Welcome to the Department of Public Administration (PA), located within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at UIC. On this page, you will find basic background information about registration at UIC as well as more detailed information (or links to information on the PA website) pertaining to your registration and study in the Department of Public Administration.
Program Orientation Session
PA conducts a mandatory orientation session for new students entering in both the fall and spring semesters. At the orientation you will be informed about general policies and procedures of your program, be introduced to faculty and learn about the different concentrations, and have a chance to interact with students from PASA, the Public Administration Students Association.
MPA New Student Orientation - Thursday, August 20th
Please plan to attend the MPA New Student Orientation on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM in Student Center East . Room number will be announced this summer.
Travel directions:
If you prefer to take public transportation, take the Blue Line of the CTA Rapid Transit to the UIC-Halsted stop. Walk south across Harrison Street to the center of campus.
If driving, daily parking (for fee) is available at the Halsted Street Parking Structure, located just across the street from the Student Center East, at the corner of Halsted and Taylor Streets.
You may download a campus map at the following website:
http://tigger.uic.edu/index.html/maps.shtml
(click on Campus Map Downloads and then click on East/North side campus map)
In addition to receiving useful information about the program and available resources, this is an excellent opportunity to meet your fellow classmates, the faculty, and staff of Public Administration, and representatives from the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. Current students and alumni have been invited to attend as well. Orientation is mandatory for all Fall 2008 new MPA students.
Please RSVP for the August 21st orientation by sending me an email (shar@uic.edu) by August 14th, 2008.
Course Advising
Incoming students must be advised by their advisors prior to enrollment. It is your responsibility to e-mail or call your advisor for an appointment. You should plan on meeting with your advisor at least once each academic year, either in the spring or summer before registering for classes.
Your advisor's name and contact information was provided in your admittance letter from the PA department. If you are uncertain of which faculty advisor you are assigned to, please contact the PA Program office 312.996.3109.
In the summer months, many faculty members are not available for advising. PA Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Sharon Mastracci and PA Program Coordinator, Sharon Sanders will be happy to schedule appointments for advising by phone or in person. You may make an appointment by calling Sharon Sanders at 312.996.3109. Professor Mastracci can be reached at mastracc@uic.edu and 312.413.2419. Program Coordinator Sharon Sanders can be reached at shar@uic.edu and 312.996.3109.
Registration and Student Self-Service
After advising you may register for classes. Sometime after you receive your official admission letter from the Office of Admissions and Records you will receive, usually via email, information on when you may register and instructions, if not included with your admission letter.
Registration begins a number of months before the term and continues through the first official ten days of the term (first official five days for summer session). During the registration period, all registration activity is done by the student using Student Self-Service, which may be accessed from UIC Web For Student. When attempting to register, if you receive an error message directly pertaining to the class or section you are requesting, consult with the department offering the course as an override may need to be input into the system to allow you to continue to register. Once the override has been added you still have to register for the course in Student Self-Service. If you receive an error message that you do not understand, consult the Registration Help Line at (312) 996-8600.
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MPA 1st term Scheduling - Required Introductory Core Courses
MPA students beginning in the fall term are required to enroll in PA 400: Public Administration Theory and PA 407: Data Analysis for Public Administration. These courses are only offered in the fall term as introductory courses to the MPA Program. MPA students beginning in the spring or summer terms will be advised of core course scheduling options upon admission but are required to enroll in PA 400 and PA 407 the following fall term.
Full-time MPA students enrolling in a third course their first term are encouraged to select this course in consultation with an advisor.
Meeting the Pre-requisite for PA 407 and PA 410
To enroll in the core course PA 407: Data Analysis for Public Administration and the core course PA 410: Economics for Public Administration, you must meet the prerequisite as stated in the course catalog: "Appropriate score on the department placement test; or consent of the instructor." You can obtain consent of the instructor by providing Documentation of Prior Coursework or take the department placement test through On-Line Self Study. To determine which option is appropriate for you, carefully review the information here.
You must set up your UIC e-mail to gain access to the blackboard site.
Course scheduling for future terms
While your assigned faculty advisor will provide guidance on course selection and career paths, you may have questions pertaining to course scheduling for future terms in order to graduate in a particular term. Please feel free to contact PA Assistant Director Sharon Sanders with questions or concerns about course scheduling for future terms. Sharon can be reached 312.996.2160 or shar@uic.edu.
A two-year cycle of course offerings is available here.
The University i-Card
The i-Card is the official identification card of the University for students, staff and faculty. It is important to obtain the i-Card and carry it with you at all times. The i-Card is needed to enter certain labs and buildings, for access to certain student-related events and services, and to check material out of the library.
Once you have registered for a course you may obtain your i-Card. This should be done as soon as possible following your registration. You will need to bring a print-out of your registration and either a driver's license, state ID card, or passport to the i-Card Office. Complete information, including locations, is available from the i-Card Office.
Your UIC E-mail Account
Once classes start, all formal written communication from the Department of Public Administration will be directed to your UIC e-mail account. This includes information for courses that use Blackboard, the course web page system. It is very important that you set up your university e-mail account before classes start and that you either check the account regularly or configure it so that messages are automatically forwarded to a frequently used e-mail account or to a FAX machine.
