The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) was established in 1970. It is committed to formulating and improving the U.S. MPA education accreditation standard and organizing examination and assessment of MPA training institutions. By urging MPA training institutions to continuously innovate, reform and develop, it strives to ensure the education and training quality of public services and increase the level of public services provided by MPA students. After more than 30 years of development, NASPAA continuously standardizes various daily management systems and accreditation and assessment procedures, and has made outstanding contributions in terms of the development of public administration discipline, its curriculum content, academic theory and practical applications. So far, the institution has recruited 268 U.S. domestic and foreign MPA training institutions as members — 168 MPA or MPP projects in 160 member institutions have met NASPAA ’s accreditation standard.

The School of Public Administration is currently actively applying for MPA accreditation qualification. Since 2015, the School of Public Administration has developed a forward-looking strategic plan, and formulated its development goal: “to build itself into one of the most distinctive public administration schools in China.” Relying on the internationalized teaching of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), the School of Public Administration has greatly promoted its internationalization, which has enabled itself to quickly enter the international arena.

The School of Public Administration submitted a membership application in August 2015 and submitted an annual data report on November 30th, after which the accreditation procedure started. In January 2016, it obtained the official membership of NASPAA. In May 2016, the School of Public Administration submitted an application for accreditation qualification, which is currently being examined by the NASPAA organizing committee. As required by the NASPAA organizing committee, the colleges that have got accreditation should submit a self-evaluation report in April 2017. The accreditation application is taken care of by Aihua Wu and Weikang Zou. With the joint efforts of all the teachers responsible for the curriculum construction and report writing, the first draft of the self-evaluation report has already been completed.

The School of Public Administration applied with the customs administration as a featured project. Although our MPA program started relatively late, it took the leading position in entering the international accreditation stage. For the time being, there is only university in China that has passed NASPAA accreditation — that is Tsinghua University. UIBE has entered the NASPAA accreditation procedure. The School of Public Administration of UIBE is at the forefront in the process of internationalization.

Professional accreditation and education assessment:

Professional accreditation is currently the trend of international education development. The accreditation values  not only what is taught to students, but also what students really learn. It not only examines and evaluates the entire process of basic education received, but also pays special attention to whether or not the basic education of the subject has been achieved, especially the output of the school — the graduates’ actual skills. Education evaluation is education institutions’ work, while the accreditation is mainly a third-party evaluation which is independent of education institutions, representing social needs of employers, students and parents.

The main object of the traditional education evaluation is schools, while the object of accreditation is majors; the evaluation gives the grade evaluation of schools’ teaching, while the accreditation gives the evaluation concerning whether certain majors meet the accreditation standard.

NASPAA International Accreditation Standard and Process:

NASPAA accreditation is the most influential qualification for master education in public affairs, public administration and public policy that has reached a certain level. The fundamental purpose of accreditation is to further root the ideas of public service in MPA education. The ideas of public service include the following four aspects:

1. Promoting public interest through the construction of a responsible and transparent government;

2. Improving professional level and work ability;

3. Strengthening administrative ethics to enhance credibility;

4. Serving the people as a public servant

The accreditation is mission-driven and results-oriented, and also takes process monitoring as one of the criteria. It highlights the targeting and implementation of the value and capabilities of public service, involving goal targeting, management structure, teachers' performance, students’ learning, resource allocation, communication channels and student services. The aim is to evaluate the quality of professional education in public administration education programs through a whole set of rigorous assessment procedures, so as to ensure that public sectors can recruit outstanding master graduates with public service spirit, relevant competitiveness and high professional qualification.

The accreditation focuses on in-depth examinations on seven aspects, including project management strategy, the matching between management and mission, teachers’ performance, student services, students’ learning, resources and communication. The core processes such as self-assessment, field visits and final reports included in the NASPAA accreditation also need to focus on these seven aspects.

1. Project Management Strategy. NASPAA expects the applicant institution to have outstanding public service value. Firstly, the applicant institution should be able to clearly define its mission and strive to pursue it. Secondly, the applicant institution can organize education activities in public affairs, public administration and public policy according to the public service value advocated by NASPAA, and continuously improve its performance. Therefore, the project management strategy is the core of the NASPAA accreditation process.

2. The matching of management and the school mission. The applicant institution needs to rely on an effective management system to pursue its mission. The content of management includes project policy formulation, project planning, identification of degree requirements, development of management policies, implementation of admission management, curriculum development, implementation of results management, assessment of students’ performance, degree awarding, selection and appointment of teachers, the guarantee of teachers’ performance and many other work. Therefore, proper administrative setup and reliable teachers must be equipped to carry out the above tasks.

3. Teachers’ performance. NASPAA believes that the quality of teachers directly affects students' learning. The project's teachers, as a professional group, should possess diverse viewpoints and experiences, and build more professional learning environment for students. Teachers should also be able to guide students to master and apply the latest research methods, promote the development of the major, and influence the public administration community.

4. Student Services. Student recruitment and student services should be consistent with the mission of the applicant institution. The institution needs to provide students with continuous and strong curriculum guidance, career advice and academic assessment in all aspects of teaching. Students admitted by the institution should have professional potential in public affairs, administration and policy. After the first phase of teaching, the applicant institution should also provide students with internships, training and referrals in this field.

5. Students’ learning. The mission of the applicant institution needs to be reflected through its curriculum and its uniqueness. In general, the curriculum consists of two types: one is aimed at developing students’ basic knowledge and skills, similar to the core courses and compulsory courses in China; the other is supplementary courses similar to optional courses in China — such courses are set up according to each institution’s mission and are aimed at strengthening students' special abilities in different aspects. The results of curriculum is ultimately reflected by students’ learning outcomes, that is, the changes of students’ abilities at different levels after receiving education.

6. Resources in accordance with the school mission. NASPAA believes that education institutions need to constantly improve the resources they need to help achieve their mission. These resources should include financial support, information technology, library services, personnel resources, and relevant teaching equipments.

7. Communication in accordance with the school mission. NASPAA believes that the effective communication among the stakeholders of education institutions will prompt institutions to operate in a responsible, transparent, truthful and effective way. Therefore, education institutions should provide sufficient information to their stakeholders and actively offer feedback. For example, education institutions can  decide whether to encourage students to apply for admission through the communication with students; they can decide whether to continue to employ teachers and staff members through the communication with them; they can decide whether to support employees’ further study through the communication with them. In addition, it also includes communication with school administrators, alumni and so on.

We firmly believe that by getting the NASPAA accreditation, the MPA construction of the School of Public Administration will become more internationalized, and will be more likely to stay at the forefront in public administration.