Abstract
It is unknown if the Executive Fellowship Program is effective in bringing interested and qualified individuals into a career in public service; to date a study examining this has not been completed. This thesis set out to answer three questions: 1) What portion of Executive Fellows continues in public service upon completion of the fellowship program; 2) Do fellows feel better prepared for public service upon completion of the fellowship program; and 3) Does the Executive Fellowship Program contain the core components of experiential learning programs? To complete this thesis I distributed a survey to 220 fellowship alumni for whom the Center for California Studies (the Center) at CSU Sacramento had active e-mail addresses. I developed the survey after completing a literature review on experiential learning programs and examining the goals of the Executive Fellowship Program and of the Center. Center staff distributed the survey on March 11, 2009. Based on my survey findings, I concluded that the Executive Fellowship Program is effective in introducing alumni into a career in public service. Upon completion of the Program 69 percent of alumni continue to work in public service; today 53 percent continue to work in public service. Furthermore, 97 percent of alumni reported that the program either furthered their desire to work in public service or that their desire to work in public service remained the same. Yet, I also found some interesting differences in views among former fellows that are worthy of further study. Finally, I considered implications of the survey for recruitment into the state civil service.