January 16-17, 2003

Memorandum of Agreement
between
Montana State University-Bozeman
and
Montana State University-Billings

A.                  Intention

Montana State University-Bozeman and Montana State University-Billings desire to collaboratively (jointly) offer a graduate program entitled Master of Public Administration (MPA). The Political Science Department at MSU-Bozeman has an established MPA program and has been graduating six to ten masters students per year. MSU-Billings has established there is a sizable pool of residents in the Billings area that desire to continue their education by obtaining an MPA degree. By entering into this agreement with MSU-Bozeman the Billings campus will not need to staff the entire MPA curriculum but will be able to share resources with MSU-Bozeman to offer the degree. Collaborating with the Bozeman MPA faculty, to deliver two courses annually, the joint degree will expand Montana State University's academic offerings and considerably enlarge the pool of potential MPA students and the stream of graduates from the program.

 

B.                  Background

When the Montana Board of Regents reorganized the Montana University System, one of the goals of that action was to foster greater cooperation between the campuses. The collaboration involved in extending the MSU-Bozeman MPA degree through a jointly offered degree was endorsed as a move designed to grow the cooperation between the Bozeman and Billings campuses and to help bring higher education opportunities to more Montana citizens. Initial discussions at the faculty level, the deans level and between the Provosts at the two institutions were facilitated and there was agreement that the effort to bring about the collaboration should be continued. Meetings between the deans and the faculty at each campus identified a limited number of issues that needed to be resolved but no one issue appeared that would prevent the collaboration. Subsequently, a meeting between deans and faculty from Bozeman and Billings took place on September 6, 2002, with the result being a decision to move ahead with developing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that would spell out the details of how the collaboration would be structured.

 

C.                  Statements

1.                   The Department of Political Science at Montana State University-Bozeman and the Department of History, Native American Studies, Political Science and Sociology at Montana State University-Billings desire to collaborate and jointly offer a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in Billings.

2.                   MSU-Bozeman has, for a number of years, been offering the MPA on the Bozeman campus and in Helena with the Helena program being a collaborative program with the University of Montana. The Bozeman curriculum is structured to allow a full time student to complete the program in two years. The joint MSU-Bozeman and MSU-Billings MPA program will be designed as a three year program for part-time students and will be planned to allow a part time student to complete the program in three years.

3.                   There are a large number people in the Billings area who desire to earn their MPA but who are working full time and, therefore, are place bound to the Billings area. This joint effort is a logical method of extending a Montana State University higher education opportunity to potential students in the Billings area.

4.                   The curriculum for the degree offered in Bozeman is established but it is recognized both Bozeman and Billings faculty will participate in developing new and revised courses for the joint MPA degree to be offered in Billings. A curriculum committee consisting of two faculty members from each campus will jointly govern curriculum changes with a majority vote being necessary to change the curriculum.

 

D.                  Agreements

1.                   MSU-Billings will supply the necessary classroom space on the Billings campus.

2.                   MSU-Billings will add one line to existing faculty in Public Administration (one FTE) to support the teaching requirement for the joint degree. The line will be added by re-allocation of resources on the Billings campus.

3.                   MSU-Bozeman will deliver two (2) courses per year on the Billings campus. Faculty support at Bozeman to accomplish the delivery will be obtained by resource re-allocation in the Political Science Department.

4.                   To help promote the collaborative nature of the program, search committees for new faculty teaching in the joint degree will be formed with faculty from both campuses.

5.                   Appropriate faculty from either campus may sit on or be chairs of the masters committees needed to support students in the program on either campus. However, efforts will be made to minimize the travel time required of committee members and to maximize the availability of committee chairs to the students.

6.                   MSU-Billings will reimburse Bozeman faculty for travel related expenses.

7.                   All MPA courses taught by the Billings faculty will carry MSU-Billings numbers. The courses taught by MSU-Bozeman faculty will retain the MSU-Bozeman course numbers.

8.                   Policy and procedure issues will be settled by an oversight committee consisting of two faculty members from each collaborating department with the graduate deans and or the College Deans from each campus serving as non-voting members. The chair of the committee will alternate every two years between Bozeman faculty and Billings faculty.

9.                   The collaborative MPA program will be critically reviewed at the end of Spring Semester, 2005 to determine if it is serving the interests of both campuses and the students in the program. A decision will be made at that time to continue, alter, or sunset the joint degree. If a sunset decision is made, plans will be implemented to allow the students currently in the program to finish their degrees. The reviewing committee will consist of the Provost, Graduate Dean and or College Dean and Department Head from each campus.

10.               In the event that curriculum issues, policy and procedure issues or a decision concerning the future of the program cannot be settled by the curriculum or the oversight committees, a final and binding decision for any of these areas will be given by President Geoff Gamble.

11.               Both the Bozeman and Billings faculty and administration are committed to making the joint MPA program operate for the benefit of both institutions and most importantly for the benefit of the students. If, for some reason, it is decided to end the joint MPA degree it is agreed that the joint program will go into sunset mode with no further students being admitted into the program. MSU-Bozeman faculty will continue to deliver the Bozeman courses until the last student is graduated but the time it limited to no more than three (3) years past the time when the sunset decision is made.

12.               The staffing and time schedule for the three year, collaborative program offered on the Billings campus is shown in Appendix A.

13.               The transcript and the diploma for graduates of the collaborative MPA program will read:

 

Master of Public Administration
 A Degree Awarded Jointly by
Montana State University-Bozeman
And Montana State University-Billings

 

__________________ Date:______         __________________ Date:______

Geoffrey Gamble, President                    Ronald Sexton, Chancellor
Montana State University                        MSU-Billings

 

__________________ Date:______          __________________ Date:______

David Dooley, Provost                             Janie Park, Provost
MSU-Bozeman                                       MSU-Billings

 

__________________ Date:_______         __________________ Date:______

Franke Wilmer, Department Head          Craig Wilson, Chair
Political Science, MSU-Bozeman             Sociology, Political Science &
                                                                     Native American Studies, MSU-Billings

Appendix A

Staffing plan 17 December 2002Three-year program

*Courses to be taught by faculty

Staffing Plan.

Fall, 2003:    Campus

*POLS 554 (Foundations) Bozeman

POLS 555 (Internship) Billings

POLS 570 (Research Project) Billings

 

Spring, 2004:

*POLS 551 (Research Method)       Bozeman

POLS 555 (Human Resources) Billings

POLS 555 (Internship) Billings

POLS 570 (Research Project) Billings

 

Summer, 2004:

POLS 523 (Civil Liberties)       Billings

POLS 554 (Foundations)   Billings

*POLS 559 (Program Evaluation) Bozeman

POLS 555 (Internship) Billings

POLS 570 (Research Project) Billings

 

Spring, 2005:

POLS 551 (Methods) Billings

POLS 555 (Internship)   Billings

*POLS 557 (Public Budgeting)   Bozeman

POLS 570 (Research Project)   Billings

 

Summer, 2005:

POLS 527 (Powers and Structures) Billings

 

Fall, 2005:

*POLS 554 (Foundations) Bozeman

POLS 515 (Organization Dynamics) Billings

POLS 555 (Internship) Billings

POLS 570 (Research Project) Billings

 

Spring, 2006:

*POLS 551 (Methods)   Bozeman

POLS 550 (Ethics) Billings

POLS 555 (Internship) Billings

POLS 570 (Research Project) Billings

 

Summer, 2006:

POLS 530 (Local Administration) Billings