Professional Development 

2007 Outstanding Program Award

Credit

California State University, Northridge
Public Sector Management

National trends during the past decade have repositioned the field of American public sector management, and the skills required today are far different from those necessary just 10 years ago. Interagency cooperation is increasingly necessary for managing problems no longer contained within the borders of a local jurisdiction. Further, public sector professionals must develop effective public policy, design programs to best use public resources, evaluate and change programs and policies based on concrete outcomes, and manage programs and staff effectively.

The Bachelor of Arts in Public Sector Management (PSM) is a credit degree completion program offered through the Tseng College of Extended Learning at California State University, Northridge. The multidisciplinary curriculum is designed to provide the skills needed by public sector managers. The program utilizes selected case studies, assignments, and readings that are adapted to the realities of practice that participants face in their professional lives. Partnering with local public sector agencies, including the City and County of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles County, adds a strong applied emphasis to the program.

PSM faculty members represent a variety of academic disciplines. Selecting, mentoring and engaging instructors in continuous improvement of the program are key elements designed to ensure its success. For this reason, the program sponsors faculty workshops to maintain state-of-the art instruction and current understanding of public sector issues. Faculty share the program's commitment to excellence and to ensuring that it is an integrated whole, not a series of separate, disconnected courses.

The program began a cohort in the Santa Barbara area in November 2003, in partnership with the Employees' University of the County of Santa Barbara. A second cohort began in Antelope Valley in April 2004, with Los Angeles County taking the role of partner. A third cohort in partnership with Los Angeles County began in Alhambra in early 2005. Additional cohorts in these and other locations are being started or developed on an ongoing basis.