a. Program Name – SPEA Master of Public Affairs

b. Report prepared by – Barbara Peat, Graduate Director

c. Who is the current assessment contact for your program? Barbara Peat

d. Should assessment information be sent to anyone else in your department? Dean Leda Hall

1. What are the program’s educational goals? (Please take goals directly from your program’s assessment plan, and highlight any changes made this year.)

The SPEA MPA program further commits itself to enhance competency:

- in organizational management; by developing an appreciation for and an ability to use theoretical knowledge about management and public policy;

- in governance; by developing expertise in policy and management, developing an awareness of the economic and legal constraints within which leaders and managers operate, and developing the ability to understand and adapt to the ethical, social, economic, and political context of public policy;
- in strategic action and analysis; by developing the ability to use quantitative skills and developing problem solving and critical thinking skills;
- in coping with globalization and its ramifications; by developing an appreciation for the changing scope of governance and the impact of global action on public institutions from the local to the international;
- in professionalization; by developing an ethical consciousness and improving communication skills.

2. What assessment techniques did the program use? (Please take assessment techniques directly from your program’s assessment plan and highlight any changes made this year.)

The primary assessment tools used by the Master of Public Affairs Graduate Program are 1) the Capstone Course (V600) which students take at the completion or near completion of their course work in the program; 2) a questionnaire given to all graduating students asking them to evaluate the success of the MPA program in delivering on the objectives of the mission statement; and 3) regular meetings with a Graduate Student Advisory Council in which feedback is sought on issues of concern to the students.
In the capstone course, students conduct a project that draws on a variety of the skills and knowledge that the program has attempted to teach as part of the mission of the program. Depending on the faculty member teaching the course the course has focused on program evaluation, policy evaluation or strategic planning for an agency. Each year at the conclusion of that course, the faculty member teaching the course will complete a questionnaire regarding student level of preparation (see Appendix I). That questionnaire is composed of thirteen questions addressing goals identified in the mission statement. The faculty member is asked to indicate in thirteen areas whether student preparation for that course is "more than adequate," "adequate," or "inadequate." The questionnaire also includes an opportunity to comment on each question. In addition to the questionnaire, the director of the program further reviews with the faculty any comments or recommendations regarding the deficiencies of the students. This review is then used as one measure of the success of the program.
The purpose of the student questionnaire is to seek input on whether the MPA Program has successfully imparted to students the competencies and goals it has set for itself. The questionnaire includes the same thirteen questions as the instructor questionnaire and asks students to indicate whether, as a result of their enrollment in the MPA program, their skills or knowledge have "not changed," "improved," or "improved significantly." Furthermore, if they indicate "not changed", students are asked in a question #12 to specify whether it was due to prior development of those skills or knowledge or whether is was a failure of the program to deliver on that specific goal (see Appendix II).
The Graduate Student Advisory Council is composed of twelve graduate students at various stages in their graduate program. CHANGE:  THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ON THE COUNCIL WAS DECREASED TO EIGHT.  The director of the program and the dean meet with this group each fall and each spring to solicit feedback on program issues of importance to the students. In particular, student feedback is typically sought on the mission statement, assessment instruments, or proposed course or concentration changes. This feedback in then used to consider any necessary changes to the aforementioned topics.  CHANGE:  DUE TO THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE PROGRAM THAT WILL FORMALLY TAKE PLACE JULY 1, 2008 AS A RESULT OF THE ELIMINATION OF SPEA ON THIS CAMPUS, THE DIRECTOR MET WITH THE GROUP ONLY IN THE FALL OF 2007

3. What has your program done with assessment information this year? (i.e. communicated results to faculty, staff, alumni and students, made changes in the curriculum, made changes in the budget, added new courses. . .)

The assessment results will be forwarded to the Political Science Department through which the Program will be offered after June 30, 2008.

4. After reflecting on assessment activities in your unit, as a result of assessment what are two issues you would like to address?

We will not be addressing any issues from assessment this year due to the ongoing restructuring of the program and its transfer to the Political Science Department beginning July 1, 2008.