Program Mission & Objectives • Program Goals for Graduates • Course Delivery
About the Program
The College of Nursing and Health Professions offers a Master of Health Administration (MHA) advanced degree online with selected on-campus weekend meetings. Students can complete the program in seven semesters over a two-and-a-half year period.
The Master of Health Administration Program intends to seek voluntary accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). The Commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the accrediting agency for master's level health administration programs in the the United States and Canada. Since the Commission's review process is rigorous and selective, successful accreditation will assure that our Program's standards are comparable to the best in the country.
The MHA Program prepares students for a wide variety of leadership positions in the fast-growing public and private health care sectors, including careers as executive and middle-level managers, planners, policy analysts, and consultants. Typical health care opportunities include positions in hospitals, long term care facilities, physician practices, health insurance, pharmaceutical companies, consulting firms, government, and local or regional public health agencies.
Program Mission & Objectives
The mission of the Master of Health Administration Program at the University of Southern Indiana is to educate students for leadership roles in health care for the 21st century. The Program aspires to produce leaders who use community and research data for evidenced-based decision making and are change hardy. They balance high levels of integrity with the concern for organizational success.
The Program uses the open learning model of internet delivery to provide the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for the assumption of these roles. Application of theory to the practice of health care administration is a key element in the Program’s course offerings. Because of this delivery model, graduates of this Program will contribute to the provision of high quality, cost-effective, and accessible health care.
To support this mission, the following Program goals were generated.
- The Program will place curriculum emphasis on the student’s acquisition of the necessary knowledge and skills for contemporary health care administration. The servant leader model will be used as the foundation for promoting the ethics and values that are essential for addressing the unique problems and humanistic goals of health care.
- Creative program and course design will be emphasized, balancing a desire for maximum immersion in the Program’s offerings while recognizing the unique needs of the adult learner. Curriculum development will be sensitive to the rapidly changing healthcare environment.
- Research into aspects of health care administration will be supported and encouraged among program faculty and students.
- The Program will seek to appropriately collaborate with other programs in the university to further student learning outcomes and improve health care delivery.
- Faculty and students will provide consultation and other services to the healthcare community as appropriate.
Program Goals for Graduates
Graduates of the MHA Program should be able to:
- Integrate planning and marketing principles into program administration to achieve optimum organizational performance.
- Provide sound financial management of health organizations under alternative financing mechanisms.
- Effectively manage healthcare personnel in diverse healthcare settings.
- Collect, analyze, and apply both business and health information for evidenced-based decision making.
- Conduct statistical, quantitative, qualitative, and economic analysis to assist in decision making.
- Analyze legal and ethical issues and take appropriate action.
- Integrate knowledge of organizational and governmental policy formulation into their decision making.
- Adapt to change effectively.
- Analyze and apply epidemiological principles to assess the health status of populations.
- Integrate the determinants of health and illness, and health risks of diverse populations into evidenced-based decision making.
- Analyze the effectiveness of the health care delivery system.
- Employ systems thinking as a mechanism to assist others to manage across organizational boundaries.
- Evaluate and appropriately apply business and health outcomes measures, and measures for process improvement.
- Display the servant leader model in their leadership style.
- Demonstrate skills in synthesis of information, oral and written communication, team leadership and mentoring.
Course Delivery
While the Master of Health Administration Program's excellence rests
upon the rigor and depth of its course offerings, the faculty also acknowledges
that today's world places many other demands on students. Therefore, in
addition to the part-time nature of the Program, course delivery itself
has been designed to be as convenient as possible.
All courses in the MHA Program are offered using the Internet as the primary
teaching mechanism. In addition to assigned texts, research readings,
and other materials, MHA students will also have access to USI's extensive
library resources. Online access to Rice Library's catalog, and to full
text versions of many refereed and popular health care journal articles,
are all available to registered students in the Program.
Every attempt has been made to minimize student travel and on-campus classroom responsibilities. However, just as important for the student's education in health administration is learning to appreciate the impact of group dynamics on the effectiveness of teams, demonstrating peer leadership abilities and developing effective communication and analytical skills. As a result, attendance at several weekend seminars - Friday evening and all day Saturday - will be required at various times during the student's matriculation at USI.
Leading health care executives in the area will join faculty and students in a collaborative learning environment. Friday evening will include a short presentation by the invited executive(s), followed by questions/answers and informal networking. The learning format for the Saturday sessions will include case studies, group problem solving, and role-playing exercises. Students will be asked to apply the knowledge they have gained through their assigned readings by making presentations that will demonstrate accomplishment of the assigned learning objectives.
Additional Information and Application Materials
Dr. Kevin Valadares
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712
Phone: (812) 461-5277
Email Address: kvaladar@usi.edu
Fax: 812-465-7092
Internet HomePage: http//health.usi.edu
The University is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, creed, handicap, or ethnic background at any time in its education programs, activities, admission or employment policies