Analysis of Public Administration programs

in Caucasus countries

Authors:
Juraj Nemec, Slovak Republic
Gyrgy Gajduschek, Hungary
David paek, Czech Republic
Copyright 2015 by NISPAcee
The Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe
http://www.nispa.org

Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries was developed within the
framework of V4EaP Extended Standard project No. 21370078: Capacity Building of
Caucasus Academic PA Programmes on the basis of EU Administrative Principles jointly
implemented by project partners:
NISPAcee - The Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central
and Eastern Europe, Slovak Republic
LTD "Caucasus University , Georgia
Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, Armenia
Khazar University, Azerbaijan
Juraj Nemec, Slovak Republic
Gyorgy Gajduschek, Hungary
Patrycja Suwaj, Poland
David Spacek, Czech Republic
with the support of International Visegrad Fund (www.visegradfund.org).
Authors:
Juraj Nemec, Slovak Republic
Gyrgy Gajduschek, Hungary
David paek, Czech Republic

Reviewers:
Marina Mikeladze, Georgia
Nino Kakubava, Georgia
Sergi Kapanadze, Georgia
Irena Melua, Georgia
Mariam Voskanyan, Armenia
Edward Sandoyan, Armenia
Raziya Isayeva, Azerbaijan
Nagi Bayramli, Azerbaijan
Patrycja Suwaj, Poland

The opinions of the authors and reiewers do not necessarily reflect the views of project
partners and International Visegrad Fund.

NISPAcee is an international association focused on public administration. Its mission is to

promote and strengthen the effective and democratic governance and modernisation of
public administration and policy throughout the NISPAcee region.

2 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

Introduction

This analysis is one of the core outputs from the project Capacity Building of Caucasus
Academic PA Programs on the basis of EU Administrative Principles supported by the
International Visegrad Fund. The analysis will be supplemented by a second document on
Recommendations.
The primary aim of the project is to share the knowledge and experience of V4 and Caucasus
in public administration teaching, training and research for institutional and administrative
capacity building, based on EU administrative principles.
This analysis is delivered on the basis of the prepared and agreed project guidelines for the
monitoring and analysis of existing PA programs in the Caucasus area. The guidelines were
prepared by all participating experts, discussed on-line and during the project meeting in
Budapest in May, 2014 and approved by all the project partners.
The guidelines set down the rules for analysing and evaluating PA programs in the Caucasus
Universities and were developed on the basis of an internationally accepted set of
evaluation criteria. The guidelines distinguish between two levels of analysis:
1. Monitoring of PA programs in the Caucasus area: collecting basic data about the
situation and its analysis.
2. Evaluation of PA programs in the Caucasus area: preliminary or comprehensive
evaluation of the quality of a given program, based on the experience gained from
two important public administration accreditation systems the system of CIAPA
(Commission of International Accreditation of Public Administration, United Nations
and International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration initiative)
and the accreditation criteria of EAPAA (European Association for Public
Administration Accreditation).
Both levels of our investigations are based on information concerning PA programs in
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, provided by partners and respective schools during the
project period and also during the workshop and conference organised in March, 2015 in
Tbilisi, Georgia.

3 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

PA programs in the Caucasus area basic information

Following the guidelines prepared for monitoring PA programs, we were able to identify basic information
on PA education in the Caucasus region. The summary of what PA programs are offered in the three
countries of the region can be seen in the following Table.

Table 1 - PA programs in the Caucasus area summary

Coun University Faculty Program Level Head of the Responsible person, Web page
try program contact

Russian- Institute Public Master of Suvaryan Arzik Mariam Voskanyan, http://www.rau.a

Armenian of Administra Arts in Doctor of PhD, Associate m/eng
University Economi tion Managem Economics, Professor
(RAU) cs and ent Professor Head of Chair of
Business Economic theory and
issues of transition
economy
voskanyanm@gmail.co
m
European Econom Public Bachelor H. Marzpanyan, H. Marzpanyan http://www.eriict
University in y and Administra of Arts in Narine Narine Kirakosyan, a.am/
Armenia / Manage tion Managem Kirakosyan, Chair Chair of the
European ment ent of the Management in the
Educational Master of Management in European Educational
ARMENIA

Regional Arts in the European Regional Academy

Academy Managem Educational E-mail
ent Regional kirakosyannarine@yah
Academy oo.com
Public PUBLIC PA MA Grisha Gspoyan, Tereza Khechoyan, www.paara.am
Administrati ADMINIS Program Head of the Chair: Vice-Rector for
on Academy TRATION candidate of International Relations,
of the AND geographical Associate Professor;
Republic of PUBLIC sciences, Department of PA &
Armenia FINANCE Associate Public Finance
Professor Khechoyantereza@yah
oo.com
Armenian CHAIR OF PA BA, MA Yuri Suvaryan Yuri Suvaryan http://www.asue.
State MANAGE Program Full member of Full member of am/ru
University of MENT National National Academy of
Economics Academy of Sciences, Doctor of
Sciences, Doctor Economic Sciences,
of Economic Professor
Sciences,
Professor

