A survey of the 20 top-rated graduate programs in public affairs, conducted to determine how much attention is paid to e-government in their curriculums, is presented in this chapter.
Ninety-one e-government courses were found, but 32 of these were offered by one program. Disregarding this outlier, the average number of courses per program was 3.11; four programs had no courses. Half of the programs referred students to other schools for courses in information and computing technology; the author suspects such courses are not entirely appropriate. An examination of course syllabi indicated the most frequent subjects offered were “theory of e-government” and “e-government and organizational change.”
The authors begin with a discussion of the value of e-government, and of why it has not progressed further. The challenges to its implementation include the need for changes in organization and process, resistance to change, and the lack of information technology skills in public managers. This initial discussion could usefully be condensed, and the examination of syllabi expanded.