Undergraduate Courses in Public
Administration
PAA 100 Introduction to Public
Administration
Origin and development of public administration as a discipline and
profession. Citizen and the administrative state; rise of
professionalism; growth of executive branch in federal government and
the states. Public service within an environment of democratic, legal,
ethical, political, and economic considerations. Cr. 3.
PAA 200 Public Management
An introduction to fundamental issues that underlie the field of
government and nonprofit management. Topics include a history of the
discipline, federalism, ethics in public service, leadership, strategic
management, human resources and public budgeting. Cr. 3.
PAA 220 Introduction to Public Policy
Provides students with a basic understanding of the U.S. public policy
process. Models of policy agenda setting, adoption, implementation and
evaluation are considered with reference to specific substantive policy
areas such as economic, energy, environmental, intergovernmental, social
welfare, health and civil rights policy. Cr. 3.
PAA 233 American City
Urban environment and demographic change; interest groups and governing
bodies; local legislative and executive leadership. Political forms and
policies impacted by such trends as immigration, urbanization, race and
ethnicity, suburbanization and metropolitan growth. Cr. 3.
PAA 315 Statistics in Public Administration
Introduces the student to the statistical procedures and computer skills
that are used in policy and management settings. Covers descriptive
statistics, measure of central tendency, measure of association and
analysis of variance. Topics are presented with related computer
techniques. Prerequisites: PAA 200 and COS 103. Cr. 3.
PAA 327 Environmental Policy, Management and Regulation
An introduction to environmental policy and management in the United
States to include a review of environmental ethics; major substantive
areas of air, water, land and hazardous waste policy; the political
dynamics that frame environmental policy making at the federal, state,
and local levels of government; and the management issues arising in the
implementation of environmental policy within the intergovernmental
context. Prerequisite: PAA 200 or permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 340 Public Financial Management
Examines the various public financial management techniques used by all
levels of government. Specific emphasis on understanding budgets and the
budget process; capital budgeting; cash and debt management; accounting;
and auditing. Prerequisite: PAA 200 or permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 350 Human Resources in Public Service
Compares modern techniques for effective personnel management with
customary practices in the public, nonprofit and health sectors. Covers
major laws that affect human resources such as the Americans with
Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act. Students complete a personnel
project for a public service agency. Prerequisite: PAA 200 or
permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 370 Local Government Administration
An analysis of the formation and implementations of policies at the
local level. Municipal management concerns with human and financial
resources, city and town planning and service delivery. In-depth cases
are utilized throughout. Prerequisite: PAA 233 or PAA 200. Cr. 3.
PAA 380 Police and the Community
Covers police administrative practices including leadership,
organization, management and human resources. Controversies and issues
such as under-enforcement, brutality, impact of technology, training,
hiring and performance assessment, liability, community policing, crime
and domestic violence. Best practices in municipal, county and state
settings. Cr. 3.
PAA 390 Technical Writing and Communication in Public Service
Develops writing skills applied to public, nonprofit and health
organizations. Students write memos, new releases, reports and position
papers (multiple submissions required). Features communication skills to
convey results and ideas. Covers use of references. Prerequisite: PAA
200 or permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 400 Issues in Public Administration
An examination of basic issues in public administration. Case studies in
such areas as public policy implementation and public management at the
international, national, state, sub-state, and local levels in public
and non-profit organizations. Prerequisite: PAA 200 or permission. Cr.
3.
PAA 405 Administrative Law
Introduces students to the legal/constitutional issues arising from the
relationship between public administrative agencies, legislative bodies
and the courts. Through a review of significant court cases the course
explores issues concerning the separation of powers and delegation,
sovereign immunity and the scope and limits of administrative discretion
in administrative rule making. Prerequisite: PAA 200. Cr. 3.
PAA 409 Accounting for Governmental and Not-For-Profit Entities
Financial accounting for not-for-profit and government entities and
hospitals, voluntary health and welfare organizations. Includes fund
accounting. GASB statements. (This course is identical to BUA 409.
Students cannot receive credit for both PAA 409 and BUA 409.)
Prerequisites: BUA 201 and junior standing. CR 3.
PAA 410 Local Government Law
Fundamentals of law relating to local government, viewed from the
perspective of the public administrator. Prerequisite: PAA 200. Cr. 3.
PAA 425 Health Care System Management
Health care is a constantly changing field. Examines the development
of the public/nonprofit/for-profit health care delivery system in the
United States. Examines current administrative practices in areas such
as governance and organization, planning and marketing, human resources,
facility management in mental health and hospital administration and
ethics. Prerequisite: PAA 200 or permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 430 Organizational Change in Public Service
How do public service organizational become more efficient, effective
and innovative to meet customer and citizen needs? Examine improvement
methods such as flattening the organizational structure, teamwork,
quality management, performance management, budgeting, and
re-engineering. Covers the role of leadership in transforming the
culture to create high performance organizations. Cr. 3.
PAA 455 Nonprofit Management
Examines policy and management aspects of nonprofit organizations.
Includes nonprofit environment, organizational roles and processes,
interagency relationships, problems of change, leadership, strategic
planning, board-staff relationships, fundraising, human resources and
volunteer development. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or
permission. Cr. 3.
PAA 493 Public Administration Internship
Professional experience in state government, non-profit agency,
healthcare agency, etc. Some opportunities exist through the Maine State
Government Internship Program. Open to selected students. Reports and
readings required. No more than six credits of internship or field
experience may be taken during a semester. No more than six credits may
be used toward the departmental major and no more than 12 credits may be
used toward graduation. Cr. Ar.
PAA 495 Municipal Government Internship
Professional experience in local government. Reports and readings
required. Major within the department may not receive more than a total
of 12 credit hours toward graduation for any combination of internships
and field experiences and not more than 6 credit hours may be used
toward the departmental major. Cr. Ar.
INT 494 (Sec. 01) Field Experience
Enables a student to participate in a political or governmental
organization. Readings and reports required. Six credit hour maximum for
any single field experience registration. Major within the department
may not receive more than a total of 12 credit hours toward graduation
for any combination of internships and field experience, and not more
than 6 credit hours may be used toward the department major.
Prerequisites: Jr. or Sr. Cr. Ar.
PAA 498 Independent Readings in Public Administration
Prerequisite: Permission. Cr. Ar.
500-level courses may be appropriate in select cases.
(Senior status, 3.2 grade point average and permission of instructor.)
See list of Graduate Courses in Public Administration