4 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 Azerbaijan Economy PA MA Prof. Alirzayev Ali Telephone: +994 12 www.aseu.az/ind
State and program / 465 28 73 ex.php?option=co
Economic regulatio State +99450 320 72 27 m_k2&view=item
University n of Standard &id=301:sosial-
social approved Raqif Muallim 050560 0920 sferan%C4%B1n-
sphere by the Bayim Nabiyeva, iqtisadiyyat%C4%
Ministry of International Office B1-v%C9%99-
Education b.a.nabiyeva@gmail.co idar%C9%99-
of m olunmas%C4%B1
Azerbaijan &Itemid=167&lan
Republic g=en
The Administ PA / State BA, Xatira Huseynova +99412 4978331 http://www.dia.e
Academy of ration Standard MA du.az/ELDAR.php
Public manage approved
Administrati ment, PA by the
on under the & Ministry of
President of manage Education
the Republic ment of
of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Republic
Naxchivan Social PA BA, MA Hafiz Huseynov Nakhchivan city, http://ndu.edu.az
State Manage program / 050 4423535 Nakhchivan State /en/content/185/
University ment State University
and Law Standard University campus, AZ
approved 7012
AZERBAIJAN

by the Tel: (+99436) 544-07-

Ministry of 54
Education Roya Seferli
of royaseferli@hotmail.co
Azerbaijan m
Republic
Qafqaz Faculty Public BA, MA Zafar Hasanov, Khirdalan city, Hasan http://pa.qu.edu.
University of Administra Head of Project Aliyev str. az/
Economi tion / State Development and
120,Baku,Absheron,AZ
c and Standard Technology
0101, Azerbaijan
Administ approved Transfer
rative by the Department Telephone:
Sciences Ministry of +99412 4482862-66
Education Fax:
of 99412 4482861
Azerbaijan pa-info@qu.edu.az
Republic Zafar Hasanov
zhasanov@qu.edu.az
ADA School of Public BAPA, MPP Vener Qarayev Vener Qarayev www.ada.edu.az
University Public Policy vgarayev@ada.edu.az
Baku Economy PA BA, MA Ibrahim Tel: (+99412) 4317951, http://bbu.edu.az
Business and program / Mammadov (+99412) 4319118 /az/about/32
University manage State Fax: (+99412) 4300780
ment Standard info@bbu.edu.az
faculty, approved Address: 88a H.
Industry by the Zardabi St. Baku,
Organiza Ministry of Azerbaijan, AZ1011
tion and Education International relations
Municipa of
office
l Azerbaijan
+994 12 4317951 (132)
manage Republic
ment

5 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 Caucasus Caucasus Public MA Sergi Kapanadze Nino Kakubava www.cu.edu.ge
University School of Administra BA Dean of the nkakubava@gmail.com
Governa tion School
nce skapanadze@cu.e
du.ge
University of School of Public BA Nodar Nodar Kherkheulidze www.ug.edu.ge
Georgia, Business, Administra Kherkheulidze Head of PA program
School of Economi tion Head of PA 577987802
Business, cs and program nkherkheulidze@gmail
Economics Manage 577987802 .com
and ment nkherkheulidze@
Managemen gmail.com
t School of Public MA Nodar Nodar Kherkheulidze
Business, Administra Kherkheulidze Head of PA program
Economi tion Head of PA 577987802
cs and program nkherkheulidze@gmail
Manage 577987802 .com
ment nkherkheulidze@
gmail.com
Ilia State School of Public MA Archil Abashidze Archil Abashidze Head http://www.iliaun
University Arts and Policy and Head of the PA of the PA program i.edu.ge/
Science Administra program 599 45 10 52
tion 599 45 10 52 archil_abashidze@illia
archil_abashidze uni.edu.ge
@illiauni.edu.ge
Javakhishvili Faculty Public MA Nana Nana Macharashvili www.tsu.edu.ge
GEORGIA

State of Social Administra Macharashvili Head of PA program

University and tion and Head of PA 555575020
Political Public program nana.macharashvili@ts
Sciences, Policy 555575020 u.ge
Departm nana.macharashvi
ent of li@tsu.ge
Political
Science
International Faculty Public BA Ivanna Ivanna Machitidze www.ibsu.edu.ge
Black Sea of Social Administra Machitidze International Relations
University Sciences tion International and Public
Relations and Administration
Public Program Head
Administration 57136 36 40
program Head imachitidze@ibsu.edu.
57136 36 40 ge
imachitidze@ibsu
.edu.ge
Grigol School of Public BA Ana Ana Partskhalashvili www.gruni.edu.g
Robakidze Public Administra Partskhalashvili Head of the PA e
University Administ tion and Head of the PA program
ration Politics program 595 22 77 30
and 595 22 77 30 annalaliani@hotmail.c
Politics annalaliani@hot om
mail.com
Georgian School of PA MA Nino Dolidze Nino Dolidze www.gipa.ge
Institute of Governm Public Head of the PA Head of the PA
Public ent Policy program program
Affairs Local 591 19 43 19; 591 19 43 19;
(GIPA), Governanc n.dolidze@gipa.g n.dolidze@gipa.ge
School of e e
Government

