Academics meets the real world in a new program offered through the University of Houston Center for Public Policy (CPP).
The nationally recognized Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program begins its first classes at UH on May 20 and strives to strengthen the management skills and style of tomorrow's leaders.
"The program's main goal is to improve the performance of public sector managers and the organizational performance of local, state and federal government employees," said CPP Associate Director Renée Cross.
The 14 month program offers seven tracks of courses, including personnel management, managing for quality, organizational communication, public finance, productivity and program evaluation, information systems for managers and applied project practicum.
Classes will be taught by instructors from UH, UH-Downtown and Texas Southern University, along with successful practitioners in the field.
"Having the combination of academic and real-world experience will be a great benefit to future managers, especially during a period in which effectiveness and efficiency in government is mandatory," Cross said.
After completing the courses and a final project, graduates will receive a certificate and may use the official designation of Certified Public Manager (CPM). Additionally, graduates may be permitted to transfer up to six hours of elective credit to a graduate degree, such as the Master of Public Administration offered by the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Science. There also are a number of public and nonprofit organizations that approve the course for continuing education credit.
The CPP's program is an affiliate of the CPM program offered through the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University and is accredited by the National Certified Public Manager Consortium.
For more questions about registration, call Mike Angel at 713-743-3976 or visit http://www.uh.edu/cpp/certification/cpm.htm