Identifying the impacts of NASPAA's MPA standards and peer review process on education for the public service: 1975 - 1985

Since 1975, the NASPAA MPA Standards have been available to provide direction and focus to professional education for the public service. Based on a mail questionnaire sent to 202 NASPAA principal respresentatives, this study identifies and analyzes the impacts of the Standards upon NASPAA member programs. The 104 respondents perceived the greatest impacts on factors related to curriculum and program jurisdiction. The perceived level of impact was not significantly different when correlated against a number of demographic variables except in the case of programs which were considered to be “prestigious” Respondents from such programs perceived significantly lower impacts. The role and impact of the NASPAA MPA Standards is evident, yet limited. Additional study is suggested to determine reasons for the low levels of perceived impact in areas of faculty, student qualifications and services, supportive services, and off-campus programs and on how well the Standards have succeeded in providing recognition for professional degrees in public affairs/administration.