OPM partnership seeks to develop better managers

Federal employees looking for advanced degrees can get help from the Office of Personnel Management, thanks to a new partnership with American University's School of Public Affairs.

Employees who take courses at OPM's management development centers in Shepherdstown, W. Va., and Denver, can earn credits toward a Master's of Public Administration (MPA) at the Washington, D.C. university, OPM announced Tuesday.

"They can use some of our courses as a foundation and move on to get a master's degree from a prestigious university," OPM Director Janice Lachance said. "We believe strongly that continued learning is important."

Under the partnership, the Graduate School of Public Affairs at American University will accept courses taken at OPM's management development centers for up to 12 hours of credit toward an MPA degree.

"Public management and public administration education is of high quality to people who come into the government as specialists," said Walter Broadnax, dean of American University's School of Public Affairs.

Lachance added that, frequently, people recruited for government service include lawyers and doctors. These professionals do not necessarily have management backgrounds, she said.

"When they go up through the ranks, what's missing are those management skills," Lachance said.

About 5,000 federal workers a year take courses at the management development centers, according to Barbara Garvin-Kester, director of OPM's Federal Executive Institute.

For more information about OPM's leadership development centers, see www.leadership.opm.gov.