Mar 29, 2024  
2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Healthcare Leadership and Administration


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Shellie Nelson
363 Maxwell Hall
Phone: 507.457.5214
Email: SNelson@winona.edu

Healthcare Leadership & Administration

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Healthcare Leadership and Administration (HLA) is a cooperative interdisciplinary online completion degree venture between Winona State University and Bemidji State University. The purpose of this degree is to meet the growing demand for competent and innovative leaders in the field of allied health and to deliver the program in a way that effectively serves adult learners and working professionals.

The Healthcare Leadership and Administration degree will build upon a foundation of technical and applied knowledge and skills acquired through education, training, and employment experience across a wide range of medical specialties. It will enable the student to develop and apply a comprehensive set of professional leadership and managerial competencies that complement and enhance the technical skills acquired through an associate degree program and relevant work experience.

Leadership competencies will include but will not be limited to developing communication skills, relationship abilities, team building, organizational vision and trust, character, cultural competency, mentoring and coaching abilities. Administrative competencies will include but will not be limited to organizational management and effectiveness, human resource management, financial management, organizational planning and performance, legal and ethical issues in health care, quality assurance and improvement, and information management.

The HLA degree will offer a program of study that aligns with the Healthcare Leadership Alliance, a consortium of the nation’s premier professional healthcare administration associations, serving over 140,000 members.  It will be designed to strengthen leadership knowledge and competencies related to the healthcare field.  It will be delivered through online coursework that meets national standards for excellence in distance education, and it will offer students unique experiential learning opportunities through mentoring and capstone experiences.

Students pursuing this degree will have an opportunity to enrich their professional knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the rapidly-growing field of healthcare leadership.

Coursework will be focused in five major areas:

Knowledge Domain I: Communication and Relationship Management

Enhance communication skills and the ability of students to positively influence others through understanding human behavior. Enable individuals at the various occupational levels to build rapport and relationships among colleagues, stakeholders, and customers. Develop skills in the areas of workplace communications, negotiation, conflict resolution, and facilitating effective teamwork.

Knowledge Domain II: Leadership

Gain a deeper and practical understanding of the organizational, political, social, economic, technological, and ethical issues affecting healthcare organizations. Enhance core competencies to lead in times of significant change. Learn effective ways of communicating with others in management and leadership roles both inside and outside the healthcare system.

Knowledge Domain III: Professionalism

Seek awareness of the conduct, aims, and qualities defining a given profession, familiarity with professional codes of ethics, and understanding of ethical schools of thought, patient professional interaction models, and patient rights. Specifically, students will also understand how the legal system in the U.S. operates and how the fundamental principles of law are applied to either the public health or health services sectors. Lastly, students will gain an appreciation for legal, ethical, and policy issues pertaining to their professional careers.

Knowledge Domain IV: Knowledge of Healthcare Environment

Students will understand and be able to analyze effectively the management and/or policy implications of the major issues related to the organization of the healthcare system (of the U.S. and other nations): social values; assessment and regulation of healthcare system; analysis of need, access and use of services; current supply and distribution of health resources; current healthcare costs and expenditures and reasons for their rapid increase; private and public financing of health services; quality of care assessment; control of quality and costs of care through market-oriented strategies, professional self-regulation, managerial approaches, and government regulations; and health system reform issues.

Knowledge Domain V: Business Skills and Knowledge

Refine and sharpen a number of management-related skills, including performance of managerial and financial accounting practices. Additionally, identify and analyze appropriate management frameworks for solving specific organizational problems and strategically analyze the organizational environment.

Who should pursue this degree?

The term allied health is used to identify a cluster of health professions and covers as many as 200 occupational titles, exclusive of physicians, nurses, and a handful of other professionals. Graduates of associate level in the Allied Health Sciences as well as practitioners who work with physicians and members of the health care team to deliver high-quality patient care services will be the primary candidates for the Bachelor of Applied Science degree program. Allied healthcare jobs include a variety of technologists and technicians, medical/surgical/dental assistants, radiographers, and therapists. In addition to hospitals and long-term care facilities, graduates with a Healthcare Leadership and Administration degree are employed by insurance and pharmaceutical companies or in government positions that focus on public health and policy issues.

