NGO Education Survey

PADM5830 Grant Writing for Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course focuses on the art and process of proactive grant writing. The course is conducted in a workshop format with emphasis on writing a grant proposal and on logical relationships between sections of a proposal. Emphasis is placed on integrating research into the proposal development process, writing effective goals and objectives, and incorporating summative and formative evaluation processes into the grant. Collaborative aspects of grant writing are emphasized.

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PADM5840 Promoting Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This practicum applies marketing principles to nonprofit organizations. Emphasis will be placed in techniques for defining and identifying the organization’s contributor, volunteer, and client markets. Strategies for conducting a market assessment, measuring customer satisfaction, and using information to develop a marketing plan will be covered. These strategies will include the identification of marketing offers, communication messages and methods, cause related marketing, and the development of marketing budgets.

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PADM5870 Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This practicum enables students to develop fund raising and fund management skills. Emphasis is on understanding the various forms of fund raising, such as the annual fund; special events; deferred giving; major gifts; special project campaigns; corporate/foundation gifts; and direct mail. Students will also be provided with a working knowledge of permanent endowment funds. Students will learn to assess the fund raising readiness of organizations and develop fund raising plans unique to their organizations.

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PADM5980 Readings in Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 1-3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course offers a program of independent study to provide well qualified MPA candidates with an opportunity to explore in depth a topic or problem of interest under the guidance of a faculty member. Planning a topic for investigation is the joint responsibility of the candidate and supervising faculty. Approval is contingent upon the merits of the proposal. Approval of both the supervising faculty member and the School Director is required prior to enrolling in this course.

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PADM5990 Topics in Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 1-4 credits
Level: Graduate

This changing topics course deals with particular issues of interest and concern to students of public affairs and administration. Since content varies, students are advised to read course descriptions distributed by the School prior to enrollment. The course may vary in the number of credit hours awarded and may last more or less than a semester’s or session’s length.

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PADM6000 Historical and Legal Foundations of American Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course is designed to introduce major ideas, developments, and figures in the field of public administration. As such, it serves as the primary course for instilling a sense of historical development of the field. The course also introduces professional codes of ethics as well as American legal institutions and processes and discusses the relationship between the public service and the legal system.

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PADM6060 Analytical Methods

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course focuses on formulating questions, selecting analytical methods, developing conclusions and recommendations, and understanding the use of appropriate research methodologies in public administration. The course demonstrates the application of the following to both practical professional analysis and scholarly inquiry; the exploration of the relevant scholarly and professional literature, the design of research approaches, the utilization of various quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques; the collection, manipulation, interpretation, and presentation of data gathered; and the use of information thus obtained in the solution of policy problems confronting professional administrators.

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PADM6070 Quantitative Data Analysis

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course is an introduction to quantitative analytical techniques employed by professional administrators in the collection, manipulation, interpretation, and presentation of data utilized to test hypotheses and analyze policy problems. Quantitative methods may include frequency distribution, sampling techniques, measures of central tendency, probability, variability, regression, measures of association, correlation, and various other applied quantitative measures.

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PADM6080 Organization Theory and Behavior

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course has the following objectives: a) to familiarize participants with the basic concepts, models, and theories of organization; b) to develop a better understanding of individual, group, and organization behavior; c) to provide a conceptual foundation upon which theoretical knowledge can be applied to organizational and managerial problems. In pursuit of these objectives, the following subjects will be considered: theories of organization and management; individual behavior; group dynamics; organization change; organizational performance, efficiency, and effectiveness.

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PADM6110 Administrative Law and Governmental Regulation

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines how administrative laws and public regulations control and regulate the activities of local, state and federal government officials and the agencies by which they are employed. It will consider the requirements for, and limits on, the exercise of power by elected and appointed officials. Special attention is devoted to the development, adoption, and enforcement of administrative laws and government regulation.

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PADM6120 Principles of Public Budgeting

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course utilizes a combination of “hands-on” exercises and theory to examine the preparation of government budgets. Topics to be addressed include criteria for evaluating sources of government revenue, the politics of budgeting, alternative budget formats such as line item and performance, cost center accounting, and the methodologies for developing revenue projections, capital improvement programs and operating budgets. Ability to use spreadsheets such as Excel or Lotus is required.

