An executive master of public administration degree will be offered for AU students, according to a recent agreement signed Jan. 31 to create a joint program between the School of Public Affairs and U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
After five years, the agreement will be reassessed based on its success.
The program is directed toward improving leadership and executive abilities for selected federal employees and will provide an opportunity for public-sector managers to earn a master's degree in public administration. The degree includes courses given by both AU and the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Executive Institute.
"The purpose of the program is to grow leaders who learn and learners who lead," said Robert Kramer, director of the Key Executive Education program and cohort programs with the Office of Personnel Management.
The relationship between the office and SPA began in spring 2002, when the first AU-Office of Personnel Management cohort program was launched. This spring marks the fourth cohort program and formalizes the relationship through the recent Memorandum of Agreement on the master's degree.
The federal employees who participate are generally senior managers who are in charge of very important programs, some of which deal with funds in the tens of billions of dollars, Kramer said.
"It's a wonderful program and we are thrilled to be a part of it," said Meg Weekes, assistant dean of SPA. The program employs action-learning so employees can implement, analyze and reflect upon the things they learn in the classroom, according to Weekes.
The American Society of Public Administration presented AU with the Curriculum Innovation Award in 2004 for the action-learning curriculum used in the MPA program, which Kramer set in place.
The program spans two years, and students spend three intensive eight-hour days per week in the classroom. Many, Weekes said, come at least an hour or two early in order to meet with small groups or speak with their professors.
Students entering the program in the same year have every class together, and books and homework are assigned before classes begin.
"They're either at work or in school all of the time," Weekes said.
