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Abstract

The Certified Public Manager (CPM) program has attracted some attention in the modest published literature on noncredit continuing education in public administration. However, this body of scholarship has not paid comparable attention to noncredit certificates affiliated formally or informally with CPM programs and awarded in the process of earning the full certification. This article presents results of an exploratory survey of these noncredit certificates. The results indicated that about a third of all CPM programs offer at least one midpoint certificate prior to a student's completion of the full certification. There were wide variations in titles, duration and price of the pre-CPM certificates. On the other hand, these certificates usually focused on required workshops rather than elective ones, on grading and on elements of pedagogy besides classroom attendance. Eight noncredit certificates in general public administration were not formally linked to CPM, but about a third of them had an informal relationship to the local CPM program, permitting the transfer of some or all of these workshop hours toward the full CPM certification. The results of this exploratory research indicate that this little-known phenomenon of pre-CPM certificates and other noncredit certificates that often have links to CPM may be emerging as a component of the CPM process and, therefore, might deserve a higher profile from pedagogues.

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Is There Life before the Cpm? Pre-Cpm and Related Noncredit Certificates in Public Administration

Abstract

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