Courses | Master of Public Administration | UOnline

Role of the budget in shaping public policy from managing public revenues, budgetary theory, politics, and fiscal management. Examples from state, municipal, and federal governments.

Analyzes organizational dynamics and management in all organizations, emphasizing the public sector. Highlights organizational processes and behavior, focusing on change management strategies. Students apply knowledge of organizational theories to actual case studies to enhance critical thinking skills.

Examines federal and state policies, laws, and court decisions as means for helping public administrators develop policies and procedures that meet legal requirements and recognize the values of equity and diversity in the treatment of its citizenry and public employees.

This course focuses on the use of statistics to conduct quantitative research (i.e., statistics) in political science and public administration. The course emphasizes hands-on data work. Students will learn how to perform political analyses – and present findings in an appropriate manner – using SPSS statistical software.

Introduction to concepts, issues, problems, theories, and processes in the field of public administration and/or public management.

Examination of public policy issue areas including education, health, welfare, and urban mass transit. Limits to effectiveness of federal, state, and local governments in providing services. Techniques for analyzing the effectiveness of public policies; research techniques for the assessment of future policy alternatives.

Topics include human resource management in public service: Job analysis and design, evaluation and appraisal, recruitment and interviewing, training and development, wages and benefits, and health and safety. Unionization, regulation of wages, hours, and working conditions, financial security for workers, manpower planning, and job anti-discrimination legislation are considered.

Governments at all levels have encountered scandals involving ethical wrongdoing. Businesses and nonprofit organizations have faced similar problems. Countless less visible examples of unethical and ethical behavior occur in organizations daily. This course examines the causes and consequences of such actions and the managerial strategies and competencies needed to effectively cope with the ethical issues confronting individuals and organizations.

Background information needed to evaluate public programs, organizations, and policies. Focus on how to design an evaluation using research methods to evaluate a program. Students will construct logic models, understand program theory, apply research methodology, and discuss stakeholders in public organizations and policies.

Examines government-business-society relations with emphasis on the social, economic, political, technological, ethical, and ecological environment.

A seminar in public policy, administration, and law; designed to give the student a greater degree of insight and knowledge of a particular subject and to develop ability in the techniques of individual research, group discussion, and analysis.