6 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 Samtskhe- School of Public BA Malkhaz Malkhaz Lomsadze www.astu.edu.ge
Javakheti Governm Administra Lomsadze Dean of the School of
State ent tion Dean of the Law
University, School of Law 599 10 83 50
Faculty of 599 10 83 50 lomsadzem@gmail.co
Law lomsadzem@gma m
il.com
Tbeli Faculty Public BA Razhden Temur Tunadze www.tbeli.ge
University of Social Administra Putkaradze Head of Quality
Sciences tion Head of PA Assurance Department
program 59943 03 68
Akaki Faculty Public BA David Gegechkori David Gegechkori Head www.atsu.edu.ge
Tsereteli of Social Administra MA Head of Public of Public
State Sciences tion Administration Administration
University, Program Program
Kutaisi 577 13 15 35 577 13 15 35
Iakob Faculty Public BA Irma Shioshvili Irma Shioshvili www.tesau.edu.g
Gogebashvili of Social Administra Head of the PA Head of the PA e
Telavi State Science tion program program 599 19 44 22
University 599 19 44 22
Georgian Faculty Public BA Shota Dogonadze Shota Dogonadze http://www.gtu.g
Technical of Administra Program Director Program Director 577 e
University Business tion MA 577 405 677 405 677 http://www.gtu.g
Administ shotad550@yaho shotad550@yahoo.co e
ration o.com m
Free School of undergrad BA N/A N/A N/A
University of Governa uate
Georgia nce and program in
Social Governanc
Sciences e and
Social
Sciences
Gori State School of Public BA N/A N/A www.gu.edu.ge
University Social Administra
Sciences tion
Business
and Law
St. Tbel Public BA
Abuseridze Administra
University, tion
Khulo/ Tbeli
University
Sukhishvilis Public BA N/A N/A N/A
teaching Administra
University tion
Free Policy
University of Analysis
Tbilisi

Thanks to the monitoring part of the project, we gathered particularly basic information about the
programs (name, degree, university and faculty). In most cases we also obtained information on the
mission of programs and program structure (list of compulsory and elective courses). Although required,
we were not provided with graduate profiles in the vast majority of PA programs identified.

After the monitoring phase, the Caucasus project partners were asked to indicate which programs from
the region would try to obtain pre-evaluation and comprehensive evaluation. In the case of programs
asking for pre-evaluation, the project guidelines required their representatives (in cooperation with

7 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

Caucasus project partners) to provide our project team, in particular, with the following information:
program structure (if not provided during the monitoring), mechanisms in place for continual program
evaluation, syllabi and CVs of academic staff involved in the program. We also anticipated that syllabi and
CVs would be standardised according to the template prepared for the purposes of the project. In case of a
comprehensive evaluation, the aim was to evaluate programs according to EAPAA accreditation
(particularly on the basis of peer-reviewed self-evaluation reports that would be prepared by
representatives of the program).

For the purposes of the workshop organised in March 2015 in Tbilisi, Caucasus project partners were also
required to summarise the background information on their countries, namely information on the PA
system and applied requirements on the education of civil servants, history of PA education, current
situation in PA education (including the accreditation mechanisms) and current situation in PA research.

In the following text we outline the main findings on national contexts and on the programs which were
evaluated.

PA programs in the Caucasus area: Evaluation of the existing situation

On the basis of information provided by the partners we can formulate the main conclusions about the
current situation of PA academic education in the Caucasus region. The first group of comments is valid for
the entire region and the second and third are country/program specific. Unfortunately, our report cannot
be too positive much has to be done to reach real international standards (especially in a situation with
limited local resources and top down motivation).

A: Common issues

1. The first very important (negative) finding is that there is very limited - almost non-existent -
cooperation between PA programs within the country and also in the region. During the mapping of
the structure of existing programs several schools refused to provide any information to their peers
from project partners institutions. There is no national or regional association helping to improve
and promote PA education and training. This issue is not part of the international quality standards
used for the evaluation of PA programs, but harms any progress (and also indicates that programs
may be rather weak). Surprisingly, more international than local and regional cooperation is the
feature of this region (some schools have highly ranked international partners in developed
countries).
2. The second core set of findings is connected with the core quality standard Faculty. The following
core problems are identified:
a. In no country did the staff, even professors, publish in any relevant peer reviewed
international journals (we checked dozens of CVs, but did not find one paper in the WoS
journal in the discipline). The quality of publications is the main issue that will be addressed.
b. The involvement in main international PA organisations is also rather limited only a few
teachers participate in NISPAcee conferences and almost all other conference outputs by
the staff have a local or regional character.
c. Only in a few Georgian schools did a significant proportion of staff have an education or
training from developed countries or speak fluent English. In most cases, the majority of

8 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 staff speaks local languages (and Russian) which is not sufficient to be in contact with the
disciplines progress. High quality experts from practice or English speaking scholars are
sometimes hired on a part-time basis (Azerbaijan, Georgia).
d. Because of limited resources, some programs rely on too small a group of core own full-
time staff and most education is delivered by part-time staff.
e. A positive finding is the substantial involvement of practitioners (people with practical
experience) in the educational process, especially in Georgia; however, some schools
indicate that the interest of public administration practice to cooperate with universities is
rather limited (especially Azerbaijan).

