Welcome to the Kent MPA Program on the Web

Prospective MPA Students

 View Our Demo Course
 Hardware Requirement; Software Knowledge
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 Important KSU Numbers

Current MPA Students

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Our Commitment to You

Hello. My name is Joe Drew. I'm the designer and Coordinator of the Kent-MPA web based program.

In designing an entire web based program, my primary concern is to assure any prospective student that taking a web based course in the Kent-MPA program will be as good or better than what is presented in the traditional classroom setting. This means offering courses of the highest academic quality, courses which are stimulating, interesting, visually attractive and cost no more than the public tuition rates we charge for our traditional courses.

To accomplish these objectives, countless examples of other web based programs and their respective courses from around the United States were scrutinized. I learned a lot about what was attractive and what worked well and conversely, what drudgery can look like. The best design and web features from this analysis, plus some unique innovations are incorporated in what you will see below. I invite you to take our demonstration course. This will give you an accurate image of both the features and attractiveness you will find in all of our courses. At any time during your visit, please feel free to contact me via any of the phone or mail addresses below. I will get back to you by email or telephone as soon as possible.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Kent-MPA Program is exactly the same as our traditional program, to develop students who can act as agents to facilitate change in the public and nonprofit sectors.

The Kent-MPA Program on the web is unique relative to any other program in the United States of which we are aware. The program is unique in that we are focused on expanding access to three groups of students who might otherwise be unable to avail themselves of a graduate education:

Current Agency Officials: Persons currently working the public and or nonprofit sector who simply do not have adequate time in their schedules due to work demands, family demands or a combination of the two, who wish to continue building their careers for purposes of advancement. Here we have police officers, case workers, educators and indivduals working in nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations.

Women Caregivers: the second group of students are women with Baccalaureate degree who have left the job market to raise their children or take care of their parents. For this group, we believe an online program can reduce the stress of family care giving by providing both an outlet and creative outlet while simultaneously assuring a vehicle for future job mobility when these women re-enter the market; and

Persons with Physical Handicaps: This is perhaps the most unique feature of our program. Our objective is to help persons with physical handicaps access the labor force, contribute to society and enrich their personal lives to the fullest extent possible. Toward this end, we are not merely offering a web based curriculum, but have an entire program to facilitate the access of handicapped persons to our program. This includes a case management approach to each student applicant. Case management provides: an individual needs assessment of each applicant, a service plan detailing the particular configuration of computer based assistive technologies necessary to permit the ability to fully function in our web based environment, financial aid to cover the costs of such technologies, the pre-testing of these technologies with the individual, and finally, assistance with career advancement.

Contact the Coordinator

Mailing Address:
  Professor Joseph Drew
  Political Science
  Kent State University
  Kent, OH 44242-0001

Email:
  jdrew@kent.edu

Departmental Office:
  (330)672-XXXX

Joe Drew's Office-Toll Free:
  1-800-MPA-Kent

Fax:
   (330) 672-3362