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Journal of Public Affairs Education 161
In the fall of 1988, the Network of Schools of
Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
(NASPAA) required all graduate programs in
public management to include training in
information systems. This new requirement, in
essence, created a sixth skill or knowledge area
within NASPAA’s Master of Public Admini-
stration (MPA) curriculum guidelines; programs
could meet this guideline by offering one course
in the fundamentals of computing and one in
computer applications for management. Kraemer
and Northrop (1989) recommended that com-
puter use and information systems know ledge
be integrated into most courses in the curri-
culum and that many schools should offer an
information management concen tration.
In the final report of NASPAA’s Ad Hoc Com-
mittee on Computers in Public Manage ment
Education titled “Curriculum Recom men da-
tions for Public Management Education in
Computing” (Kraemer et al., 1986), the
committee identified three levels of computer
literacy that a manager’s education should
provide: (1) the ability to use technology in
carrying out daily responsibilities; (2) the ability
to use the technology of the organization
overseen by the manager; and (3) the ability to
develop policy for effective use of technology
within the organization. At the time of the report,
only 15% of public administration schools
offered a management information systems or
computer applications course (Kiel, 1986). In a
Revisiting the Information Technology
Skills Gap in Master of
Public Administration Programs
P. Cary Christian
Georgia Southern University
Trenton J. Davis
Georgia Southern University
ABSTRACT
This study investigates how employees in government entities develop information technology (IT)
competence and the extent to which training in Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs
contributes to such competence. To facilitate this evaluation, we surveyed government employers
and MPA program alumni and carried out a content analysis of MPA program offerings. We use
results from the employer survey to gauge employer perceptions of IT-related knowledge levels of
employees with MPA degrees, and we use the survey of MPA program alumni to ascertain alumni
perceptions of their own competence. Our content analysis of MPA program technology offerings
provides insight into what IT training is available to help students meet the identified functional
IT needs of the organizations surveyed. Our findings indicate a gap between MPA curricula and
such critical skills, and we provide recommendations for curricular changes to address this gap.
KEYWORDS
Information technology training, MPA curricula, MPA curricular recommendations, information technology
skills perceptions
JPAE 22
(2), 161– 174
162 Journal of Public Affairs Education
1989 survey, Cleary (1990) found that 45 MPA
programs (26% of respondents) required infor-
mation systems or computer science courses in
their core curriculum. An additional 15.6% of
respondents indicated training in information
systems and computer skills as a gap in their
offerings. Prior to 2009, NASPAA accreditation
Standard 4.21, which specified common curri-
culum requirements, included a component for
information management, technology applica-
tions, and policy (NASPAA, Commission on
Peer Review and Accreditation, 2008).
Today, NASPAA no longer specifies curriculum
components for MPA programs. Instead,
NASPAA instructs each program to “implement
and be accountable for delivering its distinctive,
public service mission through the course of
study and learning outcomes it expects its
graduates to attain” (NASPAA, Commission
on Peer Review and Accreditation, 2014).
NASPAA does not intend that MPA programs
meet each universal required competency by
offering a specific course but rather that the
curriculum as a whole address these compe-
tencies. Thus, NASPAA accreditation standards
no longer expressly require the inclusion of
dedicated information technology (IT) courses
within MPA curricula.
The move toward a missions- and outcomes-
based accreditation regime should not diminish
the importance of IT training within public
administration curricula. The impact of IT in
government is omnipresent, requiring managers
to work within the “processes, preferences,
rules, and assumptions embedded in the infor-
mation systems” (Dawes, 2004, p. 6). Public
managers are ever more in need of IT skills
because of rapidly increasing interest in
e-government initiatives; the rise of contract ing
out, which creates a need for skillful manage-
ment of technology contracts; the increasing
complexity of interoperable and linked systems;
the increased need for information to support
performance management systems; and the need
for government managers to become more
sophisticated purchasers of IT services and
systems. Based on the rapidly expanding role of
IT in public organizations, coupled with the
lack of any specific NASPAA requirement for
the inclusion of IT coursework, this study
investigates the following questions:
1. What is the status of IT in current MPA
program curricula?
2. Do current MPA curricula adequately
address the importance of IT in the
careers of those we train?
3. Does the perception of the importance
of IT in MPA curricula vary between
MPA graduates and employers?
