MPL-5820 Law, Ethics, and Decision Making in the Public Sector

Ethical and socially responsible leadership are core dimensions in the education of local and global public servants. This course provides students with the essential framework for personal and professional ethical decision making applied in the context of diverse workplaces and organizations. Through the study of ethical theories, case studies in applied ethics, and specific assignments looking at legal and ethical complexities, students will examine their personal and professional values, assess their moral intelligence, and consider the legal foundations of public service.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MPL-5100 Research Methods in Public Service

This course introduces students to the foundations of research study methods with an emphasis on research in the public sector. Concepts presented include study design and selection, data collection guidelines, and study efficacy. A review of data analysis techniques is also featured along with tips on effective presentation of study findings. Ethical issues in research are reviewed to provide greater understanding of the importance of protecting research participants as well as the crucial oversight role of institutional review boards. Students participate in critical evaluations of existing research to engage course content and demonstrate proficiency in course objectives.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MSP-6740 Municipal Finance

This course examines the budget function and process of county, municipal, and state finance systems; the methods used to determine the needs of the community and individual agency and resource allocation to meet those needs; measuring the capability and benchmarking of the agency; preparation and presentation of the budget; and selling the budget and needs to the county or city administration.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MPL-5800 Public Service Leadership and Governance

This course examines the role of the human resource professional as a strategic partner in managing today's organizations. Key functions such as recruitment, selection, development, appraisal, retention, compensation, and labor relations are examined.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MPL-5200 Program Analysis and Evaluation

This course is designed to introduce basic concepts of policy and program evaluation. These include needs assessment, program monitoring, stakeholder awareness and influence, and assessing effectiveness and efficiency. Students will examine quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches. Social, political, and ethical contexts of evaluation studies will also be discussed.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MNP-5050 Organizational Management and Leadership in Public Service

This course presents a comprehensive, integrative, and practical focus on leadership and management. It is based upon a framework that analyzes leadership and management at different levels: individual leadership, team leadership, and organizational leadership. The course presents leadership and management theories/concepts that have emerged over the past several decades. In addition, students will survey contemporary perspectives on ethics, networking, coaching, organizational culture, diversity, learning organizations, strategic leadership, and crisis leadership. Special attention will be paid on examining the role that leaders play in identifying and implementing change in organizations.

Note: This course builds upon MNP-5020: Leadership and Management in Public Service, although that course is not a prerequisite to MNP-5050. While there is some overlap in content between the two, MNP-505 has a far greater emphasis on application and skill development than MNP-5020.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MNP-5300 Human Resource Management for Public Service

This course examines the role of the human resource professional as a strategic partner in managing today's organizations. Key functions such as recruitment, selection, development, appraisal, retention, compensation, and labor relations are examined. Implications of legal and global environments are appraised and current issues such as diversity training, sexual harassment policies, and rising benefit costs are analyzed. Best practices of employers of choice are considered.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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NPM-5020 Nonprofit Management

This course provides students with an understanding of the unique qualities, philosophies, and practices of the U.S. nonprofit mission-driven sector. The course examines the sources and management of resources as well as strategies for their effective use. Nonprofit Management begins with a historical overview of the nonprofit sector and demonstrates its complex structure. The primary goal of this course is to provide a thorough knowledge base, both theoretical and practical, for effective nonprofit management.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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NPM-6100 Nonprofit Governance and Board Leadership

This course explores governance within contemporary nonprofit organizations. The course focuses on leadership dynamics from theoretical and practical perspectives. Students will explore salient internal and external environmental factors that influence behavior through the examination and analysis of best practices. The primary goal of this course is to provide a realistic understanding of the elements that both support and impede effective governance for nonprofits. The significance of strong leadership and governance practices is reinforced in the course's discussion of emerging trends within nonprofit entities.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MSP-6640 Volunteer Management

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many public and nonprofit organizations. This course serves as an introduction to the theory and practice of the full range of volunteer management from recruiting prospective volunteers to issues surrounding the departure of a volunteer from the organization. Core issues surrounding volunteer management such as motivations, training, and risk management serve as key topics for this course.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MSP-6620 Practical Grant Writing

In this course, students will practice researching, writing, budgeting, and evaluating successful grant proposals. Grant writing ethics are stressed throughout the course. While the concepts covered can be applied to business, individual, and government proposals, this course focuses on philanthropic grants to nonprofit organizations from charitable foundations. Within one week of starting class, students will be required to identify a charitable or government entity and project to serve as a subject for their own proposal. To successfully complete the course, each student will create a proposal that he or she may wish to submit to grantmaking organizations, engage in the process of identifying funders and translating technical program objectives to a lay audience, create meaningful evaluation criteria or program process, and demonstrate how his or her program matches the funder's mission.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MNP-5150 Leading Strategic Change in Public Service

Managing organizational change is challenging at the best of times. In today's dynamic fast-paced global environment, change is a constant component of organizational life. Whether the change is simple or complex, organizations must constantly change or die. Leaders need to act as change agents to envision necessary change and effectively lead an organization through a change initiative. This course prepares participants to lead change within a variety of organizational settings. Models for the creation and communication of change plans are examined to develop an understanding of the specific challenges associated with change. The theory and methods for effective implementation of change plans are used to examine the practical realities of change implementation in modern organizations.

Note: This course builds upon MNP-5020: Leadership and Management in Public Service, although that course is not a prerequisite to MNP-5050. While there is some overlap in content between the two, MNP-5050 has a far greater emphasis on application and skill development than MNP-5020.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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MPL-7100 Public Service Capstone

Candidates for completion of the Master of Public Service Leadership (MPSL), Master of Science and Management (MSM) - Public Service Careers, and Master of Science in Homeland Security (MSHS) degree will complete a project demonstrating their conceptual, analytical, research, and practical management skills achieved through the courses in each program. The project, called a Capstone because it represents a crowning achievement much as a capstone does in architecture, is a 3-credit, one-term requirement that is completed at the end of the program. It is a closely supervised experience resulting in a paper that demonstrates the student's ability to synthesize and utilize the skills and knowledge gained in their graduate program.

Credits: 3

Delivery Methods: Online

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