ATHENS, Ohio -- After a successful first year, Ohio University is accepting applications for a new class of its Executive Master of Public Administration. There will be four information sessions for the Executive MPA, which begins in the fall.

The first session will take place Tuesday, April 22, at Ohio University's Voinovich Center in Athens. A second session is scheduled at Ohio University-Chillicothe Thursday, April 24. The third session will be at Ohio University-Lancaster May 7 and a fourth session May 15 at Ohio University's Pickerington Center. All information sessions begin at 7 p.m.

The innovative Executive MPA degree program uses the Internet to meet an increasing regional demand for graduate education in public management. Its target audience is public and non-profit managers who are unable to participate in the traditional MPA program at Ohio University.

The Executive MPA combines Web-based learning with intensive face-to-face meetings at Ohio University's campus in Athens. Half of the coursework will be online. The remaining half is completed at monthly weekend residencies at Ohio University's Voinovich Center. The 70-hour program will take about two years to complete.

The Ohio Executive MPA was launched last fall as a collaborative enterprise between the Political Science Department, the Voinovich Center and Ohio University Without Boundaries.