One hour or so after you get your student ID; you can set up an e-mail account from any computer with access to the web. Go to www.uic.edu/depts/accc/home/ACCTS.html. You will need your I-card number, your Social Security Number and your date of birth. In this process you will find your netid, which will be part of your UIC email address. For questions, call the UIC Client Services office at 312-413-0003.
Medical Immunization requirement
Illinois state law requires proof of certain immunizations for students in most situations. The policy and contact information are available at the Office of Medical Immunization Records. It is important that you read this information carefully as registration for future terms is not allowed if you are not in compliance at that time.
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Information about tuition and fees
Tuition and fees are set by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The tuition and fee schedule at UIC is fairly elaborate so it is important to understand what your charges will be, as well as your payment obligations. This information is available from the Office of Admissions and Records website.
Assistantships
If you have been granted an assistantship there are a number of important steps that have to be undertaken to ensure timely processing and receipt of your first stipend check.
- You will receive a formal letter of offer from the unit (usually your academic program) that is attempting to hire you.
- After you have accepted and returned the formal letter of offer for the assistantship, the unit that is hiring you will complete the necessary information in the university database.
- When the hiring unit completes the previous step, it will trigger an email to you with logon and other information for an online system called NESSIE.
- In NESSIE, you will need to complete the HR Application and Payroll information (demographic, educational, and bank deposit information).
- After that is completed in NESSIE, you will be instructed by your hiring unit to complete a Statement of a Drug-Free Workplace and I-9 forms, which you submit to the hiring unit. The I-9 form is viewable in Nessie and includes a list of acceptable official identification you will need to bring in with the completed forms.
- For international students on a visa, the hiring unit will send appropriate information to the Office of International Services to initiate an Employee Clearance form.
- The processing for international students on a visa allows less flexibility in regards to the start date, so it is important to complete the necessary steps in a timely fashion.
It is only after all these stages have been successfully completed that your appointment becomes official and allows you to begin your duties and receive the monthly stipend, which is paid on the 16th. In addition, if the appointment comes with a tuition waiver (contact your unit to find out exactly which parts of the tuition and fees are waived and which are not), it is only at this stage that the waiver is available to be applied to your account, assuming you have also correctly registered for the total hours required to receive the waiver. If the appointment for the assistantship is offered or processed late, or any of the steps outlined above are delayed, there is a possibility of missing your first monthly stipend check. Although you will receive an adjusted payment a month later (assuming the beginning date is properly processed and assuming you worked for that period), not having the first check can cause financial issues you did not anticipate. Therefore, if you do not receive timely responses you should always contact the hiring unit to ensure procedures have not been overlooked. See the Graduate College website for additional assistantship information.
Detailed information about policies and procedures relating to assistantships within CUPPA can be found on the CUPPA RA FAQ page.
Registration requirements for Assistants
RA awards through PA are granted only to full-time students enrolled for 12 or more hours of credit per semester and who will not be employed at the time of admission. Graduate students who hold academic appointments as assistants for the spring semester and for whom tuition and service fees were waived in the spring are entitled to a waiver for the summer term immediately following if they do not hold a summer assistantship, provided they are registered for at least three hours during that summer term.
Expectations of Assistants
Your work as a Research Assistant will be directed by the faculty member or research center where you are assigned. Detailed information about university and CUPPA policies relating to holidays, vacation, and time off can be found on the CUPPA RA FAQ page. Because individual units may have different procedures in place to ensure compliance with university policies, please consult with your supervisor if you have questions.
CUPPA Career Site: Access is given after you receive your UIC email account
Information on employment opportunities, assistantships, internships and scholarships is available through the new CUPPA Career Center website. This is a bluestem protected website for current CUPPA students and recent graduates. The website will be updated everyday, Monday through Friday. Postings will remain on the website for 30 days or until the closing date on the announcement. If you receive information that should be posted to the new website on jobs, assistantships, internships or educational funding send this information to cuppa@uic.edu.
Integration into student life
PA encourages all students to become involved in student activities. At orientation, you will be introduced to the Public Administration Student Association (PASA). This organization provides you with an opportunity to begin to build not only friendships but professional networks that will be important to you throughout your career. Graduating students have indicated that they regard these networks as one of the most important benefits of their experience at PA. PASA professional and social events, as well as lectures organized by the college and its research centers, are also great opportunities to interact with students, faculty, and practitioners outside the classroom.
Most information about student activities is primarily disseminated through PA's student listserv.
For more information about PASA, click here. Be sure to contact your PASA representatives with any questions.
CUPPA Computer Lab
The CUPPA computer laboratory is located in the northwest corner of suite 215 of CUPPA Hall and available to you any semester that you are registered. The computers require a password. During the week before classes and for two weeks after you can use the following: Login: New Student (not case sensitive - can be: new student) Password: CuppaTemp. (case sensitive, period is part of the password) To set up a personal password for use thereafter, attend the UPP orientation for instructions or contact computer room staff.
Access to CUPPA Hall
Swipe access to CUPPA Hall, the PA Suite on the 1st floor of CUPPA Hall, and the basement of CUPPA Hall (Graduate Student Lounge) will be available after the 10th day census of registered students.
Quick Reference Guide
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