This is a blended course-a mixture of learning methods including experiential, classroom and on-line (Blackboard) methods. Students are immersed in nonprofit or government organizations as volunteers for 200 hours with supervision and reflection exercises during the term. This course is required for students admitted into the Program without (relevant) work experience in public service organizations and students from foreign countries. It is recommended for students using the Public Service Program to change careers.

This course introduces students to the tangible skills that take spoken delivery to the next level. These are the professional skills that convey intangible qualities that make communication interesting, convincing, credible, sincere and assertive. (Required of all MPS students taking MPS 500)

Introduces students to organizational theories and practices useful to public service managers. Teaches how to use structural, human resource, political and symbolic perspectives to rethink public service organizations. Provides an introduction to managerial  issues including workforce diversity, decision making and leadership; stresses critical thinking and writing skills.

Examination of the size, scope, capacity, and limitations of the nonprofit, government and business sectors in their provision of human services. In addition, print, electronic, and database resources are examined as means of developing meaningful research questions about the interrealtionships among the three sectors.

Examines ethical dimensions of issues faced by administrators in international public service organizations.

Examines ethical dimensions of issues faced by administrators in public service organizations.  Two credit hours.

Improves writing skills useful in semi- and nontechnical professions; emphasis on style, tone, awareness of purpose and audience.  Cross-listed with ENG 494.

(Formerly MPS 539) Seminar on the organization and delivery of public services outside the United States. Topics include a comparative analysis of the service sector in other nations, the role and impact of international service agencies, and international involvements of US. foundations and nonprofit agencies. Features case studies and guest speakers.

This course examines available research on the results of aid programs to third world countries and the implications of these findings for models of development.  It considers the role assumed by first world countries, international organizations such as the European Union or the International Monetary Fund, and non-profit organizations in third world developemnt.  Finally, it includes a critical assessment of the funding and policy decisions made by these actors and the effects they have on the global distribution of resources and the status of global equity and justice.

Analysis of volunteerism in American society, including its historical development, contemporary trends, social significance and organizational implications.

This course introduces students to the basic tools used to evaluate the financial performance of governmental organizations. Students will learn about the basic financial reports generated by governments and will undertake a comprehensive analysis of financial performance of a government based upon its financial reports. PREREQUISITE: MPS 500

This course introduces students to the basic tools of financial administration: budgeting, capital budgeting, cash flow analysis, variance analysis, and portfolio management.  Students will also learn how to read and use financial statements to identify financial problems.

This course focuses on the management and use of information technology (IT).  As the use of IT in society grows, particularly in business, graduates are likely to manage technology resources and participate in IT planning and development projects as founders, sponsors, team members, managers of development, or end-user developers.  Students should become effective users of information, IT, and information services.  The course explores a number of IT-related topics, such as the strategic role of IT, IT planning and architecture, building the telecommunications highway system, management issues on system development, the expanding universe of computing, group support systems, intelligent systems, electronic document management and managing the human side of systems.

(Formerly MPS 586) (2 quarter hours)  Grant writing is a fundamental component of most nonprofits' fundraising strategy.  This course provides practical guidance on how to plan and structure effective proposals for external funding, research funding courses, and follow-up with potential donors.

(Formerly MPS 589) (2 quarter hours) All nonprofits need resources to carry out their mission.  This class explains how to construct an appropriate, manageable fundraising plan to assist an agency in achieving its goals.  Techniques for implementing annual giving, capital campaigns and special appeals are reviewed, including consideration of who among nonprofit stakeholders should be involved in the process.

This interdisciplinary course explores service leadership through the lenses of Robert K. Greenleaf, The de Paul Leadership Project, Margaret J. Wheatley and other theorists and practitioners within the leadership field. The course expands our thinking on leadership to include modules dedicated to four topics: Service Leadership, Leadership and Diversity, International Leadership and Ethical Leadership. Students will assess their own leadership practices, develop a leadership action plan and participate in coaching, as coach and client. Student grading will be based on participation in self-reflection, course participation, project teams and a final project.

This course focuses on key factors which affect employee behavior and the nature and purposes of leader and managerial roles. In addition, it addresses recent research in leadership and management and the legal environment of personnel management,  In depth analysis of psychological systems, interpersonal relations and the relationship of rewards to performance are addressed through case studies, role playing and readings.

