PROPOSED NEW GRADUATE PROGRAM Master’s in Public Administration Initial Proposal April 2, 2008 Revised for Presentation to Executive Group 2/10/09.

PROPOSED NEW GRADUATE PROGRAM

Master’s in Public Administration Initial Proposal April 2, 2008

Revised for Presentation

to

Executive Group

2/10/09

Assumptions Underpinning MPA Degree

• Interdisciplinary in Nature • Housed in GCS in Consultation with Departments • FT Faculty Coordinator Drawn from a Department • Applied Rationale (Career or Life Enhancing) • Mixture of Knowledge and Skill-Enhancing Content• Designed for Busy Adult Students • Drawing on Rich and Varied Faculty Expertise • Utilizing Creative Mixtures of Instructional Delivery

Expected Current Career Settings of

Potential Enrollees

human services criminal justice health care and services pharmaceutical industry arts management not-for-profit organizations

recreation tourism education government housing

Major Features of MPA Degree

• 36 Credit Program (12 three-credit courses)• 7 required courses (21 cr.); 3 in Emphasis area (9

cr.) and 2 electives (6 cr.) • Opening external course featuring initial campus

visit• Mixture of external and online (web-based) courses • Minimum of one (normally in interest area)

internship or field-based course (waived for relevant experience)

• Offerings structured to enable completion in two years

MPA Core Course Sequence* (21 credits)

• MPA 500 Foundations of Public Administration • MPA 501 Public Financial Management and Budgeting • MPA 502 Bureaucracy and Politics• MPA 503 Management in Public Organizations • MPA 504 Administrative Law • MPA 505 Information Technology for Public

Organizations• MPA 506 Research Methods and Statistics

* - Preliminary course descriptions are presented in final slides

MPA Elective Courses

• MPA 513 Intergovernmental Relations and Federalism

• MPA 514 Administrative and Policy Analysis • MPA 515 Ethics in Public Administration • MPA 516 Public Personnel Policy• MPA 517 Labor Relations in the Public Sector • MPA 518 National Security and Domestic Terrorism

• MPA 519 Cyber Security in the Public Sector • MPA 520 Containment of Health Care Costs

MPA Emphasis Areas and Courses

Health Care Administration

• MPA 507 Health Care Systems • MPA 508 Health Care

Management• MPA 509 Health Care Finance

Criminal Justice Administration

• MPA 510 Criminal Justice Systems

• MPA 511 Police Administration

• MPA 512 Court Administration

Program Development Plan

• Convene meeting of interested faculty• Draft preliminary proposal and circulate• Develop development budget and timeline • Conduct market and competition study• Modify program proposal • Propose program to Executive Group • Reconvene Faculty Group to Modify Proposal • Discuss with Graduate Academic Foundations

Committee• Seek approval of Curriculum Committee • Seek approval of Board of Trustees• Begin development of Program

Interested Faculty/Staff In April 2008, the following faculty and staff gathered and/or were consulted regarding the possibility and preliminary content of the MPA:

• Lori Harris-Ransom – Business• Domenic Maffei – History and Political Science

• Rosann Bar – Sociology • Arnold Toffler – Business• Lisa DiBisceglie – GCS

Tentative Time Line Time Frame Stage

Sp./Sum 2008

Preliminary Discussion of Program

Fall 2008 Conduct Marketing Study

Spring 2009 Initiate Proposal and Business Plan

Summer 2009

Finalize Course Descriptions

Fall 2009 Seek Approvals

Sp./Sum. 2010

Develop Initial Courses

Fall 2010 Launch Program

Highlights of Marketing Study

• Fall 2008, the Aslanian Group was engaged to conduct a marketing study

• Surveys of alumni and organizations were carried out

• Competitive programs at Fairleigh-Dickinson, Marist, Rutgers and Seton Hall were examined

• Following slides present highlights

General Interest in an MPA • Across the populations surveyed, data, in general, show that there is indeed modest demand for an additional source of graduates of a Master’s in Public Administration program in New Jersey.

• About 35 percent of the public sector and nonprofit employers interviewed indicated a need for additional staff with MPA degrees in the future.

• In general, data show strong receptivity to Caldwell College offering a Master’s in Public Administration degree.

.

Preferred Format for a New MPA

• Both potential students and employers favored an accelerated format with shorter than traditional terms

• Among employers and alumni, a hybrid format (where some instruction is delivered online and some in the classroom) program was most popular, with an average rating of about 4.1. (0-5 scale)

• Both groups also rated the delivery of all courses fully online highly with a rating of about 3.9.

