Student Handbook
2016-2017
Dear MPA Student,
Welcome to the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of Southern Indiana!You are about to embark on an importantcourse of study aimed to train and prepare you to be future managers, administrators, and leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors throughout the Evansville area, Southwest Indiana, and the Tri-State region.
The MPA program is the preferred degree program for individuals who hold or hope to acquire a supervisory position in the public or nonprofit sector. Individuals interested in these career sectors pursue the MPA to improve their management-related job skills and performance, obtain leadership positions within their current organizations, or begin their career in a public or nonprofit organization. Some pursue the MPA to strengthen their academic credentials and knowledge of the public sector in order to prepare for law school or doctoral level work.
We recently revised the program’s curriculum, which includes a targeted core curriculumand two specializations for those seeking to be trained in either public sector administration or nonprofit administration. Since we introduced these specializations in Fall 2012, students haveenjoyedmore course offerings, including courses on special topics in public administration, and opportunities to do original research for credit through independent studies and thesis projects.
In 2014 and 2015, we offered study abroad programs for MPA students in China and the Netherlands through our recently created course PA 565: Comparative Public Policy. We hope you consider taking advantage of these experiences while you are in the program.
This program handbook will serve as a guide for you during your tenure at USI. Please consult the 2016-2017 Bulletin under “Graduate Programs” and click on either “Master of Public Administration, Public Sector Administration” or “Master of Public Administration, Nonprofit Administration” for further information.The USI Bulletin can be found at
If I can be of further assistance, please contact me at (812) 461-5204 or by e-mail at of luck in your academic career at USI!
Sincerely yours,
Matthew J. Hanka, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Science
Director, Master of Public Administration Program
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mission Statement and Goals of the MPA Program...... 4
Program Overview...... 5
Placement of MPA Graduates...... 6
What Graduates have been saying about the MPA Program at USI...... 7
MPA Program Curriculum ...... 8
Tentative Two Year Course Rotation...... 13
Certificate in Public Sector Administration or Nonprofit Administration...... 14
Master of Social Work/Master of Public Administration (MSW/MPA) Dual Degree Program 15
New Student Orientation...... 15
Student Expectations...... 16
Faculty Expectations...... 16
Program Admission Requirements...... 19
Full vs. Part-Time Status ...... 20
Graduate Assistantships ...... 20
General Eligibility Requirements for Federal Student Financial Aid ...... 20
University Scholarships, Grants, and Enrollment Reciprocity ...... 21
Grading ...... 21
Withdrawal for Non-attendance ...... 22
Progress towards Degree...... 22
Academic Probation and Dismissal ...... 23
Academic Misconduct ...... 23
Academic Integrity and Student Grievance Procedures...... 24
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)...... 24
Americans with Disabilities Act (APA) Compliance ...... 24
Attendance Policy ...... 24
Residence, Transfer, and Extension Credit ...... 25
Time Limitation and Validation (The Seven-Year Rule)...... 25
Interruption of Program ...... 25
Graduation ...... 25
Statement on Blackboard ...... 26
Departmental Cell Phone and Laptop Policy ...... 26
MPA Program Goals (2016-2021)...... 27
Master of Public Administration Society ...... 28
Graduate Student Professional Network ...... 29
MPA Program Faculty...... 30
Department of Political Science and Public Administration Support Staff...... 31
Office of Graduate Studies Staff...... 32
Statement of Professional Ethics ...... 33
Mission Statement: The Master of Public Administration Program at the University of Southern Indiana strives to meet the needs of current and future civic leaders and managers by providing students with the practical knowledge and professional and academic skills, rooted in a strong understanding of the theories of public administration, to become ethical, creative, and inspirational leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors.Our graduates are prepared to meet the economic, social, and political challenges that face leading public sector institutions and nonprofit organizations.
Vision Statement: Preparing civic leaders to meet society’s challenges in the 21st century.
