Political adviser and former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker recently sat down for an interview with The Washington Post, and while the conversation did involve global finance, Volcker spent a large portion of the interview discussing how universities teach public administration and how they can do a better job of it.
One of the first topics discussed was the current state of public administration in the United States. Volcker encouraged schools to think more about the practical aspects of a degree in public administration, asking questions like, “What is the content of the curriculum you have been taught? Is it rigorous enough?”
In many cases, Volcker believes that more practical, implementative education could improve the degrees — and those graduating with political goals.
When it comes to statistical analysis, understanding how surveys and polls can be manipulated or misunderstood can lessen reliance on popular opinion and help public administrators base their decisions on more concrete facts and long-term plans. A better understanding of logistics and implementation will help those in the public administration field stay within budgets and make visions or promises a reality rather than having plans linger in committees and approval processes for an extended period of time.
As Volcker said, “They do all this talking but they too seldom know how to implement what they’re talking about.”
The issues that Volcker brings up also coincide with administration education plans for new 21st century technology and expectations. A look at the current 2013 Teaching Public Administration Conference, held in San Francisco between June 3 and 5, shows a similar focus on the new age of public administration.
The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) has five “domains of (public administration) ompetencies,” but only one deals directly with practical implements: “Articulating and Apply a Public Service Perspective.”
Key questions for the 2013 Conference echo some of the points brought up in the interview, including, “What evaluation methods work best for measuring target competencies?” and “How do we develop curriculum in accordance with the competency-based methodology?” Since the conference also showcases peer reviewed paper presentations on innovative PA education topics, it is fertile ground for finding potential solutions to Volcker’s concerns.
Universities are also feeling the pressure to increase the amount of available administrative education, as seen with Rutgers’s Executive Masters in Public Administration, which held its first semester in Spring 2013. This degree was designed for professionals who already have several years of experience in the public administration field, but want to further develop there skills to help understand information systems, analyze policies and save money on often tight budgets. While Volcker’s vision of new public administration degrees requires significant refocusing, new degrees like Rutgers’s offer a more immediate solution to a lack of education among current workers.
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