International Accreditation of MPA Program
It is with great pride that the faculty of the Department of Public Administration and Policy Analysis announces the receipt of its Certificate of Accreditation by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). NASPAA accredited programs contribute to the knowledge, research, and practice of public service, establish observable goals and outcomes, and use information about their performance to guide program improvement. They practice truth in advertising and ensure their students achieve learning objectives in five domains essential to public service. Globally, only 202 programs have successfully met the standards set for NASPAA accreditation.
There are four phases throughout the NASPAA accreditation process: Prerequisite, Eligibility, Self Study and the Accreditation Cohort. A program should expect to spend at least 23 months in the accreditation process, varying by program, beginning with the submission of the eligibility application and culminating with the final accreditation action two years later.
Department faculty successfully engaged in and completed the reaccreditation process with NASPAA in August 2019. The process involved a site visit by a panel of three highly skilled public administration scholars and a review by the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA). COPRA consists of a panel of 14 members, 13 of which are academics, including nine program directors and two deans.
It is to be noted that of the 30 programs up for accreditation or reaccreditation by NASPAA in 2019, the MPA at SIUE was one of only 15 schools to be reaccredited for the full six-year reaccreditation. Eight institutions were reaccredited for only one year, one was reaccredited for four years, and one was reaccredited for five years.