3. Weak library resources: this issue is a typical feature of all transitional countries and the main
reasons are a lack of finance to purchase international textbooks and journals and to produce a
local resource base, but also the issue of teaching style (focusing on contact hours and not the
individual work of students). Improved cooperation may create economies of scale with the
potential for creating local resources that are crucial. US textbooks that are frequently used for
teaching in most courses do not really suit local conditions.

4. Mismatch between what is demanded in the market and what is offered by higher education:
supply based curricula. It is evident from most curricula that there is a rather limited or almost no
link between mission, vision, profile of the graduate and the program curricula (most programs do
not have a clear opinion of what their product is). The quality of curricula also significantly differs.
Few programs have relatively well-developed (by international such as EAPAA standards)
curricula, but many provide programs which are not well structured. In many cases, the levels of BA
and MA are not well reflected in the curricula structure. The specific issues are the national
standards, which are discussed below. The curricula especially lack policy analysis and research
methods courses.

5. Inadequate monitoring and evaluation policies/procedures by national governments. During the

project meetings we discussed national accreditation systems all of which are state dominated,
with an almost zero level of internationalization and without clear transparent qualifying criteria to
become eligible to deliver a PA program.

6. Insufficient implementations of tools to fight rampant plagiarism student works are not screened
for plagiarism and many of the existing books and articles written by staff are not really original.

7. Problems with the commitment from practitioners to higher education: several universities make
efforts to recruit those who work in public administration, the political sphere which have benefits
in terms of experience-sharing practitioners and students, but the academic impact is insufficient,
because practitioners are not well-tuned to academic credentials, and especially not ready to
deliver real academic work.

9 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

B: Country and program specific issues

1. From the point of view of the size of the region and of participating countries, there exist many
programs (the number of programs in the country per number of inhabitants) in Georgia. Thirteen
institutions delivering PA education in such a small country is very interesting. We discussed this
issue during the project meetings and there are some possible explanations:

a. PA studies are relatively popular for citizens and there is a demand for the high number of
programs (however, not all graduates work in PA).
b. The national accreditation system does not check the real quality of staff responsible for a
proposed program.
c. The non-existence of a national standard leads to delivering supply based curricula,
constructed on the base of existing local capacities.
2. Limited access to information a very surprising and almost common negative finding is the fact
that most programs hide the necessary information regarding the curricula, syllabi and staff. Not
only in English for the international audience, but also in the local language most web pages
provide a basic description of the program, but do not contain more detailed info about the
curriculum and staff. The experts do not really understand how future applicants can learn about
the pre-selected program and compare options.

3. The common feature for many programs is very limited internationalisation and international co-
operation.

4. National standards - programs in Azerbaijan and Armenia are restricted by the system of national
(Azerbaijan, Armenian and Russian) standards for PA curricula. In particular, the Azerbaijan national
curricula do not follow international practice, neglecting many important courses see their
structure:

Public Administration Bachelor Degree Program State Standards Azerbaijan

According to the State Standard, approved by the Ministry of Education of the Azerbaijan Republic,
the bachelor degree on Public Administration will cover a 4-year study and students will have to
gather 240 ECTS to graduate. The program comprises three parts:

Humanities 30 ECTS
1. History of Azerbaijan 7
2. Azerbaijan Language 5
3. Foreign Language 12
4. Elective courses 6

10 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 Major 180 ECTS
1. Theories of Management 5
2. Microeconomics 7
3. Macroeconomics 6
4. Linear Algebra and Mathematical Analysis 7
5. Statistical analysis 5
6. Econometrics 7
7. World Economy 5
8. Azerbaijan Economy 5
9. Accounting 5
10. Audit 5
11. Finance 5
12. Banking 5
13. Marketing 5
14. Human Resource Management 5
15. Information Technology Applications 5
16. Information Communication Technologies 5
17. Business Communication 3
18. Environmental Economy 5
19. Regulations of Economy 5
20. Civil Service 5
21. Law 5
22. Public Relations 4
23. Municipal Management 5
24. Public Administration Theory 5
25. Ethics of Civil Service 5
26. Civil Defense 3
27. Electives 34

Practicum and Final Assessment - 30 ECTS

According to expert knowledge, Russian standards are the best because they provide a certain
freedom for adapting the curricula to the graduates profile. This type of freedom should be utilised
more.

