Public Administration (PADM)

PADM 5011. Public Administration: Scope, Development, and Ethical Environment. (3 Credits)

This is an introductory Public Administration course and it is expected to provide students with a broad based understanding of the field of Public Administration as a discipline and as a profession. Students will examine the historical and current perspectives and become familiar with practitioners in the field. This course is also designed to introduce the students to various issues concerning public administration ethics theory and how they apply to public managers, the polemics that abound, and suggestions that have been made for improving the bureaucratic environment. Upon completing the course, the students should be in a position to make sense out of the various seemingly unethical activities of public managers. The student should also be able to debate the many approaches to public administration law and ethics. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5126. Organizational Theory and Bureaucratic Behavior. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to introduce students to the complexities of managing people and understanding their behavior within organizations. To that end, it will examine the organizational dynamics in modern organizations, the evolution of organizational theories from the classic to the contemporary, the linkages and relationships between organizations and the behavior of human beings in organizational environments. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5200. The Administrative State. (3 Credits)

This course is an overview of public administration in relation to legislative, executive and judicial processes. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5202. Administrative Law. (3 Credits)

The legal aspects of the power and procedures of federal and state agencies in the judicial re- view of administrative actions are discussed. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5213. Legal Environment of Public Human Resources Management. (3 Credits)

This course examines the relationship between the law and the work environment with particular emphasis on the rights and protections that are provided to employees under the law as well as the court decisions that have impacted the rights and liberties of public and nonprofit sector employees. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5262. Public Human Resources Management. (3 Credits)

This course will help students to understand the historical, political, economic, social, legal and organizational contexts in which human resource management occurs in the public sector. It will also focus on the acquisition of skills , knowledge and abilities needed to execute HR functions including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, strategic planning , compensation, training, professional development and sanctions. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5300. Administration of Nonprofit Organizations. (3 Credits)

This course will provide theoretical and application understanding of the operation of corporations in the nonprofit sector. It is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills of basic methods used to lead and manage such organizations and successfully navigate the political, financial, ethical and social challenges of this sector. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5302. Public Budgeting & Financial Management. (3 Credits)

This course focuses on the allocation of limited resources to address the problems that governments and other public organizations face. To that end, it will examine public budgeting processes and public financial management approaches. Emphasis is placed on the budget cycle, federal budget practices and procedures, unified budgets, national income accounts, executive and legislative roles in the budget process, Government Accounting, Financial Reporting, Government Auditing, Capital Planning and Budgeting, Capital project Analysis and Asset Management. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5321. Foundations of Health Care Finance. (3 Credits)

This course explores the basics of health care finance. It focuses on topics of expenditures, revenue generation, fund-raising, budgeting and financial planning in health care administration. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5322. Foundations of Public Health Administration and Management. (3 Credits)

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction and overview of public health management and administration. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5324. Epidemiology. (3 Credits)

This introductory course will provide a comprehensive introduction to the basic definitions, concepts, principles and methods of population-based epidemiologic research. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5451. Labor-Management Relations. (3 Credits)

This course focuses on the history and contemporary relations between labor and management, as well as the laws and practices impacting collective bargaining in the public sector. It also examines, within the context of current labor management relations, those issues that may affect workforce planning and development and organizational effectiveness. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5501. Management Information Systems (MIS) for Public Management. (3 Credits)

The course introduces students to computer applications and information system tools for effectively managing large amounts of data in public sector organizations. The course also introduces concepts and theories of management information systems (knowledge management). various practices in government organizations, as well as related issues, problems, and trends. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5502. Research Design and Data Analysis. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to acquaint students with the assumptions, concepts, and methods for quantitative and qualitative scientific inquiry and basic data analysis techniques useful in public administration and nonprofit management research. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5511. Directed Independent Policy Studies. (3 Credits)

This course allows students to pursue specialized interests in policy studies. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5551. Diversity Management and Public Organization. (3 Credits)

The course will provide a broad-based perspective of diversity management in the workplace. It will examine the contemporary workforce which represents multiple differences, including for example, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, age, alternate lifestyles and physical/mental abilities. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5600. Issues in Human Resource Management. (3 Credits)

