NAU's public agency management degree programs moving to Yuma

  Public sector employees and aspiring employees will have access to a wider range of classes to increase their agency management skills beginning this fall at Northern Arizona University-Yuma, university officials said.

  NAU will relocate its public agency management programs to the Yuma branch to enable on-the-ground instruction to a wider range of students while continuing to serve other Arizona communities through a mix of instructional television and online courses. 

   "The course is delivered very well on the Web and a lot of students just fall into learning online," said Larry Gould, NAU-Yuma associate vice president and campus executive officer who created the original program as a distance learning course based in Flagstaff. "But everyone has a different way of learning so we want to cater to all niches and needs of students."

  More than 300 students have successfully completed degree requirements for the public agency management program since its inception five years ago, and a large proportion of past and present students are distance learners based in Yuma, he says.

  Since so many students enrolling in the program were based in Yuma, says Gould, it made sense to move program administration to the Yuma campus and offer more services to Yuma residents.

  As a result, relocation of the program presents an opportunity for the Yuma campus to increase its inventory of degrees while improving the skills of its largest concentration of students, he says.

  Dave Nash, the public affairs coordinator for the city of Yuma, says he is happy to hear the program is relocating to Yuma.

  "One of the things I'm aware of especially at the municipal government level is that the work force is aging so there is a need for upcoming managers."

  Nash says education is an important factor in recruitment and that hopefully as more educational resources enter Yuma the number of students moving away to find work in other metro areas will decrease.

  "Once they see these other places, there's a fear they won't come back."

  Nash also says there is potential for a ripple effect once the program is established, generating even greater levels of interest in city hall and county administration among younger generations.

  Gould, who is seeking to fill part-time teaching positions, also says that Yuma is a great place to recruit staff. He has already received a number of resumes from local people.

  "Yuma quite frankly has some very talented people."

  He describes the public agency management program as being similar to a business degree, although the theoretical underpinnings of private business management and public sector management differ.

  He says that while in private businesses the focus is on earning a profit, public sector management focuses more strictly on providing cost-efficient services.

  According to NAU-Yuma, the program allows students to select areas of specialization within the public sector, including administration of justice, emergency services administration, public administration, and social and community services, each of which can be attained as a bachelor's degree.

  The university says that the program is available as part of NAU's 90/30 degree completion plan, which allows students to transfer up to 90 hours of community college credit into NAU. Offering these options afford all students maximum credit for previous higher education coursework, according to NAU-Yuma.

  Web courses for the public agency management program are already available and according to Gould, in-class instruction is scheduled to begin in October. 

  According to NAU-Yuma, courses will be scheduled in a way that accommodates both full-time and part-time or working students. 

  Gould says that anyone interested in registering for classes should visit the NAU-Yuma campus and meet with an adviser.

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Erin Orozco can be reached at eorozco@yumasun.com or 539-6849.