THE CASE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
IN MPA CURRICULA
The pace of change in information systems
requires organizations not only to change struc-
turally but also to constantly adapt (Berce,
Lanfranco, & Vehovar, 2008). Matei and Sav-
ulescu (2014) argue that most innovations in
public administration have an information and
communications technology component that is
vital to public service provision and policy
implementation. Moreover, as Kernaghan and
Gunraj (2004) aver, the use of information
technology by public organizations predisposes
them to change in certain ways: (1) to hire
employees with specialized skills and to invest
substantially in IT infrastructure; (2) to im-
prove efficiency by streamlining information
management; and (3) to become more likely to
share and disseminate information. The extent
to which these predispositions result in changes
within the organization is subject to political,
structural, managerial, and cultural factors but
can move departments and agencies toward
more collaborative arrangements, from depart-
mental to nondepartmental forms, and from
hierarchy and central control toward decentral-
ization of authority and control, including the
shrinking of middle management layers within
the organization.
Denhardt (2001) suggests that scholars should
be attentive to the “big questions” of public
administration education just as we are to the
big questions of the fields and subfields within
our discipline. One of the principal questions
put forward by Denhardt is, do we seek to
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 163
educate our students with respect to theory or
to practice? We contend that most scholars in
our field acknowledge that a firm grounding in
theory is critical to the long-term success of our
students. There are principles related to IT that
will hold for the foreseeable future and deserve
respect because of their extended impact on
public management. Dhar and Sundararajan
(2007) describe these principles as “techno-
logical invariants.” The first of their three
technological invariants is that most types of
information are capable of digitization. The
digitization of information makes it easy to
store, transport, and utilize computationally in
numerous ways. It is, however, critical that
public managers understand the host of
potential problems related to the digital
representation of information.
First, managers should be concerned with the
nuances of records retention in a digital
environment. As applications are retired or up-
graded, managers should consider the capability
of reading data from older technologies. While
managers may address the possibility of data
loss from hardware or software failures by
implementing system redundancy and backup
protocols, managers must understand that
records retention policies can create costly legal
ramifications if data destruction occurs on
schedules other than what is allowed under
such policies.
Second, as organizations begin to use social
media platforms outside their control, such as
Twitter, Facebook, Vine, and similar applica-
tions, they must have a methodology in place
to save and store the data produced by these
platforms. It is equally important that social
media policies address issues that might arise
when government employees interact with the
public digitally, such as monitoring appropriate
use of these platforms by employees and the
accuracy of the content. Third, in the event
that data are requested as part of a lawsuit or
under freedom of information or similar
legislation, managers should be sensitive to the
need to maintain data in a format that will
allow for cost-effective retrieval.
Finally, managers should be cognizant of the
transparency and privacy issues related to
digitally stored data. For example, organizations
have a responsibility to keep personally identi-
fiable information secure from threats that can
occur from both internal and external sources
and it is incumbent upon managers to under-
stand the types of data that must be protected.
The second technological invariant addressed
by Dhar and Sundararajan (2007) is the sus-
tained exponential growth of computational
power. Thanks to the progressive doubling of
overall processing power every 18 months since
1970 (Moore’s law), we now have a relatively
inexpensive, globe-spanning digital infra struc-
ture that accommodates devices as disparate as
cell phones and supercomputers. As we move
toward virtually unlimited bandwidth and
storage capacity, emergent technologies will
continue to transform the way we work in-
dividually (Fichman, Dos Santos, & Zheng,
2014). This, in turn, will affect the structure of
the modern organization. It is imperative that
there be a well-trained corps of public managers
capable of understanding the organizational
changes that will flow from continued advances
in IT capabilities.
Dhar and Sundararajan’s (2007) final tech no-
logical invariant is the sustained increase in the
capability of addressing complexity through
the use of modular layers of technology with -
in a standardized software platform. Public
man agers must understand how this capability
enables organizational models that otherwise
would not exist and device capabilities that
were previously not feasible. As noted by
Fichman, Dos Santos, and Zheng (2014),
managers have the opportunity to become
digital innovators. The extent to which this will
occur, however, is predicated on the ability to
understand what is possible in light of advances
in technology, coupled with insight into unmet
organizational needs.
