Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management

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Department of Political Science
418 Varner Hall (map)
(248) 370-2352 • Fax (248) 370-4299
www.oakland.edu/mpa

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Program director:
John Patrick Piskulich
441 Varner Hall
(248) 370-2454
ppiskuli@oakland.edu

Program coordinator:
Suzanne Rossi
420 Varner Hall
(248) 370-4117
ssrossi@oakland.edu

Program description

The Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management program is designed to provide students who have already earned an M.P.A. or a similar degree with additional education and training in the specialized area of local government management. Students will be required to take at least 16 credits of graduate work beyond the master’s degree. The local government management specialty area is based on elective coursework currently offered by the M.P.A. program.

Admission terms and application deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Graduate Admissions by the semester deadlines listed below.

February 15 (early) April 15 (regular) and July 15 (late) for fall semester
October 1 (early) and November 15 (regular) for winter semester
March 1 (regular) for summer semester
International applicants

Application requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

Graduate Application Requirements
Additional department application requirements

Applicants to the Post-Master’s Certificate program must hold a Master of Public Administration (MPA), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a similar degree to be considered for admission. If the degree is not from a NASPAA* accredited program, the M.P.A. director, in consultation with the M.P.A. faculty group, will determine whether or not a specific degree program provides adequate background training.
Applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in their graduate degree program.

* Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)

Admission review and assessment

Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their graduate records, goal statement, and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.

Certificate requirements

To provide specialized work in local government management, the student is required to complete a minimum of 16 credits in the courses listed below. Students who have completed any of these courses for their master’s program or another graduate certificate program will be required to take additional courses to complete the 16 credits required for this graduate certificate.

Course requirements (minimum of 16 credits)

a. Core course (4 credits)

PA 5400 - Local Government Management (4 credits)

Elective courses (12 credits)

PA 5040 - Intergovernmental Relations (4 credits)
PA 6400 - Economic Development Theory and Practice (4 credits)
PA 5110 - Law and Public Policy (4 credits)
PA 542 - Law and Administration: Local Perspectives (2 credits)
PA 543 - Law and Administration: State Perspectives (2 credits)
PA 5050 - Administrative Ethics (2 credits)
PA 5150 - Contemporary Public Management Techniques (4 credits)
PA 5060 - Strategic Planning (4 credits)
PA 6510 - Grants: Politics and Administration (2 or 4 credits) (2 or 4 credits)
PA 5070 - Risk Management (2 credits)
PA 5310 - Public Sector Employee Relations (2 or 4 credits)
PA 5320 - Current Issues in Public Sector Human Resources Management (2 or 4 credits)
PA 5210 - Workshop in Budgeting (2 credits)
PA 6410 - Community Planning and Zoning (4 credits)

Satisfactory academic progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good academic standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in good academic standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. The student must also maintain a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0.

Good academic standing is a requirement for:

Holding a Graduate Assistantship
Receiving a fellowship or scholarship
Advancing to candidacy for a graduate degree
Going on a leave of absence
Obtaining a graduate certificate or degree from Oakland University.

Additionally, graduate students must meet all department academic standards which may be more stringent than the minimum set forth by the University.

Department requirements: Students must earn a grade of 3.0 or above in each course required for the graduate certificate in order to qualify for the graduate certificate; students may repeat any course once in order to achieve the minimum grade for that course.

Academic probation
Students admitted to a graduate certificate program will be subject to the same policies governing academic progress for regularly matriculated M.P.A. students.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related program information

Plan of study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with the program coordinator, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty program adviser and submitted by the student to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework. (See the Graduate Student Responsibility section of this catalog.)

Note: Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.

Number of graduate certificates

Students may earn more than one graduate certificate, but cannot use (double count) any specific course to meet the requirements of two graduate certificate programs.

Transfer credit

Up to 4 credits of graduate work taken at another institution may be transferred to Oakland to meet part of the 16-credit requirement; these credits may not be used toward another graduate certificate or degree program.

Course requirements

Courses used toward the graduate certificate requirements must be beyond those earned for the master’s degree.

Software skills

Students must have proficiency in the use of Microsoft Professional Suite (or comparable package) and use of the Internet; students deficient in these skills may take an approved PC skills course which will not apply toward the certificate program.