Stakeholder Engagement in Curricular Design: Addressing Current and Emergent Community Needs

Abstract

As part of a curricular needs assessment for a nonprofit concentration within a Master of Public Administration program, this research compares the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) curricular guidelines with stakeholder perceptions of current and emerging knowledge required for success in the nonprofit workforce. Although respondents’ top-ranked NACC domains indicate a strong preference for operations-based education, which is consistent with prior research, there is an additional preference for skills that allow nonprofit leaders to function strategically and competitively in the greater nonprofit landscape. Of the ranked NACC domains, leadership and fund development were consistently prioritized as current and emerging areas of knowledge; however, respondents placed an additional emphasis on information technology and marketing and communication as future skill needs. Finally, this research provides the faculty of a nonprofit concentration necessary information to retool, and perhaps redevelop, some of the nonprofit curriculum to meet stakeholder needs and educational standards.