In their study, Dhar and Sundararajan (2007)
focused on the private sector and interviewed
college deans from 45 business schools, posing
the following question: “Do you think that
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
164 Journal of Public Affairs Education
teaching MBA students about IT in business
is necessary?” (p. 127). An overwhelming
majority (43 of 45, or 95.5%) responded yes
to this question and then proceeded to dis -
cuss their reasoning. Three points emerged that
are particularly applicable to the public sector:
(1) information technologies continually trans-
form business and society; (2) investments in
IT are critical to success; and (3) innovation
and creativity in the use of data in decision-
making processes is critical to the success of
a business executive. Similar to the debate
per taining to Denhardt’s (2001) question
about the balance between theory and practice
in public administration education, Dhar and
Sundararajan (2007) note that in prepar ing
students for careers that span decades, general
theories have more value than the specific
context of the current environment. However,
due to the pervasive nature of IT, it remains
important to train MPA students how to
think about technology and its role within
the organization.
METHODOLOGY
We conducted two surveys during late July and
August of 2015: one of MPA program alumni
and the other of government employers of
MPA graduates. We administered the surveys
anonymously. We initially sent the alumni
survey to graduates of two MPA programs that
agreed to allow us access to their alumni lists;
we then supplemented this with respondents
who were referred through the employer survey
or who learned of the survey through other
sources. The invitations to participate in the
employer survey also included a link to parti-
cipate in the alumni survey, which the employer
could provide to its MPA graduate employees.
We also distributed the alumni survey invitation
to the Professional Public Service: MPA-MPP
Degrees group on LinkedIn. We administered
the employer survey with the primary assistance
of the Georgia Municipal Association and the
Florida League of Cities, who promoted the
survey to their members. Each of these organ-
izations also submitted our invitation to part-
icipate to national organizations with whom
they are affiliated. As a result, almost all of our
government employer survey respondents work
for municipalities.1
Because we distributed surveys in the broadest
manner possible, we do not know how many
invitations were ultimately received by potential
respondents, how many were opened, and what
our final response rate was.2 However, we
believed that our distribution methodology
would provide an adequate number of responses
from organizations of all sizes based on the sheer
number of organizations that would receive an
invitation to participate: more than 1,200 in
Georgia and Florida alone. Because of this
distribution methodology, the results of the
surveys may not be representative. Both surveys
were an initial attempt to study employer and
employee perceptions of the adequacy of IT
training in MPA programs, and we believe they
represent a significant first step toward a more
complete understanding of this important issue.
In addition to the surveys, we also performed a
content analysis of MPA program curricula of
170 NASPAA member schools, noting wheth -
er or not the program required an IT course
in its core requirements, offered one or more
IT courses as both general or concentration
electives, and offered a concentration in IT.
We made these determinations based on a
review of the requirements of the MPA program
and course descriptions. The purpose of this
content analysis was to determine how many
programs offered some form of IT training and
whether the training was required or elective.3
TABLE 1.
Alumni Survey: Organization Size
Number of full-
time employees
Number of
respondents Percentage
Less than 10 29 14.6
10 to 100 43 21.6
101 to 500 36 18.1
501 to 1,000 27 13.6
1,001 to 10,000 37 18.6
More than 10,000 20 10.0
Did not respond 7 3.5
Total 199 100.0
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 165
FINDINGS
Program Content Analysis
Of the 170 NASPAA member schools reviewed,
only 26 (15.29%) required an information
technology class within their core requirements.
This represents essentially no change from the
results of a similar survey by Kiel (1986); but it
represents a decrease from 1989, when Cleary
(1990) found that 26% of NASPAA member
schools required such a course. Additionally,
only 33 programs (19.41%) offered a general
elective class in IT. Seven programs (4.12%)
offered an IT concentration, and 34 (20%)
offered elective IT classes within concentration
electives. Of the core required courses and con-
centration electives offered, 47 courses were in
information management and 21 were related
to using geographic information systems (GIS).
Alumni Survey
We received 199 responses to our alumni
survey from individuals who graduated from
84 different MPA programs. The respondents
worked in a variety of organizational types. As
would be expected of such graduates, many
respondents worked in municipal (n = 44,
22.1%), state (n = 26, 13.1%), county (n = 14,
7.0%), and federal (n = 17, 8.5%) government
or in nonprofit organizations (n = 30, 15.1%).
Outside of government, the largest numbers of
respondents worked in business (n = 27, 13.6%)
and education (n = 25, 12.6%). The remainder
were either self-employed (n = 10, 5.0%) or did
not respond to this question (n = 6, 3.0%).
Of the 199 respondents, 102 were management-
level employees (51.2%), 65 classified them-
selves as “employees” (32.7%), 23 classified
themselves as consultants (11.6%), and 9 did
not respond (4.5%).
