The First Stage for Cultivating Future Civil Servants: An Analysis of the Validity of the College Multiple Entrance Program
Chung-Pin Lee, Lung-Teng Hu, Chih-Wei Chen, Wan-Ling Huang (pdf file)
Abstract
Three key factors tend to determine the quality of civil servants: education, the civil service recruitment system, and in-service training. Most current studies on public human resource management neglect the influence of education; however, the applicant’s education prior to public employment is critically important because it builds the foundation for the entire civil service. Taiwan has adopted the College Multiple Entrance Program (CMEP) since 2002. The main purposes of the CMEP are to ensure that admitted students’ academic aptitudes and predispositions better fit the fundamental attributes of their chosen disciplines so that their college education can more effectively develop those students into professionals with the desired capacity and traits.
The present study asks the following question: which students better fit their chosen discipline’s desired attributes, the students admitted through school recommendations and applications or those admitted through traditional placement and registration channels? This study uses data from a 2017 survey of 186 freshmen who majored in public administration at National Taipei University or Tamkang University.
The results indicate that for at least one university, the students who were admitted through school recommendations or applications more strongly identified with their chosen discipline, preferred for working in the public sector, showed higher interest in participating in policy making, and were more engaged with voluntary services, though not civic participation. Accordingly, we argue that the CMEP contributes to the cultivation of future civil servants by matching suitable students to the field of public administration.
Keywords: cultivation of future civil servants, college multiple entrance program, public administration, person-major fit, public service motivation