1. What Market Needs are Met by the Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program?
2. How old is the Program?
3. Who Should Apply to the MHA Program?
4. What is Required for Admission?
5. Who are the faculty?
6. How Many Courses Do I Have to Take?
7. What are Some Examples of Courses Taught in the Program?
8. How are Courses Delivered to the Student?
9. I'm Interested, but I Need More Information

What Market Needs are Met by the Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program?

The University of Southern Indiana (USI) developed the MHA Program to meet an expressed need in the health care field for enhanced analytical and decision-making skills among those who are aspiring to, or who already hold, leadership positions in health care facilities. While the initial service area is primarily regional, internet delivery of coursework will expand educational opportunities outside the Tri-State area in the future.

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How old is the Program?

We are new, and accepted our first class in the fall of 2001. While we are of course starting much later than many of the other established health management programs in the country, the USI Master of Health Administration Program has diligently tried to benefit from the experience of these fine institutions. At the same time, we also believe that the newness of our MHA Program has allowed us to take fresh approaches to learning where appropriate, and to apply innovative concepts to old traditions. We think the result of this mix is exciting and productive.

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Who Should Apply to the MHA Program?

Persons interested in the Program will hold a Bachelor's degree. Based on the practical orientation of the Program, the candidate should also have a couple of years' experience in health care, although this is not strictly required. The curriculum is delivered using the Internet and other distance education methods that should attract those who are seeking lifestyle convenience along with academic rigor.

Successful candidates will want to positively impact the efficient and effective delivery of health care and hone their existing leadership skills in preparation for relevant career opportunities. For students accepted to the MHA Program, service to others and performance excellence will have been prime lifetime motivators.

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What is Required for Admission?

In addition to a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, at a minimum, the entering student must have maintained at least a 3.0 ('B') average throughout their undergraduate career, and must take either the GRE or GMAT. The application requires that a detailed curriculum vitae, an essay, and three references from work and personal associates be provided.

Prior to entering the Program, each student should ideally possess familiarity with the fundamental principles of economics, statistics, and accounting. New students must also be familiar with the Internet and word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation software.

The Admissions Committee will consider all aspects of the prospective student's application, and no one factor will necessarily dominate the admission decision. Those applicants who demonstrate intelligence, self-confidence, self-motivation, ethical behavior and leadership promise will most likely be favored in the selection process.

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Who are the faculty?

Since management is an applied science, and intellectual curiosity and discipline are only useful educationally when applied to the challenges of managing in today's highly complex health care environment, the development of the MHA Program at USI has been driven from day one by a desire to mix high quality academic standards with practical, common sense decision-making. As such, current faculty members include those with strong academic credentials along with practical leadership experience.

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How Many Courses Do I Have to Take?

Each student must complete 39 semester hours, or 13 courses. Coursework is completed on a part-time basis. Courses are offered year-around to minimize the number of years needed to graduate. On average, students take two courses per semester. The last course in the sequence, HP 641: Health Care Administrative Residency, is considered a capstone experience, and is meant to give the student the opportunity to apply learning to the working world. The structure of this final experience is very flexible, depending upon student and preceptor needs.

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What Are Some Examples of Courses Taught in the Program?

Courses range from health care finance to operations research to health care law and ethics to marketing and strategic planning. Of course, the curriculum is already accredited by the same body that oversees all Midwestern universities. In addition, all coursework has been specifically designed to meet the stringent demands of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). CAHME accreditation is voluntary and accorded only to the better health management programs in the nation. Attaining CAHME accredited status is a high priority for the Program over the next few years.

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How are Courses Delivered to the Student?

Recognizing the many personal and employment obligations of today's more mature graduate students, the MHA Program presents much of its instruction on the Internet. Textbook and journal readings are also assigned.

A combination of delivery methods is used to facilitate student learning. These tools provide students and faculty with many options, and foster the development of creative communication techniques. The internet is the primary method for course delivery. It provides online instructor-prepared materials, class assignments, announcements and so on. As well, internet discussion boards, white boards, and chat areas, allow students to freely interact with faculty and other class members. Beginning in the Fall semester of 2002, Blackboard internet-based software will be used exclusively to integrate these teaching modalities for the convenience of MHA students and faculty.

Videostreaming, including narrated Powerpoint presentations, is utilized by faculty to provide the student with direct internet access to live and on-demand presentations. CDs are also provided as needed for archived presentational material. Finally, two-way video conferencing is also available for distance teaching. This means students can converse in real time with faculty and students on campus.

USI's Rice Library maintains an extensive on-line collection of journal articles in both abstract and full text forms. In addition, Rice Library provides on-line access to its entire catalog, as well as to available interlibrary holdings at other Indiana university libraries.

In addition to this open learning teaching model, at regular intervals, students will be asked to travel to Evansville for a Friday evening and all-day Saturday session. The emphasis of these face-to-face meetings will be to apply the principles and methods learned on the Internet. Role-playing, teamwork, case studies, debates and other highly interactive exercises will be used, and will require students to marshal their total resources to solve real life business problems. Of course, collegiality and networking will also be encouraged during these times.

Overall, our goal is to provide our students with a balance between a challenging academic experience and instructional convenience that recognizes life's many competing commitments. We firmly believe this unique teaching format meets this objective.

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I'm Interested, but I Need More Information

To examine the curriculum, meet with faculty, or explore any other aspect of the Master of Health Administration Program, please contact Dr. Kevin Valadares at (812) 461-5277.

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