Table 1 shows the size of the organization
within which the alumni respondents worked.
Of the 199 respondents, 51 (25.6%) reported
that a general IT class was required in their
program. Of the 148 (74.4%) who reported
that a general IT class was not required in their
program, 9 respondents (6.1%) reported that
they took a general IT class as an elective. We
also asked if alumni had taken other non-IT
classes that included some coverage of IT
management issues and 47 (23.6%, N = 199)
responded affirmatively.
We also asked the alumni how important spec-
ific IT skills were in their present job. Table 2
presents the results of this inquiry.
The most important or critical skill identified
was having general computer literacy and com-
mon skills, such as the ability to use Microsoft
Word and Excel. This is not surprising given
the wide use of Microsoft Office or similar soft-
ware suites. As educators, however, we should
be aware that requiring advanced skill in these
applications in course work might serve students
well once they are employed. Six of the skills
and abilities identified by more than 60% of
re spondents as being important or critical were
related to broad management-level policy con-
siderations, and three were imple mentation or
evaluation skills.
We also asked alumni to indicate the extent to
which they perceived that their MPA program
provided them with the knowledge and skills
they indicated as being at least “important” in
the previous question on skills and abilities.
Table 3 presents the results of this inquiry.
Table 3 indicates that alumni of MPA programs
may not be obtaining sufficient training with
respect to IT from their MPA programs. This is
not surprising given that only 15% of MPA
programs require students to take an IT course.
With respect to the respondents in this survey,
83.33% of those who took a general IT course
stated they agreed to some degree that their
MPA programs provided them with the IT
knowledge and skills needed versus 54.96% of
those who did not take a general IT class. The
relationship between these variables was
significant: X2 (5, N = 173) = 16.22, p < .01.
Also implied is that students are obtaining
some IT skills from courses other than IT
courses. A few respondents voluntarily indi-
cated they obtained some IT skills through
general management courses (n = 28) or from
statistics or program evaluation courses (n = 10).
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
166 Journal of Public Affairs Education
TABLE 2.
Alumni Survey: Ratings of Technology Skills Required in Order of Percentage Ranked
Important or Critical (Combined)
Skill
Not
important
Nice to
have
but not
critical Important Critical
Percent
important
or critical
General computer literacy/common IT skills
such as Word and Excel 0 2 28 144 98.85
Understanding of the role of organizational
policies and procedures in containing
security threats
12 26 81 52 76.44
Understanding of the issues related to
records retention policies as they relate to
electronically stored information, including
data from social media websites
12 33 73 54 72.99
Knowledge of the legal requirements
related to protection of electronically
stored, personally identifiable data
14 31 67 58 71.84
General understanding of how to protect
the workplace from technology risks like
viruses, malware, social engineering, etc.
20 30 64 58 70.11
Understanding of transparency and
accountability issues as they relate to
technology management (N = 173)
17 32 81 39 69.36
Understanding of technology management,
legal, and regulatory issues, and consider-
ations related to social media use
18 36 78 39 67.24
Ability to participate in needs assessments,
business process analysis, feasibility
studies, and implementations for new
technology initiatives
20 34 69 43 64.37
Ability to function as a member of or to
lead multidisciplinary teams that have a
technology component (N = 173)
22 32 59 47 61.27
Ability to evaluate technology implement-
ations using tools such as cost-benefit
analysis and return on investment (N = 173)
20 41 63 42 60.69
Understanding of the issues related to the
“digital divide” that may affect the citizens
served by the organization
22 44 71 29 57.47
Ability to negotiate and manage
outsourced IT functions (N = 173) 33 38 48 39 50.29
Understanding of cloud computing and its
benefits and dangers (N = 172) 29 50 63 21 48.84
Ability to manage IT staff members 38 37 48 35 47.70
Understanding of management issues
related to e-government initiatives 31 58 50 31 46.55
Intermediate technology skills such as GIS
or other specialized technology 38 70 48 14 35.63
Note. N = 174 unless otherwise specified.
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 167
Given that many alumni respondents indicated
that they did not learn required IT skills from
their MPA programs, the question of where the
respondents learned the skills they need be-
comes important. Table 4 shows the responses
of the alumni to this question.
