Undergraduate Courses and Schedule

Course Schedule

SPNA regularly schedules its undergraduate course offerings at the GVSU Allendale and Pew (downtown Grand Rapids) campuses. To search the course offerings currently available, see:

• Annual Schedule of Classes

Undergraduate Course Descriptions

PA 270 Public and Nonprofit Administration. A survey of what is involved in the administration of public and nonprofit entities. How to hire, evaluate, and reward the right people, developing and carrying out public policies, preparing and interpreting budgets, dealing with various pressure groups and governmental agencies, and organizing human resources to carry out the public's business honestly and effectively. Several case studies will be used. Fulfills Social Sciences Foundation. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Syllabi:

PA 300 Research Methods. This course involves an examination of basic investigatory methods in public administration. Focus is on logic, theory, and ethics of research; the formulation and testing of hypotheses; research designs and sampling procedures; data collection and analysis; and the communication of findings.

PA 307 Local Politics and Administration. Comparative study of government systems, rural and urban. Students specialize in their own governments. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Syllabus:

PA 311 Public Sector Information Technology. Examines the use of computer applications to consume, manage, analyze, and disseminate public information, improve worker productivity and achieve agency mission. Attention is given to improving students' technical acumen and to examining important public / nonprofit sector IT issues.

PA 335 Grant Writing. Provides instruction in writing grants, evaluating grant proposals, and in researching and cultivating funding sources. Students will gain an understanding of the link between organizational mission and program development by preparing a full proposal to meet a real-life community need. Three credits. Offered winter semester.

PA 360 Voluntarism and the Nonprofit Sector. A survey of voluntarism and the nonprofit sector in America. Historical development, policy questions, funding issues and trends of major subsectors (religion, education, health, social services, the arts) are examined. The sector's interdependence with government and business and its basis in philanthropy and democracy are interwoven throughout the topics. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Syllabus:

PA 372 International and Comparative Administration. An examination of administrative structures in selected countries; the relationship of administrative structures to political, economic, and cultural systems; comparative administration and developmental models. Case studies from the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia may be used. Three credits. Offered on sufficient demand.

PA 375 Public Budgeting and Finance Administration. The content, tools, and techniques of budgeting from the perspectives of the manager, legislator, and citizen. A survey of revenue raising methods and administration. Applicable to public jurisdictions and nonprofit agencies of all sizes. Includes accounting principles essential to public management. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Syllabi:

PA 376 Public Personnel Policy and Administration. Managing the human resources of government and nonprofit agencies. An examination of public personnel functions (recruitment, training, employee relations, remuneration, conduct, and organization) and special issues such as collective bargaining and equal opportunity employment. Three credits. Offered winter semester.

PA 380 Special Topics in Public Administration. Consideration of selected topics not ordinarily dealt with in other courses. Topics to be determined by faculty interest and student request. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Three credits. Offered on sufficient demand.

PA 399 Independent Readings in Public Administration. Independent, supervised readings on selected topics which are not dealt with in depth in another course. Prerequisite: Junior or senior status and permission of instructor. One to three credits. Offered each semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis.

PA 420 Organization Theory and Dynamics. An exploration of the various theories which inform the structures of organizations and the resulting dynamics of accommodation, direction, control, permission, and ethical dilemmas which are set in place within and between the public structures of our society. Prerequisites: 270 and senior standing. Three credits. Offered fall semester. Syllabus:

PA 439 Community Analysis. Basic analytical concepts, including group dynamic skills, housing and land use surveys, historic district analysis, and neighborhood identification. Three credits. Offered winter semester. Syllabus:

PA 490 Public Administration Internship. Supervised internship in a local or state agency, program, or legislative body. The purpose of the internship is to allow the student to apply academic knowledge of professional skills to a work situation. Prerequisite: Junior or senior status, permission of instructor, and completion of an application form obtained during the semester before the internship. Three credits. Offered every semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis.

PA 491 Public Administration Internship II. A second internship, to be taken concurrently with 490 when field experience warrants it, or may be taken after 490 by those taking an additional field work experience. Prerequisites: Senior status, permission of instructor, and completion of an application form obtained during the semester before the internship. Three credits. Offered every semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis.

PA 495 Public Policy (Capstone). Using a cross-disciplinary approach, this course uses a policy studies framework to examine systematically the nature, causes, and effects of alternative public policies, with an emphasis on determining those policies that achieve specific goals. Prerequisite Senior standing. Three credits. Offered fall and winter semesters. Syllabi:

PA 499 Independent Study and Research in Public Administration. Independent research in the student's area of interest, supervised by public administration faculty and culminating in a written and oral report. Prerequisite: Senior status and permission of instructor. Three credits. Offered every semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis.