Creating an Accelerated Joint BA-MPA Degree Program for Adult Learners

Abstract

The increase in the number of adult learners in higher education has been dramatic in recent years. However, traditional MPA programs have done little to attract and accommodate these nontraditional students. This article discusses a collaborative effort between a school for professional studies offering B.A. degrees for adult learners and a department of public policy studies offering a traditional MPA degree to create an accelerated BA-MPA degree. The accelerated degree program was designed to address the need for the undergraduate program to expand its program offerings to include graduate degrees in order to tap an unfilled market. The graduate program wanted to address the need to bolster its enrollment and to increase the diversity of its student body. The article discusses several factors that have contributed to the early success of the accelerated BA-MPA program, including institutional merger, leadership support, market need, internal support, adult student support mechanisms, streamlined application process, and program liaisons. The effort to create a new program and implement it has not been without challenges, however. Chief among these have been cultural and programmatic differences between the collaborating department and the school, including traditional versus nontraditional student populations, undergraduate versus graduate education, a business versus public and nonprofit orientation, and a quarter versus semester format.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Berker

Horn

. 2003. Work First, Study Second: Adult Undergraduates Who Combine Employment and Postsecondary Enrollment (NCES 2003–167). U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office.

Choy

2002. Nontraditional Undergraduates (NCES, 2002–12). U. S. Department of Education: National Center for Educational Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002012.pdf, p. 3.

Cox

T. J.

1993. Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory, Research and Practice. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers.

Cross

Bazron

Dennis

Isaacs

. 1989. Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care, Vol I. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Child Development Center, CASSP Technical Assistance Center.

Gentile

M. C.

1994. Differences That Work. Boston: Harvard Business Review.

Isaacs

Benjamin

. 1991. Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care, Vol. II, Programs Which Utilize Culturally Competent Principles. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Child Development Center, CASSP Technical Assistance Center.

Jamieson

O’Mara

. 1991. Managing Workforce 2000: Gaining Diversity Advantage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Knowles

M. S.

1988. The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy, revised ed. New York: Cambridge Book Co.

Loden

Rosener

. 1991. Workforce America: Managing Diversity as a Vital Resource. Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin.

10.

Loutzenhiser

K. K.

Orman

R. G.

. 2005. “What Happens When You Cross Public Administration With School Serving Adults?” Panel presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, Washington, D.C.

11.

Merriam

S. B.

Caffarella

R. S.

. 1999. Learning in Adulthood. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

12.

Rice

M. F.

2004. “Organizational Culture, Social Equity, and Diversity: Teaching Public Administration Education in the Postmodern Era.” Journal of Public Affairs Education, 10(2):143– 154.

13.

Richardson

J. T. E.

King

. 1998. “Adult Students in Higher Education: Burden or Boon?” The Journal of Higher Education, 69(1):65–88.

14.

Selden

S. C.

Selden

. 2001. “Rethinking Diversity in Public Organizations for the 21st Century: Moving Toward a Multicultural Model.” Administration and Society, 33(3):303–329.

15.

Sims

R. R.

Dennehy

R. F.

. 1993. Diversity and Differences in Organizations: An Agenda for Answers and Questions. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

16.

Soni

2000. “A Twenty-first Century Reception for Diversity in the Public Sector: A Case Study.” Public Administration Review, 60(5):395–408.

17.

Thomas

R. R.

Jr.

1991. Beyond Race and Gender. New York. American Management Association.

18.

Tisue

L. J.

Whitaker

D. P.

. 1999. “The GRE: A Barrier to Women Returning to Graduate School?” Journal of Educational Opportunity, 17(2):31–43.

19.

U. S. Department of Education, NCES . 2002. Digest of Education Statistics 2000 (NCES 2002–130). Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office.

20.

White

2004. “Multicultural MPA Curriculum: Are We Preparing Culturally Competent Public Administrators?” Journal of Public Affairs Education, 10(2):111–123.