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PADM6130 Local Government Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course addresses the management challenges faced by local public administrators in managing American local government under conditions of substantial physical, economic, social, and political change. Students will review current societal trends affecting local communities and then examine how these trends, and the roles and relationships of major stakeholders in local government, impact local policy decision-making and governmental administration. Students will develop skills in applying public administration principles and methods to managing public organizational adaptation and change.

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PADM6140 Managing Community Growth and Development

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

The course is intended for public managers involved in guiding community growth and/or managing local economic development. The course will focus on the dynamics of developing the community’s economy and managing its physical growth and expansion in ways that enhance and sustain the quality of local and regional community life. Students will examine policies, programs, and techniques in the public management of economic development, business attraction and retention, land use, growth management, housing, public facilities and infrastructure, and environmental preservation. The course will also address the economic, demographic, spatial, and political forces driving urban change and impacting community sustainability.

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PADM6150 State and Local Government Finance

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines a variety of financial tools that enhance a public official’s ability to cope with the crosscurrents of expanding government responsibilities and public resistance to higher taxes and fees. The tools that are addressed by this course include governmental accounting concepts and procedures; methods of financing infrastructure projects; risk management; calculating the costs of providing goods and services; and cost-benefit, cost effectiveness, and cost revenue analysis.

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PADM6170 Intergovernmental and Interorganizational Relations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines the interactions among governmental and non-governmental entities. A majority of the course examines the political, economic, constitutional, legal, and historical foundations of intergovernmental relations, the types and implications of grants-in-aid, and fluctuations in the powers and responsibilities of local, state, and national governments. The remainder of the course analyzes the relationships among public agencies, legislative bodies, the executive, and interest groups.

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PADM6180 The Political and Economic Environment of Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines the interplay of political and economic forces that impact roles and capacities of public administrators in the governmental and nonprofit sectors. The course also reviews trends in the global economic system affecting the roles of public-serving organizations in the economy in regulating, stimulating, and mitigating the social and political impacts of the private economy. Covered topics may include: the administrative politics of interest group influence and agency constituency building; the politics of bureaucratic accountability; performance, and legislative control; interactions between citizens and bureaucracy; bureaucratic ethics; the economic roles of government and the nonprofit sector in the global economy; and ties between the administration of public-serving organizations and economic institutions and processes. Students are encouraged to obtain a fundamental knowledge of basic economic concepts prior to taking the course.

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PADM6270 Human Resources Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

A survey course that examines the concepts and practices of human resource management and reviews the functions performed by human resource administrators and other agency officials. Areas of consideration may include, but are not limited to, human resources planning and recruitment, training and development, compensation, information systems, and employee relations.

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PADM6290 Supervisory Skills for Administrators

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This elective course includes a consideration of the five most important functions of middle level managers and first line supervisors: decision making, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In order to assist participants develop their supervisory skills, this course utilizes case studies, small group discussions, role playing, simulations, and other practical skill building exercises.

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PADM6390 Managing Public Performance and Information Technology

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course explores the management and measurement of public (government and nonprofit) agency performance and productivity. It focuses on defining public-serving organizational performance and productivity in practical terms; exploring management principles and practices designed to enhance the performance and productivity of these agencies, and managing the design and application of information technology to enhance public performance and citizen access.

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PADM6400 Nonprofit Governance

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines the governance of nonprofit organizations with special emphasis on a nonprofit’s responsibilities to the state and federal government. Topics include the history and role of nonprofit organizations in U.S. society, size and scope of the various nonprofit subsectors, the legal establishment and maintenance of nonprofit organizations, dynamics between board and staff, and identifying and addressing ethical issues.

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PADM6431 Budget Development and Accounting for Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course will examine procedures for projecting revenues, how tax policies affect private contributions to nonprofits, and the process for developing operating budgets. Accounting and financial reporting standards as well as financial analysis techniques, internal controls, board oversight, and external auditors will also be addressed. An ability to use spreadsheets (e.g. Excel or Lotus) is necessary.

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PADM6441 Human Resources for Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines current theories, practices, and issues of human resources management in the context of ethical strategic management in nonprofit organizations. Human resources systems for both employees and volunteers are explored with selected foci in human resources planning, recruitment, retention, recognition, rewards, and risk management.

