrorism

This course provides an overview of the domestic and global issues related to homeland security. The course also includes a general introduction to the overt as well as underlying ideology, history, reasons, and causes of terrorism. Both domestic and international terrorism are discussed. Domestic hate groups also receive particular attention. The roles of politics and the media are discussed. Students are exposed to the philosophies of terrorists and terrorism. Counterterrorism is also discussed at length

PADM 515: International Relations and Globalization

A survey of traditional and contemporary conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches for the analysis of international relations and the role of public administration in an increasingly globalized dynamics.

PADM 516: American Foreign Policy

Principles of American foreign policy; processes of policy formulation; roles of the President, Congress, the State Department and other government agencies.

PADM 517: Intelligence for Homeland Security

This course examines key questions and issues facing the U.S. intelligence community and its role in homeland security. Students have an opportunity to fully address policy, organizational, and substantive issues regarding homeland intelligence support. Course reference materials provide an overview of diverse intelligence disciplines and how the intelligence community operates. Course emphasis is on issues affecting policy, oversight, and intelligence support to homeland security and national decision-making. The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Prevention of Terrorism Act is addressed, and the course is shaped to focus on homeland intelligence support issues at the state/local/tribal levels.

PADM 518: Natural Disasters

Case studies of the causes and consequences of natural disasters; analysis of disaster impact in different economic, cultural, and social conditions.

PADM 519: Crisis Mapping for Humanitarian Action

Theories and methods used to introduce students to key trends and challenges faced in the humanitarian field today. Training modules are designed to familiarize students with (1) commercial satellite imagery analysis applied in a conflict setting; (2) digital crowd-sourced methods to map real-time crisis management and social media-based geographic information; and (3) mobile data collection survey tools to generate population, health, and event-based information. The objective is to learn how to perform crisis mapping in the real world and reflect on ethical, political, and practical challenges that come from working in this field

PADM 520: Emergency Management and Geographic Information Systems

Explores how emergency management activities can best utilize Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) to solve real-world issues in emergency management. This includes planning and response for both natural disasters and man-made events (accidental and terror-related incidents). Through the use of a variety of tools and analytical techniques, the nexus between emergency management and GIT is demonstrated and explored. Students are exposed to an understanding and appreciation for that relationship as well as the tools and skills for appropriate utilization of them.

PADM 521: Negotiation, Mediation, and Facilitation

Introduces the techniques of dispute resolution. Emphasizes the processes of mediation, facilitation, and negotiation. Examines techniques suggested by practitioners and researchers regarding best practices for effective negotiation. A central part of the course requires students to participate in and evaluate negotiation simulations.

PADM 522: Information Security, Technology and Risk Management

Government agencies in today's Information Age are more dependent than ever on technology and information sharing. This course offers students a broad overview of crisis management technology, information systems, inspection and surveillance technology, communication, and knowledge management. The course will focus on technology as a tool to support crisis management personnel regardless of functional specialty. The methodology used in the course frames technology in terms of its contribution to deterrence, preemption, prevention, protection, and response after a man-made or natural disaster. The course also provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of information security and examines the fundamental elements of crisis, disaster, risk and emergency management.

PADM 596: Internship (only for students lacking administrative work experience)

A Management Project/Internship is required to increase knowledge and skills in theoretical application. The student, upon completion of course work, must do either a research oriented management project or an internship. Students are to consult with their advisers early in the program to determine the internship to pursue. The objective is to develop research skills, capacity to improve organizational effectiveness and the development of leadership potential, including stimulating creativity, interpersonal and communication skill development.

PADM 600: Learning, Experiencing, Applying, and Discussing (LEAD) Project

Students will follow up on work completed during the Research Methodology course. In this course, students will integrate the substance of previous courses that they had completed in order to develop a capacity for strategic management based on the role of the professional manager in the policy making process. This is the Learning part. In doing so, students develop a holistic perspective in their projects to emphasize the leadership role of the professional manager in defining the basis for an ethical approach toward problem solving or capacity development. Students’ learning outcome then must be complimented with their own experiences, reflecting on assessing the substantive issues within an administrative setting. This is the Experiencing part. The next logical step in the project is for students to apply a sound resolution to the issues that they are examining in their projects based on a comprehensive and strategic plan that applies ethical standards and a logical, theoretical and research-based model. This is the Applying part. Finally, students need to arrive to a set of recommendations that address the analyzed issues. They need to discuss each recommendation and the rationale for choosing them and their impact on the administrative practices of the involved agency. This is the Discussion part.

Formatting of the Final Research Paper

At the completion of the LEAD Project, the Final Research Paper ought to contribute to the profession and practice of public administration.

The LEAD Project Paper must follow the following guidelines:

  • APA style in referencing.
  • Printed on 8  ½ by 11 paper size, using only one side of the paper.
  • Double spaced, Times New Roman and 12 font throughout the paper (except for 14 font for the title).
  • Page numbering placed in the lower center part of the paper.
  • Includes a Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Figures, References, and appendix.

The paper must be organized as:

  • Introduction: It must include a problem statement and background of the problem. Make sure the problem statement addresses the following:
    • What (is the issue/problem)
    • Where (it took place)
    • When (it happened)
    • Who (was involved)
    • How (your paper is going to go about examining its cause)
  • Literature Review.
  • Analysis: Identify and elaborate on major emerging themes from the literature review. Analyze the themes based on at least four theories.
  • Ethical Implications: Explain the ethical implications of the problem if remained unresolved.
  • Policy Recommendations: Indicate specific policy recommendations to address the problem that you had discussed and analyzed in the paper.
  • Summary: Summarize the entire paper in at least two pages. The summary should indicate to the reader in a precise and comprehensive review what your paper is about, from start to finish.
  • References.