5. The course syllabi, in many cases, indicate many common problems for most of the existing
programs:
a. lack of local literature, even for the main courses (the use of classic US books is not the best
option for countries with a different environment),
b. the lists of required readings differ significantly for some courses only one book is
recommended, for others, too many,
c. the methods of examining differ significantly; in some cases oral examinations or even
multiple choice testing are the main forms, but for other programs a mix of forms is used,
d. the methods for calculating workload are not really clear,

11 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 e. some programs rely too much on external teachers (having visiting professors from practice
is highly recommended, but any good quality program should be based on the core unit of
full-time, program-based academics with the required profile).

PA programs in the Caucasus area summary of findings

The project also offered as a value add, a specific extra service to all PA programs in the Caucasus area an
evaluation, based on program requests and under the following conditions:
Articulated willingness to participate with, collect and provide the project team with necessary
information.
Existing personnel and technical capacities necessary to cooperate with evaluators.
The Evaluation was expected to have two forms:
(a) Pre-evaluation: For any program applying for the pre-evaluation, two Visegrad experts were selected as
evaluators and facilitators. Their main goal was to evaluate the basic features of the program according to
international benchmarks and provide recommendations for improvement (especially on the basis of the
Standards of Excellence in PA education and EAPAA standards).
(b) Comprehensive evaluation: For any program applying for the comprehensive evaluation, two Visegrad
experts and one Caucasus expert were selected as evaluators and facilitators. Their main goal was to
evaluate the program according to international benchmarks (following EAPAA procedures), but without a
site visit, if not requested and paid for by the relevant Caucasus university/program. The aim would be to
evaluate whether the program could apply for EAPAA accreditation and provide recommendations as to
how the program could reach international level.
As indicated by Caucasus project partners, 2 programs intended to obtain a comprehensive evaluation
from the project (the program offered by the School of Governance of the Caucasus University, and the
program offered by the School of Arts and Science of the University of Georgia); 3 programs showed their
willingness to be pre-evaluated (program offered by the School of Business, Economics and Management
of the University of Georgia; program of the School of Arts and Science of Ilia State University, and the
program of the Javakhishvilli University. Representatives of the remainder of the programs expressed their
willingness to receive pre-evaluation, but were unable to prepare the necessary information in English.
Due to issues related to the collection of input from the analysis, according to the agreed time plan of the
project, only pre-evaluations were carried out following EAPAA accreditation criteria in particular. We tried
to identify and evaluate the link between the mission, structure, content and the faculty of the program.
We also looked at the teaching methods and examinations in individual courses (if these were described in
the syllabi received). We also tried to judge the relationship between the programs and practice.
During the early phase of analysis it was discovered that no program in the region could apply today for full
international (EAPAA, CIAPA) accreditation, so a comprehensive evaluation was not possible and all
interested programs received a pre-evaluation.

12 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

The following programs were pre-evaluated
1. Caucasus University Tbilisi, Georgia (BA and MA programs)
2. University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia (BA program)
3. Ilia University Tbilisi, Georgia (MA program)
4. Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia (MA program)
5. Russian-Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia (MA program)
6. European University, European Educational Regional Academy, Armenia (BA and MA program)
7. ADA University, Azerbaijan (MA program)
8. Quafqaz University, Azerbaijan (MA program).

In the following text we summarize the main findings of our analysis.

Mission statements

Mission statements are typically formulated in a very general way. Our impression, based on interviews
with some program managers, was that mission statements are considered foreign and an exogenously
expected formal exercise. A program description should have a mission statement, so there is one. In other
words: a mission statement does not have a real function. It does not serve as a summary of the
philosophy or the ultimate goal of the program.
Most importantly, mission statements are not based on a needs assessment: neither the needs of the
students are assessed1 nor the needs of the government, more specifically the public administration2,
Mission statements typically do not provide guidance on which image of the executive is reflected in the
program. Seemingly, in most cases, the divide between major approaches3 is not understood or considered
as relevant. In fact, as we will see later, an unconscious choice is made, as most programs reveal an
extreme management-type content.
It is clear that there is a certain trade-off between the two types of needs, i.e. the present market need
indicated by students applications and the real needs of government. Forming a curriculum that fits well
to the ideal of a civil servant may not at all make the program attractive for potential students, as most of
them cannot and/or do not want to find a position in public administration. Furthermore, the ideal of civil
servant is quite vague in these countries as the government has not yet formed one.