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PADM6461 Evaluation of Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

Examination of how nonprofit programs are assessed for need and evaluated as to their operations and outcomes. The course includes discussion of the role and conduct of research on the program evaluation process, performance expectations of multiple stakeholders, as well as the methods of effective evaluation and analysis.

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PADM6471 Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course integrates theory-based and practice-based approaches to leader-follower dynamics and service delivery in the nonprofit organization setting. The course focuses on such topics as leader styles, characteristics, and strategies; leading in a diverse world; leading in times of crisis and complexity; and leading for the future.

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PADM6481 Planning in Nonprofit Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

The course focuses on planning programs within the context of strategic planning. Tools for developing a strategy and new programs to fulfill the strategy will be examined. Both strategic and program planning are viewed as creative, dynamic processes carried out by a team. The stages and tasks of strategic and program planning are studied from analytical, technical, and interactive perspectives.

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PADM6515 Administration and Delivery of Health Services

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course addresses the administration and delivery of health services in the United States with emphasis placed upon the manager’s functioning as a transactional and transformational leader by gaining an understanding of how the various health care sectors function and interact with each other and the managerial functions and interactions associated with each sector. This understanding will include and not be limited to identifying the basic models of health care delivery and their effect upon access, quality, cost, and innovation in the U.S.A. and other countries.

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PADM6520 Financial Management of Health Care Organizations

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

By applying basic accounting and financial management techniques and principles from the intra-organizational perspective, this course examines the use of financial statements to assess financial viability and performance of health care organizations, different ways to allocate cost, pricing and service decision-making, and financial planning and budgeting.

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PADM6532 Health Care Policy and Law

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course explores the political, legal and regulatory, ethical, and theoretical basis for the evolution of U.S. federal and state health care policy; the various U.S. and international health care models; and the applied effects of public policy on health care economics, delivery systems, and health care organizations.

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PADM6535 Health Care Economics and Finance I

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course introduces the non-financial health care manager to financial management, budgeting, and economics in the public and nonprofit sectors. Topics covered in this course include: introduction to financial management, financial decision making, basic financial and managerial accounting, third party payers, revenue management, product cost development, budgeting analysis, variance analysis, elasticities, supply, and demand.

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PADM6545 Health Care Economics and Finance II

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course is intended for non-financial managers who desire to deepen their knowledge and understanding of financial and economic management or how to direct scarce resources to most efficiently meet public and nonprofit organizational strategic goals. Topics covered in this course include: time value analysis, financial risk and return, capital acquisition, cost of capital, capital allocation, financial condition analysis, financial forecasting, financial risk management, incentives and regulatory impact. The above topics are covered through the development and use of spreadsheet analyses and other techniques.

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PADM6555 Managerial Epidemiology

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course develops basic epidemiological principles and applies them to the planning and development of health care organizations. Topics covered include: developing and analyzing community needs assessments, epidemiological costs and financial implications, and use of evidence bases management and medicine.

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PADM6610 Intellectual History of Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course traces the development of public administration theory from the founding of the American colonies to the present day, implementing research techniques in common use by intellectual historians. The course utilizes an historical approach to understand the contextual influence of thinkers and movements related to American public administration.

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PADM6630 Leading the Public Organization

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This seminar course uses theoretical and methodological research literature, documentation in a variety of media, and practical work experiences to examine the roles of leadership, human behaviors, and human resources systems in public organizations. The course addresses leadership and human behaviors within systems and chaos models in the public arena of work. Attention is given to the management of functions of human resources as well as to the activities of the employees in an organization. External influences, competing organizational systems, and identified public outcomes are also examined to complete an understanding of leader and follower roles.

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PADM6640 Advanced Research Design for Public Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course provides the opportunity for doctoral students to begin thinking through multiple methodological approaches for their dissertation research by being exposed to design techniques for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research in public administration. This will also include action research and critical/feminist theory as approaches for research design. The focus will be on developing a comprehensive research design for their research, clearly connecting research designs to relevant bodies of theory, and considering multiple methodological approaches for learning more about specific research questions. (This is not intended to lead to a completed dissertation proposal as that is the primary goal of the required Dissertation Seminar.)

