Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies
Program Objectives and Assessment Methods*
BS in Urban Policy Studies
MS in Urban Policy Studies
Master of Public Administration
Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy
April 14, 2004
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
IN
URBAN POLICY STUDIES
Mission Statement: It is the mission of the BS in Urban Policy Studies degree program to prepare students who understand the roles of cities as the sites of policy activity in all sectors of modern societies and have the knowledge and skills needed to understand a specialized policy area as it operates in relation to the broader urban environment.
·
The student will identify the contributions of the social sciences and
other academic disciplines to the interdisciplinary field of urban policy
studies.
·
The student will explain the role of the economy in shaping the
structure of the urban environment.
·
The student will describe the structure of local governments in the
United States and the important influences in making decisions in cities.
·
The student will identify the major steps in the public policy process
that include agenda setting, policy formulation, budgeting, implementation, and
evaluation.
·
The student will apply the variety of research methods applicable to
the study of urban policy.
· The student will demonstrate basic skills in the quantitative research methods used in the study of urban policy.
· The student will demonstrate a specialized understanding of one of the major areas of urban policy.
· The student will demonstrate competency in each of the following general education skills as they relate to the program mission and outcomes:
o Written Communication
o Oral Communication
o Collaboration
o Critical Thinking
o Contemporary Issues
o Quantitative Literacy
o Technology
III. Analysis of Data and Program Assessment
The BSUPS core faculty will review completed files—for recent BSUPS graduates—once each calendar year both (1) to assess overall student performance in the BSUPS program and (2) to identify any specific areas relating to aspects of particular learning outcomes that may need improvement. Writing intensive course instructors will provide input as appropriate. The review task will be apportioned equally among all BSUPS core faculty, with two faculty responsible for reviewing each student’s file. The faculty will develop an annual summary and evaluation of the findings and recommendations, which will be provided to the department chair and other faculty.
IV. Implementation Procedures
·
Papers will be stored using "TURNITIN," which is
available through WebCT. Students will
be responsible for posting their own papers for relevant courses, with
provision by the student of a complete set of papers required for
graduation. (This system also offers the
feature of being able to check papers for plagiarism, which students will need
to be told.) Each student’s portfolio
will then be available for faculty to review.
·
Students will be informed of this process in the catalog,
in their initial orientation, and in designated classes.
·
An Honors’ Day award may be developed for the best
portfolio each year, offering an additional incentive for students to perform
well.
Mission
Statement: It is the mission of the MS
in Urban Policy Studies degree program to prepare graduates for leadership
roles in urban policy organizations and to provide them with the knowledge and
skills needed to understand the urban policy environment and specialized policy
areas within this context.
· To learn and to apply core concepts, techniques, and analytical skills of the field of urban policy studies as in course learning objectives.
· To learn and to apply concepts and skills, as identified in course learning objectives, for two of the MSUPS career tracks: Nonprofit and Civic Leadership, Planning and Economic Development, Policy Analysis, and/or Social Policy.
III. Analysis of Data and Program Assessment
The MSUPS core faculty will review completed files—for recent MSUPS graduates—once each calendar year both (1) to assess overall student performance in the MSUPS program and (2) to identify any specific areas relating to aspects of particular learning outcomes that may need improvement. The review task will be apportioned equally among all MSUPS core faculty, with two faculty responsible for reviewing each student’s file. The faculty will develop an annual summary and evaluation of the findings and recommendations, which will be provided to the department chair and other faculty.
IV. Implementation Procedures
·
Papers will be stored using "TURNITIN," which is
available through WebCT. Students will
be responsible for posting their own papers for relevant courses, with
provision by the student of a complete set of papers required for graduation. (This system also offers the feature of being
able to check papers for plagiarism, which students will need to be told.) Each student’s portfolio will then be available
for faculty to review.
·
Students will be informed of this process in the catalog,
in their initial orientation, and in designated classes.
·
An Honors’ Day award may be developed for the best
portfolio each year, offering an additional incentive for students to perform
well.
Mission Statement: It is the mission of the MPA program to
advance the practice of public administration in the state of Georgia and
elsewhere by providing students with the state-of-the-art skills and knowledge
they require for effective professional careers and leadership positions as
managers, analysts, and policy specialists in governmental and related
nonprofit organizations.
· To learn and to apply core concepts, techniques, and analytical skills of public management and administration identified in course learning objectives.
· To learn and to apply concepts and skills associated with one of the MPA career tracks: Human Resources, Management and Finance, Nonprofit Management, Planning and Economic Development, or Policy Analysis and Evaluation identified in course learning objectives.
III. Analysis of Data and Program Assessment
The PAUS core MPA faculty will be charged with evaluation of the data collected from the three methods described above. This core faculty will review: (1) annual summaries of MPA course grades and grades on specific assignments, (2) the aggregate results of the exit test, and (3) the findings of the annual survey of graduates. The evaluation will include an overall assessment with the information about the distribution of the performance of all students taking the exit test. The evaluation will also identify any specific areas relating to aspects of particular Learning Outcomes that are in need of improvement. The core MPA faculty will also review the data provided by the survey of graduates in relation to perceived weakness and strengths of the overall program. The MPA core faculty will provide an annual summary and evaluation of the findings and recommendations to the department chair, other public administration faculty, MPA Advisory Board, and other program stakeholders as appropriate.
Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy
Mission
Statement: It is the mission of the
Ph.D. in Public Policy to prepare students for successful careers as university
research scholars and faculty and for positions as policy analysts in public
and nonprofit agencies.
· To achieve a high level of competence in understanding and using the literature and analytical skills of public policy.
· To achieve a high level of competence in one specialized sub-field of public policy.
· To demonstrate ability to conduct independent and original basic and applied research in public policy.
The department’s Graduate Committee will be charged with evaluation of a representative sample of the data collected from the first two methods described above. This committee will review the results of the Comprehensive Exam and the Field Exam. The evaluation will include an overall assessment with the information about the distribution of the performance of all students taking the exam. The evaluation will also identify any specific areas relating to particular Learning Outcomes that are in need of improvement. The Dissertation will be evaluated on several criteria by each member of the student's dissertation committee. These evaluations will be passed along to the Graduate Committee for review and assessment. The committee will also review the alumni survey questionnaires to assess the overall program in relation to perceived weakness and strengths. The committee will provide a summary of the findings to the department and their suggestions as to how the perceived weaknesses could be addressed and the perceived strength could be kept. In their summary, the committee will determine to what degree each of our Learning Outcomes is being achieved. For a Learning Outcome to be categorized as being successfully achieved by our program, the accumulated data must indicate a good to excellent performance for the Learning Outcome.
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*The MS in Human Resources Development, BS in Human Resource Policy and Development, and Ph.D. in Human Resource Development are not included since they are no longer accepting students (in phase out) or being eliminated as a part of the current and ongoing resources redirection efforts of the university. Joan Carson in the Office of the Associate Provost confirmed that these degree programs should be excluded.