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MPA Extension Program at West Point

John Jay offers its Master of Public Administration program at the United States Military Academy at West Point, located slightly less than 50 miles from the main campus. Military personnel stationed at West Point and other military installations in the area and their family members, as well as civilians are eligible to attend courses at the MPA West Point location. Students in the West Point Program take the same course of study as students at the main campus except that their choice of specializations at the site is limited. The mix of faculty at the West Point site is substantially the same as the mix of faculty at the main campus.

As an extension of the MPA Program at the main John Jay College campus, the MPA-West Point Program is covered by the accreditation awarded to the entire college by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Furthermore, the host institution--the United States Military Academy--is accredited. The College and the Military Academy share responsibilities in supporting the Program.

The rationale for offering the MPA degree through an extension program at the United States Military Academy at West Point is grounded in the mission statement of our Program. The statement provides that: "The Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a policy and management program that strives to prepare students for public service careers in government agencies, especially in the uniformed and protective services, justice organizations, international and military organizations, and inspection and oversight agencies." The rationale for including military organizations in the mission statement list is that these organizations have many of the attributes of civilian uniformed and protective services. Including military organizations expands the focus of the Program while enhancing course perspectives. John Jay's has offered academic programs at West Point for more than two decades. Thus, the existence of the Program has also shaped the evolution of our Program's mission and identity.

The curriculum at the West Point campus is identical to that on main campus, with the exception that students at West Point may choose from only two concentrations: Human Resources Management and Management and Operations. Another difference between the main campus and West Point locations relates to scheduling. The difference is related to the limited time available to students enrolled in the Program who are in the military. Courses at both locations meet for the same number of in-class hours (30 hours) but West Point classes are scheduled on a trimester basis. The semesters begin in early September, mid-January and mid-March and run for ten week sessions of three hours, compared to main campus classes of fifteen week sessions of two hours.

Academic advising is provided by the West Point Academic Program Coordinator on an individual student basis. Students may either sign up to meet with the coordinator, or may contact the coordinator by phone or e-mail. Faculty who are teaching at West Point also provide advisement prior to and after regular class hours, for those students who cannot make appointments at other times. The on-site administrator, who is available in her office at the West Point campus two days per week, maintains a complete inventory of the relevant John Jay College and USMA documents necessary to keep students informed.

All John Jay MPA students can access the CUNY library system on-line, including an extensive collection of on-line databases. John Jay MPA students at the West Point location are also permitted to use the U.S. Military Academy Library system, which is a federal government depository containing Congressional publications, military publications and published documents from the US Departments of State and Commerce. The library has 500,000 volumes. In addition, the West Point library contains a computerized card catalog, computerized data base search facilities, extensive microfilm and audio-visual collections. The library policy is that anyone officially affiliated with West Point has library privileges. This includes members of the military and their families as well as civilian employees at West Point. Individual researchers not stationed at West Point may receive permission for in-house use of library materials by written request. MPA students in the West Point MPA Program who are not affiliated with the military have routinely been afforded access to the collection under that policy.

John Jay MPA students have access to computer facilities, including Internet access, at the West Point Education Center which also houses the MPA on-site administrator's office.