MPA and CPM Programs

Abstract

In 1993, approximately 24,000 participants were enrolled in more than 220 public affairs and administration programs. These programs were located in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and the Virgin Islands. At the same time, approximately 10,000 public service employees, drawn primarily from state governments, were enrolled in 16 state Certified Public Management programs. While both MPA and CPM programs are engaged in public service education, they differ along a number of key dimensions such as target audience, methods of instructional delivery, economic costs, workload requirements and time costs, and external rewards. This article contains a comparative examination of the two programs. Among the issues addressed in the article are : (1) whether the two programs are primarily competitors or complements in the arena of public service education; (2) what types of advantages the respective programs might have in head-to-head competition; and,(3) whether cooperative linkages among the programs ought to be encouraged or discouraged.