Curriculum

The most striking fact is that in most cases, the curricula of the PA programs were not available to the
public, presumably not even for students applying for admittance. We were told this is kept confidential
1
In fact most universities, especially in Georgia, where there is large competition between very many programs, react to market
(future students) demand needs. They need to do so, as the tertiary education is run almost solely by market forces. Beginning
the relatively popular PA programs and putting together their curricula in a similar manner to a business management program
reflects this fact. This is, however, done intuitively, reacting to needs, instead of pro-acting based on a conscious understanding
of the situation.
2
We learned that the curricula hardly reflect the needs of public administration. Most importantly, it seems that someone who
successfully obtains a BA and/or an MA degree still needs to learn a lot to be able to pass the civil service entry exam. Such
exams exist in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also, government agencies prefer law students to PA students in most generalist
positions.
3
For the sake of simplicity, these images may be differentiated: (a) public administration, with more emphasis on law, and
constitutional arrangements (polity); (b) public management, with the emphasis on management skills; or (c) public policy with
more emphasis on research and analytic skills, handling complex and non-structured policy problems, etc.

13 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

by universities, as a kind of secret know-how. It is not clear if this stems from the culture (secrecy, lack of
trust, etc.) or hiding the weaknesses of the programs.
In Azerbaijan, Armenia (and Russia) there is a compulsory curriculum set up by the government for
bachelor PA programs that largely limits the individualization of the university curriculum.
As interviews revealed, the curriculum has been influenced more by supply than demand, i.e. what can
we teach and what kind of instructors do we have? and is crucial instead of what is needed. This is highly
understandable as, in a business arrangement, one may economize relying on available resources as long
as demand is not striking and due to the lack of a clear image of a PA program, such demand does not
exist.
Regarding available curricula, apparently there is no relatively stable and clear idea on what exactly should
be included in a PA curriculum. In certain programs, quite surprising courses (e.g. two pedagogy courses in
a 16-course curriculum) are included.
Quite typically, in all three countries, a large part of the curriculum, sometimes about half of all courses,
include economics-related topics and management also plays a major role. Another, relatively large part of
the curricula is devoted to management. However, most management courses have no reference to the
specificity of non-profit management, or more specifically, public management (typically only about 10-
30% of all courses). Reading the syllabi of these management courses we frequently find no reference to
public administration. It is quite evident in cases of human resources management (without reference to
civil service laws), IT (without reference to privacy rules, constraints on using personnel data; on state
secret rules and the opposite of transparency of public information), or financial management without
reference to budgeting. The Azeri obligatory curriculum has an HRM course and another on civil service
without any reference to one another.
At the same time, public-specific, and especially PA-specific courses are rare, sometimes only 10-20% of all
courses are devoted specifically to PA. The choice of these courses seems to be quite accidental. For
instance the Azeri obligatory curriculum contains only two such courses (outside the civil service),
Municipal Management and Public Administration Theory (sic!). However, we found similar arrangements
in other universities curricula, including both state and private universities.
The sporadic presence of government and/or PA-specific courses is so prevalent that sometimes it is not
clear after reading the curriculum and course syllabi how the students would learn about the most
basic issues of polity or constitutional framework of the country, such as the structure of government, the
major division of responsibilities between various parties (president, Cabinet, Ministers, agencies, local
agency units, municipalities), the administrative structure of the executive or basic procedural rules, etc.
Law, (public and/or administrative) was, in several cases, not included in the curriculum, whereas in other
cases a course was devoted to this topic. We found only one out of the nine curricula analysed in-depth
that had more classes devoted to law. This fact is in sharp contrast to the fact that in practice and, to some
degree also reflected in the civil service exam, law is considered as a major competency for civil servants.
In most countries law graduates usually take preference over PA graduates when filling vacant civil service
positions.
The dominant economic-management approach, as opposed to the public administration approach, may
be due to several factors and we are not able to gauge the importance of these. This could simply reflect
market needs, as students look for a diploma that may be useful in several fields and not one that ties
them strongly to government. Government employment may not be attractive, with its low salaries in
most cases, or they may not obtain employment in government. The present curricula leaves all fields
(public, NGO and business) of opportunities open for them.
Another explanation may be that this is an impact of the Anglo-American approach, reinforced by
transition, the NPM and the foreign typically US financed advice, largely promoting the idea that public
and private management are fundamentally alike. Indeed, in a few cases, PA programs were elaborated

14 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

by the intensive assistance, participation or rather lead of US universities (such as the New York University
for Ilia State University, Georgia.)
In other words, the typical composition of the curricula would most likely be considered too managerial
even in the most management-oriented US universities, and thus highly inadequate for the needs of the PA
system of the countries in the region.

Syllabi

In several cases, the basic issues are not addressed. The expected learning outcomes are rarely defined or
if they are (as per the accreditation rule in Georgia) the impression is, similar to that of mission statements,
that it is considered to be a foreign exercise requested for formal reasons. Very rarely does it serve as the
starting point at which the course is based. A relatively detailed description of topics/issues, discussed and
processed, typically on a weekly basis, is part, perhaps even the central part of most curricula. Readings
are also indicated, though this seems to be somewhat unrealistic in some cases. The way students are
evaluated is frequently missing, as we learned, because the written exam is almost solely applied. It seems
it is a legal requirement in some countries.

