Proposal for a New Certificate Program

Health Care Administration Certificate Program

1. A statement of the educational objectives of the program;

· The goal of the certificate program is to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for employment and success in health care administration. The program is designed for health care workers who hold non-administrative degrees and for administrative degree holders who have no health care experience and may wish to seek employment in health care. For each group the objective is to expand upon the student’s current skills to make them more capable and successful health care workers. In the case of current health care workers who have health care related degrees exposure to certificate courses should increase their skill set and position them for advancement into or within management. For students with administrative related undergraduate degrees (Business or Public Administration) the certificate courses will expose the student to the uniqueness of the health care field and demonstrate how differences in organizational structure, reimbursement systems, third party payment, and legal and regulatory constraints impact the operation, management, and financing of health care organizations.

2. A statement of the admission standards for the certificate program and a statement of the academic retention standards for the successful completion of the program.

The certificate program is open to any student with an earned baccalaureate degree and an interest in pursuing a professional career track in health care administration. Students must complete courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to be awarded the certificate in health care administration.

3. A statement of the proposed course sequence associated with the certificate, including titles and course descriptions both for existing courses and any new courses that may be developed;

The certificate will require completion of 15 s.h. of graduate credit hours from the courses listed below or another advisor approved course. Students who have not previously completed a graduate health care systems course must complete COHE 6000 before taking any other course. COHE 6300, Health Law, COHE 6600, Management of Health Care Organizations, and COHE 6610, Financial Management of Health Care Organizations are prerequisites for COHE 6620, Health Care Strategic Planning and Management. Students who have already taken the equivalent of COHE 6000, are advised to take HIMA 5060.

Existing Courses Schedule

COHE 6000, Health Care Systems and Problems Fall, Spring, Summer

COHE 6300, Health Law Summer

COHE 6600, Management of Health Care Organizations Fall

COHE 6610, Financial Management of Health Care Organizations Fall

COHE 6620, Health Care Strategic Planning and Management Spring

HIMA 5060, Health Informatics Summer

4. A statement of how the proposed course sequences associated with the certificate will meet the stated educational objectives;

The certificate courses contain the core curriculum of many graduate health care programs, that is they provide the student with an introduction to the health care system, explore the role of law, management, finance, and information technology in health care, and conclude with a course in strategic management. The COHE courses are currently included in the Business School’s MBA with Health Care Management Certificate.

5. A statement of the need for the proposed program and the basis for such a need, supported by either externally or internally derived data;

Currently the COHE courses are associated with the MPA/Community Health Administrative and MBA with Health Care Management Certificate programs. The courses were expanded to include distance education starting in January 2007 primarily due to feedback received at MBA orientation programs that indicated that there was substantial demand for on-line versions of the program. In fact, since introducing the on-line version of COHE 6000, the introductory course has grown from an average of 5 students per semester to 12. The graduate faculty in the department agree that additional students can be easily accommodated within the existing course schedule given the relatively small class size.

The Department of Health Services and Information Management has received many inquiries from prospective students who desire a certificate without committing to a Master degree. Therefore, the graduate faculty believe that there is a real audience for a graduate certificate in health care administration. Moreover, it is hoped that by establishing a free-standing degree program related to but independent of the two associated Master programs that more students will be encouraged to seek graduate education. We expect that some of the certificate seekers will ultimately decide to pursue further education given the ability to transfer credits from the certificate to their chosen master degree (although they will be alerted that there is no guarantee that the Masters program will admit them or fully transfer their credits should they be admitted). Eleven (11) requests for a certificate in Health Services Management have been received through the UNC Online website (portal) from June 26, 2007 through September 9, 2007. Based on this 75 day period we can expect approximately 54 in a full year.

6. The names of the faculty associated with or contributing to the certificate program, either by teaching one or more of the courses associated with the program or participating in the design of the course sequence. Adjunct faculty associated with the program should also include up-to-date curriculum vitae;

Xiaoming Zeng, Ph.D., M.D. HIMA 5060

Paul D. Bell, Ph.D. COHE 6000

Jack Karns, SJ.D. COHE 6300

Robert R. Kulesher, Ph.D. COHE 6600

Thomas K. Ross, Ph.D. COHE 6610, COHE 6620

7. The name and curriculum vita of the faculty member who will be designated as the coordinator of the program for purposes of communication with the Graduate School.

Thomas K. Ross, Ph.D.

Library, Allied Health and Nursing Building, 4340G

744.6175

8. If the proposed graduate certificate program contains no new courses, no new faculty, no additional costs, and maintains the admissions and academic standing requirements of a related degree program, the proposal will be given expedited review in the approval process.

9. The unit offering the certificate program must specify what professional license, if any, for which the certificate qualifies.

None

10. CIP code:51.0701