Overall Aslanian Recommendations 1

• Begin with a hybrid format for efficiency and timeliness, and proceed to develop a fully online version as well.

• Plan a two-year part-time degree program, which emphasizes and acknowledges relevant experience among applicants, at a cost of about $25,000 in order to position Caldwell in the market and to be competitive with other providers.

• Specializations in criminal justice and healthcare are good but general public management is recommended as well.

Overall Aslanian Recommendations 2

• Establish a marketing budget that is realistic and necessary to attract adults to this program – at least 15-20 percent of expected initial revenue is appropriate.

• Key targets of marketing are public sector and nonprofit sector employers, current Caldwell undergraduates and alumni and professional associations in the area of public administration and related fields.

• Compete most aggressively within New Jersey with Fairleigh-Dickinson University, which serves nearly 300 MPA students, but also with Marist’s online program that attracts about 350 students.

Preliminary Business Plan 1

Year 2010-11

* Assumed 2010-11 tuition

Expenditure Items Program CoordinatorMarketing (advertising)Marketing (publications)Course Development Stipends (eight courses @ $3,500)^Adjunct Instructional Costs (Four Courses @$3500)^

^ - stipends need approval

Revenue [Assumption: 15 PT students enrolled in two courses each in Fall 10 and Spring 11] 30 x 3 x 2 = 180 x *$780= $140,400

Preliminary Business Plan 2

Year 2011-12

* Assumed 2011-12 tuition

Expenditure Items Program CoordinatorFT Faculty (4 courses)Marketing (advertising)Marketing (publications)Course Development Stipends (eight courses @ $3,500)^Adjunct Instructional Costs (6 Courses @$3500)^

Total $231,000

^ - stipends need approval

Revenue [Assumption: 15 PT students enrolled in five courses each in Fall 11 and Spring 12] 75 x 3 x 2 = 450 x *$800= $360,000

Surplus $129,000

Initial Model Course Plan

Fall 2010 MPA 500MPA 502Spring 2011MPA 501MPA 503

Fall 2011 Spring 2012

MPA 500 MPA 501MPA 502 MPA 503MPA 504 MPA 505MPA 507 MPA 506MPA 510 MPA 513

Initial MPA Marketing Plan

• Media blitz announcing program – early April 2010• Flyers and Posters to Selected UG Departments in Selected Colleges in NYS, NJ and PA

• Maximizing Exposure on Search Sites April-May 2010• Organization Contacts (list from Aslanian) May 2010 • Alumni E-Mails and Mailings May-June 2010• Newspaper and Cable TV Ads May-June 2010• MPA Information Evenings July 2010 • Inquiry Mailings and E-Mails with Telephone Follow-Up

MPA 500

Foundations of Public Administration This course provides a general overview of the field of public administration, including, theoretical and practical aspects of key governmental processes, historical development of the field, contributions of social science to understanding organizations, and ethical issues in contemporary governmental activities.

MPA 501 Public Budgeting

This Course covers the theory and practice of public budget preparation and review, governmental accounting and auditing, and political issues in the budget process, including consideration of capital budgeting, revenue estimation, and the history of budget reform efforts.

MPA 502 Bureaucracy and Politics

This course examines the relationship of public administration to the political process, with primary reference to American institutions and experience, including the ways in which the political sector conditions bureaucratic activity and of the mechanisms, including judicial review, which keep administration responsible and responsive. The role of administration in the policy process and in the determination of the public interest is stressed.

MPA 503 Management in Public Organizations

This course covers the elements of organization theory and behavior pertinent to public and nonprofit management, with focus on major issues, techniques, and trends in contemporary public personnel management, including ethical concerns, career planning, and professional development.

MPA 504 Administrative Law

This course focuses on the legal framework of public administration, including the basic principles of constitutional law and the development of the administrative agency as a contemporary legal and social phenomenon and its relationship to other branches of government. The structure of an administrative agency, its jurisdiction, powers, processes, and accountability are analyzed.

MPA 505 Information Technology in Public Organizations

This course focuses on information technology as a management tool and on the social, political, and organizational effects of information technology in the public sector, including the use information management for strategic and operational purposes, appropriate computer applications, and emerging managerial concerns in the information age.

MPA 506 Research Methods and Statistics

This course provides an overview of the scientific framework and empirical approaches to conducting and evaluating research studies, emphasizing the application of quantitative techniques to decision-making and problem solving. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, sampling plans, research design, analytical methods for hypothesis testing, and regression analysis.