The course examines issues in managing public human resources. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5615. Human Capital Development: Theory and Practice. (3 Credits)

In this course we will study the choices individuals make regarding the development of their human capital, the relation between human capital and wages, and the impact of human capital on organization performance as well as implications for economy wide performance. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5616. Human Capital Development & Management. (3 Credits)

This course examines the skills, knowledge, abilities and other characteristics that constitute the concept of human capital and how they impact organizational performance. Based on those attributes, the course addresses issues of strategic human resource planning, strategic human resources management, succession planning as well as the planning tools, techniques and methods for proper human capital management. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5635. Introduction to Community & Economic Development. (3 Credits)

To examine community and economic development movements in the United States and abroad. The understanding of the physical urban environment and local economic development. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5650. Executive Leadership: Principles of Public Administration. (3 Credits)

Examines leadership skills necessary to maximize group effectiveness in public and volunteer organizations. Considerable use will be made of role-playing and/or simulation exercises. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5710. Grantsmanship for Public Administration. (3 Credits)

Offers instruction on the “how to” of grant writing and planning for grant writing in the public sector and nonprofits. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5720. Contemporary Issues In Public Administration. (3 Credits)

Treats current and recurring issues and problems in public administration at the local, state and federal levels in the United States. How public bureaucracies deal with such problems and issues as effective service delivery of public safety and defense, education, health care, transportation, environmental protection, disease control, welfare and amelioration of poverty, international trade and relations and how service delivery is paid for will be addressed. Prerequisite: 9 semester hours of public administration courses or consent of the instructor Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5781. Introduction to Public Policy. (3 Credits)

The course emphasizes the nature and definition of public policy, the structure in which public policy is produced and how various kinds of public policy are made. Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

PADM 5791. Health Policy and Politics. (3 Credits)

This course deals with contemporary health-care policies and politics. The course includes discussions of the current crisis in health costs and proposed solutions. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5802. Public Policy Analysis. (3 Credits)

The course focuses on the forces that shape the direction of public policy and the mechanics through which public policy is formulated. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5810. Intergovernmental Relations. (3 Credits)

Emphasizes the issues and problems involved in the relationships among federal, state and local governments. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5815. International and Comparative Public Policy. (3 Credits)

This course introduces students to the comparative study of public policy and political institutions and acquaints them with a select number of foreign political systems. Through lectures, case studies, and reading assignments, students are exposed to the structural -functional approach to comparative political analysis. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5823. Program Development, Management & Evaluation. (3 Credits)

A study of basic methods used to evaluate programs and policies, including an examination of the impact which selected policies have had on intended target populations. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5831. Urban and Rural Community Planning. (3 Credits)

This course is a survey of the principles and practices of public planning for the development and management of human, economic and physical resources of communities. Reviews planning systems at various levels and their interrelationships. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5850. Community Development Theory and Practice. (3 Credits)

This course explores principles and techniques of local community development. It explores theories of local community development, addresses neighborhood needs and impacts of local policies and programs. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5851. Professional Public Service Internship/Project. (3 Credits)

This practicum includes a final professional project in which the student will design, conduct, analyze and report on a project completed during his/her professional service internship. Offered: Fall, Spring.

PADM 5852. Health Care Delivery for Specialized Groups. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to provide the students with an understanding of contemporary issues in health care delivery. Emphasis will be placed on the health needs of low income American families, the elderly, disabled, minorities, children and other medically underserved populations. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5860. Economic Development Theory and Practice. (3 Credits)

Explores theories of local economic development and addresses the dilemmas contemporary communities face. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5872. Executive Policy-Making. (3 Credits)

Focuses on the institutional mechanisms and processes of policy formulation at the presidential level. Offered: As Needed.

PADM 5907. Capstone Report. (3 Credits)

This course requires students to complete a written practitioner-based report on a case study that demonstrates their mastery of the material presented in the core courses of the MPA program. The case study must be supported by scholarly literature and students will have to orally defend it to demonstrate their mastery of the chosen subject matter. The capstone report serves as an exit process component designed to assess students' knowledge and skills obtained in these academic courses, competency in critical thinking, and written and oral communication skills. Offered: Fall, Spring.