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Graduate School WWYD......
I am tossing around the idea of going back to school and getting my Master's in Public Administration. I am not doing it for advancement neccesarily, as it is always something I wanted to do.
I am looking at many options, but would prefer an online program that does not require a GRE score (I am such a bad test taker). Anyways, I found a program I like and was considering. DH and I were reading some information about the school/program when DH saw that the program was not accredited (the school is, just not the MPA program). The FAQ states:
MPA has been in existence since 1976. Like more than half of the MPA programs in the US, though, it is not yet accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). However, we are a member of NASPAA, and our curriculum follows NASPAA?s guidelines.
The University itself is accredited by a regional accreditation organization, and faculty must meet national, regional and institutional standards.
So, now I am wondering if I am crazy to do this program. Do employers know if a program is not accredited? I wonder what the dipolma would say. While I am not doing this to advance my career, I would put it on my resume, etc. It is a well known and respected University.
As a side note, the tuition is half of another program I am considering.
WWDCND?
Re: Graduate School WWYD......
I don't think I would enroll in a non-accredited program. Will you work be giving you tuition reimbursement? (I only ask because my office will not give $$ for non-accredited programs)
It seems a little odd that if it is a known and respected university that it is not NASPAA accredited. Are they working on it? Is it really 50% of MPA programs are not accredited??
I'm assuming it's Indiana State University. Since *Indiana University* has a great public policy program, people not too familiar with these schools and programs might assume you went to a really good school, so that could have some spillover advantages.
Personally, I would probably choose a more local school, if there's an online program available. You'd have the advantage of local professors and support... and perhaps an occasional not-online class. And, if you decide to change jobs, it won't be blatantly obvious to the resume reviewer that you did the program online. I think there's still a stigma for most online programs.
NASPAA is a little different, since it's an accrediting organization for a profession. And, the profession is not a liscensed profession.
FWIW, our latest hire has a degree from a public affairs program that's from a respected school, but their p.a. degree does not appear to be on NASPAA's accredited list. Neither are either of the schools I graduated from - and they have way better programs (maybe the programs aren't exactly "public administration" - I'm not sure) than the other in-state (accredited) schools on NASPAA's list. In fact, the listed schools in my home state are kind of crap schools....
You ladies pretty much sum up what mine and DH's thoughts were.....
The company is small and the tuition reimbursement policy is not written, but I think I will stick with the other accredited program!
Thanks ladies
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ditto this.
i rocked the GREs thanks to test prep. Not sure if this applies to public admin, but the grad schools i was looking at only cared about relevant sections of the test (at the time, the math & logic section) so I could just focus on those (and completely ignore the english section...i demonstrated on my statement of purpose that i had good command of english).
this was helpful because i sucked at the SATs & I think it was because I was trying to do good on everything.
This. I'm actually in the MPA program at George Mason and because I had a high enough undergraduate GPA, they waived the requirement of taking the GREs. They offer a few courses online but most are on campus. There are some great MPA programs in the area. I wouldn't settle for anything that does not have NASPAA Accreditation.