Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
Center for Women in Government & Civil Society
University at Albany, SUNY

To check the availability of any the following courses, please visit http://www.albany.edu/schedule_of_classes/

CORE COURSES

Choose one of the following:

Pad 613 Issues in Not-for-Profit Management (4)
Examination of a broad range of management issues relevant to not-for-profit organizations. Topics include: differences between public, private, and not-for-profit management; governance and boards of directors; strategic planning and human resource issues in not-for-profits; resource development; sector convergence and competition; and the government/voluntary sector relationship

SSW 790 Human Service Organizations in a Changing Environment (3)
This course is an introduction to the general field of organizational behavior with emphasis on the human service organization. The focus of the course is on the application of organizational and management theory, research, and practice to improving the delivery of social services, with special emphasis on services for oppressed and vulnerable client populations. Prerequisites: SSW 621, 631, and 651.

Choose one of the following:

Pad 614 Managerial Leadership in the Public Sector (4)
This course focuses on managerial leadership in the public sector from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Participants will have opportunities to explore their strengths and weaknesses as managerial leaders and to develop skills in these areas. In addition, several current theories of leadership will be examined as the basis for determining the requisite skills of managerial leaders. Prerequisite: Pad 610.

Pad 506 Foundations of Public Management (4)
An introduction to the theory and practice of public management. Topics include individual, group level, and organizational issues such as creating productive work environments, working within human resource systems, developing a learning organization, facilitating innovation, and managing across organizational boundaries. Cases and exercises will focus on practical applications of concepts covered. Prerequisite: Institutional Foundations of Public Administration.

SSW 791 Managing Systems in Human Service Organizations (3)
This course addresses the practice and application of nonprofit agency management theories and techniques in social welfare and related organizations. It addresses financial management practice and principles, human resources and supervision, and management information issues for social work administrators. Prerequisites: SSW 621, 631, and 651

SSW 792 Community Building (3)
This course introduces community definitions and theories; examines the characteristics and functions of communities; identifies community-based services and resources; examines the role of community systems in change and development; and focuses on community building as an effective social work intervention model. Action and experiential learning are emphasized. The social worker is viewed as a professional facilitator and advocate assisting in developing community leadership, participation, enhancement, and empowerment. Prerequisites: SSW 621, 631, and 651.

Isp 614 Administration of Information Agencies (3)
Principles and theory of administration. Consideration of planning, organization, budgeting, personnel, standards, inter-institutional cooperation. Recommended: Isp 601

ELECTIVES

Choose three. The course are listed in clusters. Any combination of electives is possible.

Managing Organizations

Pad 610 Organizational Theory and Behavior (4)
The mainstreams of thought about the structuring of cooperative effort in organizations, from the origins of formal theory to the recent contribution of the behavioral sciences. Course objectives are to gain familiarity with the literature and leading concepts, to increase understanding of processes and issues in organizational life, and to develop analytical skills pertaining to organizational change. Study is based on broadly selected reading and descriptive case studies

Pad 633 Organizational Analysis and Development (4)
Development of skills to analyze large-scale organizational problems likely to be encountered by administrators and researchers. Emphasis is on sociological concepts of process, normative networks, exchange, task, and role structure. The development of organizational theory, as well as relationships between behavioral and rational model systems, are also explored. Use is made of case studies and ongoing research in bureaucracies.

SSW 627 Supervision and Consultation (3)
The philosophy, principles, and methods involved in supervisory processes; supervision and consultation as administrative arrangements for program implementation; educational and administrative components; the supervisor-worker relationship; differences between the supervisory process of professional and paraprofessional personnel, differentiation between supervision and consultation processes and relationships.

SSW 628 Staff Development (3)
Staff development as an organizational function in relation to agency goals; planning development programs through job and task analysis and skill measurement; educational methods applied to staff development; and the development, implementation, and evaluation of training programs

Pad 524 Systems Thinking and Strategy Development (4)
The course presents a set of concepts and tools for thinking through complex system-wide problems that challenge government managers' ability to design and manage cross-agency and intergovernmental policies and programs. Students will learn to diagnose and solve complex system-level problems by applying systems thinking and strategic planning tools to case examples.

Information Management

Isp 523 (Pad 523, Inf 523) Fundamentals of Information Management in Public Administration (1-6)
This course consists of three five-week modules teaching basic skills in information management. Topics include: introduction to programming, data structures, and overview of data base applications. In addition, students may elect up to three additional modules chosen from topics such as UNIX and networking, UNIX software development tools (for students who already have significant prior programming), introduction to programming in C, and new directions in information science

Pad 623 Management Information Systems (4)
Introduction to the design of mechanisms for gathering, storing, retrieving, and analyzing information needed by organizations. Emphasizes alternative techniques and the merits of applying those techniques to particular information handling problems. Areas to be studied may include manual and automated processing; general purpose and single purpose systems; batch processing and time-sharing, system evaluation and modification procedures

Isp 546 Fundamentals of Records Management (3)
Basic concepts and practices of records management in governmental, institutional, and corporate agencies, including those areas of communication, administration and computer technology that relate to the efficient and effective flow of information from its generation to its final disposition. Will include records inventory, active and inactive records control, manual and automated systems, vital records protection, the records center, micrographics technology and applications, and legal and ethical aspects of record management

Financial Management

Pad 640 Financial Management and Policy (4)
An examination of financial management techniques for the nonprofit organization. Practices to be studied include fiscal planning, legal requirements, IRS regulations, pricing, operational planning and control, strategic planning, fund raising, and marketing

Acc 647 Taxation of Non-Profit Entities (3)
Covers the various categories or organizations which are exempt (or treated for certain purposes as exempt) from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code 501(c). Exemption for religious, charitable, scientific, educational, labor unions, business leagues, social clubs, and other organizations. Procedures governing the modification or relocation of an organization's exempt status. Prerequisite: Acc 633.