The results in Table 4 make it clear that students
who do not learn appropriate IT skills in their
MPA programs and do not already possess the
skills they require must develop them on their
own after entering the job market. Some
learned these skills through classes offered by
their employer (n = 26), while others (n = 19)
received additional training paid for by their
employer. It appears that, at least to some
extent, MPA graduates are successful at finding
alternative methods of learning required IT
skills after graduation. However, many respond-
ents commented that having to learn these
skills on the job or through independent study
was a burden and imposed significant diffi-
culties. Additionally, the large number of MPA
program alumni who were required to take
some action to obtain needed IT skills for their
jobs indicates that alumni are not graduating
with a valid and complete set of minimum
required skills. This premise is further evidenced
by the overwhelming majority of respondents
who indicated that IT skills should be included
in the MPA core curriculum and that in
hindsight they would have taken an IT course
whether it was required or not. Table 5 shows
alumni perceptions of the impact on their
careers resulting from not having learned
needed IT skills from their MPA programs.
As Table 5 clearly shows, MPA alumni who
responded did not perceive much of an impact
from not having learned more IT skills during
their MPA programs. This makes sense because
most respondents obtained the training they
required from other sources or had already
developed needed skills prior to entering the
MPA program. As one respondent stated, “The
impact is on the organization. Those at the top
TABLE 3.
Alumni Survey: MPA Program Provided
Knowledge and Skills Needed
Response Frequency Percentage
Strongly disagree 21 12.1
Disagree 45 26.0
Somewhat agree 56 32.4
Agree 27 15.6
Strongly agree 6 3.5
Agree for some;
disagree for others 18 10.4
Total 173 100.0
TABLE 4.
Alumni Survey: If Not from the MPA Program, Where Did You Learn Needed IT Skills?
Response Frequency Percentage
I had adequate IT skills prior to entering the MPA program. 62 33.5
I took a class offered by my employer to learn the skills I need. 26 14.0
I took a class at a local community college to learn the skills I need. 9 4.9
I took a class at a local technical college to learn the skills I need. 0 0.0
I studied independently and learned the skills I need on my own. 91 49.2
My employer paid for the additional training required. 19 10.3
Informally from my peers and from IT staff or Other 36 19.5
Note. Percentages are based on N = 185 for each statement.
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
168 Journal of Public Affairs Education
and in IT don’t have the skills either and we see
waste and failure as a result.” The responses do
not tell us how much easier a graduate’s path
might have been with some required training
within the MPA program or what the improved
impact on the organization would have been.
Alumni respondents seem to understand that
their paths would have been easier: 67.1%
(102, N = 152) of those who did not take a
general IT course stated that, in hindsight, they
would have taken at least one course in this
area; and 60.4% (99, N = 164) stated that they
would have taken one or more specialized IT
courses. Additionally and perhaps most im-
portantly, 65.1% of respondents (112, N = 172)
stated that they agreed or strongly agreed that
IT management and issues should be given a
more prominent role in their school’s MPA
program; only 7.0% (12, N = 172) disagreed or
strongly disagreed with that premise. Similarly,
68.3% of respondents (114, N = 172) believed
that it is becoming more critical for new hires
to have more training in IT as part of their
MPA program versus only 7.0% (12, N = 172)
who did not believe that to be the case.
Students entering MPA programs look to
faculty to help guide them in their acquisition
of those skills most needed to excel in their fu-
ture careers. These “hindsight” responses speak
loudly to the need for MPA programs to
incorporate more IT content.
Employer Survey
Respondents to the employer survey were large-
ly municipal government employers (n = 91,
97.8%) and, within those responding muni ci -
palities, city managers (n = 64, 68.8%). Employ-
er respondents were primarily from Georgia
(n = 26) and Florida (n = 28). Six were from
Tennessee; 2 from California; and 1 each from
Maryland, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio,
Texas, and Washington. Twenty-four respond-
ents did not identify their location. Responding
organizations primarily had less than 500 em-
ployees (n = 83, 89.2%). The size distribution
of the municipal or county government also
trended smaller, as indicated in Table 6. How-
ever, this size distribution is somewhat con sis-
tent with city-size distributions of the two
primary states surveyed.
Of the 93 governments that responded, 45.2%
(n = 42) had dedicated IT departments; 32.3%
(n = 30) contracted out their IT requirements;
11.8% (n = 11) relied on specific individuals
TABLE 5.
Alumni Survey: Perceived Employment Impact of IT Skills Not Learned in the MPA Program
Impact Frequency Percentage
I failed to obtain one or more jobs that required IT skills. 5 3.0
I did not apply for jobs that were otherwise a good fit to my skills because the
job required IT skills I did not have and was unable to acquire on my own.