Healthcare Leadership and Administration (HLA): Program Requirements for Online Major

Admission to the Baccalaureate Healthcare Leadership and Administration (HLA) Program
Admission Requirements
  • The HLA program is designed as an online completion degree. Therefore, the applicant must possess an associate (AAS, AS, or AA) or higher post-secondary degree from a regionally accredited college prior to admittance to the program.
  • The applicant must demonstrate that he or she has earned 60 or more credits (junior/senior standing) at the time of application, or will do so prior to the start of HLA major coursework.
  • The applicant must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the time of application.
  • The applicant must demonstrate completion of the Winona State General Education Program (GEP) Goal 1: Communication requirements. See the General Education Program section of the WSU Undergraduate Catalog. (http://catalog.winona.edu) for details. Please note that completion of this requirement may be achieved through transfer coursework and that the GEP requirements are waived for those who have earned an AA degree.
  • Students must meet application requirements outlined in the WSU Undergraduate Catalog.
Additional Admission Considerations
  • Applicants who meet all HLA program requirements and possess professional experience, paid or unpaid, in a healthcare-related field will receive priority in the admission process.
  • Students will have the option of taking a practicum course as a HLA elective. Students taking this practicum experience course will be required to submit additional requirements as stipulated by the internship location. These requirements typically include proof of health including vaccine records and/or immunity, and a criminal background check. If you have concerns regarding these practicum requirements, please make an appointment to discuss them with the HLA program director/chair. Additional degree requirements beyond HLA coursework will need to be completed for graduation.
  • Students are expected to have the computer hardware and skills necessary for successful participation in online courses. Specific requirements and learning modules will be available on the HLA website. Students will sign a technology understanding/agreement to assure complete understanding of technology requirements.
Admission Process

All applicants must complete the WSU Admissions process before applying to the online HLA major. For details on this process and requirements, refer to the WSU Undergraduate Catalog under the topic of Admissions . Specific instructions are detailed for transfer students under Admissions/Transfer Student Admission. Special admission status can also be granted to applicants who meet criteria for Adult Entry. Refer to the WSU catalog under Admissions/Special Admissions Categories/Adult Entry Students for requirements. Additional resources for adult students are available.

After receiving the Official Evaluation of Credit from the Office of Admissions, applicants should do the following:

  1. Contact the HLA Program Director in the semester preceding enrollment for application materials, deadline dates, and general information. Students benefit from individual academic advising prior to applying to the HLA Program to ensure that all requirements are fulfilled.
  2. Apply for admission to the HLA major. Applicants are admitted to a HLA student cohort yearly for the upcoming academic year.
  3. Students who have successfully completed a one- or two-year program at a technical or community college with a GPA of 2.0 or higher may apply for a transfer of additional technical credits. Students’ transcripts will be evaluated by the HLA Program Director who may grant up to 30 semester hours of technical credit for HLA Majors only.
Standards and Retention within the HLA Major

To satisfy the academic standards of the HLA major, students must:

  • Adhere to all WSU student policies including the Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Conduct Code. Refer to the following resources for more details:
  • Follow appropriate online etiquette: Taking an online course and corresponding via the World Wide Web presents communicators with the task of overcoming the lack of non-verbal communications. When taking a course online, it is important to remember several points of etiquette that will facilitate communication between the students and their instructors. Please be respectful and courteous at all times in written or direct communications with your instructor and fellow classmates. Behave as politely as you would in a regular classroom. Language that might come across as offensive, inappropriate or strong will not be tolerated in discussion posts, emails or any communication among all members of the course. For more specific rules on etiquette consult your course materials.
  • Achieve a grade of “C” or above in each required HLA course. Students are allowed to take an individual HLA course no more than twice. Students who are unable to successfully complete a HLA course with a “C” or better after two attempts will not be allowed to continue the HLA program.
  • Take all major courses for a letter grade.
Graduate Requirements

A total of 120 semester credits are needed to graduate with a baccalaureate degree from Winona State University. Graduation requirements include completion of WSU GEP requirements as well as all HLA major course requirements. Technical credits that have been approved in articulation and/or transfer may apply to the necessary 120 credits total.

At least 40 of the required 120 credits must be upper division (300- and 400-level). Also, at least 30 of the 120 credits needed for graduation must be earned at WSU during a student’s junior and senior year. The coursework making up the HLA Interdisciplinary Core includes 36 total credits (32 at the upper division level) through WSU. An additional 12 credits of upper division coursework must be completed through the HLA electives at the 300 and 400 level. These additional 12 credits of upper division coursework are currently available from Bemidji State University or may be attained at WSU. See program director for current electives and coursework transferability.

In order to qualify for graduation, HLA students must additionally:

  • Demonstrate a 2.5 GPA in HLA major coursework
  • Achieve a “C” or above in all courses that count toward the HLA major


For a checklist of WSU’s graduation requirements, see the Academic Policies & University Requirements  section of WSU Online Undergraduate Catalog.

 

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