Goals of the MPA program
- Obtain knowledge of the theoretical and institutional foundations and the internal operations of the public and nonprofit sectors, and how these sectors are shaped by their economic, social, and political environments.
- Master an understanding of how key concepts and theories in the field of public administration can be used to formulate applied solutions to problems associated with public and nonprofit administration.
- Acquire practical skills necessary for the management of public and nonprofit organizations, such as grant writing, budgeting, public speaking, human resources management, organizational behavior, electronic communication, and report writing.
- Learn how to gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data (through data bases, web sites, printed material, and other information-based resources) and develop research skills that can be used to advance the knowledge and practice of public administration.
- Understand the ethical consequences of decisions made by managers and administrators in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Program Overview
Since the inception of the MPA program during the 2002-2003 academic year, we have graduated 90 students. The Department of Political Science and Public Administration hired a full-time MPA Director that began in Fall 2010 to specifically oversee all governance and decision-making of the MPA program. The MPA Director oversees the development of program policy and strategic planning, through the promotion and marketing of the program throughout the university and the Greater Evansville community, and also develops specific programs hosted and sponsored by the MPA program, such as the MPA Speaker Series.
The MPA program has revised its curriculum twice in 2012 and 2015, which includes the introduction of a core curriculum, a capstone seminar, and either one of two specializations: public sector administration or nonprofit administration. It’s no longer the same set curriculum and it’s more flexible for our students. Students are also required to pass a comprehensive examination that demonstrates a mastery of universal core competencies in public administration and demonstrates a mastery of competencies in either public sector administration or nonprofit administration.Since Fall 2014, the exam has been offered six times to 26 students.
In 2012, the MPA program developed a strategic plan as a part of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration strategic plan, which is available in the MPA program office.
With the hiring of an additional faculty member, Dr. Trent Engbers in Fall 2013, we’ve been able to offer several core curriculum courses every year instead of every other year, including PA 632: Public Administration, PA 618: Research Methods in Public Administration, and PA 653: Ethics in Public Administration. The goal is to offer each core curriculum course once a year. In our electives, we offer a special topics course in public administration. The course has been offered twice: a special topics course in housing and community development in Spring 2014 and a course in program evaluation in Fall 2014.
The MPA Program developed the MPA Speaker Series in 2013 through support from a Majors as Home grant from the Office of the Provost. Our speakers have included individuals who provide their professional and academic expertise in the public and nonprofit sectors, including David Bower of the USI Foundation; the late Harry Lukens, who worked in the White House Advance Team during the Ford Administration; Patty Avery, a former Old National Bank executive with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Washington, DC; and Jerry Linzy, a partner with Jerrod Linzy and partners based in Chicago, and a former Evansville City Council member with 45 years of experience in fundraising and philanthropy.
The MPA Speaker Series also included several alumni-in residence programs, where our MPA alumni were invited back to campus to share their story, their career and role in the community, their professional experiences, and how the MPA program affected and impacted their careers and lives. This is an opportunity to showcase the success of our graduates.
Placement of MPA Graduates
The Master of Public Administration program at the University of Southern Indiana strives to meet the needs of current and future public managers by providing educational opportunities that enable them to become ethical, skillful, creative, and inspirational leaders. Graduates of the program possess a unique blend of practical knowledge and professional skills, rooted in a strong understanding of the theories of public administration. Our graduates are prepared to meet the economic, social, and political challenges that face leading public sector institutions.
The MPA program has placed a number of our graduates in high profile positions in the public and nonprofit sectors throughout Southwestern Indiana and the Tri-State Region (which includes Western Kentucky, Southwestern Indiana, and Southeastern Illinois). Some of the placements of our graduates include: The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, the Mayor’s Office of the City of Evansville, the City of Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development, Old National Bank (headquartered in Evansville), Vectren Corporation, local nonprofit organizations such as United Way of Southwestern Indiana and the American Red Cross of Southern Indiana, offices and departments in Vanderburgh Countygovernment, the Indiana Treasurer's office, Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville, and TRANSPO (the Transit Authority in South Bend, Indiana), and the Admission Office at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. One of our graduates currently serves on the board of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC), and two of our graduates recently served as Vanderburgh County Highway Superintendent. In 2016, three of our graduates have run for local political office. Two ran for Vanderburgh County Clerk, while the other is running for Vanderburgh County Clerk At-Large.
