Sources of Reputation among Public Administration and Public Affairs Programs

Various rankings describing the perceived reputation of public administration and public affairs programs have been published over the years, but to date no empirical efforts explaining these ratings have appeared. This paper examines measures of the quality of research and teaching that are conventionally regarded as indicators of program quality to see which if any are related to subjective assessments of program reputation. Using ordinary least squares regression, three models are estimated to explain the program ratings of samples of NASPAA representatives, university faculty, and public-sector practitioners. Independent program status and faculty research productivity were program characteristics positively and significantly related to reputation as perceived by NASPAA representatives and faculty. Offering a doctoral degree and awarding large numbers of MPA degrees were positively and significantly related to program reputation as perceived by practitioners. These differences in the perceived reputation of public administration and public affairs programs seem to reflect underlying differences in the way research and practice are viewed in these fields.