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PADM6650 Public Policy, Theory, and Research

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course will trace the development of theory in thinking about public policy. It will explore alternative models suggesting the way that public policy is formulated and implemented. Each model reflects a different way of perceiving the relationship between government and society. The application component will require students to apply one or more of the models to a substantive policy area. Emphasis will be placed on primary sources in preparing an analytical paper.

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PADM6660 Contemporary Issues in Public Management

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

Contemporary public management faces critical challenges in its present standing and future role in American society. This seminar focuses on the future of public management in government and the not-for-profit sector by (1) examining current policy and issue trends, as well as reform movements, impacting public management today; (2) reviewing the implications of these trends and movements for the future of administering American public organizations; and (3) exploring scenarios for managing public organizations in the future in selected issue and policy areas.

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PADM6780 Program Evaluation

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

Pressure to reduce the nature, size and scope of government has heightened interest in evaluating the impact of governmental activities. This course will focus on how to measure the effectiveness of agency programs.

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PADM6800 Project Paper Seminar

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

In this capstone seminar, MPA candidates will conduct an original, analytical research project (non-thesis) consisting of professional analysis of a management problem leading to practical implementation in governmental or nonprofit settings, or theoretical inquiry in the field of public administration. That project will produce either academic research that provides new generalized knowledge in the field or a solution to a public management problem in a specified agency. Other forms of professional inquiry and analysis may be acceptable if approved by the instructor.

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PADM6840 Management of Public Financial Resources

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course relies on theory, lab assignments, and practical experience to address constitutional, statutory, political, economic, cultural, and social factors affecting fiscal policy. Public finance theory and lab assignments familiarize students with the major facets (revenue projection, capital requests, and operating expenditure requests) of the budgeting process. The role of politics, alternative mechanisms for generating revenue, methods for assessing the fiscal health of organizations, and the implications of utilizing various budget formats are also examined. Students are expected to apply the methodologies from their research courses to a financial issue.

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PADM6860 State Agency Administration

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course examines the organization and administration of state government agencies, with special emphasis on the functions performed by major departments and their principal subunits. Executive agencies in Michigan will serve as a basis for comparing and contrasting services provided by similar agencies in other states. Each course participant will be required to analyze the current status of services provided by a particular state agency and project service demand into the future. Course participants will develop a comprehensive understanding of administration in agencies of state government.

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PADM6870 Legislative Relations for Public Administrators

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course prepares participants to interact with policy making bodies: city councils, county commissions, or the state legislature. Participants will learn to estimate the possible impact upon their agency of legislation under consideration, to assess the probable effect of proposed legislation upon their clientele, and to project the amount of revenue to be generated by a proposed tax, fine, or fee.

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PADM6920 Quantitative Data Analysis II

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

This course provides an introduction to regression analysis and an overview of limited dependent variable regression and generalized least squares regression. The purpose of the course is to develop a basic statistical competency enabling the student to apply various statistical methods and concepts in the development and evaluation of statistical assertions. Topics may include ordinary least squares, probit and logit regression, time series and panel data models, and instrumental variables regressions as well as model specification, diagnostics, and remedial measures for missing variables, multi-collinearity, and heteroskedasticity. Application of these techniques in a variety of public administration and policy settings will be emphasized.

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PADM6970 Dissertation Seminar

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

Dissertation Seminar is intended to assist doctoral students in the preparation of a dissertation proposal and to facilitate the transition from course work to dissertation. This course will review proposal components, with particular emphasis on research design and developing the literature review, and will also focus on key issues such as dissertation format standards, psychological and time management demands, committee formation, HSIRB training, and project management.

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PADM7100 Independent Research

Credit Bearing: 3 credits
Level: Graduate

Designed for highly qualified graduate students or small groups who wish to pursue independent studies or group projects under the direction of a Graduate Faculty member.

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PADM7120 Professional Field Experience

Credit Bearing: 3-6 credits
Level: Graduate

This practicum is designed for MPA degree candidates who are to participate in a supervised professional field experience/internship in an agency setting.

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PADM7300 Doctoral Dissertation

Credit Bearing: 1-15 credits
Level: Graduate

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