Graduate Catalog: Public Administration Programs Courses

PUB 501 Dimensions of Public Administration (3)
Provides an overview of the field of public administration in its economic, political, and social dimensions and an orientation to public administration as a profession.

PUB 502 Problem-Solving Methods for Modern Management (3)
Defines and develops managerial concepts, analytical techniques and basic skills required of an administrator. Utilizes the dynamics of group problem-solving. (Prerequisite: relevant work experience.)

PUB 505 Financial Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Study of financial management tools and budgeting techniques applicable to the public sector and to the private, nonprofit sector. Students deal with cases and other course work materials regarding various forms of output budgeting and financial decision-making with regard to revenue policies, resource allocation, cash flow, borrowing and other fiscal management concerns.

PUB/HSA/NURS 506 Research Theory (3)
Introduction to the methodology of research-historical, descriptive-survey, experimental design, critical interpretation, and case study techniques, with attention to specialized data-gathering procedures, such as the questionnaire, the interview, observation, etc. Introduction to statistical concepts. Directed toward the writing of a thesis or a professional contribution (PC) as a degree requirement.

PUB/HSA/NURS 507 Organizational Dynamics (3)
What a supervisor needs to know about human behavior in a work setting. Stressed are the subjects of work motivation, power and control, communication, impact of work/organization design, and management-by-objectives using a case analysis/ discussion format.

PUB 508 Human Resources Administration and Personnel Systems (3)
Survey course of personnel practices used in the public sector. Discusses all human resources phases, from recruitment to retirement. Special emphasis on unionization, personnel problems and leadership styles.

PUB 510 Organizational Communication (3)
Stresses the behavioral aspects of organizational communication, such as impact of power, persuasion, values, status, and role of the communication process; barriers to communication; conflict management, and group communication.

PUB/HSA 511 Ethics in Management (3)
Provides an introduction to the field of ethics and an opportunity to increase understanding, knowledge and competence in dealing with the ethical challenges and dilemmas that are found in the public, private, and nonprofit employment sectors. Course materials will focus on individual as well as corporate systems of responsibility and accountability and the ethical dimensions of public as well as private life.

PUB 512 The Grantsmanship Process (3)
Practical introduction to the process of securing grants from foundations, corporations and government agencies. Emphasis is given to developing a comprehensive needs assessment, researching sources, planning, and proposal writing.

PUB 513 Strategic Planning (3)
Theory and practice of strategic planning applied in the private, nonprofit sector. Students study several planning models, including strategic planning models, and apply specific elements of the strategic planning process to an actual case. The components of study will include environmental scanning, problem identification, SWOT analyses, strategy formulation, implementation planning, and various sub-elements of the process such as the construction of scenarios. The course will provide students with the opportunity to apply the strategic planning model as a tool for sustaining and strengthening organizational achievement.

PUB/HSA/NURS 518 Policy and Program Analysis (3)
Explores the policy-making processes important to an administrator. Develops skills necessary for formulation and analysis of policy problems and the implementation of public policies.

PUB 519 Administrative Law (3)
Deals with the processes and problems of law as they affect the administrator, including important cases, precedents and future implications.

PUB/HSA 520 Introduction to Health Services Administration (3)
Provides a background on the United States health care system in areas of administration, history and philosophy of public health, politics, health policy and strategic planning, finance and evaluation and assessment of medical care in the context of the social, legal, and regulatory environment of the delivery of personal health services.

PUB 521 Criminal Justice Administration (3)
Familiarizes students with the internal segments, functions, and mission of the criminal justice system. Emphasis on the internal problems confronted by the administrator.

PUB 522 State and Local Administration (3)
A background and orientation course designed to acquaint students with governmental responsibilities and functions; intergovernmental relations; problems, issues and alternatives in the performance of state and local governmental functions.

PUB 523 Public Sector Labor Relations (3)
Emphasizes unions, collective bargaining, negotiations, grievances, arbitration, and con tract administration. Numerous practical experiences are an integral part of this course.