In addition, we’ve had several MPA graduatesobtainedemployment outside the Midwest, including a program manager for a NGO in San Francisco, and the Department of Resident Life at the University of Maryland.
Also, several of our graduates are employed at the University of Southern Indiana. The MPA degree has enabled them to earn supervisory positions in various departments throughout the university, such as the Office of the Registrar, Career Services, Center for International Programs, and the Division of Outreach and Engagement. Several of our students also serve as graduate assistants in various intercollegiate athletic programs at USI while enrolled as a student in the MPA program. Their degree has allowed them to earn an assistant head coach or head coach position at area high schools, and Division I and Division II programs throughout the Midwest and the United States. In addition to job placements, we have placed a couple of our students in law school (Saint Louis University and the University of Cincinnati) and doctoral programs, including the Ph.D. program in Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Louisville, the Ph.D. program in Political Science and Public Administration (PSPA) at Mississippi State University, and the Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology at Iowa State University.
What Graduates have been saying about the MPA Program at USI
"The MPA program equipped me with the knowledge, skill set, and experiences necessary to serve as an effective public administrator in today's society. The program's curriculum provides students with opportunities to engage in service learning projects, which allows both networking and experiential learning. As an individual aspiring to serve as professional in the nonprofit sector upon enrolling in graduate school, the MPA program provided me with coursework specific to the nonprofit sector. These courses contributed to my ability to obtain a job working for a national nonprofit organization. I am confident the MPA program adequately prepared me for my career as a public administrator due to the devoted faculty, the rigorous coursework, and the experiences it encompasses."
-Rachel Gumble, MPA ’15
Community Engagement Director, Albion Fellows Bacon Center
“The MPA program is unique for being student-centered and flexible to accommodate both professionals and full-time students. The time availability that most of our professors created for us is remarkable. The fact that I was able to gain knowledge and interact with working student professionals as well as a wide range of institutions in our community, help tremendously bridge the gap between my books and the workplace. As an international student, I never felt I was being taught anything that wasn't relevant to my home country but instead, it was an opportunity to broaden my horizons and become more competitive as a true global citizen. I am thankful because the MPA had given me a platform to grow professionally through balanced theoretical approaches and real life experience that has made my transition to becoming a nonprofit manager very smooth.”
-Meschac Gervais, MPA ’15
Program and Community Manager for One World Children's Fund
“As a mid-career professional, the Master of Public Administration program provided community service learning and comprehensive coursework that is not only applicable to my current position but also delivers what I need to advance in my career.”
-Susan Colaricci Sauls, MPA’16
University Art Collection Registrar, University of Southern Indiana
MPA Program Curriculum
The course offerings in the MPA program place a high priority on the application of the theories of public administration to real work situations. In our courses, the students complete applied exams and analyze specific case studies. They write grant proposals, develop personal leadership philosophies, and learn how to write memos in a clear and succinct manner. Our students learn to write surveys, “crunch” data, and evaluate programs. They build interpersonal communication, leadership, and teamwork skills. Through papers and presentations, our students refine their written and oral communication skills. Students who do not have extensive work experience also have the opportunity to complete an internship within a public agency in order to gain experience in the field.
The MPA program consists of 36 credit hours. Students in the MPA program are required to complete a core curriculum of six courses (18 hours), a capstone seminar (3 hours) and 15 hours of elective courses in one of two specializations: public sector administration or nonprofit administration.MPA courses are offered using three formats: in the classroom once-a-week in the evening or on Saturday morning; a distance/hybrid course that meets 4-6 times during the semester, while the remaining sessions are online; and a purely distance course with no class sessions and all coursework is online. Courses are offered each fall and spring semester and during the summer in four, five, nine, ten or 14-week sessions.Students who take two courses during the fall, spring, and summer can complete their MPA degree in two calendar years.
