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Public Administration

Public Administration Courses
PADM 7000: Human Resource Management (3 hours credit)
A study of Human Resource Management. This course examines the process of personnel administration and relates them to the human resource needs of organizations.

PADM 7010: Public Sector Labor Relations (3 hours credit)
An analysis of labor relations in public organizations. Topics include labor management interaction, dispute resolution, and wage and non-wage impacts of public employee organizations

PADM 7020: Public Sector Planning (3 hours credit)
An exploration of the elements of public sector planning, including data validation, forecasting and projection techniques, and decision making.

PADM 7030: Seminar in Public Administration (3 hours credit)
A seminar focusing on areas of special interest to the instructor and of contemporary interest to students.

PADM 7040: Non-Profit Management (3 hours credit)
A survey of the types, methods and techniques of management of organizations outside the dualistic public and private sector model. Emphasis is on revenue strategies, structure and control.

PADM 7050: Administrative Law and Government (3 hours credit)
An overview of the administrative legal process, focusing on the formation and execution of public policy. Special emphasis is placed upon protecting the rights of all parties in the complex process of administrative law, policy information and implementation.

PADM 7060: Quantitative Methods for Public Administration (3 hours credit)
The application of quantitative methods to problems faced by the public administration practitioners. Topics include regression analysis and the use of probability theory as they apply to decision making in public management.

PADM 7080: Public Presentations (3 hours credit)
A survey of techniques in public speaking and information technology with application to political and administrative proposals. Emphasis is placed upon delineation of alternatives and ethical issues.

PADM 7090: Policy Analysis (3 hours credit)
Prerequisite: PADM 7060: Quantitative Methods for Public Administration
A systematic survey of the theories, basic concepts and approaches associated with empirical analysis of public policies. Topics include problems and use of analysis, with reliance on case studies.

PADM 7100: Seminar in Public Policy (3 hours credit)
An in-depth analysis of current issues of public policy. Emphasis is placed on the managerial implications of one or more public policies under consideration at the local, state, or federal level.

PADM 7110: Information Management (3 hours credit)
A survey of the issues and problems of information management. Emphasis is on modern developments in the generation, storage, classification and transmission of information vital to the management of public organizations.

PADM 7120: Accounting for the Public Sector (3 hours credit)
A study of the role accounting plays in the overall management process with public agencies. Emphasis is given to the use of accounting techniques as a means of assuring proper control over funds entrusted for public purposes.

PADM 7130: Politics of Public Administration (3 hours credit)
An examination of the uses of power by governmental agencies to obtain external supports and fulfill internal needs. Topics are constituency relations, technical expertise, power of bureaucratic routines, agency competition, and reliance upon case studies.

PADM 7140: Governmental Budgeting and Finance (3 hours credit)
An analysis of financial management and budgeting procedures as applied to federal, state, and local governments.

PADM 7170: Organizational Behavior (3 hours credit)
An introduction to major theories concerning management in the public sector, including analysis of individual behavior in an organizational context. Emphasis is on the politicized environment.

PADM 7180: Labor Law (3 hours credit)
An examination of modern labor movements in the United States, with special attention to the National Labor Relations Act and other fair employment practices acts. Attention will also be focused on the laws of unionization, collective bargaining, strikes, and picketing.

PADM 7190: Special Topics in Public Administration (3 hours credit)
Study in areas which are not ordinarily covered in the MPA Program, but which may be of contemporary or special interest to MPA students at the time.

PADM 7200: Directed Study in Public Administration (3 hours credit)
Directed readings in selected areas of public administration with regular conferences between the student and the faculty member.

PADM 7210: Internship in Public Administration 1 hours credit (3 hours credit)
Co-requisite: PADM 7900 Grading is on a satisfactory - unsatisfactory basis.
A one semester internship in public or not-for-profit agency to be taken during student's final semester of course work. The internship is designed to gain practical experience in the field of public administration. A written report or a portfolio development is required.

PADM 7220 Managing Diversity in the Public Workforce (3 hours credit)
An overview of diversity issues in public management from a human resource manager’s perspective. Topics include differences in age, disability, gender, race/ethnicity, and culture and their impact on human resource management.

PADM 7240: Public Administration and Community Based Organizations (3 hours credit)
An examination of the relationships between urban and public administrators and their environment. Topics include but are not limited to the role community organizations, interest groups, and demographic diversity upon the management function.

