The Business Mastery Program for Public Service Professionals

About the Program

The Business Mastery Program for Public Service Professionals began in January 2008. The program was developed by the UConn School of Business Executive Education Program in conjunction with a state-wide Public Service Consortium, a group of State agency representatives. The program is designed to deliver valuable management concepts and skills to professionals working in public service positions in State government or in municipal agencies.

The two-course certificate program offers Introduction to Management in the spring semester and Introduction to Employment Law, Accounting, and Government Processes in the fall semester. Participants can either earn 4 undergraduate or 3 graduate non-degree credits per course. The courses do not need to be taken sequentially; however, a certificate will be issued upon completion of both courses.

Due to positive feedback and an overwhelming response to the certificate program, an additional course, Public Service Management Toolkit, has been developed. Please see the complete description below.

Course Descriptions

Certificate Program (two course format)

Introduction to Business Law, Accounting, Finance & Government (fall semester)
This course provides an overview of the critical functions of public sector management including employment law, accounting and government processes.  The course begins with an overview of the various types of employment law claims, focusing on issues of discrimination in the workplace; the treatment of medical issues in the workplace; and best practices for hiring, reviewing performance and disciplining and terminating employees.   The second module presents a broad range of introductory accounting topics which will provide a basis for understanding key accounting and budgeting principles and objectives.  The participant will acquire the ability to read basic financial statements, relate them to current events in the private and the public sector.  The final module explores the public policy process including the origination of laws and the political environment.  The course will also examine the development of technical regulations to support the policies that have been instituted, and the administrative realities of balancing the policy with its implementation in an environment of scarce resources.

Introduction to Management (spring semester)
The introduction to management course is designed to provide students with a framework within which they can understand how managers and subordinates interact by focusing on the characteristics of individuals, groups, and individuals and groups within organizations. A section of the course also focuses on ethics in the workplace – principles, criteria, myths, and strategic ethical leadership. The final module in this course addresses labor relations topics including: managing in a unionized workplace; employee discipline/just cause; responding to union grievances; and the negotiation process; mediation; interest arbitration.

Public Service Management Toolkit (one course format)

Public Service Management Toolkit (spring & fall semester)
In this dynamic economy, managers in all sectors recognize the need to be more responsive to stakeholder needs and interests while also balancing shifting resources.  For public service managers, this is even more critical as federal initiatives trigger dramatic state and local changes.  As a result of these changes, strategic projects will be developed to meet new priorities with fewer resources, and public service managers must be equipped with the skills and tools to construct effective long-term, stakeholder-focused solutions.  To be more effective in meeting existing needs and emerging priorities, managers must acquire leading edge tools for managing people, projects and budgets.  In this course managers will learn: principles and practices of project management; concepts and tools for connecting people to organizational and project mission and building teams that are project and stakeholder-focused; and frameworks for public budgeting including constructing a budget, examining case studies including the state budget, and building a project budget that meets a projected public need.

Time and Location

The 14-week courses that will be offered this spring:  

Introduction to Management
Wednesday evenings beginning January 27

Public Service Management Toolkit
Tuesday evenings beginning January 26

All classes meet from 5-8:00 p.m. in Room 402 at the Graduate Business Learning Center,
100 Constitution Plaza in Hartford.  (Free parking is available in the attached parking garage.)

Credit and Cost per Course

Each course for this program will earn either 4 undergraduate or 3 graduate non-degree credits.
4 undergraduate credits = $1,520/course    OR    3 graduate credits = $1,950/course

Payment is due at the beginning of each semester. Course fees are approved by the Board of Trustees and may vary by academic year.

For information on tuition reimbursement options, contact your Human Resources Department and/or your Union representative.

*Courses are subject to cancellation should enrollment fall below a minimum number of participants