This course explores human resource issues facing employees with supervisory responsibilities in public service organizations, including those working in the volunteer, non-profit, religious, government, and education sectors.  The course considers human resource planning, employee recruiting and selection, and the motivation and evaluation of staff personnel and managers both individually and in teams.  Topics include recruiting and selecting employees and managers, fostering team development, managing employee stress, preventing workplace violence, and handling issues pertaining to termination, training, and development.  The course also explores progressive discipline, improving performance management of employees and volunteers, and supervising "difficult" people. PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 500

Explores the objectives, strategies, techniques and contraints of government and non-profit services. 4 quarter hours.

This course examines the legal and philosophical reasons that nonprofit organizations are governed by an external board of directors.  Membership, structure and process for this body are examined, as well as the relationship of employees to the individual board members and the policies established by this group.

Analyzes decision-making processes used in local units of government from the perspective of the chief executive officer (e.g., city manager, township supervisor, special district administrator and park superintendent); covers daily operational aspects of municipal administration including the impact of intergovernmental relations on local government, the role of the local government professional administrator in policy implementation and regional governance of the delivery of services that cross political boundaries.  The interaction of the chief executive officer, elected board members and the community will be discussed.

Examines membership associations as a special type of public service organization, with emphasis on managing both the external policy roles of associations and internal roles related to directly serving constituent members and organizations.

Examines private and corporate foundations as a special type of public service organization. Emphasizes managing mission and resources for the public good.

Students will learn how to apply strategic planning concepts and tools to public and non-profit organizations to help achieve "corporate" goals and objectives in meeting service delivery missions. The course focuses on analyzing the dynamic interaction of trends, market forces, stakeholders, and core competencies in developing a vision with strategies to handle organizational alternative scenarios. Examples are taken from government, social service agencies, park districts, suburban municipalities, health care organizations, and metropolitan development groups.

The purpose of this course is to explore both the science and art of nonprofit management. The primary goals are to become acquainted with the legal and economic constraints on nonprofits and to understand why some nonprofits succeed, while others fail.

This course examines the major sources of financing as well as the major methods of measuring costs for inpatient, outpatient and long-term health care.  It examines Medicare and Medicaid payment principles in detail and introduces cost accounting as applied to health care.

Overview of social systems of health care in the United States, including the health-seeking behavior of patients, relationships among health care providers and organizational settings in which services are delivered.  Cross-listed with SOC 431.

(Formerly MPS 560)  Analyzes who promotes, provides, consumes, and pays for health care in the United States. Special attention is given to the relationships between governments, health care institutions, and community-based organizations.

Overview of the structure of the U.S. health systems followed by a selective international comparison of other health delivery systems including their relationships to social policies and economic factors. 4 quarter hours. Cross-listed with SOC 437.

Introduces students to financial and microeconomic issues affecting the governmental and nonprofit sectors.  Explores principles of public finance. Specific applications to local government and nonprofit organizations are considered.

Focuses on processes and techniques of analyzing and designing public policies. Students are introduced to an analytical way of thinking that includes: defining and modeling policy problems; designing policy alternatives; evaluating policy alternatives using ethical, legal, economic, organizational, and political criteria; and anticipating problems of policy implementation. PREREQUISTE(S): MPS 503 and 514, 515 or 541.

This course discusses reasons why well-intended government programs or policies so often go astray. It emphasizes how policies change when managers and analysts try to implement them in a bureaucratic or political environment. Prerequisite(s): MPS 542

Theory, application, and impact of law enforcement policies on police, corrections and the courts.  Cross-listed with SOC 446.

Most public policy programs focus on the economic approach to policy analysis, but that approach has been receiving increasingly critical attention.  The course will review the critiques of the economic approach, including ethical and civic issues,  It also introduces students to alternative approaches, such as policy analysis as argumentation and critical policy analysis.  Students will consider the effects that these different approaches may have on issues of social justice and equity as embodied in public policy decisions. Prerequisite (s): MPS 542

Explores the roles of individuals and organizations in the public policy process, particularly as power arrangements facilitate or impede consensus building. Examines how legislation is written and how administrative rules are formed in government agencies. Special attention is paid to advocacy techniques such as lobbying, public education, and litigation. PREREQUISITE[S] : MPS 542

This course employs analytical techniques to explore policy problems faced by nonprofit  organizations as well as federal, state and local units of government.  It considers practical methods to use economic and public policy tools to address contemporary societal and governmental issues.  Two credit hours PREREQUISTE(S):MPS 541 and MPS 542 or consent of instructor.

