a) serve a broad and diverse body of pre-service and in-service students with courses which provide a solid foundation in public management, analytical methods, and institutional and policy processes, and prepare them for administrative careers in public and nonprofit organizations.
b) Encourage continued professional involvement by program faculty in basic and applied research that contributes to improved understanding and better policy solutions to problems facing public and nonprofit agencies, through collaborative endeavors within the department of political science and public administration, with faculty of other departments and academic units, and with officials of public and nonprofit organizations.
c) Support faculty and student involvement in public service activities designed to enhance understanding of public issues and encourage ongoing professional development in public administration.
· Supervisor and student internship evaluations. [currently undergoing revision] The supervisor evaluation assesses the adequacy of the intern’s preparation for assigned duties, examines the ways in which the intern contributed to the effective operation of the organization, and seeks information on the intern’s and the program’s areas of strength and weakness. The student evaluation focuses on assessment of the effectiveness of the internship in introducing the student to fundamental principles in the practice of public management.
· Written comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination is organized into three sections, corresponding to the areas of knowledge in the program mission statement: public management, analytical methods, and institutional and policy processes. Members of the faculty prepare questions in their areas of expertise, and the program director compiles them into the exam. Two faculty members grade each response, on a “pass/fail” basis, and provide comments on unsatisfactory responses; a majority of passing answers is needed to pass the exam. Grades and comments are kept on file. Students and the Graduate School are informed in writing of the results of the exam.
· Exit interview. [under development] Members of the Alumni Advisory Council developed exit interview questions, based on the areas of competency in the program mission statement and the student learning outcomes and educational objectives identified by the Council and the faculty.
·
MPA research and internship papers
[guidelines have been approved, guidelines for grading that include skills and
competencies are under consideration] These papers are intended to demonstrate
the student’s ability to integrate theory and practice by analyzing some aspect
of public management or political and institutional processes. Two faculty members read each paper and offer
suggestions for revision (formative evaluation). Their evaluation addresses written
communication, critical thinking and analytical skills as well as mastery of
substantive knowledge.
·
Alumni survey. An alumni survey was last conducted in
February 2002, as part of the self-study process for NASPAA reaccreditation;
the survey was developed as a class project in PSC 6420, Quantitative Methods
in Decision Making (a core MPA class). We propose to adapt this survey for
annual use, in order to compile more current information for use in program
decision-making. [attach survey?] Questions on the survey covered program
content, resources, and outcomes. The
survey elicits information about knowledge and skills acquisition, and career
preparation. Conducting an annual survey
has the additional advantages of allowing us to target recent graduates, and to
track their career development over time.
·
NASPAA review. To maintain our accreditation with the
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, the MPA
program undergoes a review process every seven years. This involves preparation of a self-study
that incorporates information on all of the means of assessment listed above,
review of the self-study by NASPAA’s Committee on Peer Review and Assessment
(COPRA), and a site visit. The site
visit team prepares a report to COPRA, which then forwards to the program a
recommendation regarding accreditation, and recommendations for program
improvement.
· Internship evaluations. [forms currently being revised] The interim evaluation is conducted midway through the internship, and the final evaluation at the conclusion of the internship. New forms will be used beginning in Fall 2004. Evaluation responses are kept on file, and reviewed at the beginning of each academic year at a special meeting of program faculty and the program advisory council, comprised of MPA alumni who are employed by public and nonprofit agencies in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
· Written comprehensive examination. The comprehensive exam is given in the 12th week of the fall and spring semesters. Students sign up with the program director to take the exam, and a student who fails may retake the exam one additional time.
· Exit interview. [questions being developed] The program director will schedule exit interviews with students who have applied for graduation each semester, after receiving a list of graduation applicants from the Graduate School, beginning with the Fall 2004 semester.
· MPA research and internship papers. These are required of all students in the program, and are usually completed in their last semester. Two faculty members review papers, and when the paper has been approved the student receives 6 semester hours (internship) or 2 semester hours (research paper) of credit.
· Alumni survey. The last survey was conducted in February 2002, and needs to be updated. Revisions on the survey should be completed by August 2004, and the survey will be used annually from that point forward.
· NASPAA review. The review process takes place every seven years. The next review will take place in the 2009-10 academic year.
In the past, assessment was not systemically incorporated into consideration of curriculum revision or program changes. We expect that the process outlined here will facilitate utilization of assessment data to inform program decisions: the
program director will compile and summarize all assessment data for consideration by program faculty at an early fall meeting; if the report identifies areas of particular concern, the faculty will recommend appropriate action. Of particular value will be the exit interview responses about courses in need of improvement, and suggestions for changes or additions to the curriculum. This information will inform committee discussions of changes in specific courses or major requirements; comments on scheduling, for example, the need for a particular course to be offered in the evening, or through distance learning, will be considered by the scheduling committee in preparing schedules for future years.
Assessment data, over time, will inform the MPA program’s strategic planning and resource allocation decisions in several ways. First, it will provide, on an annual basis, tangible evidence on strengths and weaknesses in our curriculum and the accomplishment of our educational objectives. Annual fall planning meetings to discuss the assessment data from the previous academic year will provide a forum for identifying areas of concern and developing strategies for remedying them. Second, assessment data will be useful in developing proposals for new courses, and the adjustment of the program curriculum to accommodate these additional competency areas. To the extent that new courses fall within the areas of expertise of existing faculty members, their teaching schedules will need to be adjusted, replacing less relevant courses with new ones. Some specialized areas may necessitate the hiring of a practitioner to teach one or two courses on a part-time basis. Continuing assessment, may, in the long run, culminate in proposals to hire an additional full-time faculty member in these areas, and, as current faculty members retire, information on the competency areas that should receive more coverage will be valuable in preparing job descriptions and hiring justifications for new positions