Program Goals for the Master of Public

Administration
The Master of Public Administration degree program builds upon Southern Utah
University's individualized, experiential learning through our mission and goals.

Our Mission is to:

 Prepare pre-service and in-service students to meet the challenges of public

and nonprofit service.
 Develop student knowledge and competencies through scholarly activity,
experiential learning, and applied research.
 Offer coursework that presents a framework of understanding based on
academic literature and skill development through activities, projects, and
assignments.
 Promote public service values, a culture of democratic administration,
leadership and managements skills, and ethical decision-making in all aspects
of public and nonprofit sector organizations.
 Provide on-campus and online students with comparable academic experiences
that develop knowledge and skills for public service.
Our Core Values are:

1. Lead through change

2. Engage the community
3. Base decisions on data, reliable information and analysis
4. Protect public resources and ensure they are used in the most efficient and
effective manner
5. Model ethical behaviors
6. Partner with students for lifelong learning
Our Goals:

1. Educate and train students to be innovative leaders in public and nonprofit

organizations.
2. Enhance the field of public administration regionally, nationally, and
internationally through the academic and service contributions of our faculty and
students.
3. Create a learning environment where our students develop public service
values and thoughtful and ethical decision-making skills.
4. Assess student learning and use assessment research to continuously enhance
the program offerings.
5. Embrace and partner with a diverse student body, faculty, workforce, and public
to enhance public policy and administration.

Department/Program Learning Outcomes

The program competencies are:

1. To lead, manage and apply effective public governance.

2. To participate and contribute to the public, fiscal and economic policy process.
3. Solve problems using analytics, critical thinking, ethical thinking and
conceptualize and apply best practices.
4. To articulate and apply public service perspectives, norms and legal standards.
5. To communicate orally and in writing, in a way that is productive and effective in
a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

Mission and Goals

Master of Public Administration

Preamble

We offer demanding programs focused on government and nonprofit management.

Since 1978, our Master of Public Administration program has provided exceptional
teaching, relevant research and dedicated service to the profession and greater
community.The program design and delivery draws on more than 477 years of Jesuit
tradition and more than 162 years of value‐centered education at the University of San
Francisco, imparting perspective through our global network of universities, faculty,
students, and public‐ private partnerships.

Mission

We prepare our graduates for public leadership by advancing a challenging curriculum

while pursuing complementary research, transforming learning into actions that serve
our communities, especially the most vulnerable among us.

Vision
 Our diverse graduates become outstanding leaders who provide ethical, workable
solutions to societal needs and advance justice.

Values
We are committed to:

 Social Justice for all people.

 Diversity in all its forms.
 Integrity in all we do.
 Accountability to all we serve.
 Excellence in academic programs, teaching, research, and student services.

Goals

 Educate students to be compassionate and effective leaders who humanely manage

public organizations.
 Prepare students to initiate and facilitate interactions between government, for‐ profit,
and nonprofit sectors to provide ethical and workable solutions to societal needs.
 Create a collaborative environment of excellence in instruction, research, and service.
 Translate research into effective practices and achievable, humane policies.
 Prepare students to determine, collect, and analyze the evidence appropriate and
essential for implementing public service strategies.

Program Purpose
Mission Statement
The St. Cloud State University Master of Public Administration degree prepares pre-service students for
leadership and managerial careers. For the in-service student, the program strengthens professional skills and
prepares him/her for greater responsibilities as a leader or manager in the public and non-profit sectors through
global and local exceptional education, research, and service. St. Cloud State University MPA faculty offer
students Concentrations in City and County Leadership and Management, Nonprofit Leadership and
Management, International Development Leadership and Management, and Health Care Leadership and
Management, which are the primary areas of faculty education, research, and practice.

Purpose, Goals and Objectives

Consistent with the goals and objectives of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
(NASPAA), the goal of the St. Cloud State MPA program is professional education for public service. As such,
its mission, governance, and curriculum all emphasize public service values. Public service values include
pursuing the public interest with collaborative structures, coalitions of interests, accountability and
transparency; serving professionally with competence, efficiency, and objectivity; acting ethically so as to
uphold the public trust necessary to have dialogue about shared values; and demonstrating respect, equity,
and fairness in dealings with citizens and fellow public servants.

The St. Cloud State MPA program meets the Mission, Goals and Objectives by delivering exceptional skill
education and practice through exceptional global and local education, research, and service. Faculty at St.
Cloud State, along with faculty assistance from educational, government and nonprofit partners, offer students
concentrations in: leadership and management of city and county governments, nonprofit organizations,
international development and health care, the primary areas of faculty education, research and practice.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, careers in these areas of public service are expected to see
above average job growth in Minnesota. The program is committed to continuous improvement and will create
new concentrations as the need emerges.

The Profession
Public administration is an academic discipline and an occupation. As an academic discipline, the theoretical
foundation of public administration is the broad-based study and practice of government and political
processes. Scholarship examines such fundamental topics as: the meaning and purpose of government,
constitutionality and public service, policymaking, the role of the citizenry in decision making, and narrower
topics such as leadership styles, decision making processes, accountability, ethics, and motivations of public
servants.

As an occupation, the field is multidisciplinary as public administrators implement federal, state, and local
government policies, projects, and programs. Successful public administrators use their knowledge of law,
budgeting and financial management, human resources, community values, professional standards and ethics,
citizen interests, program planning, strategic management, and leadership to solve societal problems.

The St. Cloud State MPA program faculty members embrace multiple approaches to solving problems in the
public interest. They acknowledge the importance of shared citizen dialogue as a method to discover the public
interest. They recognize that building collaborative coalitions of government, not for profit and for profit
agencies, are necessary to achieve public goals and objectives. They believe public servants must be
responsive to the citizenry, community values, professional standards, norms and laws.