Examining Admission Factors in an MPA Program

Abstract

This article presents an in-depth examination of the validity of the admission factors employed by a NASPAA-accredited MPA program. Admission factors are examined to determine if particular factors, or a set of factors, are most indicative of an applicant’s potential achievement in the MPA program as measured by a student’s final grade point average (GPA) in the program. The study uses truncated regression techniques to analyze student records in order to determine the relative significance of a set of commonly collected admissions information. We find that the best predictor of success in the MPA program, as measured by final GPA in the program, is the applicant’s undergraduate GPA. This finding brings into question the utility of much of the information collected in a typical MPA program application.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William M. Leavitt

William M. Leavitt, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Public Administration at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of customer service and service delivery, public sector pay, human resource management, organizational design, social marketing, and business process reengineering.

John R. Lombard

John R. Lombard is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Urban Studies and Public Administration at Old Dominion University. He also serves as director of the E.V. Williams Center for Real Estate & Economic Development. His research interests include economic development policy and business relocation. He has published articles on a variety of real estate and economic development topics in journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Politics and Policy, and Urban Affairs Review.

John C. Morris

John C. Morris is a professor and PhD Graduate Program Director at Old Dominion University. His research interests include public policy, public-private partnerships, and environmental policy. He is the coeditor of two books and has published over 40 articles in journals such as Public Administration Review, the Journal of Politics, Policy Studies Journal, and State and Local Government Review, among others.