New Mexico’s Certified Public Manager® Program

By Terry Canup, M.A
Program Coordinator for the Cooperative Extension Service

In the fall of 2007, a training program for county officials and employees in New Mexico was in its third year. The joint program of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Cooperative Extension Service and the New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC), called County College, offered a Certified Public Official designation requiring completion of 18 three-hour classes. The new coordinator for the program with the Cooperative Extension Service, Terry Canup, thought the program would benefit from more structure, more depth, and stronger academic leadership ensuring specific competencies.

He contacted the NMSU Master of Public Administration Director in the Department of Government, Diane Prindeville, who had previously been approached by the NCPMC about the CPM program. Dr. Prindeville was enthused about reaching out to practicing professionals in New Mexico and signed on to be academic director of the County College program. She contacted CPM colleagues across the country and developed a 65-class CPM curriculum in conjunction with County College colleague Mary DeLorenzo and an NMAC curriculum committee.

The NMSU Cooperative Extension Service has provided the lion’s share of operational support for County College by applying the salary support for a coordinator. Generated revenues support operations and salary support for other personnel. The Cooperative Extension Service is motivated by its outreach mission and by its special relationship with county government, which provides matching support for Cooperative Extension Service agents in each county in New Mexico. The NMSU Department of Government secured $16,000 in scholarships to encourage involvement of students in the CPM program. The NMAC provides meeting space support and reaches members through its channels. Affiliates of the NMAC provide audiences, collect fees, and also help locate free meeting space in various venues. It all adds up to a successful, young program.

Working with specific affiliate groups is vital for building the program. For instance, County Assessors, Clerks, and Treasurers all work very closely with County College to arrange classes during their conference time, to co-locate their meetings with County College Weeks, and to develop specialized curricula, which incorporate CPM-curriculum classes, for their groups. We also celebrate achievement of certification with home town news releases and photos.

During the past two years, the program providers have concentrated on getting traction within County College for the CPM by building on the County College’s existing structures and practices, while fully recognizing that the CPM program should be extended to all public sectors in the state including municipal, state, federal, and tribal employees.

In April 2008, the CPM program was presented to and adopted by the NMAC Board, including a Certified Public Official (CPO) designation, a Certified Public Supervisor (CPS) designation, and a Certified Public Manager® (CPM) designation. The CPO continues to require 18 three-hour classes, including 12 CPM-curriculum classes. The CPS requires 28 three-hour CPM-curriculum classes, plus a capstone application session. The CPM requires another 28 CPM-curriculum classes (for a total of 56) plus a supervised project. The CPO and CPS were designed to be New Mexico service marks of NMSU.

In January and June, classes are delivered at the two major NMAC meetings. These include a day devoted to County College and affiliate meetings. Classes are offered at two County College Weeks where affiliate groups also often gather for their spring and fall meetings. In addition, classes are offered  other selected events. Students register on-line for these events and pay according to the number of event classes for which they register. These events have taken place in Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and Hobbs in the past year. Events for Socorro and Albuquerque are planned within the next six months.

Both university academicians and practicing professionals are called upon to teach in the program under guidelines from the academic director. Class protocols, pre-tests, post-tests, and teacher evaluations are required in each class.

Using all these strategies, approximately 250 students have taken CPM classes in the past year and have  progressed toward the CPM designation. The next step for the program is to work beyond County College to develop “local cohort” programs through municipalities. Preliminary discussions indicate a desire for bi-weekly classes that would move municipal employees through the program to achieve a CPM in about two years. By coordinating with County College, municipal and county employees will be able to take advantage of each others’ programs to fill in missed classes.

The structure provided by the CPM program has fanned enthusiasm for continuing education within the County College structure. Student participation in County College events is at an all-time high, with approximately 200 participating in our last event in June. NMSU was invited to share information on County College and the CPM program at the National Association of Counties Western Interstate Regional meeting in Oregon in May. As students progress through the program, we will work to develop strong cohorts working together toward their CPM certification.

National Consortium website: www.txstate.edu/cpmconsortium

© Copyright 2009, American Academy of Certified Public Managers®