27 16.3
I did not qualify to apply for one or more promotions at my current or previous
employer because I did not have appropriate IT skills.
4 2.4
I was not chosen for a promotion because I did not have appropriate IT skills. 1 0.6
I lost a job as a result of not having appropriate IT skills. 0 0.0
I have not been chosen for assignments I desired because of a lack of
appropriate IT skills.
8 4.8
There has been no impact. 109 65.7
Other 12 7.2
Total 166 100.0
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 169
dedicated to IT issues (but had no dedicated IT
department); 9.7% (n = 9) hired IT consultants as
needed; and 1 did not respond to this question.
We asked the same question of the employers
that we did of the alumni regarding the
importance of their hires from MPA programs
having specific IT skills. Table 7 lists employer
responses and compares the percentage ranked
important or critical to alumni responses.
Employer and alumni respondents generally
agreed with respect to basic computer literacy
and the management functions related to
policies and procedures, records retention, and
system security. The only real disconnect was
the alumni’s ranking an understanding of
management issues related to e-government
initiatives 15th (46.6% of alumni) versus the
employers’ ranking it 7th (68.6% of employers).
Senior managers likely have a better grasp of
how poorly structured and managed e-govern-
ment initiatives can damage reputation and
create costly liability. City managers were the
majority of respondents in the employer survey,
and 80% of those responding to this question
rated this skill as important or critical.
Similar to the alumni survey, we asked em-
ployers what types of training they offer their
MPA employees who do not have the skills the
employer desires. Table 8 presents the response
to this question.
Similar to the results of the alumni survey,
employers perceived that MPA graduates who
do not have appropriate IT skills independently
learn those skills, though only 40.5% (n = 17)
of respondents offered internal classes and only
23.8% (n = 10) paid for at least part of the cost
of external training. We asked what the impact
would be if MPA graduates lacked required IT
skills. Table 9 shows the responses.
Of the employers surveyed, 51 did not answer
this question. Those that did respond perceived
a much greater negative impact of not having
or being able to acquire the requisite IT skills
than did the alumni surveyed: only 33.3% of
employers indicated that lacking IT skills
would have no impact versus 65.7% of alumni.
The implication is that (1) the alumni acquired
the needed skills independently before a neg-
ative impact could occur; (2) the alumni had
not yet encountered a situation where the lack
of IT skills was important; or (3) the alumni
were not aware that decisions may have been
made by supervisors that had negatively
affected their careers. With 83 respondents
answering, 66.3% (n = 55) of employers stated
that MPA and similar programs should
more sufficiently cover IT management, while
only 4.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed with
this proposition. The remaining 24 respond-
ents (28.9%) neither agreed nor disagreed.
Again, with 83 respondents answering, 71.1%
(n = 59) believe that it is becoming more critical
for new hires in their organization to have more
training in IT as part of their MPA or similar
program, while only 3.6% (n = 3) disagree and
25.3% (n = 21) are unsure.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The inclusion of information technology courses
in MPA curricula has not changed much over
the last 30 years. Only slightly more than 15%
of NASPAA member schools require a general
IT course as part of the core curriculum, and few-
er yet offer a concentration in IT. This seems a
rather glaring omission given the central role of
technology in the delivery of public services,
either directly by government or through ex-
tend ed governance structures. While govern ment
may logically look to the private sector for
TABLE 6.
Employer Survey: Size of the Municipality,
Town, or County Represented
Size Frequency Percentage
Less than 1,000 9 9.7
1,001 to 10,000 39 41.9
10,001 to 20,000 14 15.1
20,001 to 30,000 9 9.7
30,001 to 50,000 5 5.4
Greater than 50,000 16 17.2
No response 1 1.0
Total 93 100.0
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
170 Journal of Public Affairs Education
TABLE 7.