PADM 7250: Managing Small Cities and Counties (3 hours credit)
An overview of local government operations for small and mid-sized communities. Topics include legal issues, the clerk's office, emergency management, planning, economic development, public works, leisure, and human services, police and fire services, budgeting and financial management, personnel, communication, and intergovernmental relations.

PADM 7260: Democracy and Public Administration (3 hours credit)
An examination of the role of the career administrator in a democratic system. Topics include the nature of the American democratic system and the ethical implications of non-elected administrators playing a key role.

PADM 7300: Foundations Seminar in Public Administration (3 hours credit)
Graded “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory.” A survey of the field of public administration, including the research and writing skills needed for successful study in the field. The course is to be taken during the student’s first semester of coursework. Students must demonstrate basic computer proficiency as part of this course.

PADM 7860: Grant Writing and Management (3 hours credit)
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the multi-faceted world of grant funding. Not-for-profit organizations as well as government offices may benefit from the funds available from many sources. Students will learn how to determine what programs are eligible for outside funding, find sources of funding, develop contacts with representatives of the fund source, develop and write the proposal requesting the funds, and administer the funds after they are approved.

PADM 7900: Qualitative Methods for Public Administration (2 hours credit)
Co-requisite, PADM 7210 Internship in Public Administration. Grading is on a satisfactory - unsatisfactory basis. To be taken during the student's final semester of course work. This course is an internet-based course. Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the material presented their program of study through case analyses. This course serves as the exit requirement for the MPA program.

PADM 9000 Administration and Government (3 hours credit)
A survey of the history and development of public administration and the institutions of government. This course is designed to introduce students to the social, political, and institutional context of public administration. Topics include democracy, federalism, and administrative theory.

PADM 9010 Financial Management for Public and Non-Governmental Organizations (3 hours credit)
A review and assessment of current practices and theory in public finance administration. The applicability of key public theories is analyzed in terms of their use within governmental and not-for-profit (NPO) settings. Specific attention is paid to applying theory as a standard of judgment in assessing the quality of governmental and NPO financial and budgetary
structures and activities.

PADM 9020 Managing Human Resources in Public and Non-Governmental Organizations (3 hours credit)
A focus on human resource management in public and non-governmental organizations, including the standards that government bureaucracies have set for personnel practices in areas of diversity, equal opportunity, merit, and fair labor compensation that have been adopted in the private and non-governmental sectors.

PADM 9030 Logic of Inquiry in Administration (3 hours credit)
An in-depth examination of the various epistemological approaches used in the systematic study of public administration.

PADM 9040 Research and Methods for Public Administration (3 hours credit)
Prerequisite: PADM 9030. An in-depth examination of the research methods used in the study of public administration. The course will expose students to the research methodologies available to modern public administrators and academics and to the software packages available to analyze data concerning various questions important to political scientists. The
course will help students acquire the capability to critically examine empirical research and facilitate their ability to develop and carry out a complete empirical research project.

PADM 9050 Program Evaluation (3 hours credit)
Prerequisite: PADM 9040. Also offered as PSYC 9050. Theories, research, and practice related to program evaluation in government and nonprofit organizations.

PADM 9060 Information and Data Management (3 hours credit)
An examination of technology and information management, including hardware, software, and systems development. Particular emphasis will be placed on the management of information resources within the public sector and the role of E-Government.

PADM 9070 Culture of Formal Work Organizations (3 hours credit)
Also offered as SOCI 9070. The study of organizational culture and methods of changing culture in public and nonprofit organizations. The impact of culture on organizational behavior will be discussed.

PADM 9090 Educational Policy Analysis (3 hours credit)
Prerequisites: Doctoral standing or approval of instructor. A systematic survey, of the theory, concepts and approaches associated with empirical analysis of public educational policies in a multicultural environment. Topics include quantitative and qualitative tools and methods of analysis. The case studies approach is utilized.

PADM 9990 Capstone Seminar (3 hours credit)
Graded “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory.” The concluding seminar in the DPA program, to be taken during a student’s final semester. Students will demonstrate mastery of the material presented in their programs of study through a variety of methods and will present a professional portfolio. Students will develop and defend the proposal for their final project
or organizational analysis.

PADM 9999 Final Project/Organizational Analysis (6 hours credit)
Prerequisites: Completion of major courses and permission of advisor or final project chair. Graded “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory.” Development and defense of the final project or organizational analysis. Under the supervision of a faculty committee, students will conduct either an applied research project or a descriptive and prescriptive evaluation of the management policies of an agency. Course may be repeated for credit.