Making Training Dollars Count: Distance Education and the Certified Public Manager Program

Abstract

The author presents three accountability relationships for assessing the appropriateness of using distance education in the Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program—educational accountability, financial accountability, and organizational accountability. Finding that distance education extends the CPM's mission to improve public productivity, she argues that making an investment in it is necessary for CPM programs. However, two factors inhibit this investment. First, distance education represents a major change from the modal format—classroom learning—used to deliver CPM programming. Second, because CPM programs rely primarily on political allocations, they compete unsuccessfully for scarce governmental resources. Therefore, the adoption of distance education initiatives will occur in CPM programs if directors meet two conditions: (1) they make distance education part of a diverse mix of delivery options that includes classroom training, and (2) they make their CPM training dollars count. Understanding the multiple accountability relationships between distance education and the CPM program will help mobilize internal and external support. This support can help public management training functions endure in highly charged political environments.¹

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