A Common Professional Component (CPC)-Based Comprehensive (COMP) Exam for Bachelors and Masters Degree Programs in Public Administration This document identifies the topics and subjects associated with a program-level assessment exam for graduate and undergraduate degree programs in Public Administration. The purpose of the exam is to assess learning outcomes at the program level. Programlevel assessments are used to directly assess student learning based upon desired program-level learning outcomes. The topics and subjects correspond to the foundational knowledge levels associated with degree programs in Public Administration. These subjects represent knowledge areas that graduates in public administration should know and understand without having to reference source material. Test bank questions for each subject are designed to assess the foundational knowledge levels. Exam questions are unique to each academic degree level (bachelors and masters). The test bank includes 100-300 questions per topic. Each exam is a random selection of questions from the test bank and includes 10 questions/topic. A comprehensive exam is 110 questions if all topics are included. Several sources were used to identify the topics and subjects for these exams. The sources included the National Academy of Public Administration Five Standing Panels, National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Universal Required Competencies, American Society for Public Administration Subject Matter Expert Areas, and the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation. Additionally, curriculum and program-level learning outcomes from both graduate and undergraduate programs from leading US universities specializing in public administration programs were reviewed and used for the topic and subject analysis. Based on the analysis and review, the following topics are identified for a program-level assessment in public administration. 1. Public Administration Principles and Foundations 2. Administrative Law 3. Public Administration Management 4. Research Methods and Statistics in Public Administration 5. Intergovernmental Relations 6. Budgets and Public Finance 7. Urban and Community Management and Planning 8. Leadership in Public Administration 9. Ethics and Social Responsibility 10. Macroeconomics 11. Public Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis For specific academic degree programs, program managers should select which of the 11 PUB CPC topics apply to their program(s). In most situations, the bachelors-level exam will include all 11 topics. Since graduate programs vary considerably from university to university in terms of curriculum and content, graduate-level exams should only include those topics that directly correspond to the curriculum and learning outcomes of the degree program(s). Therefore, a graduate-level assessment may or may not include all 11 PUB CPC topics. The exam is still 10 questions/topic. An 8-topic exam would therefore include 80 questions. Bachelors Academic Level Assessment Exam The following is a listing of the subject areas included on the bachelors academic degree level, PUB CPC-based COMP Exam. For each subject, there are 10-60 corresponding test bank questions (multiple choice and True/False). 1. Public Administration Principles and Foundations  Defining Public Administration  The Continuous Reinventing of Government  The Political and Cultural Environment 2. Administrative Law  Agency Rulemaking  Bureaucracy and Democracy  Crime  Criminal Law  Fundamentals of Administrative Law  The American Constitution 3. Public Administration Management  Environmental Management  Management and Organization Theory  Organizational Behavior  Personnel Management and Labor Relations 4. Research Methods and Statistics in Public Administration   Building Theories and Hypotheses Comparative Research 2      Content Analysis Data Coding Describing the Data Direct Observation Examining Relationships among Several Variables  Examining Relationships between Two Variables  Experimental Research Methods  Operationalization and Measurement  Research as a Process  Research Design and Methods  Sampling  Scaling Techniques  Studying Groups with Aggregate Data  Summarizing Distributions on One Variable  Survey Research 5. Intergovernmental Relations  Congress  State and Local Governments  The Chief Executive  The Federal Bureaucracy  The Federal System  The Judiciary 6. Budgets and Public Finance  Analysis of Financial Statements and Financial Condition  Budgetary Considerations in Governmental Accounting  Federal Government Accounting and Reporting  Fundamentals of Accounting  The Use of Funds in Governmental Accounting 7. Urban and Community Management and Planning       Economic Development Planning Environmental and Energy Planning Growth Management and Sustainable