This course combines the basic tools of finance covered in 514 and 515 with more advanced techniques and applies them through case studies to monitoring organizational performance and exerting control in both the short- and long-run.  Prerequisite(s):  MPS 514 or MPS 515 or MPS 541.

Entrepreneurship And New Venture  Management (crs # Inactive 9/1/1999)

Introduces laws and regulations governing nonprofit organizations, including procedures for incorporation, maintenance of tax-exempt status, and compliance with relevant labor laws. No legal background is assumed.

Introduces students from nonlegal backgrounds to the legal system. Examines legal materials, including statutes, judicial opinion, and administrative regulations. Basic legal research and writing skills are taught.

Examines how legislation and administrative procedures direct and constrain the exercise of administrative discretion by public officials, while ensuring accountability and fair treatment of the public.  Discusses judicial review of administrative acts through the use of cases and other materials.  Covers liability and authority of officials and how these affect citizens' rights and  compliance with federal and state mandates.

(Cross-listed with Psychology 430)  Advanced study of social psychological methodology, ethics and deception, attitudes, altruism, aggression and interpersonal processes and attraction.

This course develops the skills necessary for conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, and archival data analysis.  Focus is placed on quasi-experimental designs.  Sampling strategies and data preparation in SPSS format are also included as preparation for MPS 580 and the student's capstone project. PREREQUISITE: MPS 542

Analyzes issues, decision-making processes, and resources that affect planning across a metropolitan area, including urban-suburban relations and the complexities of zoning and community development.

(Formerly MPS 554)  Readings, case studies, and student projects which explore the causes and conditions of urban poverty, together with a selective analysis of how public policy and service agencies address human need.

Discussion of urban issues, including social area analysis, neighborhood change, land use, and other selected topics.  Cross-listed with SOC 422.

(Formerly MPS 545)  Examines community organizations as problem-solving bodies that interact with government agencies in affecting urban development and the formation of urban public policy.  Cross-listed as SOC 426.

Prepares students to use and produce quantitative analyses for policy studies and administrative decision making; focuses on descriptive and beginning-level inferential statistics; introduces students to statistical software.  PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 570.

Explores statistical tools for public service research, including the binomial distribution, multiple regression analysis, and non-parametric tests. Involves use of statistical software. PREREQUISTE(S): Permission of instructor

(2 credit hours)  Prepares students to undertake a capstone project.  Students will be introduced to a variety of data sets and invited to explore issues in which they are interested by reviewing the relevant literature and applying the analytical tools acquired during their coursework to these data.  Students with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher will have the option of collecting their own data.  Students electing this option are required to find a faculty advisor with the approval of the Director.  PREREQUISITE(S): MPS students or department consent.

Explains the purpose of needs assessments and the various methods used to assess levels of need as these are focused on shaping social policy or designing management systems.  Areas covered include discrepancy, marketing, and social indicator analysis. PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 542 and MPS 570

Explores the various methods utilized in evaluating program results.  Outcome assessment is discussed as this research strategy can be applied in assessing the impact of policy or management change. PREREQUISITE: MPS 542 and MPS 570.

Profiles the various methodologies, which are useful in evaluating the effectiveness of organizations in implementing policies and programs.  The emphasis is on the development of process measures.  PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 542 and MPS 570.

This capstone course provides the opportunity for students to complete a demonstration project integrating applied research, theoretical frameworks, and professional practice.  It allows students some flexibility, drawing from one of the applied research competencies in either a policy or management area of focus. PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 580 and 590 or 591 or 592

Elective, 4-credit hour course available to students with MPS CGPA of 3.75 or greater. For MPS Fellows taking MPS 593, Integrated Seminar, or MPS 598, Thesis Research I, during the academic year, meets roughly every other week during winter and spring terms. Seminar includes distinguished academic and professional guest lectures and presentations of research by Fellows.