Fin 700 Portfolio Management for Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations (4)
Examination of advanced topics in portfolio management, including duration and immunization analysis, the applications of options and futures to portfolio management, and other topics in managing and controlling interest rate risk. Theoretical background developed applied to current topics in treasury management and pension portfolio management. Public policy issues include the issues of "social investment;" the role of governmental investment in financial intermediaries; and pension funding. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Pub 514 Economics for Public Affairs II (4)
Further development and application of microeconomic concepts and tools to issues in public policy analysis. Particular attention is paid to the use of the norms of equity and efficiency in the evaluation of government policies, and the practical concerns of performing policy analysis. Students gain an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of the economic perspective in performing analysis. Prerequisite: Pad 503 or equivalent

Public Policy

Pub 612 Nonprofits and Public Policy (4)
This course examines the intersection of nonprofit organizations and public policy. Issues include: the legal framework; tax policy related to tax exemption, competition with commercial enterprises, and charitable contributions; the context and constraints of sector interdependence; arts policy; the role of nonprofit organizations in community development; and the policy advocacy debate.

Pad 675R Topics in Public Policy Advocacy (4)
This course examines an array of public policy advocacy strategies, including organizing, public education, and lobbying. Depending on the semester, applications will be to various policy sectors, e.g. issues of concern to women, children, and families, the environment, or health care. In addition to covering material on legal, structural, and strategic issues involved in advocacy, the course will examine conceptual underpinnings to understand advocacy as it impacts nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and the legislature

Pad 622 Methods of Public Policy Analysis (4)
Application of quantitative methods to current public policy problems. A term project, conducted in teams and involving the use of quantitative methods is required. Involves reading and discussions of philosophy and methodology, class presentations of projects in process, interim written progress reports, and a final project report. Goals are the policy-analytic experience itself and increased sophistication in the application of qualitative methods. Prerequisites: At least two 600-level courses in policy analysis methods

Pub 501 (Hpm 501) Health Policy Analysis and Management (3)
Development of a framework for thinking through policy issues using problems in the health sector. Students, individually and in groups, conduct analyses of increasingly complex issues. Examination of resource allocation methods, including benefit-cost effective analysis; use of case method to explore problems of policy implementation as well as more general issues of management strategy.

SSW 600 Social Welfare Policy and Services (3)
Introduction to the analysis of social policies and programs. Based upon frameworks of policy dimension, values, and knowledge, selected social policies are examined within a historical and contemporary context. The principles of social and economic justice are used in analyzing social policies and programs. Attention given to the differential impact of these policies and services on at-risk and oppressed populations

Other Electives

Pad 511 Special Topics in Public Administration: Professional Competencies (2)
An intensive introduction to the competencies required of professionals in public service. The course is an experientially based set of modules designed to provide basic competencies in the field of public administration, including decision making and group skills, oral and written presentation skills, project management skills, and career analysis and enhancement skills. S/U graded.

SSW 705X Special Areas of Social Welfare (3) (if relevant to nonprofit management and leadership)
Readings and discussions on topics of current interest in specific fields of research and study. Prerequisite: SSW 651 or consent of instructor

SSW 665 Research Methods in Program Evaluation for Social Welfare Management (3)
Methodological approaches and research techniques in program evaluation for social welfare management: relationship of evaluation to program planning and development, program objectives, formulating evaluation questions and selecting variables, techniques and research designs in evaluation, program monitoring, and utilization of evaluation results. Prerequisite: SSW 660.

SSW 795 Development (Marketing, Fundraising, and Grant Writing) (3)
This course covers financial development for nonprofit agencies. The course focuses on the: (1) diversification of organizational funding; (2) identification of funding sources; (3) identification of strategies and resources necessary for successful development; and (4) legal and regulatory requirements.

Pad 521 Issues and Practices in Program Evaluation (1-4)
Workshops will be concerned with a range of program evaluation methods or tools that are currently practiced, debated, or endorsed in the field. The emphasis is on the most contemporary public service environments in which program evaluations are conducted. Individual topics will include performance measurement, stakeholder input, outcome assessment methods, data collection issues, and other factors in the comprehensive program evaluation process.

Pad 626 Evaluation of Public Sector Programs (4)
The practice of program evaluation in the public sector is the focus of this course. Topics covered include both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, data collection, conduct of evaluation in an organizational setting, and utilization of evaluation results. Prerequisite(s): Pad 504 and Pad 505 or permission of instructor.

Pad 634 Seminar on Judgment and Decision-Making Behavior (4)
The social/psychological literature related to the cognitive processes of information integration and judgment is intended to provide both a better understanding of decision-making behavior in administrative settings and an improved ability to make administrative judgments. Applicability to human resource problems is stressed. Prerequisite: Pad 611 or consent of instructor.

Pad 620 Methods of Management Science (4)
Introduction to some of the major concepts in the field of management science. Topics include linear programming through sensitivity analysis and duality, an introduction to formal decision theory, and an introduction to simulation. Computer applications are stressed throughout. Students make use of existing computer packages (BASIC) but are also required to write their own programs. Students complete problem sets and case studies that stress the applications of these techniques to problems of management in the public sector. Prerequisites: Pad 504 and Pad 505