Core Curriculum (6 courses, 18 credit hours)
PA 606: Public and Nonprofit Personnel Administration
PA 609: Budgeting in Public and Nonprofit Administration
PA 618: Research Methods in Public Administration
PA 632: Introduction to Public Administration
PA 644: Policies and Processes in the Public Sector
PA 645: Program Evaluation in the Public and Nonprofit Sector
Capstone Seminar (3 credit hours)
PA 697: Capstone Seminar in Public Administration
Two Specializations
Public Sector Administration (5 courses, 15 credit hours)
COMM 602: Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
COMM 613: Political Communication
COMM 614: Interpersonal Communications within Organizations
COMM 621: Advanced Public Relations
PA 527: Urban Politics and Governance
PA 564: Environmental Politics and Policy
PA 565: Comparative Public Policy
PA 601: Organizational Behavior
PA 603: Technology Issues and E-Governance
PA 611: Leadership Skills in Public Administration
PA 612: Connect with Southern Indiana
PA 614:Interpersonal Communications within Organizations
PA 615: Legal Aspects of Public Administration
PA 663: Strategic Planning
PA 684: Grant Writing
PA 690: Special Topics in Public Administration
PA 695: Internship in Public Agency
PA 698: Independent Study in Public Administration
PA 699: Thesis in Public Administration (6 hours)
Nonprofit Administration (5 courses, 15 credit hours)
COMM 602: Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
COMM 613: Political Communication
COMM 614: Interpersonal Communications within Organizations
COMM 621: Advanced Public Relations
COMM 624: Nonprofit Advancement
PA 565: Comparative Public Policy
PA 601: Organizational Behavior
PA 603: Technology Issues and e-Governance
PA 605: Foundations of Nonprofit Administration
PA 612: Connect with Southern Indiana
PA 614: Interpersonal Communications within Organizations
PA 615: Legal Aspects of Public Administration
PA 631: Fundraising and Volunteer Administration
PA 663: Strategic Planning
PA 664: Nonprofit Leadership
PA 684: Grant Writing
PA 690: Special Topics in Public Administration
PA 695: Internship in Public Agency
PA 698: Independent Study in Public Administration
PA 699: Thesis in Public Administration (6 hours)
Note: Every student who chose this specialization must take PA 605: Foundations of Nonprofit Administration.
The MPA program changed its program curriculum, as outlined in Section A, to better focus on core competencies and skills that are more relevant and practical in the field of public and nonprofit administration. We replaced two core curriculum courses (PA 653: Ethics in Public Administration and PA 601: Organizational Behavior) with PA 644: Policies and Processes in the Public Sector and PA 645: Program Evaluation in the Public and Nonprofit Sector, a newly created course offered in Fall 2014 as a special topics course.
Also, issues of ethics in public administration have been integrated into all coursework in the curriculum. PA 601 is now an elective in the public sector and nonprofit administration specializations. Organizational Behavior will be a topic of emphasis in the PA 632: Introduction to Public Administration core curriculum course. PA 644: Policies and Processes in the Public Sector has been on the course catalog for many years, and recently has been an elective in the public sector and nonprofit administration specializations.
Students selected to participate in the Connect with Southern Indiana (CSI) program can receive academic credit by enrolling in PA 612: Connect with Southern Indiana. CSI brings together the brightest and most talented professionals from Southwest Indiana to learn about the region’s unique resources and cultural assets. Participants learn the necessary skills and tools to enhance the economic, social, and intellectual capital of the region through the creation and implementation of community and regional development projects. In the past few years, we have recruited 10 MPA students who participated in the program and received course credit as an independent study.