Training material

The major problem in all three countries was that there are no endogenous course books on practically any
of the necessary major fields in PA education. There is no book presenting the constitutional-structural
arrangement in the country to be used as a course book, not one theory of public administration, or public
finance, etc. We learned that currently, attempts are being made to formulate such books in Georgia.
Instead, in several cases, US-based books are used, most of all in the field of public administration (as a
general, introductory course book) and several other fields. These books may be quite difficult and
expensive to obtain. Furthermore, they may be very difficult for students to read (generally and especially
at BA level). If there are 3-4 courses in a semester, reading one such book (and nothing else) still means
that students have to read, understand and process well over 50 pages per week in a foreign language
(written with different letters), and learning and understanding terminology (which they may not be aware
of in their native language), etc. This requires an enormous effort, which the average student will find
difficult to make. This, in turn, raises questions about the reliability of course requirements.
Most importantly, however, the validity of these US books to the post-socialist countries reality, in fact,
even to European reality, is highly questionable. In several cases they could even be seriously misleading,
especially if they are not contrasted with the countrys reality.

Faculty

As we learned at least in the case of private universities most of the instructors (from professors to
assistant professors) are part-time employees of the universities. They work in various positions, in some
cases for the government, but frequently in other jobs. For this reason they may not feel so strongly linked
to the university and their evaluation in their main job is most likely based on other than academic
achievements.

Qualification

In only three cases have we received information on the professional composition and qualities of the
faculty (i.e. CVs of faculty members). In these cases, which are presumably amongst the better ones, we
found the following major characteristics:

15 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

In several cases we could not identify at all the level of degree instructors hold.4 In most cases and at most
universities, instructors responsible for a given course do not hold a PhD. This is partly due to the fact that
PA programs have existed for less than two decades and PhD programs in this field for an even shorter
period.5
In fact, a PhD requirement is a somewhat alien and irrelevant condition as education at the MA level in a
foreign university (which some instructors hold, especially in Azerbaijan) may require more effort and
indicate more achievements than a local PhD.

Academic achievements

Research activity is rarely indicated in CVs. Publications and other indicators of academic achievements are
not included in the overwhelming majority of CVs. There was only one CV out of approximately one
hundred which provided basic information in this regard. We could not identify anyone with an acceptable
record of publications in a foreign language or references. Actually, there were less than half a dozen
mentioning a publication in English, typically from some sort of conference proceedings. We could not
identify any publication in a double blind peer-reviewed journal, let alone a periodical with an impact
factor. However, in several cases, the instructors allegedly have never published any scholarly paper during
their university career. The reason is partly due to the fact that universities have not traditionally been
responsible for research (it is thus not in the organizational culture) and also because several instructors
are only part-time personnel and their reference group may be that of another position and not at all from
academia.

Other characteristics

Certain universities have instructors who have strong practical experience. Some of them previously
worked in high level government positions, whilst others currently work elsewhere (as we indicated
above). At a few universities, instructors have intensive foreign experience (both practical and academic).
This could be a good basis for practice-oriented education, which is greatly reduced by the given culture
and belief about the role of a university.
In the case of some universities, a number of courses and the literature used indicate that programs, to a
large extent, follow a socialist style of education (they concentrate on theory and knowledge, rather than
skills etc.).
Also, a relationship between BA and MA level is not clear for most universities. The MA programs may
repeat BA courses etc.
We will go back to some of the issues outlined in the document Recommendations in more detail.

Conclusions

Unfortunately, all existing programs in the Caucasus region need to be developed before becoming eligible
for standard international accreditation. As clearly shown by our analysis, the core issue is qualitative staff
development. This issue can be addressed only via internationalisation and NISPAcee is ready to support
all programs willing to progress (NISPAcee conferences, PhD courses and possible scholarships organised
via member institutions, publishing houses and Journals are already existing important options).

4
It is our understanding that this is because it is difficult to translate previous Soviet degrees to current English degrees. We
believe that the previous College (or Technicum) type degrees with a 3-4 year learning period are identical to a BA. University
degrees require typically 5 or even 6 years to MA, and Kandidate Nauk goes to PhD degree.
5
For instance, in Georgia, there is only one university that can issue a PhD in PA.

16 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

As indicated in the introductory section, this document is supplemented by Report 2 on
Recommendations.

17 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

Table 1 - Availability on data on PA programs in the Caucasus area - summary
COUNTRY UNIVERSITY PA AVAILABLE DATA
PROGRAM
WWW Basic Mission Graduate Program Syllabi Staff What
informati profile structure evaluation
on they want?
ARMENIA 1. Russian- Master of http://www.rau.am/eng Master; Only Partial 10 Core + Yes (learning CVs, but Comprehensi
Armenian Arts in Armenian, partly informati 11 Elective outcomes, very ve
University Managemen Russian (aims). on Courses, structure, limited
(RAU) t, program and (abilities number of literature, informati
Public European + skills). ECTS. NO INFO ON on on
Administrati Level. EXAMINATIO research
on N) outputs
2. European Public http://www.eriicta.am/ BA Only Study plan, No (only a Only one Comprehensi
University in Administrati partial 18 core and few). CV. ve
Armenia on (aims 16 elective,
Specializatio and number of
n of the objective ECTS.
program s,
Bachelor of learning
Arts in outcome
Managemen s).
t
Public http://www.eriicta.am/ MA Only Study plan, No (only a Only one Comprehensi
Administrati partial 2 core few). CV ve
on (aims courses, 18
Specializatio and elective,
n of the objective number of
program s, ECTS.
Bachelor of learning
Arts in outcome.
Managemen
t
3. Public Public www.paara.am MA No. No. No. Yes. No. Comprehensi
Administrati administrati ve
on Academy on
of the
Republic of
Armenia
4. Armenian Public http://www.asue.am/ru BA No interest.
State administrati They have

