Public Policy and Administration

Becoming a PPA Donor

• Spring 2013 Happenings
• Our Needs
• Our Wish List
• How to Give

A Message from our Chair, Rob Wassmer.

As a group of public administration, public policy, and urban land development practitioners, you are all aware the realities of the current California economy, the State‘s structural deficit, and the impact it has had on higher education funding in the California State University System. The passage of Prop 30 has offered the necessary tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but to continue this analogy, the blood lost during the Great Recession has yet to be replaced. There is no need to belabor the details.

Spring 2013 Happenings

I am proud to say that, the PPA Department at Sacramento State is still offering the same, high quality, public sector master’s programs for the working professional that you experienced.  Our fall 2013 entering class is expected to be near the recent historical average of 25 new PPA students and two new ULD students. At least on the PPA side, these numbers are bucking the continuing trend observed in declining graduate student enrollment across the country. I can honestly say that this is in large part due to the outreach efforts we conducted last fall that were largely financed by alumni donations. Furthermore, we have achieved this up tick in expected new students while still maintaining the rigor of our admission standards so we can deliver a program of the same high quality that has been a hallmark of a PPA or ULD Master’s Degree at Sacramento State.

We have completed our 2012-2013 internal and external Program Review Process that has involved much faculty, alumni, and student reflection on our program’s learning objectives and the pedagogy employed to achieve them. From this we received some helpful suggestions on how to tweak our already robust assessment process that will be implemented next academic year. I am especially pleased with the recognition that this process afforded from both the internal Sac State reviewers and the external reviewer from the Master’s in Public Administration Program at California State University, Long Beach. A few commendations from the report worth sharing:

1. The Department is commended for the creation of a website that organized their program review self-study materials in a logical and coherent manner that was easy to follow by review team members and the external consultant.
   
   
2. The Department is commended for their ability to sustain a quality program that is known in the system for being a model program.
   
   
3. The Department is commended for fostering excellence in their own program and in other university programs as well.
   
   
4. The Department is commended for being a campus leader in engaging their entire faculty in their assessment efforts.
   
   
5. The Department is commended for developing a solid assessment plan that is guided by the principles and recommendations offered by their program’s accrediting body.
   
   
6. The Department is commended for their decision to embed direct measures in their efforts as a cornerstone of their assessment plan.
   
   
7. The Department is commended for using the Focused Inquiry option in the Program Review process to direct their assessment changes in a purposeful manner.
   
   
8. The Department is commended for their continued relationship with the Center for California Studies and the rigor that they bring to the Program.
   
   
9. The Department is commended for their role in adopting and maintaining high expectations for faculty members in the Ed.D. program.

The external reviewer concluded her report with:

The Department of Public Policy and Administration faculty are well known and highly respected for their teaching, scholarship, and service. The MPPA is a rigorous degree that produces successful graduates who make an impact on the community. The Department collaborates with many other units and entities across campus as well as across the community.

Our Needs

The not so good news is that the realities I opened this missive with continue to place a strain on our PPA Department’s ability to fund the discretionary activities that enhance the quality of applicants we get, the experiences of master’s students while they are here, and how the value of your degree is perceived in the larger community.

Thus, with the support of PPA Faculty and the Sacramento State Development Office, we have decided to continue our concentrated effort to raise additional money in support of necessary activities that public dollars can no longer support.

These include such things as:

• advertising to recruit larger numbers of qualified applicants
• professional membership dues in APPAM and NASPPA
• designing and printing an up-to-date PPA tri-fold brochure
• refreshments for student gatherings (like our annual pizza picnic)
• support for some of GASPPA’s (Graduate Association of Students of Public Policy and Administration) activities

Our Wish List

Beyond the above necessities, we would ideally like to convene an alumni committee to brainstorm larger expenditures to enhance our PPA Program.

That wish list might include:

• NASPPA full accreditation
• funding a practitioner-in-residence to teach an elective (perhaps Working with Legislatures)
• student scholarships and/or student allowances for travel to conferences

How to Give

You can donate two ways.

• Donate on-line.
  Take a moment to visit the University's Development page.
  Sign up to give, being sure to indicate in the comment field that the gift is for the Public Policy and Administration program.
• Donate by mail.
  Checks can be made out to the University Foundation at Sacramento State (please indicate the gift is for the PPA program) and sent to: 

University Foundation
California State University, Sacramento
Sacramento Hall 118
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-6030 

Thank you to our current donors and to those contemplating giving to our Public Policy and Administration program.

We greatly appreciate your generosity and support!