Going Camping: A New Strategy for Preparing Academically Diverse Students

Abstract

Students enrolling in public affairs come from increasingly diverse academic backgrounds, and, although that diversity is a valuable asset, it represents a challenge for institutions, faculty, and students. Many students from nontraditional backgrounds lack adequate preparation in the public affairs foundation:American government, political science, mathematics, statistics, and economics.The authors examine the common strategies that programs use to ensure that students have an appropriate knowledge base before beginning a graduate program, and then describe and evaluate a tactic referred to as “camping”—intenstive instruction outside the regular academic year. Based on a study of the Web sites of sixty NASPAA-affiliated programs, the authors find that camping, although not yet a widely adopted preparation method, is a promising approach to leveling the playing field for incoming students.They conclude that institutions and students would be best served by multiple methods of preparing students for graduate study in public affairs.