Employer Survey: Ratings of Technology Skills Required in Order of Percentage Ranked
Important or Critical (Combined)
Rank Skill
Not
important
Nice to
have
but not
critical Important Critical
Percent
Important
or critical
Alumni
rank
1
General computer
literacy/common IT skills
such as Word and Excel
0 2 23 60 96.51 1
2
Understanding of the role
of organizational policies
and procedures in con-
taining security threats
2 14 47 21 79.1 2
3
General understanding
of how to protect the work-
place from technology risks
like viruses, malware, social
engineering, etc. (N = 85)
2 17 43 21 75.29 5
4
Understanding of the
issues related to records
retention policies as
they relate to electroni-
cally stored information,
including data from social
media websites (N = 85)
4 17 41 22 74.12 3
5
Understanding of transpar-
ency and accountabil-
ity issues as they relate to
technology management
0 22 45 17 72.1 6
6
Knowledge of the legal
requirements related to
protection of electroni-
cally stored, personally
identifiable data
3 21 46 15 70.9 4
7
Understanding of man-
agement issues related to
e-government initiatives
1 23 49 10 68.6 15
8
Ability to evaluate
technology implementa-
tions using tools such as
cost-benefit analysis and
return on investment
4 21 41 17 67.44 10
technical capabilities, public employees must
possess suitable IT skills to effectively manage
these outsourced services.
Beyond a desire for general computer literacy,
the employers we surveyed indicated solid
support for information management training
regarding the role of organizational policies and
procedures in containing security threats, issues
related to records retention, and legal require-
ments related to privacy issues. Em ploy ers also
wanted their employees to be capable of eval-
uating technology implement ations; contribut-
ing to multidisciplinary implementation teams;
and participating in needs assessments, business
process analyses, and feasibility studies.
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 171
TABLE 7.
Employer Survey: Ratings of Technology Skills Required in Order of Percentage Ranked
Important or Critical (Combined) (continued)
Rank Skill
Not
important
Nice to
have
but not
critical Important Critical
Percent
Important
or critical
Alumni
rank
9
Ability to function as a
member of or to lead
multidisciplinary teams
that have a technol-
ogy component
4 21 46 11 66.3 9
10
Understanding of
technology manage-
ment, legal, and
regulatory issues, and
considerations related
to social media use
3 28 37 17 62.8 7
11
Ability to participate
in needs assessments,
business process analysis,
feasibility studies, and
implementations for new
technology initiatives
3 29 47 6 61.6 8
12 Ability to manage
IT staff members 13 18 44 6 58.1 14
13
Ability to negotiate
and manage out-
sourced IT functions
7 31 38 7 52.3 12
14
Intermediate technology
skills such as GIS or other
specialized technology
6 33 40 4 51.2 16
15
Understanding of
the issues related to
the “digital divide”
that may affect the
citizens served by
the organization
1 37 38 6 51.2 11
16
Understanding of cloud
computing and its
benefits and dangers
5 42 35 2 43.0 13
Note. N = 86 unless otherwise specified.
Today, the impact of IT on government is
wide spread. The obvious question this raises is,
why have most MPA programs neglected to in-
corporate more IT training into their curri cula?
Without a clear directive from NASPAA, it is
possible that some MPA programs have not felt
the need to enhance IT training. However,
the real reason is likely due to a confluence
of factors related to the rapid growth and
development of IT and its expanding use in
government, which make it difficult for MPA
programs to adapt and create relevant course-
work. The IT field is based on technical compe-
tencies, and in order for MPA programs to
effectively teach these compe tencies, they must
employ faculty with expertise in this area. MPA
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
172 Journal of Public Affairs Education
TABLE 8.
Employer Survey: Where Do MPA Graduates Without Desired Skills Learn Those Skills?
Response Frequency Percentage
We offer internal classes and training to help them learn the skills they need. 17 40.5
They take a class at a local community college to learn the skills they need. 4 9.5
They take a class at a local technical college to learn the skills they need. 5 11.9
They study independently to learn the skills they need. 17 40.5
I do not know. It is their responsibility and the learn the skills they need or
they do not succeed in our organization. 3 7.1
We pay for at least part of the cost of information technology skills training. 10 23.8
Other 6 14.3
Note. Percentages are based on N = 42 for each statement.
TABLE 9.
Employer Survey: Impact If MPA Students Lack Required Skills
Response Frequency Percentage
They will not qualify for promotions when competing with other employees
who have IT skills. 13 31.0
They will not be chosen for assignments that call for minimum levels of
information technology skills. 19 45.2
They will not be chosen for multidisciplinary teams working on needs
analysis, business process analysis, feasibility analysis, or implementation
of new technology in our organization.
