MPA gets accredidation

UVM’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program has finally received accreditation after a five-year process of planning and self-review.

The National Society of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration awarded the program accreditation this year, ending a faculty-led procedure that involved strategic planning, data collection and an on-site evaluation given in spring 2012. 

“As a faculty, we have been working toward this goal for years,” MPA director Christopher Koliba said. “We had to take a critical look at our own course offerings and make minor adjustments along the way.”

The MPA is a 36-credit hour program offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences that attracts students interested in working in the public and nonprofit sectors of Vermont.

The MPA program, established in 1986, was recognized for the first time in 2011 by U.S. News and World Report rankings.

“For UVM, a thriving MPA program provides a concrete way for us to live out our land-grant mission,” Koliba said. “It means that we will attract students who are looking for a program with the seal of quality that accompanies accreditation.”

According to data provided by the MPA’s website, most of the program’s alumni go on to work in nonprofits, state government and education administration, with many specializing in health care, law and community development. 

Graduate student Jessica Ricketson, a student in the MPA program who has written grant proposals and researched watershed issues affecting Lake Champlain, said she was impressed with the efforts taken by faculty and students to achieve accreditation.

“Now that we have accreditation, it is just one more means for past, present and future graduates to receive recognition in a program that prepares them for progressive public service,” Ricketson said.