18 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 University of on their own
Economics international
contacts
with
American
and
European
universities.
MA
COUNTRY UNIVERSITY PA WWW Basic Mission Graduate Program Syllabi Staff What
PROGRAM informati profile structure evaluation
on do they
want?
AZERBAIJ 1. MA www.aseu.az/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=
AN Azerbaijan 301:sosial-sferan%C4%B1n-iqtisadiyyat%C4%B1-
State v%C9%99-idar%C9%99-
Economic
olunmas%C4%B1&Itemid=167&lang=en
University
2. The BA, MA http://www.dia.edu.az/ELDAR.php
Academy of
Public
Administrati
on under
the
President of
the Republic
of
Azerbaijan
3. Naxchivan BA, MA http://ndu.edu.az/en/content/185/
State
University

4. Qafqaz BA, MA http://pa.qu.edu.az Only a list

University of courses
without
any info on
core/electi
ve.
5. Khazar

19 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 University
6. ADA Master of http://www.ada.edu.az/en-US/Pages/mpp_curriculum.aspx MA Only Not 15 Core + 8 No, only one Not
University Public Policy general available Elective. paragraph of available
at ADA aims on on the basic on the
University the website. information website.
website. on courses
available on
the website.
7. Baku BA, MA http://bbu.edu.az/az/about/32
Business
University
COUNTRY UNIVERSITY PA WWW Basic Mission Graduate Program Syllabi Staff What
PROGRAM informati profile structure evaluation
on they want?
GEORGIA 1. Caucasus MA in Public www.cu.edu.ge MA Only No. Only list of Yes, CVs, Comprehensi
School of Administrati partly courses. partially. Partially. ve
Governance on (aims)
BA in Public BA Only No. Only list of Yes, CVs, Comprehensi
Administrati partly courses. partially. Partially. ve
on (aims)
2. University BA in Public www.ug.edu.ge BA Yes. No. Only list of Yes, CVs, Pre-
of Georgia, Administrati courses. partially. Partially. evaluation
School of on
Business,
Economics MA in Public MA Only No. Only list of Yes, CVs, No, being
Administrati partly. courses. partially. Partially. revised.
and
on
Managemen
t
3. Ilia State MA Public http://www.iliauni.edu.ge/ MA Only No. Only list of Yes, CVs, Pre-
University, Administrati partly. courses. Partially. evaluation
School of on
Arts and
Science
4. MA in Public www.tsu.edu.ge MA Only list of Pre-
Javakhishvili Administrati courses. Evaluation
State on and
University Public Policy
5. BA in Public www.ibsu.edu.ge BA
Internationa Administrati

20 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 l Black Sea on
University
(IBSU)
6. Grigol BA in Public www.gruni.edu.ge BA Only Only core Not
Robakidze Administrati partly courses interested.
University, on and (aims) and their
School of Politics list.
Public
Administrati
on and
Politics
7. Georgian MA in Public www.gipa.ge Only Not
Institute of Administrati partly interested.
Public on (aims)
Affairs
(GIPA),
School of
Government
8. BA in Public www.astu.edu.ge Only Only list of Interest, but
Samtskhe- Administrati partly courses. no EN
Javakheti on (aims) information.
State
University,
Faculty of
Law
9. Tbeli BA in Public www.tbeli.ge BA Only Only list of Interest, but
University, Administrati partly courses. no EN
Faculty of on (aims) information.
Social
Sciences
10. Akaki BA in Public www.atsu.edu.ge BA Only Only list of Interest, but
Tsereteli Administrati partly courses. no EN
State on (aims) information.
University,
MA in Public MA Only Only list of Interest, but
Administrati partly courses. no EN
on (aims) information.
11. Iakob BA in Public www.tesau.edu.ge BA Only Only list of Interest, but
Gogebashvili Administrati partly courses. no EN
Telavi State on (aims) information.
University,

21 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries

 Faculty of
Social
Science
12. BA in Public http://www.gtu.ge BA Only Only core Interest, but
Georgian Administrati partly courses no EN
Technical on (aims) and their information.
University list.
MA in Public MA Only Only core Interest, but
Administrati partly courses no EN
on (aims) and their information.
list.

22 Analysis of Public Administration programs in Caucasus countries