11 26.2
They will not be considered for promotion to management positions. 8 19.0
There will be no impact because our organization has little need for
information technology skills on the part of nontechnical employees. 10 23.8
There will be no impact because our organization is large enough to have
multiple career paths that do not require IT skills. 4 9.5
Other 6 14.3
Note. Percentages are based on N = 42 for each statement. Respondents could select more than one statement.
addressing the ability of MPA programs to
satisfy the professional management needs of
local government given the coming waves of
anticipated baby boomer retirements, Gabris,
Davis, and Nelson (2010) assert that MPA
programs design their curricula within a
regional market. One can assume that MPA
program IT offerings also respond to regional
needs, though the study did not specifically
address this question.
programs can accomplish this by hiring faculty
with a background in IT; by identifying one or
more IT professionals to serve as part-time in-
structors; or, as suggested by Dawes (2004), by
sharing courses with other programs, such as
business or IT.
We also recognize that some MPA programs
have likely shied away from greater IT training
because of their regional location. In a study
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
Journal of Public Affairs Education 173
As a whole, our findings indicate that MPA
programs may not be keeping pace with the IT
needs of their graduates. Further research is
needed to fully understand why this is the case.
However, given that the development of MPA
curricula is largely the domain of public
administration faculty, our findings suggest
that MPA programs should begin implementing
modifications to enhance IT training. As the
basis of an IT curriculum, MPA programs
should adopt, in conjunction with NASPAA
universal competencies, a set of student
learning outcomes (SLOs). Dawes (2004)
contends that the first goal of IT education
should be training managers to manage with
technology rather than to manage technology
itself. To that end, SLOs should focus on
developing competencies in analytical skills,
strategic thinking and evaluation, technical
concepts, and complex project management
(Dawes, 2004).
Public administration faculty and other
stakeholders should consider the extent to
which IT should be added to their program’s
curriculum. For example, strong student and/
or regional market demand for IT training
might lead MPA programs to offer a separate
course in IT management and, in some
instances, a specialization in this area. Since
MPA program credit hours are limited, a strong
commitment to incorporating a stand-alone or
required IT course might come at the expense
of another core course. Importantly, MPA
programs should bear in mind that just as
technology considerations are infused in the
daily activities of management, so too can IT
training be modularly infused in a program’s
existing core curriculum. Technology-related
management policies, proced ures, and legal
considerations could be integrated into courses
in public human resource management, while
implementation-related activities such as eval-
uation, needs assessments, and process analyses
could be incorporated into program evaluation,
research methods, budgeting, and financial
man agement courses. Field and service-learning
projects, practicums, and internships are other
ways that MPA programs can integrate IT into
the curriculum, while also helping illuminate a
connection between theory and practice.
We envision that some MPA programs will find
it easiest to implement a separate IT course and
that this strategy will provide greater learning
op portunities, owing to immersion in similarly
themed subject matter. Other programs, how-
ever, will likely prefer to include appropriate
IT subject matter into other non-IT courses or
per haps craft a combination of these two ap-
proaches. Moreover, it will be up to MPA pro-
grams to strike a balance between theoretical
and app li cation-based training. Ultimately, the
inclusion of IT training in MPA curricula,
whet her in more broad-based IT management
theory or in appli cation training (e.g., GIS)
will produce graduates who are more capable
public man agers.
NOTES
1 These surveys made no attempt to link alumni with
employers. Our goal was to obtain a broad view
of alumni and employer perceptions of readiness
with respect to the IT aspects of their work and,
ultimately, the ways in which MPA programs
can offer additional IT training through curricu -
lar changes.
2 We anticipated a very low response rate because
we did not exclude small organizations that are
less likely to employ MPA graduates. The majority
of municipalities in Georgia and Florida are
small. There are 549 municipalities in Georgia,
but only 128 have populations in excess of 5,000
residents and only 84 have populations in excess of
10,000 residents.
3 For purposes of this study, we were not interested
in the details of these offerings, such as what
specific skills were taught in each course. This data
were gathered to compare the status of IT offer -
ings historically.
Revisiting the Information Technology Skills Gap
174 Journal of Public Affairs Education
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
P. Cary Christian is assistant professor at the
Institute for Public and Nonprofit Studies at
Georgia Southern University. His research
focuses on budgeting and finance, information
technology, tax evasion, and trade-based mon-
ey laundering.
Trenton J. Davis is associate professor and dir-
ector of the Institute for Public and Non profit
Studies at Georgia Southern University. His
research focuses on employee motivation, org-
anizational change, compen sation systems, and
small-group behavior.
P. C. Christian & T. J. Davis
