However some said that the trip could have been more educational or questioned the necessity of taking such a trip at all. Many suggested that going to another developing country or changing the itinerary for the outing might have been more useful. Many also said the Fellows should have been asked what sort of trip they would have liked to take.

"The reason we don't consult the Fellows says Nancy S. Pyle associate director of the MPA program and director of the Mason Fellows program, is because they would never agree on one country. Depending on their own countries and backgrounds they would always want to go to a different choice.

We try to pick a country that is at an interesting stage of development one where none of the Masons are from. It also has to be politically stable be willing to welcome all the Mason Fellows and also give some financial assistance for the trip." Pyle says noting that travel time to countries must also be considered.

Yet for all the apparent problems Pyle eventually resolved, some Fellows say they were not adequately prepared for the journey. "It would have been far more helpful." Arthur Namu of Kenya says, "If we had prepared for the trip by having some curriculum modules or had some seminars to familiarize ourselves with Morocco more thoroughly. We would have had a better idea of what to look for."

"No matter what I do, someone will be unhappy," Pyle says. "It is difficult to please a group of 50." The itinerary for the trip, which many of the students found limiting, is planned with a broad scope of interests in mind. Pyle says, "Every year we try to strike a balance that reflects the interests of the group. This class is more geared towards federal issues rather than rural development, but it changes from class to class."

But some Mason Fellows question the need for a trip at all, especially to a developing country. "A more interesting trip would have been to Washington D.C." one of the Fellows argues. "It would have been more profitable to go to the World Bank, the I.M.F. or the Inter-American Development Bank, or the United Nations in New York."

Despite some reservations about the usefulness of the trip, most of the Fellows enjoyed seeing Morocco, learning of its culture and history. "Personally I don't think the point was to get something concrete," one Fellow said. "It really depended on the individual what could be learned. The problems that are faced in Morocco may not be the same ones in Indonesia or anywhere else. But we could appreciate their sites and programs."

The difficulties and complaints about the field trip reflect a larger scope of problems the Masons have noticed during the year, that of the larger issue of Harvard's role as an educator in the Third World and of what can be gained from the K-School attempting to teach a methodology for developing countries. The problems are discussed during the year, one Fellow says, but generally, "most people don't bother doing anything because they feel, 'it's not going to do anything. It's only a year.'"

The problems for MPAs range from course size to "a simple thing like not having enough coat hooks," Brian Hemshall of Hong Kong says. "The place is just too crowded Classes are far too large. If you get a chance to speak to a professor more than once in a class you're lucky."

However, most feel the method and quality of teaching is strong and appreciate the flexibility of the MPA program. Besides taking K-School courses, the Masons can arrange to study at MIT's Sloan School, Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy or any of the Harvard Graduate Schools as well as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Center for African Studies at Boston University Such flexibility is necessary, some say, because the K-School does not have many of the courses they had wanted to study. "The flexibility of the program allows you to tailor it to suit your needs," Evriviades of Cyprus says. "For example the Fletcher School does a better job with law and diplomacy because they have been doing it longer and developed an expertise."

In terms of curriculum, students find it easy to study whatever interest them. "You cannot possibly blame Harvard if the year does not turn out to be profitable," Harry Mapondo of Malawi says. "The beauty of the program is that it does not pin you down I did whatever I wanted." But many mention the need for a core requirement, so that some common background for each student will be established. "We have a shadow core." Assistant Professor of Public Policy Shantayanan Devarajan says, "We view certain analytical tools--economics, statistics, policy analysis and one other substantive area as material that they should know when they get out of here. It would be difficult to formulate one or two courses that everyone could take."

But generally Masons say they have learned more clearly how to think about certain development issues. "The knowledge itself is not as important as how you view the question at hand," Ban Ki Moon says. "We have been taught an analytical framework which the K-School is famous for and have benefitted from this method."

However some Masons say the structure of the program restricts the type of Third World officials who can learn some of the tools the K-School has to offer, because of the programs costs. "I learned, but at a cost," one Fellow says. "The benefit is there, but the cost is too expensive." The tuition for Mason Fellows is $28,000, approximately $6-10,000 higher than that of other MPAs. The cost covers a series of administrative charges, including special trips and outings for the Fellow's families, as well as the Moroccan trip and special interviews for admission. A majority of the Mason Fellows are sponsored by international organizations such as USAID, the Ford Foundation or the Fulbright Commission, and therefore do not necessarily pay their costs directly.

But some argue that the Fellows, who come from poorer countries than the American MPAs, should not have to pay such high costs. "The fees are not justified in the long run. Even though I'm sponsored by an international organization, the money I'm using at Harvard could go towards tuition for two students somewhere else, so my country is losing out," one Fellow complains. "It is also unfair that people from the developing world must be Mason Fellows to attend the K-School. We should have a choice whether we want to pay those extra costs. The treatment we get costs extra, and distinguishes us from the other MPAs, so we are not integrated into the program completely."

"There is no way Harvard can pay for the support services without having the costs included in the tuition," Pyle says. "The Program has no endowment, no money waiting in the Harvard coffers."