Development Land-Use Planning Tools Legal Basis for Planning Metropolitan Regional Planning 3  Need for Planning  Planning and Politics  Social Issues in Urban Planning  The Comprehensive Plan  Transportation Planning  Urban Design  Urban Renewal and Community Development  Urbanization 8. Leadership in Public Administration  Assessing Leadership Styles  Building and Leading Teams  Control and Types of Leader Power  Employee Development  Employee Motivation and Rewards  Leader Expectations  Leader Traits and Attributes  Models of Leadership 9. Ethics and Social Responsibility  Conflict of Interest  Discrimination  Ethical Decision-Making  Ethical Issues  Ethical Standards  Ethics and Climate 10. Macroeconomics  Consumer Spending and Price Indexing  Economics Trends and Forecasting  Employment and Labor Supply  Gross Domestic Product  Inflation and Recession  Interest Rates, Investment, and Fiscal Policy  International Trade 11. Public Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis       A Comparative Analysis of Approaches Agenda Setting Data Sources and Methods, Analysis and Interpretation Planning How to Conduct the Evaluation Policy Analysis Policy and Visions of Governance 4        Policy Evaluation Policy Formulation Policy Implementation Policy Termination Political, Interpersonal, and Ethical Issues in Evaluation Reporting Evaluation Results Theories of Public Policy Masters Academic Level Assessment Exam The following is a listing of the subject areas included on the masters academic degree level, PUB CPC-based COMP Exam. For each subject, there are 10-40 corresponding test bank questions (multiple choice and True/False). 1. Public Administration Principles and Foundations  Civil Society  Ethics and Public Administration  Federalism  Public Service in the 21st Century  The Environment of Public Administration  The Growth of Administration 2. Administrative Law  Fundamentals of Administrative Law  Lawmaking  The Organization of Law  Theoretical Perspectives 3. Public Administration Management   Communication and Strategy Human Resource Administration in Public Organizations  Managing Information Systems and Policy in Public Organizations  Organizational Environment  Theories of Organization and Public Administration 4. Research Methods and Statistics in Public Administration      Control Techniques in Experimental Research Descriptive Statistics Ethics Experimental Research Design Inferential Statistics 5   Measuring Variables and Sampling Problem Identification and Hypothesis Formation  Procedure for Conducting an Experiment  Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research  Quasi-Experimental Designs  Research Approaches and Methods of Data Collection  Research Validity  Single-Case Research Designs  Survey Research 5. Intergovernmental Relations     Congress Federalism State and Local Governments The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy  The Judiciary  The Presidency 6. Budgets and Public Finance  Financing and Budgeting Governments  Public Budgeting and Finance  Public Financial Management 7. Urban and Community Management and Planning    Economic Development Planning Environmental and Energy Planning Growth Management and Sustainable Development  Land-Use Planning Tools  Legal Basis for Planning  Metropolitan Regional Planning  Need for Planning  Planning and Politics  Social Issues in Urban Planning  The Comprehensive Plan  Transportation Planning  Urban Design  Urban Renewal and Community Development  Urbanization 8. Leadership in Public Administration  Coaching and Mentoring 6  Leader Traits and Effectiveness  Leadership Development  Leadership Styles and Approaches  Power and Legitimacy 9. Ethics and Social Responsibility    Discrimination Ethical Decision-Making Individual and Organizational Ethics and Culture  International Ethical Standards  Social Responsibility  Stakeholder Relations 10. Macroeconomics  Employment and Unemployment  Gross Domestic Product  Income, Debt, and Investment  Inflation and Interest Rates  International Trade  Pricing and Price Indexing 11. Public Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis          Analyses of Costs and Outcomes Ethics in Program Evaluation Models of Politics Planning an Evaluation Policy Analysis Policy Evaluation Program Evaluation Overview Qualitative Evaluation Methods The Policymaking Process The Public Administration CPC-based COMP exams work very well when used as an inbound/outbound direct measure assessment tool for internal and external academic benchmarking. Students take the inbound exam at the start of their public administration program. Students re-take the same exam at the end of their program. The difference in scores is a direct measure of learning. The cumulative difference in scores is your direct measure of learning success at the program level. 7