PUB/HSA 524 Health Care Systems Analysis (3)
A comparative analysis of health care delivery systems and the application of systems analysis and design concepts for designing and evaluating health care delivery systems. A study of the elements of personal health services systems which encompass the various ways of delivering personal health services with regard for their evolution, governance, financial structure, organization function and structure, changing characteristics and relationships, and mechanisms for quality assessment and social accountability. A study of individual social and environmental determinants of health, disease, and disability including the field of medical sociology.

PUB/HSA 525 Health Care Economics (3)
Deals with the macroeconomics and microeconomics context of health care finance; the basics of health care accounting and of demand and utilization of health care services; pricing of health care services.

PUB/HSA 527 Gerontological Services Administration (3)
Emphasizes administration of health care services for the aged, along with the issues that affect these services. Examines the structure and functions of publicly and privately funded programs and organizations providing health services to the aged.

PUB/HSA 528 Administration of Long-Term Care (3)
Evaluation of long-term care institutions as a health care delivery subsystem; comparative evaluation of types of long-term care institutions; government regulations, long-term care facility organization and management.

PUB/HSA 529 Planning Health Care Services for the Elderly (3)
Acquaints students with the planning process and resources available for meeting the needs of the elderly. Provides broad knowledge of health care services for the aged and their implementation.

PUB/HSA/NURS 532 Legal Aspects Clinical and Health Care Organizations (3)
The course covers topics which include the role and liabilities of the hospital administrators, the governing board and the medical staff. Nursing services and hospital liabilities encountered by health care delivery are discussed. Disclosure of patient information and the legal consideration related to this disclosure are covered. Labor law and the complex issues among management, labor, and the community are part of this course.

PUB/HSA 537 Managerial Decision-Making in Health Care Organizations (3)
Examines operational concerns in the area of institutional administration. Included are project planning and constraints, work-load forecasting, patient scheduling, facility staffing, quality assurance, utilization review, control mechanism, applications of institutional resources. Includes application of management and administrative skills for the hospital administrator.

PUB/HSA/NURS 538 Institutional Budgeting and Planning (3)
Course will address the unique aspects of managing the financial resources of health care institutions. Focus will be on topics such as capital budgeting, sources of revenue, the impact of reimbursement on financial decisions, and the evaluation of fund sources. Analytical tools to aid in financial decision-making within health institutions will be examined.

PUB/HSA 539 Overview of Managed Care (3)
Provides an overview of health care insurance and finance by addressing the issues surrounding conventional delivery. The background and development of managed care, contracting, and legal issues in managed care and the general management requirements in managed care organizations are covered in three modules.

PUB 540 Constitutional Impact on Criminal Justice Administration (3)
Stresses the effect of court decisions and the law on policy making, planning and administrative discretion in the criminal justice system.

PUB 550 Directed Readings
See program director.

PUB 552 Computer Applications in Social Research (3)
An introduction to the use of the software package, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), developed at Stanford University for analyzing social data. Describes the structure of SPSS files and reviews the commands required to generate descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, cross tabulations, correlations and several multivariate statistical procedures. Involves analyzing data describing local populations. Prior experience with computers not required.

PUB/HSA 555 Professional Contribution (0)
This is the last program requirement to be fulfilled by the candidate before graduation. This is not a structured classroom course, but rather a semi-independent experience, such as a thesis, and similar to the comprehensive examination requirement. Participants should consult with their mentors early in the program to develop an acceptable Professional Contribution agenda.

PUB 574 Criminal Conduct: Commission, Correction, and Evaluation (3)
A course examining criminal conduct from the commission of a crime by different types of offenders to discussion of the current views and theories in the areas of criminology and abnormal psychology. Special attention will be placed on parole/probation of the criminal, rehabilitation, causative factors, and criminological theories.

PUB 576 Corrections
This course places a major emphasis on the historical and social texts of corrections. It presents the views of victims, reformers, prison officials, and others. The student is taken inside the role behavior of the probation officer, warden et al., to determine what is an effective and satisfactory job. Dialogue concerning controversial probation issues is encouraged to provoke thought and balance.

PUB 579 Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector (3)
Provides an overview of the issues and trends within the nonprofit and voluntary sector in order to lay a strong foundation of knowledge and comprehension for those who are pursuing careers in the voluntary sector and/or working in fields that intersect with nonprofit organizations. The course will consider the historical and philosophical roots of voluntarism, the structure of the sector, operational dynamics, and current and future trends and issues.

