Reputation and Productivity of Public Administration/Affairs Programs: Additional Data

Abstract

In a recent article in Public Administration Review 41 (November/December 1981), pp. 666-673, we examined the reputation of Masters degree granting institutions in public administration and public affairs programs (MPA) and the research productivity of their faculty. The reputation measure was created by asking the principal representatives for the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to list the 10 best MPA programs in the United States. In addition, a measure of productivity was created by counting the number of articles published in 10 journals related to public administration from 1970 to 1980. Any attempt to measure the reputation of an academic program is subject to some criticism. Reputational surveys can be criticized because perceptions of reputation might be based on past performance rather than current quality or because the group of raters was unrepresentative. This brief note seeks to supplement the findings of the earlier research by reporting two new ratings for prestige.