CERTIFICATE CARRICULUM FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Career Outlook

A graduate certificate in public administration provides an excellent credential and skill

set, whether you are currently employed in or seeking a position in the public sector.

Individuals working in larger private or nonprofits organizations that routinely

interact with various levels of government will also benefit from the curriculum.

Your graduate certificate coursework will introduce you to a wide range of public

administration issues and management strategies, giving you broad exposure to

contemporary issues in public administration.

Curriculum

Pad 630 FOUDATIONS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

This course is designed to introduce students to the foundations and constraints that

form the environment of the public administration. It will encourage and enable the

view of governance issues through the eyes of a public administrator. The course is

structured to provide basic skills and set the context of contemporary political, social,

economic, and administrative realities. It explores responsive, equitable, effective,

efficient, and accountable governance processes, public policies, and institutional-based

programs. It also examines, from a multidisciplinary perspective, those essential

competencies, values, and issues important to public service organizations and the

importance of public policy at the local, state, national and international levels.

CONTENT

This course introduces students to the intellectual history of public administration

scholarship, and lays the foundation for understanding the contemporary study of the

field. Throughout the course we examine the tensions, values, and assumptions behind

such core ideas as: bureaucracy vs. democracy, efficiency vs. equity, control vs.

discretion, neutrality vs. responsiveness, and hierarchy vs. collaboration. By the end of

the course, students should be aware of the key concepts in the field and able to

integrate classic debates with current scholarly research. Public Administration

Courses

This course focuses on tensions and trade-offs between important values in public

administration and the institutional foundations of the public service in political,

bureaucratic, and legal settings. Major topics include dimensions of the public sector,

characteristics of institutional settings, history of the field, environmental context, and

functions, roles, behaviors, and structures.

Pad 631 strategic mgt in public administration

This course is designed to provide an academic foundation to applied strategic

management in public service. Identifying the factors that differentiate public service

from the private sector, strategic planning and the implications those differences have

for managers. Emphasis is placed on applied strategic planning and management

including how to create a mission statement, conduct a SWOT analysis, conduct a

stakeholder analysis, writing goals and objectives, and how to design and implement a

performance measurement and management system. Current approaches to strategic

management used by federal, state, local, and non-profit organizations are emphasized.

Pad 632 foundations of public policy

This course is an introduction to the public policy process. Students will develop an

understanding of what "political" and "public policy" mean. Topics discussed include

why some problems reach the public agenda, why some solutions are adopted, why

others are rejected, why some policies appear to succeed while others appear to fail. The

course also examines the complexity of policymaking at the national, state, and local

levels.

Pad 633 intergovernmental relations

This course is designed to demonstrate the challenges and strategies for governance and

administration in an institutional environment of fragmented authority and dispersed

power. It defines the balance of shared powers between the layers and institutions of

government poses and the considerable challenges to policymakers and administrators.

Major dimensions of intergovernmental relations: the vertical dimension of federal,

states, and local governments, that cooperate, coordinate, and compete for shares of

power, and the horizontal dimension in which sub-governments interact with one

another. The course examines the structure of American political institutions, the

nature of complex policymaking, governance by networks, and the consequences of

competition between governments.

Pad 521 POLICY and Practices in Program Evaluation

Workshops will be concerned with a range of program evaluation methods or tools that

are currently practiced, debated, or endorsed in the field. The emphasis is on the most

contemporary public service environments in which program evaluations are

conducted. Individual topics will include performance measurement, stakeholder input,

outcome assessment methods, data collection issues, and other factors in the

comprehensive program evaluation process.

Pad 613 Foundations of Not-for-Profit Management

This course serves as an introduction to the voluntary sector and the broad range of

management skills and issues relevant to not-for-profit organizations. Topics include,

but are not limited to: differences between public, private, and not-for-profit

management; governance and boards of directors; strategic planning and human

resource issues in not-for-profits; resource development; sector convergence and

competition; and the government/voluntary sector relationship.

Pad 618 Public Personnel Administration

An overview of the legal and political context of public personnel management and key

activities. Students will use theory to inform the practice of key personnel functions,

including such topics as merit staffing, classification and compensation, performance

appraisal, managing diversity, and labor-management relations. Both federal and New
York State personnel systems are covered. Prerequisites: Pad 500 and Pad 506, or

permission of instructor.

Pad 509 Public Service Intern (1)

Capstone Requirement. Students registered in this course are required to assemble and

obtain approval for their capstone portfolio. This class will normally be taken during a

student's last semester of enrolment prior to graduation.