Master’s program is extended to Roanoke
Posted on March 20, 2008
Roanoke residents now have the opportunity to receive a degree from JMU without leaving the area. The Roanoke Higher Education Center has partnered with JMU to offer a master’s degree in public administration.
The Outreach Programs Department wanted to help meet the needs in Roanoke, said Gary Kirk, the Roanoke program coordinator and professor of public policy and administration at JMU.
“The Master of Public Administration degree is in high demand, but there are no current programs available in Roanoke,” he said. “The MPA faculty felt that as a state university we have some responsibility to reach out to communities beyond our immediate area. Since we have an existing MPA program, we felt that we would be able to offer the program in Roanoke without compromising our on-campus program.”
Tom McKeon, Executive Director of RHEC, said the center had a similar program with Virginia Tech when the program first began a few years ago. However, Va. Tech ended its program because it thought the campus was close enough to Roanoke that it was no longer needed.
“We felt there was an ongoing need here,” McKeon said. “For people working full-time, it’s not so easy to get to a campus.”
Christina Brannan, an accountant for the city of Salem, located outside Roanoke, plans to enroll in the program.
“I think that the program will be beneficial, because once a career is started it is very difficult to get back into school full-time,” she said. “An outreach program offers the best of both worlds. One can remain in their current position and still receive a quality education from a good university.”
Brannan said she has been looking for an MPA program, and is excited about the new partnership.
“JMU has a good educational reputation, and I love that the actual campus is relatively local to me compared to other universities who offer an MPA,” she said.
RHEC has held two enriching human resource managment policy and ethics. Students must complete 36 hours plus an internship, but anyone with significant professional experience does not need to complete the internship. All students in Roanoke will enroll in a public and nonprofit management concentration.
The classes will be taught via a compressed video format that could be challenging to adjust to at first, according to Kirk. Faculty will visit RHEC throughout the semester.
McKeon said that RHEC currently offers more than 200 programs through partnerships with other institutions.
He said, “This enriches the degree of choices people have for educational programs, which then helps with professional development and even career advancement.”
