Out of Sac State’s Downtown Center, the MPPA Program fulfills the University’s Anchor Mission

Sac State Downtown hosts two-part public policy course with MPPA

By Rob Wassmer

Sacramento State Downtown, home of the Master of Public Policy Administration Program (MPPA), hosted a two-part public policy course led by Professor Rob Wassmer. Professor Wassmer and 27 MPPA students conducted an “Anchor-University” motivated study on the highly relevant policy issues Prospective Policy Analysis of the Unsheltered, Local Government Revenue and Affordable Housing facing the Sacramento Region and State. Local and state government officials, advocates, and analysts joined the activities to provide feedback on the presentations.

First-year MPPA Student Jennifer Cater stated, “participating in this prospective policy analysis project as a graduate student provided the opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom to complex, real-world policy problems. Collaborating with industry professionals to develop actionable solutions for our client equipped me with skills I will undoubtedly use in future career endeavors.”

The course included careful research and consultation with real-world clients, and three student teams, which devised policy alternatives to mitigate each policy problem. Formalizing these alternatives through in-depth consultation with community professionals and experts, students then went through a rigorous process to evaluate each of their team’s proposed options on the objective criteria of cost-effectiveness, equity, and administrability or sustainability. This culminated in background presentations like Addressing Housing Affordability in the City of Woodland on the policy issue, evaluations of the alternatives proposed, and a final recommendation to public organizations and elected officials.

A three-hour presentation from each team ended with a student-moderated panel discussion among their client and stakeholders on the student recommendations. This activity offered an example of how Sacramento State, the MPPA Program, and the Sac State Downtown Center are fulfilling their commitment as an anchor to think about, research, and offer solutions to pressing public policy problems through consultation with others outside the university working on these issues.

“It was so exciting to see these students working to solve critical real-world problems that so many of us see every day in local government," commented Sacramento City Council member Caity Maple. "Our community needs nothing short of big, bold ideas to address issues like our housing shortage and the homelessness crisis – and the effort and academic rigor that went into these students’ public policy work will serve them (and us) well as they enter the workforce.”

In reflecting upon the six, three-hour presentations that occurred in the last two weeks of the spring 2023 semester, Wassmer was “grateful for the opportunity that the Downtown Center offers to the MPPA Program’s ability to host an event like this due to its convenience of location to guest panelists.” “He was also extremely proud of the depth of understanding exhibited by the 27 first-year MPPA students participating in this real-world exercise, and their collaborative learning experience they gained from interacting with community stakeholders affected by the policy issues and seeking solutions.”