Is there an organization that professionally accredits MPA programs, like AACSB does for the MBA? I have a cop friend thinking about an on-line MPA and since every third-rate college offers an MPA (because the students are usually Federally funded, the MPA is a cash-cow for a college), he might be more selective. Thanks.
NASPAA is the gold standard in the field of PA: NASPAA - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
It's really more of a copper or bronze standard. About half of the top 20 MPA programs aren't NASPAA accredited, including major schools such as Princeton, UChicago, Cal, Michigan, and Duke. NASPAA accreditation is nice to have, but nowhere near as important as AACSB or ABET accreditation is in the business and engineering disciplines. I actually think NASPAA has more value for smaller, lesser-known schools. It can be hard for a prospective student to assess those schools since so many of them offer MPAs/MPPs, but NASPAA accreditation shows the programs have met a third-party's standard.
Nonetheless, the top three ranked public affairs schools are all NASPAA accredited: 1. Syracuse – Maxwell 2. Harvard – JFK School of Government 2. Indiana-Bloomington (School of Govt. & Environmental Affairs) Along with: 4. University of Georgia 7. University of Kansas 10. Carnegie Mellon- Heinz 10. NYU – Wagner (tied w/Duke and Univ. of Chicago) 14. American University 14. The George Washington University – Trachtenberg 14. University at Albany (SUNY) – Rockefeller 14. University of Minnesota – Humphrey 14. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 14. University of Texas at Austin – Johnson 14. University of Washington – Evans 25. Arizona State 25. University of Maryland-College Park 27. Florida State – Askew 27. Georgia State University – Young 27. University of Nebraska – Omaha 27. University of Pittsburgh Re: U.S. News & World Report Top Public Affairs Schools & Best Public Affiars Program Rankings NASPAA Accreditation
I tend to think that professional accreditation is valuable but I also tend to think that the US News rankings are worthless.
Copper or Bronze implies that there is a higher professional accreditation standard in the field of public administration, which there is not.
Okay, then you choose a ranking. I'll wager that Syracuse (Maxwell), Harvard and Indiana-Bloomington will be in the very top rankings from other sources as well ... and they're NASPAA accredited.
Yes, but gold standard implies an accreditation standard is viewed as being preeminent, which NASPAA is not. Seven of the eight Ivy League schools offer the MPA/MPP degree. Only one of these schools (the Kennedy School at Harvard) has NASPAA accreditation. For some reason many highly-regarded colleges and universities see no value in acquiring NASPAA accreditation for their MPA/MPP programs. Again, NASPAA accreditation is a nice thing to have and can lend legitimacy to schools that lack national name recognition, but I think it is safe to say that NASPAA isn't held in the same regard that AACSB is for business schools. AACSB accreditation is essentially a must-have for the business programs at every flagship public school and premier private university. This is not the case with NASPAA accreditation and MPA/MPP programs.
I agree with you, but your point has nothing to do with the question asked by the original poster. The OP asked if there was an organization that professionally accredits MPA programs - there is and it is NASPAA. The OP was asking about on-line MPA programs, so your examples of the seven of eight Ivy schools and other highly regarded schools that offer the MPA/MPP and are not NASPAA is out of context. Maybe my use of the term "gold standard" was not the best choice, but the NASPAA stamp is the only one out there that matters. I am not saying that a school that does not have it does not have a good program, but the question was on professional accreditation.
My argument is that the NASPAA stamp really doesn't matter as evidenced by the major schools that forego it. The OP asked if there was an organization that professionally accredits MPA programs like AACSB does for business programs. While NASPAA does professionally accredit MPA/MPP programs, it does not do so like AACSB does in the sense that AACSB is a must for every top college and university's business program while a much smaller proportion of these schools have NASPAA for their PA programs.
Well in that case, comparing AASCB to any professional accreditation is apples to oranges. ABA, APA, ABET, CEPH, etc. are professional accreditations for degree programs which in many cases serve as required criteria for entry into that profession in a given venue. True, NASPAA and AASCB are similar in that they will not keep you out of a profession (except for in acadmia at upper tier schools) for not having a degree that is professionally-accredited. However, AASCB is a must for B-schools that hope to distinguish themselves among other institutions that offer business programs. Business programs, especially the top-tier ones, subsidize a large part of an institution - they are not paying the bills with Art History programs. That is why these top schools are charging $100K plus for their MBAs and getting it. For those willing to fork out that kind of cash for an MBA, the distinctions do matter much more in terms of income that they will be able to realize in the private sector. I would submit that institutional rankings matter far more to business programs than they do to PA programs because the MBA is more of an entry-level degree in the private sector than a MPA degree is in the public-sector. Higher rankings and specialized accreditations translate into more applicants and higher tuition prices from those looking to distinguish themselves among the sea of others with similar credentials in the competitive private sector. For those seeking a MPA to work in the public sector, the market and resulting salaries are much smaller so the need to graduate from a "top-tier" PA school is much less pronounced. Most of my peers in both my MPA and DPA programs and those I have taught in several MPA programs were already working in the public-sector and using the degree for advancement in the public sector, not entry into it. So back to the OP's question - yes, there is professional accreditation for MPA programs and it is NASPAA.
Just to qualify this statement and to not give the impression to GeneralSnus that I am trying to start an internet argument: NASPAA should only be a factor in the decision to attend a particular MPA program. If I were looking at an Ivy or other top-tier school for an MPA program and the school did not have NASPAA, the name recognition of the school would trump NASPAA on any given day. However, if my choices were between X State U or Y State U where all things were equal with the exception of one being NASPAA and the other was not - I would choose the NASPAA school. GeneralSnus is right in that NASPAA is much more of a benefit for lower-tier schools offering the MPA. The OP's post indicated interest in an online program - we all know the perceptions that some out there have incorrectly developed towards online programs. If I were looking at an online MPA program, I would in every case choose one from a NASPAA school for an added element of legitimacy just as I would choose an online MBA from an AASCB school. USC and Northwestern are the only schools considered as "top-tier" offering an online MPA that I am aware of, but the price tag for these programs is ridiculous for an MPA degree. When you combine that with the fact that both of these programs are marketed by a third-party org., I think that both of these options are not a wise investment.
