The New world of standards in public management pedagogy: Comparing universal accreditation competencies with the actual content of MPP and MPA programs

In the field of public management, the principal educational credentials are MPAs, MPPs, or close variants. They are professional degrees, and unlike generalist, discipline-based Master's degrees (e.g., an MA in Political Science), MPAs and MPPs purport to teach people to actually do things on behalf of others, creating pressure to assure the professional quality of what is taught. This has led, over the past two decades, to a rising tide of accreditation bodies in the public management world that apply national/international standards to these programs. The pioneer in accreditation was the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA, formerly the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration; name was changed in 2013). The European body, the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA), was launched in 1999 (EAPPA, 2013). There is now a Canadian accreditation organization as well, affiliated with the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) (Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration, 2006; Clark & Pal, 2011a, 2011b). Even the United Nations has weighed in (United Nations, 2008).