HSA 580 Epidemiology/Environmental Health (3)
Studies the field of epidemiology including concepts, principles, and models. Descriptive epidemiology relative to person, place, and time will be analyzed and interpreted. Human health and the environment, some research needs, and planning in environmental health science is reviewed.

PUB 581 Issues of Governance in Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Explores the roles and functions of all the groups which compose nonprofit organizations: boards of directors, staff, volunteers, funders, clients/consumers. The dynamics and dilemmas of these relationships and their impact on the management and governance of NPOs are explored in depth.

PUB 582 Fundraising in Nonprofit Organizations (3)
Examines the principles and techniques of fundraising and development for different types of NPOs, including foundation, corporate, government, and individual solicitation. Topics include (but are not limited to) special events, capital campaigns, membership, profit-making ventures, and deferred giving programs.

PUB/HSA 583 Marketing and Strategic Planning (3)
The science of marketing centers and the creation of a marketing strategy in order to achieve corporate goals and deliver the product to the ultimate consumer are discussed. The course explores market segmentation, strategic marketing and the role advertising, pricing and packaging play in market planning. Harvard Business Cases and other cases are utilized to illustrate the theory covered.

PUB 585 Program Assessment and Evaluations (3)
This course will present the concepts, techniques, and applications of program assessment and evaluation in public and nonprofit organizations. The course will include topics such as the role of program assessment and evaluation, methodologies, operational and ethical issues of program assessment and evaluation as practiced in public and nonprofit organizations.

PUB/HSA 595 Independent Study
Student interest and self-directed learning. See program director.

PUB 596 Public Administration Internship (3)
After completion of class course work, a candidate must take the Practitioner’s Seminar. Any candidate who cannot demonstrate a clear record of administrative responsibility must pursue a three-credit-hour field internship in addition to and in conjunction with the Practitioner’s Seminar. A field internship must be arranged six months prior to its intended commencement. Internships in public, human, and health service agencies each consist of twelve weeks of full-time employment or their equivalency on an extended, part-time basis.

PUB/HSA 597 Management Project/Internship (3)
A Management Project/Internship is required to increase knowledge and skills in theoretical application. The student, upon completion of course work, must do either a research oriented management project or an internship. Students must consult their mentors early in the program to determine the administrative project or internship to pursue. The objective is to develop research skills, skills in improving organizational effectiveness and in the development of leadership potential, including stimulating creativity, and interpersonal and communication skill development.

PUB 598 Special Topics (variable pass credit)
Intensive short courses such as Stress and Time Management, Human Issues in Management, Parliamentary Procedures for Administrators, Electronic Data Processing for Public Service Managers, Effective Communications for Managers, Performance Appraisal and Evaluation, Dimensions of Health Care Policy, Personnel Administration in the Federal Government, Ethics in Health Care Administration, Basic Statistical Techniques: Applications in Health Care and Public Administration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

PUB/HSA 599 Practitioner’s Seminar in Administration (3)
Seminar format designed to develop management skills, including work programming and time management; also covers experiential application of public administration theories and principles with emphasis on observation, analysis, reporting, and communication skills. Career development component directs participants in the process of self-analysis to formulate career goals and strategies.

HSA/SW 425 Children’s Rights and Societal Responses (3)
Analyzes policies and services designed to meet a range of needs and problems experienced by children and their families. Specific areas of analysis include child abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, homelessness, foster care, adoptions, institutional vis-a-vis community strategies in response to particular problems, impacts of prejudice/discrimination on minority groups, children and families, advocacy, and social change.

HSA 430 Aging: Issues and Perspectives (3)
Examines the biological, psychological, and outward social dimensions of aging. Analyzes roles and relationships of older persons and systems comprising their environment (e.g., family, friends, neighborhood, etc.). The contemporary continuum of care in the context of a strengths based approach is explored. The course also focuses on ageism, stereotyping, advocacy, and social policy change.

HSA 461 Administrative Practicum in Health Care Systems (3)
Involves the student in several field visits to facilities within the health care system. Also involves discussion in seminar of the organization and planning for each of the facilities visited.

See other appropriate sections for additional course work.

Public Administration Programs (Catalog)